The Moonstone Equation
- August 20, 2018
- Andy Buck
- 9h median play time
Get on SteamHelp Alice find some answers as she joins a unique bunch of scientists, oddballs and theorists at a remote hilltop research facility to investigate some puzzling stone carvings. A single player puzzle/platform game about science and curiosity presented in a modern pixel art style.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The puzzles are engaging and vary in difficulty, providing a satisfying challenge for players who enjoy logic and language puzzles.
- The game features a rich atmosphere with beautiful pixel art and relaxing music, enhancing the overall experience.
- Exploration is encouraged, allowing players to uncover lore and secrets at their own pace, which adds depth to the gameplay.
- The game is plagued by numerous bugs and technical issues, including broken terminals and collision problems, making it frustrating to play.
- The lack of a map and fast travel options leads to tedious backtracking and aimless wandering, detracting from the exploration experience.
- The writing and story are poorly executed, with grammatical errors and uninteresting character interactions that fail to engage players.
- gameplay24 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 71 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The gameplay primarily revolves around exploring the world and solving puzzles, with a focus on block-pushing mechanics that can be enjoyable but often lack variety and depth. Many players find the core gameplay loop to be underwhelming and poorly executed, with puzzles that are either too simplistic or not clearly defined, leading to frustration. While some puzzles are well-paced and satisfying, the overall experience is marred by bugs and a lack of coherent mechanics, resulting in a disappointing gameplay experience.
“I like the puzzles, which is the main focus of the game, and from what I've seen so far, they are very Sokoban-like, with other mechanics that keep it fresh and exciting to solve.”
“It also has some really nice puzzles based mostly on simple block-pushing mechanics that you can do surprisingly much with.”
“My favorite aspect of The Moonstone Equation is how well-paced the gameplay is for being so open and having puzzles that are so satisfying.”
“But overall, the game has been nothing but a disappointment, with poor writing, constant bugs, and an overall lack of focus with regard to the game's mechanics put together.”
“The basic puzzles themselves are very generic block-pushing puzzles with not really any unique twists on the mechanics - the first block puzzle looks no different from the last.”
“The 'bona fide' puzzles themselves are all based on a very small set of mechanics that don't really get used in very interesting ways.”
- story24 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 71 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The game's story is largely conveyed through notes and terminals, but many players find it uninteresting and poorly written, with awkward grammar and a cumbersome interface. While there are elements of world-building and optional quests, the narrative feels disconnected from the gameplay, allowing players to focus on puzzles without engaging deeply with the story. Overall, the storytelling is seen as lacking depth, with a few intriguing aspects overshadowed by its execution.
“Amazing atmosphere and story.”
“From block puzzles, an evolving story, 'decipherable' language, and... well... I don't want to spoil anything... so I'll just go with curiosity.”
“But you can explore the story by reading notes and interacting with NPCs.”
“The story and lore are severely hampered by robotic writing, often awkward grammar, and the fact that much of it is locked behind terminals that needlessly force the player to navigate a special interface to look at what is essentially a bulletin board.”
“There is not much of a story, but rather a series of world and theme-building elements that run separate to the puzzles.”
“You can focus only on solving puzzles and get to the end without exploring the story or solving any mystery.”
- music18 mentions
- 56 % positive mentions
- 28 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews; while some players find it beautifully crafted and perfect for relaxation and concentration, others describe it as repetitive and annoying. Overall, many appreciate the quality of the soundtrack and express a desire for a full version to enjoy outside of gameplay.
“It's beautifully crafted, the music is relaxing, it's challenging but in a good way.”
“It's so good I wish to have the full soundtrack just to listen while reading or working.”
“It's a perfect relaxation/concentration type of music.”
“The music is... drone?”
“Oh and the music gets really annoying really fast, but whatever, I can mute the game audio.”
“I have to mention the music.”
- graphics6 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The graphics are praised for their excellent pixel art style, contributing positively to the overall aesthetic of the game. However, some users feel that certain elements may feel out of place within this visual framework. Overall, the graphics are well-received, complementing the game's engaging music and challenging puzzles.
“The pixel art graphics are great, the music is truly great, the puzzles range from simple to tricky to quite fiendish in places and just when you think you've figured it all out, there's something more.”
“The graphics are excellent and I absolutely love the music.”
“That might be part of the aesthetic, but it feels really out of place.”
- grinding4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, primarily due to the manual word-finding tasks in a small interface that can be difficult to navigate. While some minor bugs and backtracking are noted, the interconnected world design helps mitigate the overall tedium of the grinding experience.
“It seems that all you're intended to do is manually find every word in the chart of words you're given, which is boring and tedious due to the small interface in the computer terminal (which you need to hack the game to even view, anyway).”
“My one gripe with the game is a couple of minor bugs (such as a lagging camera at times) that don't nearly ruin the experience, and a lot of backtracking at times, but the world is interconnected enough to not make this too tedious.”
- stability4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game suffers from stability issues, with users reporting frequent bugs, particularly during conversations. Overall, the experience is marred by these technical problems.
“It's buggy, too.”
“In general, some of the conversations are a bit buggy.”
- atmosphere4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its amazing atmosphere and storytelling, effectively immersing players in its world. However, while it creates a good atmosphere in the puzzle rooms, these areas are noted as the least critical for such an ambiance.
“Amazing atmosphere and story”
“Amazing atmosphere and story”
