The Quiet Apocalypse
- November 11, 2021
- Little Denis Games
- 4h median play time
Get on Steam"The Quiet Apocalypse" is a 7-10 hour story-driven exploration game set in the Fairborne Mountains, where you'll navigate through over 400km² of stylized wilderness and uncover the mysteries of the last 15 years by discovering 45 residents' backstories and delving into 45,000 words of original narrative. The game features a hardcore walking challenge, 60 handcrafted story missions, secrets, puzzles, and a dynamic day/night cycle.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The story is multi-faceted and well-written, providing a compelling narrative that keeps players engaged and thinking long after they finish the game.
- The game features beautiful visuals and a detailed environment, creating an immersive experience that enhances the walking simulator aspect.
- The gameplay encourages exploration and orienteering, with a sense of planning required to navigate the vast landscapes.
- The game suffers from long walking distances between objectives, often with little to see or interact with, making the experience feel tedious over time.
- There is no real-time save feature, which can lead to significant frustration if players die or the game crashes, forcing them to restart from distant checkpoints.
- Technical issues such as stuttering, freezing, and poor controller support detract from the overall experience, making it feel less polished.
- story54 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The game's story is a complex and multi-layered narrative that intertwines distinct storylines, exploring themes of impending doom and a natural extinction event. Players appreciate the well-written and immersive tale, conveyed through environmental storytelling and found notes, although some find the pacing cumbersome and gameplay frustrating. Overall, it is recommended for those who enjoy a scenic, narrative-driven experience, despite some abrupt conclusions and tonal inconsistencies.
“The story is multi-faceted, where there are a few distinct storylines that all come together to provide a very nuanced tale of impending manmade or human-influenced doom being preempted by a naturally occurring extinction event.”
“The story pulled me in, always wanting to know more.”
“Little by little, the story is revealed in letters found in abandoned buildings.”
“The storyline is boring and cumbersome.”
“After a while, the story itself kicks up suddenly (and somewhat out of left field) with enough hook to forgive the increasingly long treks of boring nothing.”
“The story is incredibly dark and macabre in some places, so walking into the scene of horror with random meditation piano music playing deflates the gravity of what we are reading or seeing.”
- gameplay12 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 58 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The gameplay is primarily a walking simulator, which some players find increasingly tedious over time, despite appreciating the story and treasure hunt elements. While the atmospheric weather effects are praised, the lack of engaging mechanics—such as the repetitive action of holding the shift key—detracts from the overall experience. Players express disappointment that the game could have benefited from more varied gameplay elements, especially given hints of potential survival horror mechanics in future updates.
“I saw the developer had mentioned making a side story game with some survival horror mechanics.”
“I enjoy the treasure hunt gameplay, and some of the weather effects are really nicely done.”
“The gameplay itself is 100% walking simulator.”
“Holding shift for 10 minutes at a time is not a game mechanic.”
“The mechanics and elements that support gameplay matter.”
- graphics6 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are praised for their realism and attention to detail, featuring interesting clutter in the environments. Overall, players find the visuals to be good, enhancing the overall experience without being overly extravagant.
“I love the visuals of this game.”
“The graphics are great -- not over-the-top, but very realistic with lots of fine detail and interesting clutter in the buildings.”
- music6 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with some players feeling that the use of meditation piano music during dark and macabre scenes undermines the intended emotional impact. While the soundtrack includes varied environmental sounds that complement the detailed landscapes, the juxtaposition of serene music with horror elements has been criticized for detracting from the overall atmosphere.
“The landscape is varied and detailed, and the soundtrack consists of environmental noises and music in some areas.”
“The story is incredibly dark and macabre in some places, so walking into the scene of horror with random meditation piano music playing deflates the gravity of what we are reading or seeing.”
“The soundtrack consists of environmental noises and music in some areas, but it fails to enhance the overall experience.”
“The music feels out of place and does not match the tone of the game, making it hard to immerse myself in the atmosphere.”
- optimization4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has been criticized for being poor, particularly on the Steam Deck, where players experience significant stuttering, framerate drops, and occasional freezes. Additionally, gamepad controls require remapping but still feel unsatisfactory, contributing to an overall frustrating gameplay experience.
“It was virtually unplayable on the Steam Deck, where the stuttering and framerate drops were significant; and the gamepad requires remapping, after which it still feels kind of off.”
“It isn't unusual for the game to even freeze for a couple of moments, until the scrolling continues, firstly stuttering, and then smoothing to normal.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players note that the game delivers a significant emotional impact through its narrative, but this is somewhat diminished as the gameplay becomes repetitive and feels like a chore over time.
