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About

In "The Search" , explore a mysterious, artistic universe, solving puzzles with your creativity and uncovering clues about your past. With gorgeous 3D artwork, a haunting soundtrack, and voice acting by Cissy Jones, this short puzzle-adventure game invites you to discover the secrets of this enchanting world. Language options include English, Russian, German, and Italian.

The Search screenshot
The Search screenshot
The Search screenshot
The Search screenshot
The Search screenshot
The Search screenshot
The Search screenshot
The Search screenshot
The Search screenshot
The Search screenshot
The Search screenshot
+5

67%
Audience ScoreBased on 492 reviews
story26 positive mentions
gameplay6 negative mentions

  • Beautiful graphics and calming music create an immersive atmosphere.
  • Thought-provoking themes about art and self-discovery resonate with players.
  • Simple puzzles allow for a relaxing gameplay experience without frustration.
  • Very short gameplay, typically completed in under an hour, leading to a feeling of insufficient value.
  • Repetitive mechanics with minimal challenge, as puzzles often involve finding the same items.
  • Heavy-handed narration and philosophical quotes can feel pretentious and detract from player engagement.
  • story
    146 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story of the game is often described as philosophical and introspective, focusing on an unnamed female artist's journey of self-discovery through various environments and puzzles. While some players appreciate the poetic and visually appealing narrative, many criticize it for being shallow, repetitive, and overly reliant on philosophical quotes, leading to a disconnect from the character and a lack of engaging gameplay. Overall, the narrative is seen as a mixed bag, with some finding it thought-provoking and others deeming it pretentious and lacking depth.

    • “The search is a very good adventure game with a poetic story, some beautiful designs, and a relaxing ambiance.”
    • “The story is about finding your own path in life, especially a path of creativity and true self-expression, while navigating the many pitfalls in life and all the false imagery it may offer.”
    • “The search is a story-driven short adventure game where the whole purpose of the game is to give you an eye-opening experience to art and to look at art as a way to escape, as a way to dream.”
    • “The whole 'story' is just an excuse to solve puzzles and click around, straight to the point without over-exaggerating the story in such a simple short game.”
    • “The plot is ironically clear and surprisingly dry given the themes.”
    • “The storytelling of this game is just bad; the game has this art creation theme and apparently you control a character which already has a personality, although never presented to you.”
  • graphics
    86 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game are widely praised for their beauty and artistic style, often described as stunning, calming, and reminiscent of paintings. Many reviewers appreciate the visuals for enhancing the overall atmosphere and narrative experience, although some note that the game feels short and lacks depth beyond its aesthetic appeal. Overall, the graphics contribute significantly to the game's relaxing and introspective vibe, making it a visually pleasing experience.

    • “The graphics are beautiful, the music calming, and the voice acting superb.”
    • “The visuals and music help create this atmosphere of discovery and introspection.”
    • “The graphics/overall feel of the visuals are lovely as well, more rustic and artsy (which is appropriate as the puzzles are related to painting), and matches the music well.”
    • “I was personally enticed to buy this game for the visuals, but as a janky point & click, you'll get the same visual experience from looking up screenshots of it online.”
    • “Nothing more than a glorified walking simulator with mediocre graphics and zero puzzles.”
    • “Some love clearly went into the graphics but even these are completely static and the unintuitive node-based navigation means you'll end up staring at blank walls a lot.”
  • music
    86 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is widely praised for its calming and beautiful qualities, enhancing the overall atmosphere and immersion. However, some players noted that the music abruptly cuts off during narration, which disrupts the experience. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a strong point, contributing to a relaxing and introspective gameplay experience, despite occasional inconsistencies in its integration with voice acting.

    • “I found this game to be very relaxing with beautiful visuals and background music.”
    • “The environment is absolutely beautiful, the music and sound are incredible, and the puzzles are not complicated and logical.”
    • “The graphics are beautiful, the music calming, and the voice acting superb.”
    • “Unfortunately, a lot of notes are scattered throughout, and when the voice acting reads them, it cuts the music, which really brutally removes you from the immersion.”
    • “Toward the end, in a few somewhat dramatic moments, when reading the notes, the music got muted and it was really jarring.”
    • “The soundtrack is just strange; in moments where you could feel the moment and listen to the story the woman was telling, her voice just cuts the song suddenly and that same song doesn't even come back.”
  • gameplay
    79 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay is primarily centered around a repetitive mechanic of locating and combining a paintbrush, canvas, and paint to navigate obstacles, which some players found engaging while others deemed it tedious and overly simplistic. The game features a short playtime of around 30 to 60 minutes, with many reviewers noting that the puzzles lack depth and challenge, often feeling like a passive experience rather than an interactive one. While the artistic elements and narrative themes resonate with some players, the overall gameplay experience is criticized for being shallow and not fully integrated with the story.

    • “The key mechanic here is based around locating a canvas, paint, and a paintbrush of a certain color, then combining those to traverse an otherwise impassable obstacle by 'painting' a new way through.”
    • “The gameplay was pretty unique without being overly challenging, and the music and sounds were calming.”
    • “The painting mechanic was refreshing and well made.”
    • “If this was a free game then maybe it might be worth your time, but at £3.99 for at most 15 - 25 min story that's nothing more than a pretentious mess with the same puzzle mechanic repeated over and over, it's nothing more than a bad joke.”
    • “The gameplay doesn't add anything to the experience.”
    • “The puzzles and monologue were boring and the gameplay didn't feel good.”
  • atmosphere
    29 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its beautiful visuals and evocative soundtrack, creating a serene and introspective environment that enhances the overall experience. While some find it unsettling at times, many appreciate its philosophical undertones and the attention to detail that invites players to immerse themselves fully. Despite its short length, the game's captivating atmosphere is considered a significant draw, making it a worthwhile experience for those who enjoy atmospheric exploration.

    • “The visuals and music help create this atmosphere of discovery and introspection.”
    • “This is a very short experience, but the drop-dead-gorgeous atmosphere alone is worth the asking price.”
    • “I love the atmosphere and the rhythm of music in this game.”
    • “It's got a really amazing soundtrack, and a great atmosphere, but it's not great at holding it.”
    • “The atmosphere is kinda creepy in some stages.”
    • “This is the type of game that is more about the atmosphere and journey than the actual ride.”
  • grinding
    9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, often detracting from the overall experience. While some appreciate the thematic choice behind the navigation mechanics, many feel it leads to a frustrating and mediocre gameplay experience that may not be memorable in the long run.

    • “A bit grindy sometimes.”
    • “Achievements in this game are not grindy.”
    • “As a game, this is not something that you’ll remember that you played a few weeks from now, or maybe you will because of how tedious and repetitive its gameplay is.”
    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “The controls are intentionally tedious for thematic reasons, forcing you to take one step, spin in a circle, take another step, spin in a circle, and so on, just to make sure you don’t miss the one interactable element in an area.”
  • replayability
    7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, the reviews indicate that the game suffers from a significant lack of replayability, with many players noting its short length and absence of alternate paths or content to explore. While some find it enjoyable for a one-time experience, the consensus is that it does not offer enough depth or incentive for repeated playthroughs.

    • “🔁 Replayability is a key feature that keeps me coming back for more.”
    • “🔲 Infinitely replayable (or almost).”
    • “The main reason I'm recommending it is because I think it would get a lot more attention if it was available for free permanently.”
    • “However, this lack of depth, combined with a total lack of replay value, are fair points of criticism.”
    • “It lacks depth and has barely any replay value.”
    • “The main reason I'm recommending it is because I think it would get a lot more attention if it was available for free permanently: for the price tag of €3.49, it's just way too short without any alternate paths or replay value.”
  • emotional
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The emotional aspect of the game is polarizing; while some players find its philosophical messages and poetic nature deeply impactful, others criticize the pretentious dialogue that detracts from its heartfelt intentions. Overall, it resonates strongly with those seeking a profound experience, particularly within the context of its point-and-click adventure gameplay.

    • “It's one of those games that is meant to be eye-opening, deep, and emotional.”
    • “The search is my first philosophical game, thus it hit me very hard emotionally listening to its many messages, and understanding how it intertwined with the point-and-click adventure gameplay and perspective.”
    • “As an intellectual, I would normally reward such a stunning and brave interactive audio-visual experience - nay, masterpiece - with an incredibly heartfelt and profound recommendation to all of my cerebrally gifted brethren.”
  • optimization
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, the game's optimization is mixed; while some players appreciate its smooth performance and beautiful visuals, others have noted issues with unoptimization. The narration, particularly by Cissy Jones, has received praise, adding to the game's immersive experience.

    • “It's a beautiful game and it runs smoothly.”
    • “The game feels unoptimized, leading to frequent frame drops and stuttering during gameplay.”
    • “I encountered numerous performance issues; the optimization is clearly lacking.”
    • “The overall experience is hindered by poor optimization, making it frustrating to play.”
  • stability
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's stability is heavily criticized, with users reporting significant issues such as freezing on loading screens and buggy navigation through 3D environments, leading to a disconnection from the gameplay experience. Overall, these stability problems render the game unplayable for many.

    • “The navigation through still images makes you feel disconnected from the game, and the short episode where you walk in a 3D environment seems buggy.”
    • “The game freezes on a loading screen that says 'info' but never actually finishes loading... the game is literally unplayable.”
    • “Bugs and glitches are prevalent throughout the experience.”

Buy The Search

1h Median play time
2h Average play time
1h Main story
1h Completionist
1-2h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 6 analyzed playthroughs

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