The Tribulation Entanglement
- February 5, 2022
- Anxious Neck Games
Get on Steam
Get on itch.io Store"The Tribulation Entanglement" is a game that takes place on a desolate planet, where the player, as the Entangled One, must fight through surreal environments and defeat godlike beings to reach the source of their motivation. The game is a metaphor for the developer's struggle with chronic pain and health issues. It features visually striking levels filled with challenging enemies and puzzles. Discretion is advised for players. The game offers an artistic representation of the developer's personal struggles.
Windows
Reviews
- The unique black and white art style, reminiscent of H.R. Giger, creates an immersive and atmospheric experience.
- The game offers a short but engaging adventure with a variety of enemies and bosses that provide a sense of challenge.
- The soundtrack complements the visuals well, enhancing the overall mood of the game.
- The gameplay mechanics are frustrating, with stiff controls and a poorly implemented knockback system that can lead to unfair deaths.
- Level design is often tedious, requiring players to hit random blocks to find paths, which can feel time-consuming and unengaging.
- The game lacks a meaningful story and character development, leaving players with little context or motivation throughout the experience.
- graphics30 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 60 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The game's graphics are widely praised for their unique hand-drawn, gothic art style that creates a captivating and atmospheric experience, reminiscent of H. Giger and Zdzisław Beksiński's work. While the visuals are considered the strongest aspect, some reviewers noted a lack of variety in stage design, leading to a repetitive aesthetic despite the initial allure. Overall, the minimalist black-and-white visuals effectively contribute to the game's eerie ambiance, making it a memorable visual experience.
“The unique hand-drawn gothic art style will always draw your attention to the scenery, making every area in the game mysterious and adding a creepy layer of atmosphere you don't expect at first glance.”
“It has a distinct lo-fi, hand-drawn, black and white aesthetic that creates an immersive and atmospheric experience.”
“The visuals are reminiscent of old 2D platformers from the Genesis and SNES days, but dunked into a vat of horror.”
“Now I purchased the game because I was interested in the aesthetic; however, the stage design has a very limited number of unique visuals, so even in terms of aesthetic, the game gets somewhat repetitive.”
“And honestly, I don't think it's that subjective in this case; there is just not enough world-building. Even with the lack of dialogue, there are not enough unique visuals for me to work with.”
“There are similarly priced games out there that are both as aesthetically pleasing and more packed with content.”
- gameplay16 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Tribulation Entanglement" is criticized for being simplistic and technically limited, with rough mechanics and basic enemy AI that detracts from the overall experience. While the controls are tight and the art style is praised, many reviewers feel that the game lacks depth in level design and combat, resulting in a bare-bones experience that fails to engage players meaningfully. Overall, the game is seen as needing significant improvement in gameplay elements to match its artistic ambitions.
“Game mechanics are fed to you in a somewhat logical manner, and I didn't feel exhausted with learning how monsters functioned or being stuck too long in a particular area of the game.”
“The monsters are all in all very simple, and their mechanics can be learned quickly, allowing the player to feel a sense of progression.”
“Mechanically, it mostly works; the controls are tight, your main attack is predictable and consistent, and there are plenty of special weapons to mix things up a bit.”
“There's not really a story to speak of, and gameplay-wise, it's kind of a mess.”
“Enemy and boss design in terms of mechanics need more polish.”
“Some really good art is to be found here, but the game overall is held back by underbaked gameplay with annoyances like some sections that demand way more precision than the rest of the game, or platforms whose edges are obscured by foreground art.”
- music15 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 60 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The music in the game is characterized by dark, slow, rhythmic synth tracks that evoke a nostalgic feel reminiscent of classic 2D sidescrollers and old Genesis titles. While some players appreciate the atmospheric quality and aesthetic alignment with the game's visuals, others find the soundtrack forgettable or even mind-numbing, with a lack of engaging sound effects. Overall, the music enhances the ambiance but may not leave a lasting impression for all players.
“The music is really well done and complements the surroundings incredibly well.”
“The soundtrack for the game comprises dark, slow, rhythmic synth music.”
“The sound effects and music evoke old Genesis titles as well - heavily modulated synths with a lot of fuzz and buzzing, accompanied by slightly off-tuned ambient music as the backing tracks.”
“The bad part is almost all of the rest, the sounds are almost non-existent, and dear god the music is absolutely mind numbing.”
“The music is forgettable ambient music that wouldn't be out of place in a slasher film.”
“The sound effects and music smack of old Genesis titles as well - heavily-modulated synths with a lot of fuzz and buzzing, with slightly off-tuned ambient music as the backing tracks.”
- atmosphere10 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 30 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is characterized by its unique hand-drawn gothic art style, which creates a mysterious and immersive experience that captivates players from the start. While the visuals and minimalist design contribute to a creepy yet inviting ambiance, some players find certain gameplay elements frustrating, which can detract from the overall experience. Overall, the combination of art direction, music, and gameplay fosters a distinct sense of helplessness in a dangerous world, making it a standout feature of the game.
“The unique hand-drawn gothic art style will always draw your attention to the scenery, making every area in the game mysterious and adding a creepy layer of atmosphere you don't expect at first glance.”
“I love the aesthetic and the atmosphere that the game sets the second you start playing.”
“It has a distinct lo-fi, hand-drawn, black and white aesthetic that creates an immersive and atmospheric experience.”
“It certainly 'tries' to add to the atmosphere, but after a short while becomes completely unbearable and generally obnoxious.”
“However, 'The Tribulation Entanglement' and 'Scorn' have some similarities like the atmosphere and feel: helplessness in an unknown scary dangerous world, and everything is made possible by meat.”
“The art direction, atmosphere, music, and basic gameplay all seemed to be in the right place.”
- story8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The story in "Tribulation Entanglement" is largely criticized for its lack of depth and coherence, with many reviewers noting that it feels underdeveloped and similar to other titles like "Scorn" but offers even less. While there are attempts at environmental storytelling, the execution falls flat, leaving players feeling disconnected from the world and its narrative. Overall, the game is seen as having good potential but failing to deliver a compelling story or engaging world-building.
“Tribulation entanglement is a striking action-platformer with environmental storytelling and familiar gameplay, a symbiotic journey as much as a personal one through the dying world under a monochromatic sun.”
“[b]Story and setting[/b]”
“[u]World-building[/u] - fine, you are doing visual storytelling.”
“There's not really a story to speak of, and gameplay-wise, it's kind of a mess.”
“You could talk about story, but it kinda doesn't exist; it feels very similar to Scorn, but ends up with even less to offer.”
“The biggest thing and probably the most disappointing thing for me is that I just didn't get anything out of the visual storytelling here.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game offers moderate replayability, featuring additional achievements that encourage multiple playthroughs, such as completing the game with varying health bar lengths and the option to choose between easy and hard modes. Overall, players can expect around two hours of gameplay with incentives to revisit the experience.
“All in all, it was a 2-hour experience from start to finish, with bonus replayability from the additional achievements that require the game to be completed with the longest health bar and the shortest.”
“It has an easy and hard mode for some replayability too.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Users report that the fast camera movements during intense gameplay, particularly in level 3's chicken chase, can induce motion sickness, detracting from the emotional engagement with the game.
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, particularly criticizing the level design for requiring prolonged and seemingly random actions, such as hitting blocks for extended periods.
“The level design was mostly tedious and unfair; I don't understand why I had to hit random blocks for 30 minutes.”
“Grinding feels like a never-ending chore, with little reward for the time invested.”
“The repetitive nature of grinding makes the game feel more like a job than a fun experience.”
