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.
PC
Steam Deck
Windows
Reviews
- The unique hand-drawn black and white art style creates an immersive and atmospheric experience reminiscent of H.R. Giger's work.
- The game offers a short but complete adventure with a beginning, middle, and end, providing a sense of satisfaction upon completion.
- Despite its flaws, the game has a certain charm and can be enjoyable for those who appreciate challenging platformers and artistic visuals.
- The platforming mechanics are weak and can lead to frustrating gameplay, with many sections requiring precision that the controls do not support.
- Combat feels simplistic and often pointless, as players can bypass many enemies rather than engaging with them meaningfully.
- The level design is poorly executed, with many areas relying on trial-and-error and obscure visual cues that can lead to confusion and frustration.
- graphics60 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The game features a striking hand-drawn gothic art style that captivates players with its unique black and white aesthetics, creating an immersive and atmospheric experience reminiscent of classic 2D platformers. While the visuals are widely praised for their creativity and ability to evoke a creepy ambiance, some reviewers noted a lack of variety in stage design, leading to repetitive visuals that detract from the overall experience. Despite these criticisms, the art style remains the standout feature, making it a memorable aspect 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.”
“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.”
- gameplay32 mentions
- 9 % positive mentions
- 78 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Tribulation Entanglement" is criticized for being simplistic and technically limited, with basic enemy AI and a lack of depth in mechanics. While the controls are tight and the art style is praised, many reviewers feel that the game suffers from underdeveloped level design and combat, leading to a frustrating experience that fails to engage players meaningfully. Overall, the game is seen as artistically bold but mechanically flat, requiring more polish and thought in its gameplay elements.
“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.”
“Enemy and boss design in terms of mechanics need more polish.”
“The art style and ambience is an absolute delight to experience, but the gameplay is very technically limited.”
“Gameplay-wise, it's bare bones as all get out with very simplistic enemy AI and most of the time you just want to run forward, jumping over enemies and spamming sub weapons whenever you get into trouble.”
- music30 mentions
- 10 % positive mentions
- 80 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The music in the game features 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 music forgettable or even mind-numbing, with minimal sound effects to enhance the experience. Overall, the soundtrack is seen as a mixed bag, capturing certain vibes but lacking in variety and engagement.
“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, with 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.”
- atmosphere20 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 45 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The game features a captivating hand-drawn gothic art style that creates a mysterious and immersive atmosphere, enhanced by its minimalist design and lo-fi aesthetic. While many players appreciate the creepy and inviting ambiance, some find certain gameplay elements frustrating, which can detract from the overall experience. Overall, the atmosphere is consistently praised as a standout aspect, making it appealing for fans of 2D action and puzzle games.
“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.”
“If you like 2D action with some puzzle elements and a creepy, mysterious yet inviting atmosphere, this game might be for you.”
“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 into 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.”
- story16 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 19 % 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 offers little in terms of narrative engagement. While the game attempts environmental storytelling, it ultimately fails to deliver a compelling or meaningful experience, leaving players disappointed with both the story and the overall gameplay.
“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.”
“You could talk about story, but it kind of doesn't exist. It feels very similar to Scorn, but ends up with even less to offer.”
“There's not really a story to speak of, and gameplay-wise, it's kind of a mess.”
“I usually enjoy artistically driven platformers, even if they are lacking in gameplay, but unfortunately, I think the game feels very underdeveloped - it needed more work with level design, combat, and even visual storytelling, which is also lacking, in my opinion.”
- replayability4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game offers moderate replayability, primarily through additional achievements that challenge players to complete it with varying health bar lengths and difficulty settings. With a relatively short playtime of about two hours, players can revisit the game to explore these different modes and challenges.
“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.”
“Has an easy and hard mode for some replayability too.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players have expressed that the fast camera movements during intense sequences, such as the chicken chase in level 3, can lead to feelings of motion sickness, detracting from the overall emotional experience of the game.
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and unfair, particularly criticizing the repetitive task of hitting random blocks for extended periods. This design choice detracts from the overall enjoyment and engagement of the gameplay experience.
“The level design is mostly tedious and unfair; I don't understand why I had to hit random blocks for 30 minutes.”
