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THOTH

THOTH is a blissfully difficult twin-stick shooter that challenges your reflexes and puzzle-solving skills on the fly. Never have 2D shapes been creepier.
THOTH Game Cover
79%Game Brain Score
gameplay, graphics
story, replayability
86% User Score Based on 379 reviews
Critic Score 71%Based on 8 reviews

Platforms

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THOTH Game Cover

About

THOTH is a single player and multiplayer arcade shooter game. It was developed by Carlsen Games and was released on October 7, 2016. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and positive reviews from players.

THOTH is a challenging twin-stick shooter you can conquer alone or cooperatively with a friend. Each stage is handcrafted to test coordination and puzzle-solving skills. Colorful minimalist graphics combine with an intense unnerving soundtrack, making for an exciting mix of art and arcade.

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THOTH screenshot
THOTH screenshot
THOTH screenshot
THOTH screenshot
THOTH screenshot
THOTH screenshot
THOTH screenshot
THOTH screenshot
THOTH screenshot
THOTH screenshot
THOTH screenshot
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86%
Audience ScoreBased on 379 reviews
gameplay50 positive mentions
grinding3 negative mentions
  • Minimalist twin-stick shooter with tight, responsive controls and elegant core gameplay mechanics.
  • Unique enemy mechanics where defeated enemies still pursue and threaten the player, adding strategic depth.
  • Striking, minimalist visuals paired with a haunting, immersive sound design that enhances tension and atmosphere.
  • Punishing checkpoint system requiring replaying multiple levels upon death, which can cause frustration.
  • High difficulty spike especially in post-game challenges, potentially alienating less skilled players.
  • Lack of tutorial or instructions and minimal UI can make initial accessibility difficult for some players.
  • gameplay
    189 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of Thoth is a minimalist yet deeply engaging twin-stick shooter that introduces new mechanics every four levels, blending shooting and puzzle elements to continually refresh the challenge. Its simple controls and abstract design mask a complex, strategic experience that demands skillful planning and adaptation, though some players find the forced level-retry mechanic frustrating. Overall, it offers a polished, rewarding gameplay loop praised for its innovation, strategic depth, and satisfying difficulty curve.

    • “The game is chunked into level sets, and from what I can tell so far, each introduces a mechanic and teaches you that mechanic through the levels in that chunk, culminating in a boss of sorts, testing your ability.”
    • “Every four stages, the game introduces a new design mechanic which affects your tactics in subtle and interesting ways.”
    • “Most mechanics are applied when an enemy is killed, so you need to carefully manage your kills in this game which makes it half-shooter, half-puzzle.”
    • “Interesting concept but the level reset mechanics ruin the game for me.”
    • “The core gameplay is always just shooting enemies while avoiding them and other stage hazards (there's a couple more fundamental stage variations, but they are in the minority), and the game is actively hostile pretty much throughout with how little 'beneficial' variations you get.”
    • “I found this mechanic irritating and would have preferred a second chance at the regular version rather than a harder version of a level I was already having trouble on.”
  • graphics
    102 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Thoth features a minimalist, abstract art style with simple geometric shapes and a carefully chosen, dynamic color palette that gives each level set a distinct identity. While the graphics are modest and technically basic, they effectively communicate gameplay elements and complement the intense, eerie soundtrack to create a cohesive, immersive experience. Overall, the clean yet surreal visuals work harmoniously with sound and gameplay, proving that sophisticated graphics are not required for engaging and memorable gameplay.

    • “Its visuals are abstract, clean, yet surreal in their colouring; its soundtrack is unearthly, ominous dark ambient; it contains no semblance of story, setting, instructions on how to play, or any words at all really; its gameplay is a relatively threadbare iteration on its chosen genre, but one that's turned on its head by a single clever twist.”
    • “The visuals are gorgeously minimalistic, the audio is spot on, reactive and dronely efficient, and most of all, the gameplay is swiss-clock-precise.”
    • “Minimal, but an ever-changing color palette makes the graphics feel fresh while giving the level sets a sense of identity and individuality that allows them to be memorable and also compartmentalized in a 'thank god I beat that' vault all the same.”
    • “From a technical standpoint, the graphics are bad.”
    • “Apart from the incredibly lazy low effort minimal graphics (enough to disqualify the game), resolution is fixed as well.”
    • “Graphics: This game has a very basic graphical style and a singular theme which it sticks to throughout.”
  • music
    81 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's music is predominantly an intense, dark ambient soundtrack that many find atmospheric, eerie, and integral to the immersive, unsettling experience. While some praise its haunting, experimental nature for heightening tension and focus, others find the droning, minimalistic soundscape tiring or distracting, with a lack of variety and no volume or sound customization options. Overall, the soundtrack strongly contributes to the game's distinctive mood, though its unconventional style may polarize players.

    • “The game’s soundtrack is a huge part of its appeal—intense, unnerving, and perfectly matched to the visuals, it pushes you to keep moving even when the odds feel impossible.”
    • “With an aesthetic and (trance inducing) soundtrack to match.”
    • “The audio design is excellent and while the music is almost the opposite of 140, since there's no beat or clear melody to listen to, it is an essential part of the gameplay experience and adapts to your progress.”
    • “The soundtrack mostly consists of droning noises that get pretty tiring on the ears, sometimes even to the point where I just mute the sound, because my head starts to hurt.”
    • “Not worth £4 especially with the soundtrack as I never heard anything other than generic blank space droning which fits the aesthetic.”
    • “Patience is key to the gameplay, but the music is so stifling and unsettling that it is difficult to hold on to your nerves as 6 or 7 boxes are chasing you.”
  • story
    14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game features no traditional story or narrative, focusing instead on minimalistic design and abstract visuals. Despite the lack of plot, it delivers a challenging gameplay experience that evokes emotional responses through atmosphere rather than storytelling. Overall, the story aspect is minimal or nonexistent, with emphasis placed on gameplay and mood over narrative.

    • “Moral of the story: you never know what life has in store for you, and if I had given up when all odds were against me, I wouldn't be where I am today.”
    • “Keeping in mind they can last as little as 30-odd seconds to a couple of minutes, having what seems like only 64 levels, in the main story at least, may appear as insufficient, but you better believe this challenging game will make you work for it.”
    • “Jeppe Carlsen's previous two titles by Playdead are some of the best and most important games to ever come out, and both Limbo and Inside have had an immense impact on both my life and the way I view storytelling through a narrative lens.”
    • “It contains no semblance of story, setting, instructions on how to play, or any words at all really.”
    • “With the minimalistic design in mind, it's not surprising that the game focuses solely on its gameplay, with no plot involved.”
    • “It’s more simple than most arcade games, 0 story, 0 good gameplay, so bad, that’s the only answer I could come up with.”
  • replayability
    11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Replayability is a strong aspect of the game, offering numerous challenging levels and variations that keep dedicated players engaged for extended periods. However, its difficulty and challenge-focused design may limit appeal and replay value for more casual players. Overall, the varied mechanics and post-campaign challenges provide a memorable and addictive experience for those seeking difficulty and depth.

    • “I feel like Thoth is generally balanced and offers a lot of replay value if you like difficult challenges.”
    • “While short it is super replayable and new enemy types and mechanics never outstay their welcome. My only real criticism is that the difficulty curve isn't great and I found that some mid-game challenges were much harder than the final few challenges.”
    • “I'm sure in going for these challenges I could likely double my time played in the game, so there's definitely a fair amount of replayability in knowing those levels are different every time and that there's so many you have to do to 'complete' those challenges.”
    • “Several interesting ideas with disgusting replayability and I have a feeling that it was made with the purpose to keep the game from being refunded.”
    • “That's not something I'd want to put myself through, and isn't the kind of challenge most people would look for to get some replayability.”
    • “If I had to pick one notable flaw, it's that while the game is incredibly replayable, it doesn't hold much replay value for less dedicated players.”
  • atmosphere
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere is notably unsettling and bizarre, enhanced by heavy distortion effects and a dark ambient soundtrack. It effectively complements the visuals and gameplay, creating a minimalistic yet immersive horror-like experience. Overall, the mood adds depth and tension, enriching the puzzle and shooter elements.

    • “The heavy use of distortion effects creates an unnerving, bizarre atmosphere that complements the visuals nicely.”
    • “Highly minimalistic twin-stick shooter with an unsettling, almost horror-like atmosphere and soundtrack.”
    • “The dark ambient styled soundtrack sets up a great running-the-gauntlet sort of atmosphere.”
  • optimization
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The optimization aspect highlights the game's demanding performance requirements, especially in the post-game phase. Its unsettling soundtrack enhances focus by keeping players on edge, contributing to an intense and immersive experience.

    • “It's a fair but unforgiving game, as the post-game especially demands more and more of your performance.”
    • “It is definitely an aid to your performance, as the odd and disturbing soundtrack provides no comfort and keeps you on edge, closely observing your movements all while the undulating noises add a strange augment of focus.”
  • grinding
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Grinding in the game involves repeated challenges every few levels, introducing new enemies to keep it engaging, but some players may still find it tedious. Those who dislike twin-stick shooters or grinding without clear progress may not enjoy this aspect.

    • “Some people may find it too boring or too tedious.”
    • “If you don’t like twin stick shooters, or you don’t have a tolerance for grinding without progress, then this is an easy pass.”
  • emotional
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players find the game emotionally impactful despite its simple twin-stick shooter mechanics, appreciating its focused and distilled gameplay that evokes strong feelings through minimalistic design.

    • “An emotional game.”
  • humor
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is characterized by a hilariously tense atmosphere that adds to the overall experience, blending challenge and fun in a way that's both engaging and amusing.

    • “The ambience is hilariously tense.”
    • “Challenging, addictive, frustrating, funny, simple, easy to get, hard to master: wonderful!”
  • stability
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game generally runs smoothly but includes occasional visual glitches that slightly detract from the overall experience. Despite these minor issues, stability remains acceptable and does not significantly impact gameplay.

  • monetization
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The monetization aspect is viewed as the commercial application of art, frequently involving corporate-driven and advertisement-heavy practices. Users highlight how this focus on profit can impact the artistic experience.

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71%Critics’ scoreBased on 8 critic reviews
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2h Median play time
2h Average play time
2-2h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

THOTH is a arcade shooter game.

THOTH is available on Nintendo Switch, PC, Mac OS, Steam Deck and others.

On average players spend around 2 hours playing THOTH.

THOTH was released on October 7, 2016.

THOTH was developed by Carlsen Games.

THOTH has received mostly positive reviews from players and mostly positive reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its gameplay but disliked it for its story.

THOTH is a single player game with multiplayer and local co-op support.

Similar games include Chippy, Outland, 140, Nex Machina, GoNNER and others.