Through Abandoned
- July 22, 2015
- krutovig
- 1h median play time
Get on Steam
Get on itch.io Store"Through Abandoned: The Underground City" is a cinematic space shooter that takes you on a journey through parallel worlds, which have been abandoned by humans. Your mission is to find your brother who has been missing in these strange worlds. This game features point-and-click mechanics and requires you to solve puzzles, play mini-games, and collect items to escape. Explore the vast world and uncover the story as you search for your brother.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game has a charming art style and creates an eerie atmosphere that enhances the experience.
- Puzzles are generally well-designed, providing a good balance of challenge without being overly frustrating.
- It's a short and inexpensive game, making it a decent option for casual players looking for a quick puzzle adventure.
- The story is poorly developed and often feels disjointed, leaving players unsatisfied with the narrative.
- Many puzzles can be confusing or illogical, leading to frustration and reliance on walkthroughs.
- The game suffers from technical issues, including bugs and performance problems that detract from the overall experience.
- story66 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 68 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The story in this game is generally perceived as weak and disjointed, often relying on exposition dumps and lacking a cohesive narrative arc. While some players appreciate the intriguing premise of searching for a missing brother, many find the plot underdeveloped and filled with vague sci-fi tropes, leading to a sense of frustration rather than engagement. Overall, the story serves more as a backdrop for puzzles rather than a compelling narrative experience.
“The story was present, cohesive, and enjoyable.”
“I really like the story and the graphics.”
“The graphics and music are great, the puzzles are solid, and the story will at least make you want to play the second game to find out where it was attempting to go.”
“The plot feels phoned-in and half-baked.”
“The story is poorly written to the point where it might have been a stronger game with only exploration and no story at all.”
“There's barely any story.”
- graphics33 mentions
- 45 % positive mentions
- 45 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many players appreciating the unique and nostalgic art style, often likening it to classic point-and-click games. While some find the visuals charming and well-executed, others criticize them as low quality or simplistic, suggesting that they lack detail and coherence. Overall, the hand-drawn aesthetic is generally well-received, though it is noted that the graphics do not significantly enhance the gameplay experience.
“The game has a beautiful and unique art style that gives a lot of nostalgia to the Submachine games for me.”
“The hand-drawn graphics and motion were good, the palette easy on the eyes, and the background music/sound effects appropriate and non-distracting.”
“I really enjoy the hand-drawn art style, and the music does a good job of creating an otherworldly atmosphere.”
“For instance, the graphics are low quality, but still have a bit of charm to them.”
“On top of boring gameplay, there's tons of bugs, a menu without sensible settings, and below average visuals.”
“Just a harmless poor man's 'Myst' with basic graphics, an inconsistent plot, and easy puzzles.”
- music25 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 48 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its ability to create an immersive and atmospheric experience, while others find it repetitive and generic. Many note that the soundtrack complements the game's art style and enhances the overall mood, though some criticize the lack of volume control options. Overall, while the music is seen as decent and fitting, it does not stand out significantly in terms of originality or depth.
“The game is filled with immersive sound effects and music.”
“The music, however, creates an interesting atmosphere.”
“I really enjoy the hand-drawn art style, and the music does a good job of creating an otherworldly atmosphere.”
“I enjoyed the art style of this game, not so much the music, however, as I feel it made the game significantly more eerie than it needed.”
“There's not much audio design to speak of, except the music which is pretty mediocre.”
“[The music screams generic royalty-free. There are way too many boring notes with an even worse translation. The locations feel uninspired. This is far from a proper game of its genre, no heart to be found.]”
- gameplay22 mentions
- 14 % positive mentions
- 68 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received mixed to negative feedback, with many players finding it boring, unengaging, and plagued by bugs. While some appreciated the puzzles and nostalgic elements, others criticized the lack of intuitive mechanics and poor design choices, leading to frustration and a lack of replay value. Overall, the gameplay experience is seen as underwhelming and not meeting the expectations set by similar games in the genre.
“A little puzzle game (45 minutes of gameplay) similar to an escape room card game, but cheaper.”
“The gameplay component does not lag behind the plot.”
“Good gameplay and nice puzzles.”
“Nothing in gameplay could keep me interested.”
“On top of boring gameplay, there's tons of bugs, a menu without sensible settings, and below average visuals.”
“But the gameplay leaves much to be desired when it comes to indicating where the player is meant to be looking for solutions, and in a point and click adventure game, that simply breaks the deal.”
- atmosphere20 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is generally praised for its clean illustrations, good color palettes, and effective ambient music, creating an eerie and otherworldly experience reminiscent of the "submachine" series. While some players find the atmosphere engaging and atmospheric enough to enhance the gameplay, others feel it lacks depth and complexity, leading to a sense of dissatisfaction. Overall, the atmosphere is a highlight, though opinions vary on its effectiveness in maintaining player interest.
“The music, however, creates an interesting atmosphere.”
“I really enjoy the hand-drawn art style, and the music does a good job of creating an otherworldly atmosphere.”
“It's worth your time for the atmosphere, even if it's not all that complicated.”
“No ominous atmosphere, no quirky illustrations, no ancient cuneiform or other rad history.”
“The game itself has an eerie atmosphere to it, but altogether I found it a bit boring, unfortunately.”
“At least pretend you did it because you liked the atmosphere and concept - don't make it obvious you thought it was an easy cash-in and you figured you could just make cardboard cutouts of a submachine game and sell them to me 3 for $2.”
- stability8 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game has been reported to have significant stability issues, including bugs that lead to item duplication and glitches that affect gameplay, particularly when exiting and resuming. While these problems are not game-breaking, they detract from the overall experience, making it advisable to play in one sitting to avoid further complications.
“Its best to be played in one sitting because there are some bugs and glitches when exiting and continuing later on, but it's nothing game-breaking.”
“So... I had a very buggy experience.”
“One of the major problems that I had were the glitches.”
- humor5 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by its quirky design choices and unexpected elements, such as the presence of bugs that blur the line between genuine challenges and intentional absurdity. Players find amusement in the unconventional inventory system and the exaggerated presentation of items, which adds a layer of comedic absurdity to the gameplay experience. Overall, the humor is described as a mix of spooky and logical, contributing to a uniquely entertaining atmosphere.
“What's funny is that I got all 3 games for $1.07.”
“Spooky, a bit funny, quite logical, and visually satisfying.”
“Though, as I've said, this game is odd. Instead of creating an inventory in a point-and-click game, you get 2 big, black bars. Boom! Now that's game design. You think it's just poor optimization, but bam! It turns out it's just an untextured black screen. Who's laughing now?”
- optimization3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that the game's optimization is lacking, with some users noting issues such as untextured elements that detract from the overall experience. Additionally, there are calls for improvements in optimization alongside the inclusion of achievements to enhance gameplay.
“[b]Optimization:[/b]”
“On a last thought, there should be achievements and better optimization.”
“Though, as I've said, this game is odd. Instead of creating an inventory in a point-and-click game, you get two big, black bars. Boom! Now that's game design. You think it's just poor optimization, but bam! It turns out it's just an untextured black screen. Who's laughing now?”
- emotional2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is largely criticized, with users finding the story boring and lacking depth, which diminishes engagement. Additionally, the puzzles are perceived as unchallenging, leading to frustration rather than emotional investment.
“The story felt flat and uninspired, lacking any emotional depth.”
“I didn't connect with the characters at all; their struggles felt superficial.”
“The emotional moments were predictable and failed to resonate with me.”
- replayability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game offers minimal replayability due to its straightforward puzzles and short gameplay duration of just one hour, leaving players feeling that there is little incentive to revisit it.
“The art was okay, the puzzles were very straightforward and not particularly fun or rewarding - a total of 1 hour of gameplay with no real replay value.”
