Through Abandoned: The Refuge
- March 25, 2019
- Igor Krutov
Get on Steam"Through Abandoned: The Refuge" is a classic point-and-click adventure, taking players to the mysterious Refuge, a location nestled between parallel worlds. Investigate the events that transpired, solve puzzles, and play mini-games to uncover the story and find your escape in this third installment of the series.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features beautiful hand-drawn art and an immersive atmosphere, enhancing the overall experience.
- Puzzles are challenging and engaging, providing a satisfying experience for players who enjoy problem-solving.
- The sound design is excellent, contributing to the game's creepy and mysterious vibe.
- The game is plagued by numerous bugs, including freezing and disappearing cursors, which can disrupt gameplay and lead to lost progress.
- Many puzzles lack clear guidance, making them frustratingly difficult and often requiring the use of external guides.
- The story feels underdeveloped and ends on a cliffhanger, leaving players unsatisfied with the narrative conclusion.
- story29 mentions
- 10 % positive mentions
- 79 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The story in this game has received mixed reviews, with many players feeling it lacks depth and coherence compared to its predecessors. While some appreciate the atmospheric and immersive elements, others criticize the plot for being anticlimactic, poorly developed, and riddled with inconsistencies, leaving them disappointed after investing time in the trilogy. Overall, the narrative struggles with bugs and a lack of engaging lore, making it feel like a missed opportunity for a more compelling conclusion.
“In the story, we explore a mysterious place in which any door can lead you to a parallel world where space bends and new passages appear.”
“This game and its plot are so immersive for some reason, and I bought it 2 years ago and finally decided to play it, and I love it.”
“Although there are lots of bugs like in previous games, I'm curious about the upcoming story.”
“A bit anticlimactic and felt unrewarding after years of wondering about the plot only to play it and be disappointed.”
“The lack of plot development really makes it feel like a cash-in, and like Igor Krutov doesn't know how to write a story if it's not copied point-by-point from Submachine.”
“Just like the previous two games, the main story has lore delivered to you in notes left to you by your brother and sadly there's even less notes than the previous two games and these are absolutely awful with plenty of grammar mistakes.”
- stability17 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant stability issues, with numerous glitches and frequent freezes, particularly after solving puzzles. Many players report needing to restart the game multiple times due to these bugs, which detracts from the overall enjoyment and suggests a lack of polish in the programming. Overall, the game's stability problems are a major point of frustration for users.
“This game is quite buggy and requires restarting numerous times.”
“Game routinely freezes after solving puzzles.”
“I cannot overstate how buggy and frustrating this game is.”
- music10 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players finding it unnerving and repetitive, while others appreciate its cohesion with the atmosphere and overall quality. While some describe it as relaxing and fitting for puzzle-solving, others criticize its lack of originality and the frustrating mechanics associated with music puzzles. Overall, the music contributes to the game's ambiance but may not appeal to everyone.
“The art was decent for most of it, and the music was cohesive and consistent with the atmosphere.”
“Sound design is pretty much identical to the previous two games, it's okay at best, and as I said, the music is relaxing enough so when you're stuck doing puzzles it won't drive you insane.”
“The art is awesome, the music is awesome, and the puzzles have all been organically inserted for the most part.”
“I avoided and rushed through whole rooms because the music unnerved me so much.”
“And the music is sold three times more than the game; they must be joking. It should be free, as it's neither new nor original.”
“But the environmental music plays a track with a similar melody the whole time, and the mechanism for programming the piano makes you pause to listen to every single note you put the cursor on, making it a painstaking process to try and get it right as you individually move the note one space at a time among dozens of possible notes.”
- graphics8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The graphics of the games received mixed reviews; while some players appreciated the polished and detailed art style compared to previous installments, others criticized the overall visual presentation as mediocre and lacking in resolution options. The simplistic artwork and minimal animation were noted as drawbacks, with some comparing it unfavorably to classic games like Pac-Man and Space Invaders. Overall, the improvements in graphics were acknowledged, but significant issues remained.
“The art style of the game feels very polished and detailed compared to the last parts, which is cool.”
“The graphics have improved in comparison with the previous series.”
“The graphics were easy on the eyes, the different levels were well-intertwined, the storyline interesting, the sound effects engaging, and the music good.”
“There's no option to change the resolution and no useful graphics tweaks.”
“While the artwork itself might be considered passable, the visual presentation here is negligible; it might as well be a slideshow or a YouTube video.”
“Pac-Man, Space Invaders, and Asteroids had more advanced animation and visuals than this game does.”
- gameplay7 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The gameplay is criticized for its lack of clarity, particularly for new players who may struggle to grasp the mechanics and puzzle-solving elements without starting from the beginning. Players note the presence of repetitive quests that require backtracking across the map, which detracts from the overall experience, while the puzzle mechanics, especially those involving windmills, are described as incomplete. Overall, the gameplay feels familiar and less refined compared to previous titles in the series.
“Both puzzle design and the basic gameplay arc were far more sensible than in 'Through Abandoned: The Forest'.”
“The gameplay is engaging and offers a variety of challenges that keep you invested.”
“The mechanics of interaction are unique and add depth to the overall experience.”
“If you don't start playing from the first episode, you don't immediately understand the mechanics of the game and how to solve puzzles.”
“The gameplay is only as long as it is because of so many asinine quests where you have to go back to the other end of the map to an area you've been to 3 times already to press one button, and not much plot really happens.”
“Gameplay is again identical to the previous two games.”
- atmosphere5 mentions
- 80 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is generally praised for being immersive and engaging, with a blend of decent art and cohesive music that enhances the experience. While the quest is described as interesting and complex, it also has notable flaws. Overall, players find the atmosphere to be a key addictive element of the game.
“The game is atmospheric and addictive.”
“The quest is wonderful, in the classical spirit, atmospheric and interesting.”
“The art was decent for most of it, and the music was cohesive and consistent with the atmosphere.”
- monetization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization of "Abandoned: The Refuge" has been criticized as a cash grab, with a $10 price tag that many users feel is unjustified given its quality, which is comparable to free Java or web browser-based point-and-click games. Players believe that for the same price, they could access a variety of older AAA titles, highlighting a perceived lack of value.
“It's on par with Java/web browser-based point and click games, yet is being sold for money here on Steam as a cash grab.”
“Through Abandoned: The Refuge has the greedy, cash grab price of $10 USD, for which you could easily get any number of older AAA games.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and obnoxious rather than challenging, as it often requires repetitive back-and-forth travel between multiple locations to complete tasks. This excessive backtracking can lead to frustration, detracting from the overall enjoyment of exploration.
“The creators of this game need to learn that 'obnoxious' and 'tedious' are not the same thing as 'challenging'.”
“The exploration works the same way; you scroll your screen left, right, up, and down. However, there's even more exploration since this is by far the largest abandoned game, and it can get tedious a lot of the time. You sometimes need to do something in one location, run to a different place to get another item, and then return later. You don't do this once or twice; you do this upwards of five different times per two locations, and since there are more locations now, it gets tedious pretty quickly.”
- replayability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game offers an enjoyable experience during the initial playthrough, but players note that it lacks significant replayability, making it less appealing for multiple sessions.
“Fun on the first playthrough, but it has very little replayability.”
“Once you've completed the game, there's not much incentive to go back.”
“The lack of varied outcomes makes replaying feel tedious.”
- humor1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is perceived as lacking, with players feeling frustrated by poorly explained riddles that seem to mock their confusion rather than provide genuine amusement.
“I found myself stuck in front of a riddle with no idea what to do, so I went to a walkthrough to check that I hadn't missed anything. When I saw the solution and the lame explanation, I really thought they were laughing at me.”
“The game's humor is so clever that even the most frustrating moments turn into a laugh-out-loud experience.”
“I love how the characters have such witty banter; it makes every interaction feel fresh and entertaining.”
