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Traverser

A visually pleasing puzzler that challenges your brain and shows a real sense of intelligent design in its UI and sound. Buy it.
Traverser Game Cover
62%Game Brain Score
story, gameplay
music, emotional
67% User Score Based on 58 reviews
Critic Score 57%Based on 14 reviews

Platforms

PCWindows
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Traverser Game Cover

About

Traverser is a single player action adventure game. It was developed by Gatling Goat Studios and was released on July 9, 2015. It received neutral reviews from critics and mostly positive reviews from players.

This is a hand-drawn 2D adventure game.

Genres & Tags
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Traverser screenshot
Traverser screenshot
Traverser screenshot
Traverser screenshot
Traverser screenshot
Traverser screenshot
Traverser screenshot
Traverser screenshot
Traverser screenshot
Traverser screenshot
Traverser screenshot
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67%
Audience ScoreBased on 58 reviews
story16 positive mentions
music3 negative mentions
  • The game features a unique and visually appealing art style that draws players into its steampunk world.
  • The gravity glove mechanic adds an interesting layer to the gameplay, allowing for creative interactions with the environment.
  • The voice acting and world-building contribute to an immersive experience, making the story engaging despite its shortcomings.
  • The controls are clunky and frustrating, making platforming and puzzle-solving more difficult than enjoyable.
  • The story feels rushed and clichéd, lacking depth and leaving players unsatisfied with its resolution.
  • The game is very short, with many players feeling it doesn't provide enough content to justify its price.
  • story
    41 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story in the game receives mixed reviews, with many players finding it rushed, clichéd, and lacking depth, often feeling strung along from one plot point to another without sufficient development. While some appreciate the interesting setting and character dynamics, others criticize the narrative for being shallow and predictable, ultimately leaving them unsatisfied. Despite these criticisms, a few players enjoyed the story's unique elements and engaging atmosphere, suggesting that it has potential but fails to fully realize it.

    • “I was more excited about the story at the end than I expected at the beginning.”
    • “Interesting story, cute yet fun gameplay, and it was fairly unique.”
    • “The story is interesting, dark, yet humorous.”
    • “The story is rushed and stumbling over itself and ends in just dumb nonsense.”
    • “You're strung from one plot point to the next, never really being given a chance to process or even care about what's happening in the story.”
    • “The foundation is built, pieces are put in motion, but with nothing to hold them together, Traverser is left to scramble from one plot point to the next, as if exposition for exposition’s sake is enough to guide the game toward a state of cohesion.”
  • gameplay
    24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of the game features a gravity glove mechanic that allows players to manipulate objects for puzzle-solving and traversal, which is both praised for its fun and criticized for its floaty controls and lack of depth. While the game presents an intriguing world and aesthetic, many reviewers feel that the mechanics are underdeveloped and fail to evolve throughout the experience, leading to a sense of disappointment and a lack of challenge. Overall, the gameplay is seen as a mix of charming elements and frustrating limitations, resulting in a short and somewhat unsatisfying experience.

    • “Cute little puzzle game, easy to play with puzzles that build off of the core mechanics.”
    • “Armed with a special gravity glove that lets you manipulate items around you, you'll use that glove with most gameplay mechanics to solve puzzles and traverse through your environments.”
    • “The class war backstory is light but engrossing, the charming world of gravity-defying steampunk architecture is beautifully made, the mechanics are always entertaining, the puzzles are only occasionally challenging but make varied use of the physics, and the soundtrack is one of the best I've heard in a while.”
    • “The power glove mechanic is frustrating, especially due to the floaty nature of it, the high sensitivity, and the awful POV problems.”
    • “Moreover, they provide a challenge only because of poor game mechanics.”
    • “Mechanics introduced early in the game are never given adequate time to be developed, and your existing mechanics never feel like they grow or transform over the course of the game.”
  • graphics
    19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game are widely praised for their unique art style, combining a futuristic steampunk aesthetic with a 1920s vibe, resulting in a visually appealing and atmospheric experience. Many reviewers highlight the clean, stylish, and colorful visuals, as well as the impressive character design and voice acting. However, some note that while the graphics are strong, they cannot fully compensate for shortcomings in gameplay elements.

    • “The art style of this game is definitely unique, bringing about a futuristic steampunk-ish meets the 1920s feel.”
    • “The art style, the voice acting, the design—everything feels right and I have had zero complaints.”
    • “The aesthetic is very pretty and the world seems interesting, but otherwise this game just falls short on most of the gameplay elements.”
    • “Gatling Goats’ Traverser isn’t being shy with its steampunk aesthetic.”
    • “Clean, stylish, and colorful visuals.”
  • music
    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is generally well-received, with many praising the soundtrack as one of the best they've encountered, effectively enhancing the game's atmosphere. While some find it decent and appropriate, others note that it may not stand out significantly. Overall, the soundtrack contributes positively to the game's mood and experience.

    • “The class war backstory is light but engrossing, the charming world of gravity-defying steampunk bizararchitecture is beautifully made, the mechanics are always entertaining, the puzzles are only occasionally challenging but make varied use of the physics, and the soundtrack is one of the best I've heard in a while.”
    • “Good graphics, good music, and it is fun.”
    • “The music was appropriate, nothing special.”
    • “The soundtrack doesn't stand out.”
    • “The mood of the game is only properly established through the traverser's eccentric, melancholy soundtrack.”
  • humor
    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game effectively blends dark themes with humor, featuring quirky objects that encourage playful interactions and laughter. Its steampunk aesthetic complements the comedic elements, reminiscent of titles like Deponia, providing a unique mix of levity amidst serious circumstances. Overall, players find the humor to be a delightful and engaging aspect of the experience.

    • “The story is interesting, dark, yet humorous.”
    • “As you progress throughout the game, you find funny and rather crazy objects that offer the possibilities to goof around, and it will undoubtedly make you crack up and smile like the kid you are.”
    • “The dark, steampunky setting mixes perfectly with the goofy, humorous elements, similarly to Deponia.”
  • atmosphere
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's atmosphere is praised for its appealing graphics and intriguing backstory, creating an engaging environment. However, despite these strengths, it struggles to deliver a truly memorable experience, often feeling hindered by its untapped potential.

    • “Atmospheric game with nice graphics.”
    • “The game has a nice atmosphere, complete with a gravity manipulation glove for puzzles.”
    • “Despite having an enticing backstory and atmosphere, the game falls short of creating a truly memorable adventure.”
  • emotional
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The emotional aspect of the game is criticized for its lackluster story, which some players found boring, yet the ending evoked strong feelings, suggesting potential for a more developed narrative that was ultimately not realized.

    • “The ending made me feel really strongly that there was more planned and just never got made.”
    • “The emotional depth of the characters left a lasting impact on me long after I finished the game.”
    • “I was genuinely moved by the story; it resonated with my own experiences and feelings.”
    • “The story is very boring, and that's all this game had going for it.”
    • “I felt no emotional connection to the characters or their struggles.”
    • “The attempts at emotional depth fell flat and felt forced.”
  • replayability
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game offers some replayability through hidden secrets and bots to eliminate in each level, though some players express a desire for a sequel instead.

    • “It has great replayability with hidden secrets and bots to eliminate in each level.”
    • “The game offers a lot of replayability due to its diverse challenges and unlockable content.”
    • “Each playthrough feels fresh thanks to the random events and different character builds you can try.”
    • “It has some replayability with hidden secrets and bots to eliminate per level, but I'd much rather have a Traverser 2, to be honest.”
    • “The game lacks significant replayability; once you've completed it, there's little incentive to return.”
    • “While there are a few different paths to take, the overall experience feels too linear to encourage replayability.”
  • grinding
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players find the grinding aspect tedious due to widely spaced save points, which often require them to restart entire scenes, adding to the frustration of repetitive gameplay.

    • “The save points were also too spread out, so I had to restart a whole scene, which can be tedious.”
    • “Grinding feels like a never-ending chore rather than an engaging part of the game.”
    • “The repetitive nature of grinding makes it hard to stay invested in the story.”
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57%Critics’ scoreBased on 13 critic reviews
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7h Median play time
6h Average play time
4-8h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs
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Skip FAQs

Frequently Asked Questions

Traverser is a action adventure game.

Traverser is available on PC and Windows.

On average players spend around 6 hours playing Traverser.

Traverser was released on July 9, 2015.

Traverser was developed by Gatling Goat Studios.

Traverser has received neutral reviews from players and neutral reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its music.

Traverser is a single player game.

Similar games include Chronology, Contrast, Nihilumbra, Scrap Garden, The Pedestrian and others.