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Year Unknown

Year Unknown Game Cover
95%Game Brain Score
Most mentioned positive aspects:story, atmosphere
Most mentioned negative aspects:gameplay, replayability
98% User Score Based on 48 reviews

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Year Unknown Game Cover

About Year Unknown

Year Unknown is a single player simulation game with a science fiction theme. It was developed by Julian H and was released on October 7, 2024. It received overwhelmingly positive reviews from players.

A story-based exploration game about the very far future. Explore The Library, a megastructure the size of the universe, filled with all of humanity's knowledge. To guide you are two Artificial Intelligences, built to process its massive collection of information. But something else is calling you - a distress call from the center of the universe. The stagnant universe is breaking down…

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Year Unknown screenshot
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Reviews

98%Audience ScoreBased on 48 reviews
story9 positive mentions
gameplay3 negative mentions
  • Deeply philosophical and thought-provoking narrative exploring existentialism, eternity, and the value of life beyond purpose.
  • Atmospheric and visually striking environment with brutalist megastructures, complemented by an immersive and relaxing ambient soundtrack.
  • Engaging dialogue-driven gameplay featuring interaction with AI characters, creating a unique storytelling experience reminiscent of classic sci-fi themes.
  • Extremely short gameplay duration, typically around 30 to 60 minutes, leaving some players wanting more content and depth.
  • Limited gameplay mechanics focused mostly on walking and simple terminal interactions with minimal puzzles or exploration variety.
  • Price perceived as high for the amount of content provided, leading to recommendations to purchase primarily during sales.

  • story

    23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    39% positive mentions, 48% neutral mentions, 13% negative mentions

    The story is a short, thought-provoking sci-fi narrative set in a richly atmospheric megastructure, exploring philosophical themes like utopia and human existence. Despite its brief duration (~30 minutes to 1 hour), it offers engaging dialogue options, contrasting endings, and a mood reminiscent of classic sci-fi and Eastern philosophy influences. Highly praised for its writing, immersive environment, and ability to provoke reflection, it is especially recommended for fans of walking simulators and contemplative storytelling.

    • “A short but compelling story about the cognitive impossibility of utopia set within a very appealing environment full of grand volumetric architecture that comprises an infinite library of material knowledge.”
    • “A really well-written, thought-provoking story.”
    • “Very well written and thought-provoking story as well as phenomenal sound design. I can't recommend this enough.”
    • “Despite the massive environment, it is a very contained escape puzzle and a very short story.”
    • “Because the game is so short (~30 minutes), I can't explain anything about the story without spoiling it.”
    • “Little indie story game with around 1 hour of play time.”

  • atmosphere

    7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    57% positive mentions, 43% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The game excels in creating a haunting and immersive atmosphere centered around brutalist megastructures, enhanced by a minimalist narrative delivered through a simple computer interface. Its ambient audio and sci-fi setting contribute to a deeply engaging and evocative experience that is both terrifying and beautifully crafted. Overall, the atmosphere is widely praised as a standout element that effectively complements the story.

    • “Surprisingly good sci-fi short story, with a well-made atmosphere and the exact kind of environments you want from a 'megastructure.'”
    • “I loved the haunting atmosphere lingering among the brutalist megastructures, and the way the narrative is communicated to the player through nothing more than a simple computer interface... terrifying, yet strangely beautiful.”
    • “Year Unknown is a masterclass in atmosphere.”

  • gameplay

    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    33% positive mentions, 17% neutral mentions, 50% negative mentions

    The gameplay is simple and revolves mainly around interacting with AI terminals, resulting in a very short experience of under an hour. While the mechanics are straightforward, the limited duration and lack of replay value make the game's retail price feel excessive.

    • “And those two elements of gameplay combine to create this entire experience.”
    • “The gameplay is pretty simple.”
    • “This game is very short, not even an hour of gameplay.”
    • “The entire gameplay consists of talking to AIs in various terminals scattered around the world.”
    • “But it's also difficult to reconcile the retail price with the approximately one hour gameplay time and no real replay value.”

  • graphics

    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    60% positive mentions, 40% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The graphics are praised for their pleasing, minimalist style with bright yet soft tones and surreal, wide-open spaces. They effectively complement the game's existential narrative, creating an aesthetically gorgeous and immersive visual experience. Overall, the visuals are clean, engaging, and enhance the game's ambiance.

    • “The graphics are very pleasing with bright and yet soft tones, wide open spaces, and very cool surreal areas.”
    • “Visuals are clean, minimalist, ambiance and sound effects are on point.”
    • “Fun little experience with great visuals and a neat story.”

  • music

    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    75% positive mentions, 25% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The music is a beautiful, relaxing ambient soundtrack that effectively complements the game's minimalist, philosophical atmosphere. It is unobtrusive yet immersive, enhancing the overall vibe and helping players engage with the experience.

    • “Very nice, minimalistic, short walking simulator with a beautiful, relaxing ambient soundtrack about ethics and philosophy that plays in an abandoned brutalistic megastructure.”
    • “The ambient sound design, music, and overall vibe of the structure was well done.”
    • “Similarly, the audio is fairly persistent and provides nice, unobtrusive, and yet atmospheric setting music that kind of puts you in the correct headspace to take this all in.”

  • replayability

    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions

    The game offers a very short gameplay experience of around one hour and lacks meaningful replay value, making it hard to justify its retail price.

    • “But it's also difficult to reconcile the retail price with the (+/-) one hour gameplay time and no real replay value.”
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Play Times

1h Median play time
1h Average play time
1-1h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 1 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

Year Unknown is a simulation game with science fiction theme. Common tags for Year Unknown include first-person, 3D, indie, exploration, stylized and others.

Year Unknown is available on PC, Windows and Linux.

On average players spend around 1 hours playing Year Unknown.

Year Unknown was released on October 7, 2024.

Year Unknown was developed by Julian H.

Year Unknown has received overwhelmingly positive reviews from players. Most players liked Year Unknown for its story but disliked it for its gameplay.

Year Unknown is a single player game.

Similar games include SOMA, Event[0], Control, I'm Not Coming Back, Tacoma, Nobody Wants to Die and others.