Info about Subliminal:

Official game description:
_Light shapes the world around you. Bending shadows, opening doors... the world is yours to discover._
Light isn't just how you see, it's how you survive. In Subliminal, illumination is a physical material that is yours to grasp, carry, and bend to your will to alter the space you find yourself occupying. You'll grab fixtures from ceilings, cast light to open doors, and reveal pathways that seem impossible to reach.
You are not given answers in Subliminal; you are given choices. Puzzles revolve around manipulating perspective and lighting. Change an area's lighting, and the entire space might change. Place a light too far, and you may have to start from the beginning. Everything you move and every shadow you create changes what is, and isn't, real.
_The more you remember, the more it remembers you._
Somewhere beneath the surface of your memories, something is waiting. At first, you'll sense it behind walls and around corners, or hear the faint sounds of breathing when you stand still. Later, you'll see it, a figure that shouldn't exist, chasing you through decaying hallways and down endless slides. That thing... it's not human.
Encounters in Subliminal are psychologically terrifying events born within your own consciousness. Things sense your movements and hesitation. Fumble with a puzzle too slowly when it matters most, and you may feel the weight of the world closing in on you.
_Do you remember?_
Every space you enter in Subliminal is a fragment of a memory. Discover the secrets of basements, water parks, play places, and more, all rendered in meticulous detail in Unreal Engine 5's Lumen lighting and Nanite geometry. Nothing is quite right. Slides lead to places they shouldn't, TV screens transport you between memories, and doors loop back to the same room you started from.
Each location tells a part of your story. As you explore, the environment becomes puzzling and less stable. You may see things that do not exist, hear sounds that are not really there, and feel things that make the hairs of your neck stand up. What begins as an exploration soon turns into a violent confrontation with your own fading sense of self.

Release date: Mar 31, 2026

Categories: Puzzle Solving, Perspective-based Puzzles, Illusion-based Gameplay, Atmospheric Horror, First-Person Perspective, Exploration, Narrative Adventure

Feature scans:
- Wiki: score 50; verdict: Needs Improvement; summary: The game has several significant issues that impact the user experience. The primary concerns include complex mechanics that require external guides to understand, bugs that prevent progression, and linear gameplay that limits player control. These issues contribute to a frustrating experience for many players.
- Proton/Linux: score 10; verdict: Works Well; summary: The game generally runs well on Linux/Proton with positive feedback on performance. Minor tweaks such as upscaling may be required for smoother gameplay on certain hardware configurations.
- Steam Deck: score 50; verdict: Tinkering Required; summary: The analysis of user feedback reveals significant stability issues with frequent crashes and black screens, which severely impact the user experience. However, the game performs well on high settings with good frame rates, which is a positive aspect. Some users also noted the need for resolution scaling to enhance the visual experience, indicating minor UI adjustments are necessary.

- Hardware Profile:
  - Summary: Performance varies significantly across different hardware cohorts, with higher VRAM configurations experiencing more stability issues and crashes, while mid-range setups generally report better performance with some caveats.
  - Sample size: 137 (22% coverage)
  - Audience skew: Review sample is mostly Windows-based.
  - Windows 12-15GB VRAM (mixed, 48 reports): Users report a mix of smooth performance with DLSS and high settings, but also significant issues with crashes and optimization problems.
  - Windows <8GB VRAM (positive, 42 reports): Generally positive performance with some users achieving high FPS with FSR, though there are complaints about optimization and input lag.
  - Windows 8-11GB VRAM (mixed, 38 reports): Performance is reported as fine with upscaling, but there are notable issues with crashes and poor optimization affecting the experience.
  - Windows 16GB+ VRAM (negative, 9 reports): Dominantly negative with reports of frequent crashes and instability, despite some users experiencing stable 60fps.
  - Caveats: 137 of 620 reviews expose hardware metadata.; Review sample is mostly Windows-based.
Feature extractions:
- Community Price:
  - Community fair range: $9.00 - $10.00
  - Reasoning: The evidence indicates that users find the game worth its price, with specific mentions of $10 and £7 (approximately $9) as fair and reasonable prices. The positive sentiment around the game's value at these price points suggests that the community considers the fair base-game price range to be around these figures.
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: 3.5h
  - Story completion: 1.0h
  - Session length: N/A
  - Endgame: 8.0h
  - Reasoning: The evidence provides direct and indirect indications of playtime metrics. The first quote suggests that a typical playthrough for speedrunners is under an hour, which can be interpreted as the story completion time. The second quote indicates that a full playthrough can take around 3.5 hours, which aligns with the game completion time. The third quote implies that the game has significant content, suggesting a longer playtime for full completion. The fourth quote mentions 8 hours of gameplay, which could be interpreted as extended playtime including endgame content.
- Time-to-fun:
  - Summary: The game starts fun and engaging but becomes tedious and repetitive after the initial hour to hour and a half due to poorly designed puzzles and unclear progression.
  - Stance: Fun then drops
  - Anchor: Initial engaging atmosphere and visuals
  - Time to anchor: 0h 0m
  - Friction: Repetitive puzzles; Unclear progression; Excessive chase sequences
  - Unlock drivers: Clearer instructions; More varied gameplay
  - Conditions: Initial engaging atmosphere; Visuals; Liminal space; Eerie aspects
- Player Archetypes:
  - Horror Puzzle Enthusiast (buy)
    - Motivation: Enjoyment of challenging puzzles and immersive horror environments.
    - Playstyle: Engages deeply with puzzle-solving and enjoys the scare factor.
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: horror fan; puzzle lover
    - Reference games: Poppy Playtime; Stanley Parable; Superliminal
  - Nostalgic Explorer (buy)
    - Motivation: Exploration and experiencing nostalgic and atmospheric elements.
    - Playstyle: Explores the game world, enjoys nostalgic elements and atmospheric gameplay.
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: explorer; nostalgia seeker
    - Reference games: Stanley Parable; Kalahari
  - Critical Evaluator (no buy)
    - Motivation: Providing honest and critical evaluations of the game.
    - Playstyle: Evaluates the game critically, often focusing on specific dislikes.
    - Experience: mixed
    - Purchase stance: no buy
    - Labels: critical player; honest reviewer
    - Reference games: N/A


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Exceptional graphics and visuals (weight 0.54): The game is widely praised for its stunning graphics, described as photorealistic, visually stunning, and of high quality. Players appreciate the detailed environments, sophisticated graphics, and overall visual design.
- Challenging and rewarding puzzles (weight 0.34): The puzzles in the game are noted for being challenging yet satisfying. Players enjoy the variety and difficulty of the puzzles, which require thought and effort but are ultimately rewarding to solve.
- Immersive atmosphere and horror elements (weight 0.34): The game excels in creating a terrifying and immersive atmosphere, combining survival and psychological horror elements. Players appreciate the eerie, creepy, and unsettling ambiance that enhances the overall experience.
- Overall positive game experience (weight 0.28): Players are generally satisfied with the game, finding it enjoyable and worth the price. The game is described as fun, great, and personally recommended by many players.
- Excellent narration and voice acting (weight 0.13): The narration and voice acting in the game are highly praised. Players appreciate the excellent sound effects and the brilliant performance of the voice actors, which add depth to the game.
- Outstanding level design (weight 0.12): The level design in the game is praised for being top-notch, beautiful, and detailed. Players appreciate the cool and well-crafted levels that enhance the gameplay experience.
- Engaging and interesting story (weight 0.11): The game features an interesting and well-thought-out story. Players find the narration engaging and the story elements original and compelling.

Common complaints:
- Puzzles are frustrating and poorly designed (weight 0.96): Many players found the puzzles to be unintuitive, overly complex, and lacking clear instructions or hints. This led to a frustrating experience, with puzzles often feeling tedious and unrewarding.
- Chase sequences are unforgiving and frustrating (weight 0.49): The chase scenes were described as frustrating, unclear, and too difficult. Players found them to be unforgiving with little room for error, leading to a negative experience.
- Lack of guidance and direction (weight 0.26): Players reported a lack of clear instructions and guidance throughout the game, including puzzles and chase sequences. This made it difficult to know what to do next and led to confusion.
- Checkpoints are poorly placed (weight 0.19): Players found the checkpoints to be too far apart or poorly placed, especially in chase sequences. This made the game feel more punishing and frustrating.
- Camera movements are disorienting (weight 0.11): The camera movements, including forced movements and constant shaking, were found to be disorienting and annoying by many players.
- Game is buggy and poorly optimized (weight 0.1): Many players encountered bugs and glitches that affected gameplay. These issues ranged from minor annoyances to game-breaking problems.
- Trial and error gameplay (weight 0.07): Players reported that the game often required too much trial and error, which could be frustrating and tedious.
- Game feels like a Poppy Playtime clone (weight 0.06): Some players felt that the game was too similar to Poppy Playtime, lacking originality and feeling like a clone.

Gameplay feedback:
- Challenging and varied puzzles (weight 0.32): The game features a wide range of puzzles that rely on creativity, observation, and environmental clues. These puzzles involve mechanics such as light manipulation, changing perspectives, and connecting dots between clues.
- Engaging narrative structure (weight 0.16): The game has a strong narrative structure with episodic progression and storytelling elements. The narration style and interactions with the narrator enhance the overall experience.
- Horror and psychological tension (weight 0.15): The game incorporates horror elements, including psychological horror and atmospheric tension. The fear is deeply tied to player actions and the pervasive psychological erosion.
- Light-based mechanics (weight 0.15): Light manipulation is a core gameplay mechanic, used for solving puzzles and rewriting space.
- First-person puzzle gameplay (weight 0.14): The game is a first-person puzzle game with narrative and exploration elements. It includes chase sequences and horror puzzle gameplay.
- Chase sequences (weight 0.11): The game includes challenging chase sequences with monsters, adding to the tension and excitement.
- Secrets and alternate paths (weight 0.1): The game features secrets, alternate paths, and branching storylines based on player choices, adding depth and replayability.
- Level design and checkpoints (weight 0.09): The level design includes looping levels and a checkpoint system that can be frustrating but is aimed at enhancing the gameplay experience.
- Liminal space exploration (weight 0.08): The game features liminal spaces with horror elements, providing a unique and eerie exploration experience.
- Backrooms-inspired environments (weight 0.07): The game draws inspiration from the Backrooms, featuring similar environments and themes.
- Unique endings (weight 0.06): The game offers multiple different endings based on player choices, providing a unique conclusion to each playthrough.
- Atmospheric elements (weight 0.04): The game features strong atmospheric elements that enhance the horror and immersion.
- Exploration and navigation (weight 0.04): The game includes exploration and navigation elements, allowing players to discover new areas and secrets.
- Parkour and jumping mechanics (weight 0.03): The game features parkour and jumping mechanics, adding to the gameplay variety.
- Save file system (weight 0.03): The game includes a save file system with auto-saving features, ensuring that player progress is regularly saved.

Performance notes:
- FPS performance varies (weight 0.12): Players have reported a range of FPS issues. Some experience high FPS performance, while others struggle with low FPS even on high-end GPUs. There are also reports of FPS tanking on max graphics and performance dips in some areas.
- Optimization issues reported (weight 0.11): Many players have reported that the game needs better optimization. Some have experienced unoptimized gameplay, while others have noted that optimization is slightly lacking.
- Stable performance on high settings (weight 0.1): Some players have reported stable performance at high settings, including solid 60 FPS on high settings and stable 60-70 FPS on high settings. There are also mentions of solid performance overall.
- Buggy gameplay (weight 0.1): Several players have encountered buggy gameplay, including bugs in specific sections like the ending and the pool-maintenance area. There are also reports of clipping through items and bugs with ray reconstruction.
- Mixed performance reviews (weight 0.09): Performance reviews are mixed, with some players reporting that the game runs great while others note that performance could be improved. There are also mentions of the game running well but not amazingly.
- Game crashes frequently (weight 0.09): Several players have encountered game crashes, including crashes on startup and game-breaking bugs. There are also reports of frequent black screen crashes.
- High system requirements (weight 0.08): The game has high graphics and system requirements, making it heavy on low-end PCs. Some players have noted that the game runs worse without Raytracing and that an RTX card is required for optimal performance.
- Graphical and visual issues (weight 0.08): Players have reported various graphical issues, including visual glitches, lighting bugs, and noisy reflections. There are also mentions of visual snow due to turned-off anti-aliasing and weird reflections due to AI issues.
- Runs well on specific hardware (weight 0.07): The game runs well on certain hardware configurations, including high-end GPUs and specific models like the 1070 and 2070 super. There are also reports of the game running surprisingly well on the Steam Deck.
- Screen and audio issues (weight 0.06): Players have reported issues with the screen going black or grey, as well as audio cues being delayed. There are also mentions of the screen turning white or black at random times.

Recommendations:
- Highly recommended for puzzle and horror fans (weight 0.25): The game is frequently recommended for those who enjoy challenging puzzles and horror experiences. Many players highlight its appeal to fans of psychological horror, liminal spaces, and games like the Backrooms.
- Improve puzzle variety and design (weight 0.08): Players suggest including different types of puzzles and improving their design. Some also recommend optimizing puzzle guidance, particularly in the second chapter.
- Fix bugs and crashes (weight 0.06): Several players have reported issues with the game crashing and other bugs that need to be fixed for a smoother experience.
- Reduce and enhance chase sequences (weight 0.05): Feedback indicates that there should be fewer chase scenes, especially in Episode 2, and that these sequences should be enhanced for better gameplay.
- Add more checkpoints and subtitles (weight 0.04): Players have requested more checkpoints throughout the game and subtitles in the finale to improve accessibility and gameplay flow.
- Consider buying on sale (weight 0.04): Some players suggest that the game is worth the price of entry but recommend buying it only if there is a significant sale.
- Technical tips for better performance (weight 0.03): Players suggest using the LOSSLESS SCALING app on Steam for better FPS and adjusting LUMEN settings for improved immersion and performance.
- Not recommended for walking simulation fans (weight 0.02): The game is not recommended for those who are looking for a walking simulation experience.
- Option for monster-free experience (weight 0.02): Some players have expressed interest in having an option for a monster-free experience.
- Negative recommendation (weight 0.01): A few players advise against buying the game, suggesting it might not be worth the time.

Other player notes:
- First Brazilian review (weight 0.01): This cluster indicates the first review submitted in Portuguese, specifically from Brazil.

Emotions:
- Frustration (weight 0.29): Players are primarily frustrated by the game's challenging and confusing puzzles, which are often described as illogical, repetitive, and poorly designed. Additionally, the chase sequences are frequently cited as difficult and punishing, exacerbated by unclear objectives, lack of guidance, and performance issues such as bugs and crashes.
- Disappointment (weight 0.23): Players express disappointment due to the game not meeting their expectations, particularly in terms of puzzle design, chase sequences, and overall gameplay experience. Many felt misled by the demo, which promised a different experience, and were let down by the game's lack of originality, repetitive design, and unsatisfying narrative elements.
- Enjoyment (weight 0.11): Players enjoy the game's atmosphere, graphics, and sound design, which create an immersive and engaging experience. The combination of survival and psychological horror elements, along with the game's aesthetic appeal and nostalgic elements, contributes to a fun and enjoyable gameplay experience.
- Excitement (weight 0.11): Players are excited about the game's unique features, atmospheric horror, and the anticipation of future content and episodes. The game's high-quality graphics, engaging story, and the potential for multiple endings and future DLCs contribute to this excitement.
- Satisfaction (weight 0.05): Players are satisfied with the game's graphics, atmosphere, and overall performance. The engaging story, detailed visuals, and enjoyable puzzles contribute to a positive experience, meeting or exceeding their expectations.
- Joy (weight 0.02): Players experience joy from the game's high-quality graphics, immersive atmosphere, and pleasant music. The overall quality and affordability of the game, along with its interesting narration and community interaction, contribute to a joyful experience.
- Admiration (weight 0.02): Players admire the game's impressive graphics, detailed environments, and visual design. The game's ability to surpass expectations and its beautiful, dreamlike graphics contribute to a sense of admiration.
- Appreciation (weight 0.02): Players appreciate the developer's effort to create a unique and immersive game. The attention to detail, high-quality graphics, and the game's sense of dread and danger are particularly noted and valued.
- Hope (weight 0.02): Players hope for improvements in future chapters or episodes, such as less tedious gameplay, better optimization, and overall enhancements based on feedback. They look forward to future content with anticipation for better experiences.
- Anger (weight 0.02): Players are angry due to the game's perceived lack of originality, unfair puzzles, and buggy chase sequences. The game's misleading presentation and poor execution, along with repeated failures and unclear mechanics, contribute to their frustration and anger.
- Nostalgia (weight 0.02): Players feel nostalgic due to the game's childhood memories evoked by in-game toys and facilities. The narration and visuals remind them of past experiences, such as 'The Stanley Parable' and visits to places like Kalahari.
- Excited (weight 0.01): Players are excited about the game's release and the anticipation for future episodes. The game's unique features, atmospheric horror, and the potential for more content contribute to their excitement.
- Frustrated (weight 0.01): Players are frustrated with the game's difficulty in chase sequences and input lag, which causes discomfort and poor user experience. The lack of game explanations and difficulty with jump mechanics and checkpoints add to their frustration.
- Fear (weight 0.01): Players experience fear due to the game's scary and terrifying chase scenes, bizarre scenes, and unknown figures following them. The game's atmosphere and the presence of monsters contribute to a sense of anxiety and fear.
- Anticipation (weight 0.01): Players anticipate future chapters and expect more psychological horror elements. They look forward to new content and improvements in the game.
- Disappointed (weight 0.01): Players are disappointed with the game's current state and puzzle design, which they find boring and poorly executed. Performance issues and an unsatisfying ending, along with a lack of accessibility options, contribute to their disappointment.
- Impressed (weight 0): Players are impressed by the game's end product, realistic graphics, and great atmosphere. The game's ability to deliver a high-quality experience exceeds their expectations.
- Happy (weight 0): Players are happy with their overall experience with the game so far, enjoying its graphics, music, and puzzles. They are pleased with the game's quality and affordability, as well as its interesting narration and community interaction.
- Boredom (weight 0): Players feel bored due to the game's repetitive puzzle design, which offers little exploration and variety. The lack of engaging content and repetitive gameplay contribute to their boredom.
- Pain (weight 0): Players experience pain due to the game's intense and punishing chase sequences, which can be physically and mentally taxing. The difficulty and stress of these sequences contribute to a painful experience.}