80 Days Review Summary

Charming steampunk text adventure with great replayability and branching choices, but it demands strong English, gets repetitive from heavy reading, and has frustrating PC and Steam Deck controls.

Exceptional replayability: Reviewers overwhelmingly highlight the game's immense replay value, with many noting that it is almost endlessly replayable due to numerous routes and choices. The immediate desire to replay after finishing was frequently mentioned.

Fun and charming experience: Many describe the game as fun, charming, and enjoyable, often noting its relaxing and casual nature. It is seen as a pleasant way to pass time.

Branching paths and multiple endings: The game offers many branching storylines and multiple endings based on choices, which players find highly engaging and a major reason to replay. Each route can lead to different conclusions.

Relaxing and engaging: The game is described as relaxing yet engaging, making it suitable for casual play. It strikes a balance between being fun and unwinding.

Excellent writing: The writing quality is consistently praised as excellent, clever, and superb, contributing to an engaging narrative experience. Reviewers find the content well-written and creative.

High English proficiency required: The game is entirely in English with advanced and uncommon vocabulary, making it difficult for non-native speakers to understand and enjoy.

Excessive reading becomes repetitive: Players complain about the large amount of text that becomes repetitive and boring quickly, making it unsuitable for those who dislike reading.

Steam Deck controls frustrating: Players report that the game is frustrating and tedious to play on Steam Deck, often requiring a mouse and feeling unintuitive, contradicting its verified status.

PC UI poorly designed: The user interface feels like a mobile design and is not optimized for PC, leading to a frustrating experience.

No localization for other languages: The game lacks translation into other languages, including Chinese, which has been requested for years.

Text-based interactive fiction: The game is fundamentally a text-heavy interactive fiction experience with branching dialogue and a novel-like presentation. Reading is essential and cannot be skipped.

Choice-driven narrative: Gameplay revolves around making choices that shape the story, with branching narratives and consequences for player decisions. The game is structured as a choose-your-own-adventure experience.

Randomized events and replayability: Each playthrough features randomized encounters, items, and storylines, ensuring a different experience every time. Different seeds and routes lead to varied options.

Route planning and management: Players must plan efficient routes, balance travel speed, safety, and cost, and manage a travel budget. Strategic detours and adjustments are key mechanics.

Play as Passepartout: Players control Jean Passepartout, valet to Phileas Fogg, on a quest to circumnavigate the world in 80 days. The story is experienced from his perspective.

Runs well on various devices: The game runs smoothly on Steam Deck, phones, tablets, laptops, and in 4K on capable hardware. Low system requirements make it accessible.

Mac performance issues: Several reviewers report lag and low FPS on Macs, including high-end models. Even a 2014 MacBook Pro runs okay, but brand new Macs struggle.

Crash during conversation: One reviewer experienced a crash while talking to a fellow passenger. This appears to be an isolated incident.

Appeals to Jules Verne and steampunk fans: Fans of Jules Verne and the steampunk genre find it a must-play. Even non-fans of the book are encouraged to try it.

Worth buying on sale: Reviewers suggest waiting for a discount, though some consider full price fair. The game is seen as well worth the sale price.

Recommended for avid readers: Many reviewers recommend the game specifically to people who love reading. Conversely, it is not recommended for those who dislike reading or find heavy text tedious.

Highly recommended overall: A large number of reviewers give strong recommendations without reservations. Many say it is definitely worth playing.

Ideal for narrative exploration fans: Players who enjoy story-driven games with meaningful choices and consequences highly recommend it. The game is praised for its narrative-first experience.

Community fair range: $5.00 - $10.00.

Game completion: 3.0h.

Story completion: 3.0h.

Session length: 2.0h.

Endgame: 20.0h.

Players are often hooked by the writing and interactive-story loop, but enjoyment tends to fade as routes, events, and management become repetitive.

Friction: No tutorial or clear explanation of mechanics; Time-sensitive interface and timer pressure; Tedious resource, luggage, and money management; Slow start and uneven pacing; Repetitive dialogues or interruptions during travel; Poor or glitchy interface.

Literary Steampunk Reader: Reads closely, makes story choices, and explores character and route narratives rather than optimizing for speed. Motivation: To immerse themselves in a well-written branching adventure set in a Jules Verne-inspired steampunk world. Stance: buy.

Replay-Driven Route Completionist: Replays many times, varies routes and choices, and hunts achievements or endings. Motivation: To uncover every route, city, event, and achievement through repeated journeys. Stance: buy.

Time-and-Money Route Strategist: Plans routes, manages money and time, trades goods, and weighs risky travel choices. Motivation: To beat the 80-day challenge through efficient planning, trading, and risk management. Stance: sale.

Steam Deck: Steam Deck feedback is mixed. The game launches and can be enjoyed on Deck, and Proton use is reported to work with minor graphical glitches, but the Verified label is contradicted by reports of time-sensitive UI friction, awkward controls, and a need for a mouse. Some users find it impossible to play with Deck controls. No native Linux port and upscaled PC visuals add secondary friction. Overall, the experience is playable for some but not seamless.

Linux and Proton: The Linux evidence is limited but consistent: the game is playable through Proton and one user reports it works well aside from minor graphical glitches. Users also request a native Linux build, but no review shows launch failure, anti-cheat or DRM blocking, or heavy Proton workarounds. Steam Deck complaints focus on touch/mouse controls and usability rather than whether the game launches or performs on Linux, so they are not scored as Linux compatibility friction.

External guides: The feedback primarily concerns instructional and discovery-data gaps: obscure plot hooks, hidden mechanics, undocumented subplots, and heavy reliance on wikis or walkthroughs to complete or maximize storylines. A secondary issue is the need for external references to interpret city-only travel names and terminology. There is no evidence of farming or drop-rate needs, inventory or crafting planning, or map and bug complaints, so the strict hierarchy places the review set in Tier 3.

Steampunk Jules Verne adaptation: The game is consistently described as a steampunk reimagining of Jules Verne's Around the World in 80 Days, with many noting the Victorian steampunk setting and references to other Verne works.

Short playthrough length: Reviewers frequently mention that a single playthrough takes only a few hours, typically around 3 to 5 hours, making the game relatively short.

English language requirement: Many players note that the game is only available in English and requires a good command of the language to fully enjoy, with no localizations offered.

High replayability via branching: The game offers high replay value due to multiple branching routes, scenarios, and choices that encourage repeated playthroughs.

Text-heavy interactive fiction: The game is described as text-heavy interactive fiction, essentially a choose-your-own-adventure with a large amount of reading.