Exographer Reviews

Short but fun puzzle platformer about figuring out what happened to an alien crew. The goal for each level is to take pictures and solve puzzles to uncover a particular particle collision, which get more complex as it goes on. You also get a few powerups that are themed around the particles you're solving for, and are more distinct than typical metroidvania upgrades. I found the particle puzzles a little simplistic and disjointed from the rest of the gameplay, but the elementary particle theming and references to famous physicists was neat. Recommended for people looking for something distinct.

Decent chill game: puzzles were interesting and did not overstate their welcome, music was good and so was the art. Controls for the glove could be better on dualsense controller (maybe on every other input device too): sometimes game records full action with one press and other times it requires a second one to finalize; making it so that you aim the glove at the movement direction made it a little annoying to use sometimes, but I'm not sure if it is fixable and not too big of a deal.

A neat idea, but unfortunately suffers from stiff and uninteresting puzzles. Wish it focused more on the exploration and metroidvania aspects, as those have some cool ideas. Maybe it gets better later on, I called it a day after the first few environments, so grain of salt and all that. With how packed the genre is I'm not sure it's worth it unless you really vibe with the puzzles as a unique feature. Not recommended.

Exographer is a fascinating, chill, combat-less Metroidvania. It primarily focuses around puzzles and some light platforming, with one of the central mechanics being analyzing particle interactions based on real physics. Pros: + Excellent atmosphere with a low-stakes but slow-dripped story + Interesting puzzle mechanics + Real science + Unique mobility upgrades and platforming mechanics give the game a distinctive feel Cons: - It took me under 10h to 100% it, which is on the lower side for a $20 game. - No combat may be a turnoff for players who expect that from their MVs. Overall, I'd recommend this game to players who like combat-less Metroidvanias like Sheepo, Animal Well, Yoku's Island Express, or Unbound: Worlds Apart, as well as for players who are looking for a more chill experience to unwind between high-stress combat MVs.

I'm pretty torn over this game. The sci-fi elements were wonderful, the puzzles creative and the story was rich. However, I feel like I still don't really understand what happened, and the large cast of characters who I know only through diary entries became very confusing after a while.