Primordia

The art is beautiful and the story is very detailed!

One of my favourite games in a long while

There’s a quiet, barren sensibility in the first half-hour I was convinced the rest of the game would commit to. So many pieces seemed so promising. Horatio is such a pleasant, pious departure from some of the zanier point and click protagonists yapping in my ear as of late. Ever-Faithful (kinda astonishingly voiced by someone on the programming team) speaks in wonderful, dizzying riddles that convinced me, for the first half-hour, that Primordia was gonna break the Wadjet Eye mold. It seemed poised to have something to say.

And then… we’re spirited away to shockingly generic Dystopiaville. And everyone speaks only in lore dumps. And the big bad is, in fact, very bad. And it becomes increasingly clear dialogue is first and foremost, utilitarian. And your reward for not screwing up the Gamma puzzle (which I incidentally screwed up) is… another lore dump.

And ok. Maybe I’m too hard on Wadjet Eye. But why this insistence on dry, unambitious genre fiction? Why is everything so utterly unquotable? Stalking Perusing reviews left by Wadjet Eye developers, I see a lot of fawning over games they would never attempt. Cloak and Dagger loved NORCO, Mark Yohalem wrote thousands of words about Disco Elysium. I’m not saying you have to make those games, but these are the games that have/will devour(ed) what remains of your humble point-and-clicks.

What do they have that Wadjet Eye doesn’t? Poetry, I think. Stories, however unexceptional, become immersive when you put yourself inside them. And games are really good at forcing you to see the protagonist as your surrogate. I think that lets you look past a lot of flaws in unexceptional stories. The exceptional experiences (in my experience) have been somber, indirect tellings that Wadjet Eye has neglected. Primordia is engulfed in this setting with beautiful potential, but it opts to tackle it head on, and it just doesn’t work.

I’m leaving a thumbs up because Mark appears to take the time to read every review, which is really cool, and also, Dreams of Green might be my favourite song from any game ever, wow is that ever a banger.

Cool story. Nice art. Neat puzzles. Great game. I was surprised. Thanks.

It's a nice point'n'click adventure game with all the usual upsides and downsides. So, keeping a walkthrough close in case of emergency is a good idea.

What stands out to me is its biomorphic but distinctly rusty visual style. I didn't get ENOUGH, I want more of this. Nevertheless, some puzzles are hurt by its low-fi artstyle resulting in me missing items needed for any progress.

Everything narative related feels lovingly made. For me personally, Ever-Faithful, despite his minor role in the story, was a standout with the way his design, environment, story and voice acting click together. Me giving such praises to minor character speaks volumes about local narrative design.

If you have fondness for games such as this - you will enjoy the experience.

I had this on my wishlist for quite some time. looking for a relaxing gane to play with my steam deck on the caoch on my evenings I tried this.

The scenery and artwork is great, dialogs are intriguing and fun, the characters are peculiar and memorable, the puzzles are engaging and doable when you put your mind to it. The story is not particularly original, but thats okay.

Just a great Game! I had a blast.

couldn't get into this game, feel like it didn't age very well (i tried playing it in 2023)
not my usual style of game i will say, so if you like point & click types you may enjoy this a lot more than i did
gave it a shot and wanted to like it but ultimately didn't

Could not get past the first level.

the magnum opus of indie game . knows what it could achieve and did it. not too much or too little. cool vibes and great narrative

Top notch everything for a point&click: story, nuanced characters, voice acting, mood, non-moon-logic puzzles, a perfect touch of humour and light-heartedness.

Also, a pleasant commentary track that nicely complements and explains many writing / art decisions. And go listen to Mark Y (writer) talking to Game Eng. Podcast: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rDeYDIZOGlw .

Great art style, interesting characters and world.

[table][th] Review by Gaming Masterpieces - The greatest games of all time on Steam.
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Is this game a masterpiece? Yes, but of course only for fans of the genre.

If you are just interested in point and click adventures go here: The Adventure Library

The story reminds me of today's reality. One member of the ruling council eliminates all the other council members (who are too weak to resist) to become king - and then ruins the whole city due to his incompetence.

Conclusion:
In addition to a good sci-fi story (and an annoying sidekick) it has also decent production values for an indie point and click adventure - good (but low-res) visuals, full speech, cutscenes and a number of different endings.

Hidden nugget of gold.

Writing is excellent, either the dialogues or the whole scenario.
Very good voiceover too, which I didn't expect. Every character, even secondary ones, are well played.
Puzzles are rather ok in difficulty, I found it interesting without being too hard. It's never far-fetched.

The soundtrack from Nathaniel Chambers accompanies the entire game perfectly.
The track "Memento" really nails its scene perfectly.


I'm quite stunned by this game I've never heard of until recently. 13 years later !
I didn't expect much. Instead I got a multimedia gold piece of science-fiction with a nice reflection on beliefs, identity and volition.

My only complain is that it's a bit short. 3 to 4 hours through, something like that.

9/10

awesome characters. so well written and the voice acting is on point too. i really dig the athmosphere.

A charming little game and a completely absorbing world. I played this game in 2015, and it's never left me, not for a single day. I think about the world created here, and Clarity and Charity Arbiterbuilt in particular. This is such a brilliant experience, and I'm so glad that it might see the screen in the future! It's the kind of game that not only has a singular, one-of-a-kind story and setting, but is also a game that makes you think about and re-contextualize other games/media you've consumed. Just a real treasure. Truly a modern day gem of point and click adventures!

I'm not usually one for these old school, point and click adventures, but the setting, atmosphere and story were fantastic. Definitely a hidden gem.

Awesome atmosphere and setting in this one. Top quality point & click adventure game!

Good adventure game. The plot and setting are interesting and there is a central mystery that is interesting to unravel and satisfying to reach the conclusion. The puzzles are logical - I did use a walkthrough for some bits, mainly just because I wanted to complete the game (my steam library is so biG!!). I'd say some of the puzzles are quite complex without a walkthrough BUT the game is well designed are there are multiple paths to complete those puzzles, plus plenty of hints from talking to your sidekick.

Overall it's a great game, it's well paced and doesn't overstay it's welcome. I think it's realistic to complete this in 4-6 hours. There are a few key points in the story that determine what endings are available to you - if you want to see all the endings this can be done in one run and then replaying the final scene, but you probably should read a walkthrough as there are a couple of critical but seemingly inocuous steps that if not done lock you out of multiple endings.

Loved it from A to Z, requires a bit of thinking per moments, actually a lot lol (that freakin code...).

The atmosphere is really unique, story is also very well written, for what it is I'd give it a 9/10

Absolutely amazing point and click adventure, great atmosphere and fantastic pixel art. Try strangeland as well its also very good. I hope they make more soon.

Why are you reading this? Go play the b'soding game!

I originally played the game in 2019, and decided to replay again. I loved this game then, and I appreciate it more now.

Primordia takes place in a post-apocalyptic world and as dark as Primordia is- it's a beautifully crafted game.
The art is fantastic, the writing is fantastic, the voice actors were great, and the music was was fantastic.
Honestly I really love Horatio and Crispin together, they make a great team.
I remember when I first played this game I wasn't expecting it to be what it was for me...an emotional roller coaster- but the characters were written so well it was hard to not get attached to Horatio and Crispin.
A lot of love and care went into these characters and it shows.

Wormwood studios did a fantastic job on this game.
I also love Wadjet and they work they do, and anyone who knows about their multiple endings for some of their games which is a great addition..... but Primordia has one of the best ending choices of all the games that actually left me feeling very content.
No matter what this game will always be one of the top games I recommend to P&C adventure gamers.

Last but not least- this game was in talks about it possibly being made into a TV show or movie. I haven't read anymore news on it since early 2024 but I hope something comes out of it....... because I really want to see this.

This game reminds me a lot of Nier Automata, but unlike Nier it successfully delves much deeper into its character and philosophy. The puzzles are also fun and logical, with built mechanics to push you towards the correct solution if you are stuck and they're very satisfying when you realize what you have to do. I've always been more of a visual novel enjoyer and I disklike how a lot of point and click adventures rely on moon logic, making them impossible to play through without a guide, but Primordia I was able to almost finish by myself. The pixel art is great, but it's a little hard to actually play with. There's no button to highlight what you can actually interact with, leading to a few moments where I got stuck because I didn't realize there were a few brown pixels on the ground I could interact with to get items that I only found about through guides. Overall Primordia was a fun time that left me wanting to see more of the world and characters.

If anyone has been sleeping on this like me (for 10+ years oh damn) - take the plunge. It's really good. brief. engaging concept. better written than most games.

Very cool setting, interesting story. I'm not sure why the robots needed to have genders though. Weird choice.

Very nice story and art style. If you like these old school point and clicks it may be worth a look. Of course there is some exhausting puzzling involved but the hints are mostly good.

The atmosphere in this game is absolutely unmatched. It makes you want to cozy up on a cold raining day and soak it in.

an amazing game, can't wait for the film

Point and click journey with apocalyptic story that will have you wanting more.

10/10

Cons - World is too good to leave it on one entry

One of my favorite games so far. Highly recommended and runs and looks great on the steam deck.

Primordia is a very decent Indie title.

The very First game by Wormwood Studios, with some help from veteran colleagues at Wadjet Eye Games, delivered a promising yet at some points primitive retro point & click game.

The story and writing are great. The voice acting, music and sound design were all stellar.
The art style is stellar, I'd say it is more Dieselpunk than Steampunk.

Now to the real meat of the game: Primordia has mostly logic based puzzles, unlike the common genre standards.
You best pay attention because information is not repeated. Sure some is written in your notebook, but not everything.
You might get stuck. (maybe critically important lines could be repeated, hear that dev?)
Thankfully the flying companion offers hints. Can be cheap, but helps with directions and unstucking you.
The game lacks some streamlined quality of life features of "newer" point & click games,
and instead heavily leans on retro immersiveness which can be observed from UI and settings.
No moon logic puzzles is always appreciated! (Never go full Sierra and Lucasarts, Never!)

The only negative that trumps above them all is the god damn "acrostic" haiku poem puzzle!!!
All the puzzles can be solved with logic. Great. We are playing as robots after all.
So why does the creative part of the brain need to be engaged in such a game?!
I love art, all aspects of it, EXCEPT poetry and "high" literature! (pretentious garbage)
I don't know the first thing about Japanese Haikus, but even if I did I wouldn't be able to solve the puzzle!
Why? Well because the Developers themselves admitted that they messed up with this particular puzzle, no clues or hints are given to solve it, no logic, luck or guessing in the world will solve it.
You know what the devs response was? "Sorry can't fix, go look up Wikipedia..." Update the damn game! slap a clue or even the answer right there in our face!! (The answer is "ART" btw. who would have guessed -.-)
[Memorious, oblique, redlien, ART, created, lies, escape. Oracle.] ffs what is this garbage design??? ???

Past that idiotic puzzle which soured the no-guide walkthrough for literally Everyone,
the game is still intriguing if not short. The world has potential: a short story ("Fallen" why not here on Steam for free) was written about it and a movie is being made as of now..


Curb your expectations, accept it as the Indie studio's first game released a decade ago.
You will get a serious story with charming characters in a atmospheric post-apocalyptic wasteland.
Lovely little game.

good

Loved this game. If you like gritty, dystopian, sci-fi story telling and old 90's point and click adventure games I think you should give this one a try. While you're at it also check out other Wadjet Eye games like Shardlight and Unavowed.

This game is incredible. The world is unique and mysterious, and I enjoyed unravelling its secrets the most. I'm also a total point & click noob and even so the puzzles weren't too tough. I did use a guide a few times and later to get all achievements though - some of them are pretty difficult to get on your own. Buy and play this, NOW.

A very nice and difficult adventure game.

Cozy, original, thoughtful, Primordia has tough puzzles that require you to think and be creative. On the other hand, there were some overly frustrating parts, where I "had" to go online and look for more clues. Finishing the game took some perseverance.

If you like not being led by the hand all along, as is common these days, appreciate the old skool pixelated look and could go for a generous helping original writing with a number of quirky characters, you absolutely should play Primordia.

A great atmospheric experience. The puzzles are clever and not too difficult.

All the classic Monkey Island -type tropes are here. The charming main duo, the pun-heavy, fourth-wall breaking dialogue, the brain-breaking lateral leaps, the occasional pixel hunt. The world building charm saves the whole experience (that and a hint guide).

Great Game. Really enjoyed playing it.

Fantastic. Has not aged a bit. Although a high res version might make this game more accessible to some. Reminds me of Beneath a Steal Sky in some ways. Thought for a second Crispin would take over MetroMind and rule the city.

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Point and click, Sci-fi settings, melancholy, desert wastelands and low-fi mad max vibes. It's al in there, play it.

I need a Crispin irl

very, very good game.

Buy it. Solve it. Love it. What a well progressed story over such a short time frame. And the dialogue is very organic to the situation and the characters.

A b'sodding good game even in 2024!

“Doesn’t anyone use a b’sodding *key* anymore?”
– Crispin Horatiobuilt, version 1.

At its *stolen* core, Primordia is a game about doors—locked doors. Many locked doors, none of which have a b’sodding key! This keyless existence drives both its UNIIC narrative (had to be done) and its occasionally convoluted puzzles, which had me trudging back and forth, scouring its pixilated environments for clues. While this can sometimes feel frustrating, it’s also an absolute joy to relax with.

Primordia’s engrossing characters stick with you long after the credits roll, but the game’s atmosphere is the real draw (pixel art pun!). Triple-A companies have spent millions chasing the magic Wormwood Studios achieves with just a few hundred thousand well-placed pixels. Even twelve years later, I still find myself returning to experience its strange and beautifully crafted, post-human world of key-substitution logic.

If you’re looking for a thought-provoking and often hilarious point-and-click adventure with no small amount of visual and narrative artistry, you’ve found it! Just keep a guide handy—some of those puzzles really are quite… puzzling.

Relaxing point and click with a good story.

Good visuals
Good story
Good voice acting

A great adventure game that's held up over the last 12 years, well worth your time.

Pros:

* Great voice acting, art direction and sound design
* Avoids adventure game logic with the puzzles, even if they're not immediately obvious the logic behind the solution makes sense
* It's impossible to die or get stuck and unable to progress, choices you make influence what endings are available.
* Good character and plot writing.
* The datapad automatically makes note of any codes or information needed for future puzzles or events

Cons:

* Sometimes it can be confusing where you're supposed to go next

Pixel adventure, It's good.
First time I played a game from this publisher was Gemini Rue, got it on GOG.
Now this one.
I'm definitely going to play more games from those guys.

*Edit*

"developer" -> "publisher", as a dev pointed out, they are not the same, still both devs are cool.

To finish the "DARK FUTURES BUNDLE" (although I split them between two platforms)
I also now need to finally play through,
Technobabylon on Steam and Shardlight on GOG, already got them, but not played yet.

I will check out the rest, Resonance, looks cool, thanks for the tip Mark.