MEANDERS

Abandoned in a broken state.

Meanders is a pretty relaxing game about jumping from platform to platform and hitting things with a projectile.
It's a decent time waster, not amazing, but not bad either.
I recommend if you have nothing better to do with your life.
8/10

I don't know how I didn't review this years ago when I completed it, it's just a really chill first person platformer with some fun challenge that isn't too frustrating, I even played more than required for completion just because it's fun.

This game feels almost like an asset flip, quantity over quality at every step. The movement is janky, the visuals are simultaneously minimalist and overbaked, all of the individual elements are mediocre in their implementation and don't build anything past the sum of their parts. The level design is asinine, with "puzzles" more about figuring out where the objectives actually are than about any kind of creative problem-solving, and the obstacle course nature of the levels is more frustrating than fun with the slow, janky movement system. There is no flow, no sense of speed, and no tech or tricks worth doing.

Sure, the game is cheap, and with 40 levels and a bunch of game modes, it has the content necessary to justify its price, but even if I got this for free I would have felt like my time was wasted.

An utterly mediocre experience. Lots of frustration due to mindless backtracking within single levels: Get a ball at the bottom of the stage, climb up a structure to shoot a target with it, track down again to get the ball and go back up for another target. Or the same target if you missed the previous target lol, which happens very frequently. It's very hard to tell how far a target actually is. Movement is incredibly sloppy for a physics game.
Even without the frustration features™, the game would be passable at best. There's no innovation or excitement to be found here.

A fun puzzle parkour platformer that I enjoyed. What sets it apart from other games is that you have a voice following you along your journey and you can toggle it to be friendly, mean, useful or silent. I played through the game three times to get all of the achievements and had a good time. It's definitely worth its price.

This game, in its current state, just simply doesn't work. I'm sure the game itself is fun if you could actually play it, however, once the game is open for 2 minutes it crashes and there is nothing you can do about it. I have changed every single setting in the settings, changed install locations between my hard drive and ssd, and even attempted to look into the files of the game to find anything, and there are no solutions I can find which will stop this game from crashing. I doubt it will ever get changed either. Seems like the dev has completely isolated himself from the internet. His Twitter account is gone, and I attempted to send an email, only to get a error message back from Google saying it can't send the email because it no longer exists. Honestly really sucks because I'm sure this is a fun game that I could enjoy if it just simply worked, but in its current state, this is better off being totally removed from Steam than being in your library.

Meanders is a somewhat decent indie game. You platform around trying to shoot balls through hoops or balloons or whatever else the level decides, and then when you're done you move onto the next. Nothing special. At least on the surface, because after you complete the game, you get to add a rule. I'm not talking about stuff like an extra jump. I'm talking about porting the basic mechanics from a whole other game like Space Engineers or Serious Sam into this game and playing through the whole thing again like that. It is honestly insane to think that this game brought together other indie titles like never before and implemented them in a somewhat faithful way, with level design to facilitate it. For example, my first choice of added rules was No Meander's Sky, an obvious play on No Man's Sky in it's somewhat original form, so instead of holding a ball you get a gun with 5 shots, and instead of a double jump I got a jetpack.

I really don't have much more to say about this game than that, the mechanics are fine and the level design is adequate if simple. There's a fun little bit of personality to it where the text on the screen keeps putting you down for being slow. And the game does have a level select and a speedrun mode if you're into that sort of thing, but I'm really not. The music mixes between not really noticeable and kinda funky, but again it's nothing super special. There is one thing that bugs me, and that is that there seems to be absolutely zero movement tech in the game, which is a damn shame. In fact, it seems they purposefully limited the speed at which you can go, because any bounces that create speed is immediately capped by your jetpack. As I said before, the game itself is mediocre when you get down to it, but what it does with implementing other games' mechanics into it is really special, and I hope to see more games do the same in the future.

Unfortunately, it keeps crashing after a few minutes in, so it is unplayable for me

An utterly mediocre experience. Lots of frustration due to mindless backtracking within single levels: Get a ball at the bottom of the stage, climb up a structure to shoot a target with it, track down again to get the ball and go back up for another target. Or the same target if you missed the previous target lol, which happens very frequently. It's very hard to tell how far a target actually is. Movement is incredibly sloppy for a physics game.
Even without the frustration features™, the game would be passable at best. There's no innovation or excitement to be found here.

Honestly, seeing as how I found this game through Refunct, I figured it'd be pretty much the same game as that one. It is pretty similar to Refunct, but this one differs in quite a number of ways. First off, this game is much more challenging than Refunct. Refunct is a pretty relaxing game and so is this one, but due to how challenging some of the levels in this game are, it can get a bit frustrating.

In general, the point of this game is to accomplish a few basic goals before you're able to advance to each level's exit. All of these goals generally vary and they can get pretty difficult to accomplish as the game goes on.

At first, you're mainly supposed to pop balloons and other targets found in these levels, but eventually you also have to hit certain objects that allow the exit to open. That's generally the whole point of this game, but more obstacles and level designs come into play as you advance. At one point you have to deal with treadmills to launch yourself to certain areas of the level and you also have to use a cannon to blast yourself into other cannons or to platforms that lead to a level's exit.

In general, this game's controls aren't complex at all. Though they're fairly basic, your creativity/need to advance will force you to turn what was once basic into something more intricate than it initially was. For example, you can get up close and personal to pop balloons or you can angle it out from afar and pop them, even if you're clearly required to be elsewhere to accomplish this.

Another interesting aspect of this game is that it's clearly influenced by parkour-like maneuvering. As a result of this, you're able to completely skip through entire sections of levels, but it all depends on how skilled/creative you are. It's possible to get through this game without doing this, but it's nice to know that it's there.

Alongside all of what this game offers from the start, once you beat the game, you're able to unlock special abilities/levels that change what you've gotten used to. I chose to only unlock/play through one of these extra game modes and it really wasn't all that special. If you've played through the entire game, it's more of what you've already experienced. The main difference is that certain things are added/changed, such as being able to use a jet pack, block the use of double jumps, or unlock the ability to use a gun that offers more precision when it comes to popping balloons and other objects found within this game's levels. Chances are the gameplay will greatly differ as I unlock more of these extra modes, but I feel as if I already got to experience a great deal of what this game has to offer, so I don't feel as if it's really necessary to keep playing since I've beaten what can be considered the main levels.

Overall, I liked this game. I wouldn't consider it a must buy, but if it's available for a great price and you want a game that could be beaten within a few hours, buy it. If you enjoy first person view puzzle games that allow you to be creative, this game is for you.

A nice little platforming/parkour game, with decent replayability (different ability modes and a speedrunning option) and a nice set of optional achievements and collectibles. The game took me about two hours to complete, definitely worth its price. Also has a nice bit of customization on the side, with an option to change the accent color used on objects throughout the levels

First and foremost: I played this game with a controller, so please have it in mind. I'll try to switch to KB/mouse layout, since with the controller it's extremely frustrating at times, but I doubt this will fix the main issues.

1) I don't know why people refer to this game as a puzzle. I've played through 20 levels or so and there wasn't a single damn puzzle at all. Enter the level, hit the target with the ball to make a path, exit the level, repeat. That's all. That's everything this game has in terms of gameplay. No puzzles, no need to use logic, no specific mechanics aside from grabbing and throwing the ball and jumping (also you can jump through rings as an additional condition for opening the exit). I still do not understand the point of the game. Just walk from point A to point B while fighting with the controls? There is no challenge at all, no time limits, no way to test your skills (well, you can test them by trying to overcome all the issues with the movement/camera system). This is just a playground where you can run and jump.

2) OK, you can grab the ball and throw it at things. There are several things to throw at: crystals (it opens the path to the exit), colorful balls and balloons. Apparently, you can collect the last two for unknown purpose, since there is no score points for it or perks to unlock by collecting them. Also, you can't die here. Well, let's just collect them... but we can't. In this game it is absolutely impossible to measure a distance between yourself and a target. And it is even more impossible with the colorful balls, since for absolutely unknown reasons these are always the same size, no matter where you stand. Wat O_o? It's not an issue with the balloons, but these are moving. And you still have NO way to measure a distance between you and a balloon (or a force needed to throw). You couldn't even say whether you must aim higher or lower, was it an overthrow right now or not.

3) Also, there's a big issue with the camera itself. It's always in the first-person mode with no other options. OK, it's highly preferable for me to use third-person view, but I can deal with it. Or not? I tried to use different FOV angle for my game and I couldn't find the right value for me. The vertical angle is too limited and to see where you stand or fall you need to move the camera almost vertically, thus you need to move a camera a lot - I had to use almost maximum sensitivity for my controller to do it fast enough. There are weird object distortions near the edges of your FOV, so the real FOV angle for you is actually much smaller.

*there was some nagging about linking camera and movement, but...*

...after comparing movement here and in Portal/Portal 2 I think I figured out the real main problem for me. It's the ratio between the speed of movement and the speed of camera, which are completely out of sync no matter how you adjust the sensitivity. Probably it's because the movement is too "edgy" (not too fast, but "edgy" and you couldn't fix this in options). It's as if you have zero inertia and your body is sensitive to the weakest disturbances. So it's not much of a camera linking problem, but the physics issue.

4) Oh, and never, NEVER map the jump on A button (even if it is a default mapping for nearly all controller-oriented games) in a controller preset if your game use BOTH a lot of jumping and a lot of camera movement. People do not have two thumbs on the right hand to operate right stick and action buttons simultaneously.

5) The physics. I mentioned it already, but there's also the issue with bumpers/bouncers. For some reason you can bounce off them if you touch their surface from the side, but if you miss them even by a hair's width while falling from above, they will not react. Also, your "height" (the distance from the camera point to the "floor") is not consistent. When you "stand" to grab and throw ball, you "height" is adequate for a "man's figure", but when you glide and jump off bouncers it suddenly becomes almost zero. I couldn't figure really what am I, and it confuses me.

If I will find the KB/mouse controls for this game convenient, I will add it here, but right now it has the most irritating camera and controls I've ever seen in ages...

P.S. Oh, and I set the voice of God to "useful only", but in nearly 20 levels I hadn't hear a single line from it. God, where are you?

upd: So, after playing for nearly an hour with a KB/mouse I'll repeat the words I deleted above in p.3, but with fixes. This game is fully playable with a mouse, but almost unplayable with a controller. The free mouse camera control compensates almost completely for the "edginess" I mentioned above, and this type of camera/movement linking could be used with KB/mouse only. It's sad, but right now it's impossible to play with a controller without fixing the physical parameters for the movement and adjusting the camera for the controller.

I'll think about changing the review to positive, if the next levels provide me some really good entertainment. For now, it's still a "no". Valve, make a "neutral" option for the reviews already!

upd2: And this is the final update of this review. After it took me over 50 tries to just jump on the second layer on lv.33 I decided to forget about this game. This is extremely frustrating and not rewarding even in the least.

1) Still no puzzles even this deep in the game, it's just a weird playground where you can move and jump and you need to go from point A to point B to go to the next playground.

2) I finally learned how to hit bubbles and balloons - you need to be really close to them so you could actually understand your relative position.

3) I removed some more words from p.3 above, but now I need to put them back. The movement during long jumps off wall-based bouncers and usung barrels is extremely confusing and inconsistent.
- Why you will almost always lose the cube when hitting the water, but you'll never lose the ball unless you drop it? You can actually even SHOOT it against the water and it will bounce off it!
- Why hitting the jump button during ascending (if you are using the barrel) STOPS ascending and you are losing all the momentum from it? This is the weirdest jump behavior I've ever seen in physics-based games!
- The movement plane being always fixed in XY plane with fixed "edgy" coefficients makes it almost impossible for me to use vertical jumps and barrel shoots. It's the same movement problem I have with the controller (but because of the bad camera positioning via gamepad I had it all the time). Also, I still can't understand how hitting/holding the W button affects your horizontal speed in the direction of movement during long flights.
- Regarding that - you could jump from the same wall-based bouncer all over the field first try like a damn rocket and fall like a stone the second try hitting exactly the same buttons at the same time. The speed and vertical momentum from the bouncing is absolutely inconsistent (or it's really too edgy and you must have superb reflexes for this to be consistent). I couldn't believe I completed the Ginso tree run clearly in the Ori and the Blind Forest and I couldn't jump off the wall properly here.

4) I still do not get the main point of the game. And I didn't get any rewards from gameplay aside from Steam achievements I don't really care about unless it's a really good game for me. And this is not. So, it's a "no" from me.

-----

If you are interested in other games I'm playing, check my Curator page. Maybe there will be something good for you.

This parkour game controls incredibly well on an XInput controller (Xbox 360 or Xbox One controller)! Ran 60FPS on max settings on my GeForce GTX 1050. Do not recommend for budget graphics cards though for this Unreal Engine 4 game. Getting the optional collectables can be a timing and trajectory challenge.

One thing that could use improvement is telegraphing that you can charge shots for throwing the ball. I was getting frustrated around the 10th level in. I accidentally discovered charging up shots.

Great game overall!

3D abstract puzzle platformer, the goal is to reach the goal ;-) You get there by jumping! Ok, you also have to grab the balls and throw at things them to essentially open up the path to the goal. And hit a few balloons and bubbles and find hidden areas for bonus points / 100% level completion for the extra challenge. No time limits.[edit] Might be more time-limity in later levels since there is platforms that drop after you've been on them for a while.

First 10 levels (out of 50) are easy enough, that's all I've played so far.

There is speed-running and alternative game modes too..
https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=1540451575

Looks pretty, controls are ok and they are reconfigurable[correction]. Game is reasonably fun.
Now has cards and achievements and is worth the full asking price (£2 here now).

On a discount, definitely. Full price (only $3)... I guess still okay.

It's like a more advanced version of Refunct.

It's an entertaining few hours you'll spend on this to do all the puzzles and pop all the balloons. Just turn off the music ;)

The good:
+ Gameplay is smooth.
+ Visuals are simple but nice.
+ Puzzles aren't super hard, but still somewhat satisfying.
+ Sound design is mostly solid.
+ Load/reset times nonexistent.

The bad:
- Reset times for the ball are sometimes very long.
- The music is... not fitting in my opinion. More ambient/calmer music would have been nicer.

Edit: 5.4 hours (according to Steam), and I have all achievements. It's fine for $1.5.

I bought this game, having this idea in my mind that it would be some kind of parkouring game just with a different style.. Something like Refunct. It appears now that i stand corrected to some extent with the former idea, yet i believe i was correct in regards to the latter (It indeed has its own, unique style).

The game is about jumping & parkouring at times but that's not all this game is about, not at all.. It is also about solving puzzles.. Something that will be seen clearly in later stages. It counts heavily on aiming at different stages of the game as well. The game does somewhat a good job on these elements by mixing them up for some challenging and fun levels... It lives to the expectations is the least to say.

It can provide you with at least 5 hours of fun if you're into it. And for its cheap price, it shouldn't be missed by those who wished at some point if there is an aim-and-shoot mod for Refunct or any similar parkour game.

Meanders is one of those shiny little jumping puzzle games, along the lines of Refunct which I played before. The difference is that while Refunct took about an hour, Meanders took several and actually put up a fight AND I didn't even successfully 100% it because it's too big.

In Meanders you grab a neon-colored ball and hop through levels made up of simple platforms rising out of an endless ocean. Bouncing the ball off various items either collects them or opens up new sections of the level for you to jump to. There's about 40 levels, several of which are optional on a playthrough. (There's route forks.)

Meanders starts off really relaxing, but eventually gets -pretty darn hard- in a 3D platforming sort of way, particularly if you try to collect all of the balloons and bubbles. There're also unlockable "Dry Souls" (you die if you touch water) and "One Shot, One Hit" (any ball you throw MUST pop a bubble, hit a balloon or trigger a crystal or you lose) modes and while I was amused by the toggles for those in the menu at first...

If I were trying to PLAY like that, this game would be a recipe for a salt-crusted rage-quit roast. As it is, it's fun but don't stress out too hard over what you're missing.

Still, it was fun and cheap and there's a menu toggle to turn on Dragons. Any game is better when you can open the menu and add extra dragons to it.

MEANDERS is a 3D platformer with very light puzzle elements. It also features collectibles in each level in the form of floating bubbles and balloons. The fun of the game comes from platforming around with the various movement options they give you. You unlock more movement based abilities each time you beat the game, making it even more fun on subsequent playthroughs. A steal for the price, the game feels polished and the movement tight. Definitely recommended.

"KOBE!!!!" With Crystals

MEANDERS is a colorful, abstract, relaxed-paced First Person Platforming game. MEANDERS may best be thought of as a bouncy "trampoline room" with various switches, floating gems, and rings with which to "KOBE!!!!" from a distance with the game's main mechanic of throwing a red gem toward things scattered throughout the levels.

This all looks pretty crisp and contains various "real life" effects which really add to the immersion of the game, which I feared would be lacking when first seeing its very minimalistic trailer. Air rushing by you as you fall from great heights, a "slippery ice" sound effect as you drift along certain surfaces, and water reflecting the entire arena / level from below add to its overall sleek design.

MEANDERS is a great game for its price (I got it on sale for a third of what it's asking..) if you are into first person platforming games with visual styles akin to Portal or Mirror's Edge (sparse / sterile white with vibrant splashes of color.) The text hovering over the exits blandly and disaparately are the only major eyesore. I quickly turned off the game's annoyingly-ubiquitous overseer text (and crosshair) and think the game looks and plays much better without the at-times overdone/cluttered-feeling comedic text of the guiding overseer splayed throughout the levels, though the option of choosing either an encouraging or condesending tone was funny to see.

MEANDERS features various elements which break up the platforming including a double-jump, shooting yourself out of cannons toward greater heights, teleporters, jump pads, and a variety of other effects which make you change your approach to the large, open levels.

MEANDERS also includes a set of optional mods which alter its base gameplay, including a gun and jetpack you can turn on, the gun containing 6 shots of the red gems rather than the base 1, and the jetpack affecting the pace of the main jumping mechanic. (There are several other of these "mods" to collect, however I have yet to unlock any...)

I was afraid this game would be too simplistic or bland to really get into, but I've been pleasantly surprised with its depth and quality and think if you're into these kind of first person platforming / jumping / abstract kind of games you will enjoy what's offered here as well.

MEANDERS is a short (1-1.5 hours long) 3D platformer that invoves double jumps, cannons, hoops, and throwables. The controls feel smooth, the graphics although simple feel fun and popping and the gameplay is just fun. Although this game isn't anything revolutionary I'd definitely suggest it.

A bizarre but simple puzzle game about reaching exit by throwing balls at targets or crystals, you can also optionally throw them at ballons or floating glass things. You can also vastly change the art style with modifiers, and if you're creative you can merge multiple for even more options.

It's neato

This is a flat out AWESOME GAME!!!

When I first started the game, I thought it was just gonna be another platformer game, but after playing for about a half an hour, I was MIND BLOWN by how amazing everything was, from sloving all the puzzles to figuring out how to reach the highest platforms. And for it's price (which I bought at $3.49) it is TOTALLY worth buying. I highly recommend this game to anyone that just wants to find a new, fun, and challenging game to play!