Broken Reality

quaint game with everything you'v probably dreamed of. even has cameos of Chronic the Kush Hog from hit game Chronic Adventures 2

I have flashbacks of exploring a beautiful nonsensical, extremely aesthetic world after playing this game, Its a vision that stays in my brain and calls me back. 10/10

A surreal adventure in a surreal, technologic, vaporwave world. The visuals and the music really are the best part of this game. The first world is truly my favorite for just what it does to immerse you in the world. I thought the other levels were interesting as well, but the beginning really was fantastic to explore around in. I really loved how they made that first level introduce all the items in the game. I went in blind and I was shocked how much content was after that level!

Though I did enjoy this game, I do have a few nitpicks with it. The last big level before the ending was tedious, and there was a softlock that I had to use a guide to get unstuck with just to clear it. I loved exploring around, but I didn't enjoy the platforming.

I thought exploring all the areas were fun and charming. For the sale price it is right now (about $2), I think you get a great amount of value out of it, and I am looking forward to the upcoming sequel.

Pretty cool game and am enjoying it at full screen 3440 x 1440 (See discussions on how to do that).
One thing I would like besides more video resolution options is to be able to use the scroll wheel to change abilities instead of having to use Q and E to cycle through them.
Game should also add invert mouse however I use a program outside of the game to do that.

Coming fresh off Finishing the game (as of typing this), I can say it was an experience! Going in pretty much Blind, I got most of everything done other than a few triangles (but I still met the requirement to access Innernet, the final stage. It's a fun little game to get if it's on sale, and a nice little adventure with some puzzles in it!

A pretty enjoyable walking sim. Definitely holds your attention up until the end. The final area was really tedious though.

It's a vaporwave walking simulator done well. I really don't mean that reductively. If you're into that... check this out.

holy shlt. The game was amazing, a great vaporwave adventure full of lovely exploration, but the ending? cant find words to explain how amazing it is. Absultely wonderful, must play for fans of exploration, early internet days and vaporwave

a game hasn't left me speechless in quite a while from its ending, heavily recommend

The first area of this game starts things off really strong- you start with off with access to a limited part of the map and slowly access more and more as you get new items. Great sense of progression and exploration with an aesthetic that feels unique despite being clearly inspired by vaporwave.

But as you go into the other areas, you don't really unlock anything radically different. The aesthetics become much less detailed than the starting area, opting to make every new area it's own "site" instead of a communal playground. Now that you can walk around these big areas mostly unobstructed, you quickly realize just how slow you move and how many things in this game require backtracking.

Definitely looking forward to the sequel as there's certainly a lot to capitalize on here, but that opportunity wasn't taken in this game.

Honestly, an amazing surreal puzzle game. Well put together, a good story. Really requires thinking. Remembering NOT to look up a walkthrough can be hard, but Every puzzle CAN be solved without one.

There's just not much of substance here. The trippy visuals unfortunately get old fast, and everything else is just... boring. There are a bunch of references that suggest familiarity with the era that inspired this aesthetic, my favourite being CRYSTAL BEPIS, but that's really just it. Walk around, see weird stuff, do some busywork that keeps you here for longer than you'd like to.

Like, okay. This aesthetic is unpleasant, and it's unpleasant on purpose. It's nice to look at once or twice, but the thing is, you're stuck here. You have to really soak in the scenery to progress. You can't just blaze (420) past it. And unfortunately, the design itself is rather clunky. Movement is slow, the level design is annoying, item usage feels wrong too for some reason. To be honest, this fits the general theme, but eh.

There's also a plot of sorts - but the game is too painful to play for me to care.

idk man more reviews or sth

I thought this game was neat at first, a simple love letter to old internet/retro aesthetic however the ending quickly altered any prior thought of that. This game is truly special. I felt something genuinely indescribable in the finale and I haven't felt quite so moved emotionally in quite some time. I can't wait to see what they do in the sequel.

Oozes vibe at every corner. An absolute masterpiece that easily has the potential for three walkthroughs.

Definitely a fun play. I will say there are bugs, especially when you open your tasklog, but whoa. Overall relaxed, the puzzles are fun (some more than others), and the characters are pretty silly. Very cool.

Le Vaporwave. Man, I wish there were more games with AESTHETICS.

If you are a fan of vaporwave or nostalgic for dial-up internet, this game is for you.

This game deserves so much more love I feel like. It's a super chill walking simulator type game where you go around collecting things doing puzzles and just immersing yourself in the world. Which I must say, the world and the music are definitely my favorite parts of an already phenomenal game. This is probably the only game where I've done all the puzzles and found all the secrets and I will still go back simply to just walk around in the environments. Please play this game lol

This game is really cool when it starts then completely wears out its welcome 1/2 - 2/3 of the way through with some frustrating jank and frustrating level design.
That first 1/2 - 2/3 is really neat with charming environments and characters though. The soundtrack is also nice.

Wishing for the best with the sequel.

- Surreal is the only way I know how to describe Broken Reality. There's nothing else out there that's quite like it. One of the most original things I've played. Recommended.

Runs under Proton on Linux.

Loved this when i played it, can't wait for broken reality 2000!

Loved the visuals and the gameplay is very good. Towards the end there's a sudden jump in difficulty that i found strange but it wasn't so bad that one couldn't get past it, it was just sort of jarring compared to the chill vibe of the early game. There are some bugs but I honestly find that sort of thing adds to this instead of taking away, tho there are lag issues I hope the devs migh fix in the future cus this game really shouldn't be so graphically intensive yet it maxed out my graphics card.

Overall I still think it's a really good experience so I highly recommend it.

A love letter to an age gone by. Old Chanboard enthusiasts will feel right at home in this Broken Reality that no longer exists. Legitimately one of my favorite games on Steam, and I wish I could wipe it from my memory just so I could experience it again.

It's a real shame this game didn't get more traction, because I find that it's a very unique experience and one worth having. Beneath its admittedly enticing vaporwave visage lies a creature with curious puzzles, playful characters, goofy writing, and a full, fleshed out story. It is an experience that, from beginning to end, is thoroughly enjoyable. There's not much else to say on it.

what the fuck was that

would play again/10

It's not a vaporwave game, it's THE vaporwave game!

It's like a spiritual successor to LSD Dream Emulator with an actual story mode.

It's one of the most stylized games you'll EVER play in your life!

The gameplay is a healthy blend of sightseeing, collecting things, platforming and occasional puzzles.

The only negatives I can say is that there are no achievements and the final level is convoluted and very unoptimized. Other than that everything else is P E R F E C T.

Glorified cyber-dmt walking sim...

Super trippy retro vibes! The game world was much bigger than what I expected.

Broken Reality leans heavily on the zany art style. Otherwise it's mostly about chill exploration, mini games, a little bit of timing/platform puzzles and simple fetch quests. It's basically an artistic point and click experience with fairly easy puzzles and a lot of secrets to find. The lore was not as deep or complex as, say Hypnospace Outlaw, but I found myself immersed in all the little details and nice soundscapes.

I also got the game during a sale, so it was a real bargain. The game took me nine hours to complete.

This game is EXACTLY what I've spent YEARS searching for! Aesthetic and audio design are on POINT! I can't WAIT for the next one!

I come back to this game every few months bc it's just so...pretty! i don't have to think too hard bc the puzzles are just right. easily one of my favorite gaming experiences to date.

Yes

reality... motherflipping broke n...

Okay memes aside, this game is actually pretty chill, pretty janky, pretty fun, and overall pretty great adventure game. Highly recommend if you pickup on the vibes. Check out the walk through by esteemed garlic if you get stuck.

If you enjoy exploring large digital spaces, this is a good choice. There's so much heart in it. Obviously you'll get more out of it if you're into vaporwave, that goes without saying, but there's a little more to it than that.

funy ok i like taking picktures in thes games

Trippy and surreal, Broken Reality is an atmospheric puzzle adventure with a vaporwave motif that takes you through vibrant mallscapes, island paradises and neon cities as you dive deep into the sauce to uncover the arcane mysteries of this strange cyberspace world.

Atmosphere is everything in this game. From the washed out and glitchy music drenched in fake nostalgia to the depressingly cheerful acceptance of late-stage capitalism, there's a pervasive aura of sadness and absurdity that absolutely nails the core tenets of what makes vaporwave work as an aesthetic. It manages to combine the fascination of surfing the web and the soul-crushing loneliness that amassing Likes can never fix, and it does so in such a deliciously detached, weirdly memetic, fake-paradise way that really struck me as brilliant. It won't be everyone's cup of tea, but if you've got a taste for the unusual, it's a damn fine cup of tea.

Highly recommended for fans of other absurd or surreal puzzle adventures like Jazzpunk and Soul Axiom. You don't have to be innately familiar with vaporwave to "get it", but it does hit the sauce pretty deep at times, and there's no shortage of in-jokes for fans of the genre. As walking sim puzzlers go, I found this one to be massively entertaining.

My only advice for those who are interested: if you ever get stuck and can't figure out what to do, TRY LOOKING UP!

Love this game. Was a fun surreal explore with depth. Can't wait for the sequel. Thanks for making this you guys.

Broken Reality is a pretty good game. Its strength is in the world that it creates—a parody of the early internet that highlights just how weird those times were. What I found most fun was wandering around, seeing the sights, talking to the crazy characters...no matter how odd they seemed, they really were all just trying to get by and have a good time.

On the other hand, I felt the platforming elements were a bit weak. Okay when they worked, but often it seemed you'd have to try over and over before you got it right. The puzzles were...okay. Not difficult as such, but designed to get you involved with the world. And, the ending was a bit of a letdown, because I ultimately couldn't tell you why reality was broken or what I did to fix it.

Overall, despite its flaws, I recommend Broken Reality, because it really is fun and it really is unlike anything else.

This is a very chill puzzle/exploration game with a very particular art style and feel. The game is filled with weird characters and tropes that really resonated with me. I'm not sure I completely understood the meaning in the end, but I really enjoyed it in general. Very atmospheric, and the low-poly point-filter low-res style is almost ingrained as a part of the game-play. It left a space for the imagination whilst still being very rich.

I'll recommend this to anyone who wants to challenge their idea of what a game is.

helllll of a lot of backtracking.

had an item clip into the ground in a way that disabled my ability to interact with it, softlocking me

neat environments at least

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This game is pretty cool, although what I'd describe as an utterly dissociative experience. I've only finished the first area but it's suddenly gotten creepy, although there was an oddly suspenseful vibe throughout so far. Delightful satire of many aspects of old (and modern) internet culture. I am no expert in vaporwave so I can't comment on that, but I enjoyed this. The only complaints I have are some of the puzzles require a lot of confusing back-tracking for which the map is not very helpful (since nothing in this game is labeled except some of the shops), and the controls are wonky (but that's partially my hatred of this Unity thing where the mouse controls the camera, since I'm not that dexterous with the mouse). Also, I wish you could change hte controls in the menu from WASD to arrow keys because I'm left-handed. Can't wait to see how this game ends!

My thumbs up for this is more of a tentative recommendation as only a select type of user would enjoy a game like this. First of all, this game is an Adventure game, and not a walking simulator as many reviews like to claim. Narrative is extremely deemphasized in favor of using the tools that the game gives you to interact with the environment and complete quests for NPCs. When I say 'quests' I really mean 'sidequests' as this game's progression is built entirely on earning Likes to become popular enough to progress to the next area. When the game briefly does touch on the main story it's cryptic and doesn't really wind up affecting much.

The gameplay itself is fun, though it would wear out its welcome were the game any longer. While most of it is recognizing which tool to use on which obstacle, the process of doing so is stimulating for a while. There's also a surprising amount of movement based challenges centering on the Hyperlink (basically a grappling hook) which up in complexity as the game goes on. It won't blow your socks off or anything, but it will keep you entertained as you continue through the game's world.

The real strength of Broken Reality is the atmosphere and music. As you can probably see from the screenshots this game oozes the low-fi vaporwave aesthetic, and it's absolutely drenched in early internet vibes and meme culture from the 2000s. Expect many, many dated jokes that will make you wither to dust if you actually get them. However, it does its job with that very ethereal and very relaxing mood that vaporwave eschews, at least until it briefly dips its toes into horror at the very end of the game. This would be a very good game to play while high. So, if that sounds like your thing, then give it a shot. However, if you're someone who requires action, or a sensible story at the very least, then stay away from this one. It will only frustrate you.

Heads up, this game does contain rapidly flashing colors in the ending sequence so be aware of that if you are photosensitive.

What's the Gameplay?

You play as a new user joining into NATEM, an alternate version of early 90's Internet filled with vaporware and chatroom tropes. Your goal is to explore the NATEM which can be done by ranking up in status and gaining as many likes as possible. If I had to simplify the gameplay, it would be "collect-a-thon"-focused as you need to collect likes and rank up in order to progress to new servers. These likes are accumulated through walking into "thumbs-up" emojis in the world, liking pop-up ads in each server, shopping items, taking pictures, and completing sidequests.

There is extra emphasis on player exploration since secret spots and paths exist in some areas that players can stumble upon by accident. Players are given tools to access new paths and solve puzzles standing in the player's way. Some of these include a Hyperlinker which allows you to grapple onto specific grapple points, a Bookmarker which allows you to teleport back to a marked location, and a Camera that may or may not let you see things hidden in the world. Expect to be walking around and exploring as much as you can for the majority of your playtime and the rest is spent on puzzles and sidequests.

How About the Aesthetics & Vibes?

If you couldn't tell from the store page, the game's style is based on vaporware, which can be described as the aesthetic for the online webscape in the 1990's to early 2000's. It is a cultural mix of Internet nostalgia, technicolor, retro 80's stuff, and a hint of psychedelics. The music is perhaps the best part of this style as you listen to vaporware music while exploring the NATEM.

Since the game is based on vaporware and the early Internet, it's not a surprise that nearly everything in the game is a nod to the old computer days. As I mentioned earlier, each area/server is like a chatroom where players and NPCs walk around and chatting each other up. There are pop-up ads and even malware appearing everywhere for you to interact with in the online world. The user interface, menu, and the toolbar feel deeply inspired by how Windows 3 looked.

What to Watch Out For?

A major nitpick I have is how annoying it is to quit the game. For the first part, I am irritated with how the Quit setup is with the Nah button being right in the center while the Yeah button is at the bottom right after selecting Quit. It is funny the first time, I will admit. The second part is how even the confirmation to Quit won't work and you'll be stuck on the prompt to Quit screen until you force-close the game.

Another major nitpick is the lack of a Sprint and Fast Travel system. I wasn't lying when I say that a majority of the time will be spent walking as you walk between servers and explore. A sprint feature would have made exploration much more bearable, especially true for some platforming sections. There is a lot of backtracking involved too to access areas and secrets you couldn't before unlocking some upgrades.

An issue of geniune concern is the risk of softlocking yourself. In one of the sections, you are required to gather at least 1 million credits to access an upgrade for your camera. One of the sidequests that gives you a decent sum of money to help with this can be softlocked. I could not finish it but luckily the game gives you enough leeway to get the money from other sidequests and hidden areas.

Recommended?

Of course I'd still recommend the game despite my complaints. The aesthetics, vibe, and exploration-focused gameplay outweight the cons that I found in my playthrough. I highly recommend it for the vaporware and retro vibes if you're into that, or if you're into adventure games that let you explore on your own for the most part.

i got to the ending segment and the credit card glitched on me so the ending sequence and cutscene was 40 minutes long , pretty good

Literally one of the most interesting walking simulators

It was a great delight to play this game; it provided me with a one-of-a-kind experience by combining vaporwave and retro internet culture into one of the most unique walking simulations available. Really pleasant and restful journey that I could continue. I wish developers all the best and will be looking for their future projects.

Industrial music made me trans 10/10

Very good and very nice and good

Beautiful visuals. Unique, relaxing worlds that are a trip to walk-through and experience. Worth it if it's on sale.. Come relax and get lost in some Waporwaves!

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