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Parallax

Parallax is a first-person puzzle game with two overlapping worlds. Weave back and forth between black and white as you try to be in the right place, in the right dimension, at the right time. Use switches, boosters and gravity to help you reach the exit. Can you conquer every mind-bending level?

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Very Positive

156 Steam reviews

Review History

Reviews

156 total

≥h

Steam User 4297STEAMNot recommended

Its a mind bending puzzler that will work for some, but I am not among them.

Oct 8, 2024·1h·2·Verified

Steam User 6829STEAMRecommended

Очень стильный, не очень большой пазлер с иногда довольно запутанными уровнями. Несколько резковатая кривая сложности и на середине игры пазлы становятся сильно запутанней и не всегда понятно что какие рубильники делают. Очень интересная сюрриалистичная атмосфера, но после задействования гравитации в пазлах иногда становится очень тяжело сориентироваться. Тем не менее игра, зачастую, не скатывается в рандомную долбёжку всех возможных рычагов. Некоторые шероховатости точно компенсирует необычный графический дизайн. Если вам нравится визуал у этой игры и вы любите пазлы, то точно стоит попробовать в это поиграть.

Jul 24, 2024·3h·Verified

Steam User 4037STEAMRecommended

An excellent fun puzzle game. The minimalistic two color style fits perfectly with the game. The game was not too easy and not too hard. I was entertained until the end.

Jun 2, 2024·7h·Verified

Steam User 7229STEAMRecommended

made me see only in white and black

Jan 28, 2024·9h

Steam User 5682STEAMRecommended

Parallax jest bardzo wymagającą grą logiczną dla cierpliwych osób lubiących wyzwania. W grze przechodzimy między dwoma połączonymi ze sobą światami, aby za pomocą przełączników finalnie znaleźć się w docelowym wskazanym miejscu. Gra składa się z 4 rozdziałów po 8 poziomów, co w teorii przekłada się na krótką grę, jednak poziom trudności bardzo szybko wzrasta a z nim długość samej gry. Każdy z poziomów można dodatkowo ukończyć w minimalnej ilości akcji, co sprawiło, że właściwie często musiałem nauczyć się danego poziomu na pamięć, aby ukończyć go perfekcyjnie. Jedyny problem, jaki mam z tą grą, to to, że wraz ze wzrostem trudności łamigłówek wzrasta również ich nieczytelność, przez co poziomy stały się dla mnie frustrujące. Najbardziej odczułem to w ostatnim rozdziale, który właściwie zepsuł mi całą przyjemność z gry, ponieważ trudno było zrozumieć, za co każdy przełącznik odpowiada oraz gdzie znajdują się wszystkie portale czy też ruchome platformy. Grę polecam jedynie osobom, które lubią gry logiczne, w których ma się wrażenie, że rozwiązania nie ma, bo tak naprawdę jest to gra skierowana jedynie do osób o stalowych nerwach i potrafiących spędzić nad jednym poziomem pół, a być może nawet z godzinę czasu.

Jul 8, 2023·6h

Steam User 0923STEAMRecommended

It is very much the vibe from Portal 1... puzzles that need to be sorted out, and if you can think with portals, you'll do fine at this! :)

Jan 24, 2023·1h

Steam User 7124STEAMRecommended

It's been 7 years since I first played this game and it still ♥♥♥♥♥ with my head.
It's good.

Jan 3, 2023·2h·Verified

Steam User 3602STEAMNot recommended

The puzzles don't really click and aren't fun to think about. The complete lack of narrative is awkward. The game looks nice, but all in all it's mediocre.

Oct 14, 2022·6h

Steam User 8653STEAMRecommended

super

Aug 27, 2022·1h

Steam User 3275STEAMRecommended

Ogólnie grę polecam jak komuś się nudzi. Bardzo fajnie zrobione poziomy jak i sama gra.

Jun 22, 2022·1h

Steam User 6389STEAMRecommended

Nice, little puzzle game. Two worlds, black and white, that are quite different yet intrinsically connected to one another. One must travel in-between those two in order to solve the puzzles.

Jun 18, 2022·6h·Verified

Steam User 7916STEAMNot recommended

There are some good puzzles in this game and the mechanics are relatively simple. There's that sort of desire to go to the next level and I've got to the end of the second set of levels, they don't seem like the maps get huge, it's all very manageable. That can't rescue this game though.

First of all, it's not nearly as fun as some other, cheaper games out there. These game types are pretty common and this isn't a great one. Kind of a bit meh.

Second, there are some truly wonky parts to this. There's no need for the falling off the map mechanic most of the time. There's also no need for bits of the map that effectively push you off. It's all a bit annoying, a bit more irritating than it is challenging.

Most of the levels aren't as challenging as they should be. You can pretty much plan it out.

I'm about halfway through. I wanted to like this game, but I would not buy this.

Apr 11, 2022·6h·Verified

Steam User 8215STEAMNot recommended

witness할때도 안나던 멀미가..

Apr 11, 2022·1h·1·Verified

Steam User 3585STEAMRecommended

the weird noise you hear while playing this might be the sound of your brain cracking.

Mar 10, 2022·3h·Verified

Steam User 2838STEAMRecommended

An interesting take on the first-person puzzle platformer genre. Great puzzle design. Very satisfying how complex the puzzles can be with only a few simple mechanics. Good difficulty escalation.

Dec 3, 2021·11h·Verified

Steam User 1357STEAMRecommended

Jak ktoś potrafi myśleć to polecam (grajcie na trybie wódki)

Nov 21, 2021·5h

Steam User 8955STEAMRecommended

Do you have vertigo? do you like puzzles? do you like feeling ill while solving puzzles? Boy do I have the game for you? Yeah, the concept of the game is cool, but the puzzles area bit on the complicated, not complex side, and the environment is not something people with vertigo can apreciate. if you like puzzles and don't have a fear of falling from tall places... give it a try.

Aug 22, 2021·Verified

Steam User 7512STEAMNot recommended

E' un buon gioco, uno dei tanti che ha enormi debiti con Portal (ci si muove attraverso portali fissi da monto bianco a mondo nero), ma tenuto conto che di solito adoro i platform a rompicapo di questo genere, Parallax non mi ha proprio entusiasmato. E' fluido, abbastanza intuitivo, ma l'ho abbandonato presto e non mi è mai venuta voglia di rigiocarci.
Le meccaniche di gioco sono solide, ma è... come dire, senz'anima.

La grafica in bianco e nero, senza sfumature o effetti di alcun tipo alla lunga m'è venuta a noia.

Jun 19, 2021·1h·Verified

Steam User 8022STEAMNot recommended

To my dismay and ruined expectations, the game plays nothing like Portal or Antichamber (or QUBE, or any other visually minimalist rat mazes with spatial puzzles for slightly evolved apes).
It's a good looking, albeit, increasingly repetitive, puzzles-wise, 'speedrunner fodder' that immediately sends you mixed messages between the goals it sets (finish the level w/ no death + time record beating) with its calming (also uninspiringly generic) bleep-bloop ambient soundscape.

If you enjoy doing the same thing over and over + shaving off milliseconds off your final score in anything outside of racing games - give this game a go.
Unfortunately, I can not recommend it to anyone interested in methodical exploration of unorthodoxly spaced out worlds and, particularly, extending their "Antichamber / Portal / QUBE / Superliminal" and, to a lesser extent, "Manifold Garden" and "Catacombs of Solaris" experience (instead you can try any of the mentioned games, if you haven't yet played them)

May 9, 2021·2

Steam User 6027STEAMRecommended

Great FPP and this is one that should be brought up to date for VR.

Feb 24, 2021·1h·Verified

Steam User 2148STEAMRecommended

A fun puzzle game where we have to figure out how to reach the current level exit by rotating platforms, portals and lasers while defying gravity and travelling back and forth between 2 opposite worlds. Pretty well done.

Jan 3, 2021·6h·2·Verified

Steam User 0454STEAMRecommended

Good puzzle game

Nov 9, 2020·10h·1·Verified

Steam User 2761STEAMRecommended

antichamber vibes.

click on a drop in the menu

Nov 6, 2020·7h·Verified

Steam User 3579STEAMRecommended

This is one of the coolest and most unique puzzle games i've ever played. Great mechanics, great difficulty curve, pretty nice soundtrack, and a neat visual style. 5 bucks is a perfect price I think.

Oct 13, 2020·2h·1·Verified

Steam User 6396STEAMNot recommended

Отличный концепт, но максимально быстро наскучило, и захотелось забросить.

В первую очередь из-за ядовитого визуального стиля.

Oct 1, 2020·1·Verified

Steam User 0384STEAMRecommended

Неплохо, но можно и лучше.

Sep 2, 2020·5h·Verified

Steam User 5607STEAMRecommended

dual colored schemes cool ngl

Aug 31, 2020·97h·Verified

Steam User 0973STEAMNot recommended

Game looks very cool, but it's not a very good puzzle game.

The puzzles are simultaneously simple, while also very long and complicated.

Basically imagine a simple 2d line maze, but with a lot of teleporters and switches. That is effectively what this entire game is, just in a slick 3d presentation.

There are never any "aha" moments. It's just a series of fancy mazes.

Aug 2, 2020·1h·5·Verified

Steam User 5081STEAMRecommended

It's a puzzle game with portals that allow you to traverse interdimensionally between two similar, yet different, dimensions. There doesn't appear to be any resemblance of plot or story. There are 4 chapters, with 8 levels each. I must admit some of the levels were very confusing, and I had to look at a guide to solve them.

Jul 31, 2020·18h·Verified

Steam User 0188STEAMRecommended

m.c. escher's personal spin on portal, with a bit of selective euclidean spice thrown in to make it its own game.

while the comparisons to antichamber are obvious, parallax's development in fact started in 2008, though it wasn't released for a while as it was only a school project. so that's more of a simultaneous development sort of thing, like calculus. (citation: personal interview with developer)

a must play for anyone that's into the portal-like genre.

length is a few hours, soundtrack is decent, and there's a healthy amount of content.

there's not really a story, but it does a good job of gradually introducing content until you get a mind-bending four-dimensional sludge of trippy puzzle solving. (i mean this as a good thing.)
one downside: most of the puzzles seem to have a linear solution and there isn't much room for thinking outside the box.

a parallax 2 with a larger scope and a greater emphasis on storytelling and scenic variety, portal 2 style, would be absolutely badass, and i hope to see one sometime. as it is, parallax isn't forgettable but is still basking in potential.

Jul 13, 2020·8h·Verified

Steam User 2903STEAMRecommended

GRA INNA NIZ WSZYSTKIE JEST TO GRA W KTOREJ ROZWIJAMY UMYSL LOGICZNIE POLECAM C:

Jul 7, 2020·2h

Steam User 7089STEAMNot recommended

Not interess, bored game 2d graphic etc.

Jun 7, 2020

Steam User 1270STEAMNot recommended

Gra niesamowicie psychodeliczna. Ma w sobie cos z portala (portale). Przyprawia o nudnosci i bole glowy. Nie polecam grac pod wplywem wiecej niz 1 uzywki w danym momencie

Apr 18, 2020·152h

Steam User 3326STEAMRecommended

Fantastic Portal-esque puzzle game. More than worth the entry price.

Mar 14, 2020·2h·Verified

Steam User 6891STEAMRecommended

Good way to explode your brain at the final chapters :o ! I admit it is more difficult than Portal games ^^. Congratulate for developpers :)

Dec 11, 2019·8h

Steam User 2979STEAMNot recommended

This looks gorgeous, very much like Antichamber, but it's sadly a pale, dull comparison

I hate to say it, it's very polished looking (and I didn't get very far, maybe it switches it up later on) but the gameplay thus far is extremely dull. The puzzles are uninspiring and the plodding pace you travel at makes it feel immediately like a chore to continue

I love games like this, but I don't love this.

Nov 30, 2019·2·Verified

Steam User 5003STEAMRecommended

I loved this game - and I rarely play video games. It stimulated my imagination. Was in no way a waste of time! Inspired me in completely unrelated areas. I got to the last few levels and then it didn't work in my ancient Mac OS 10.6 - that's the only reason I stopped! Wish more games were this insanely creative. I really like games that could only be conceived of and exist in this medium, nowhere else!

Oct 29, 2019·33h·Verified

Steam User 9730STEAMNot recommended

Quoique très bien pensé, « Parallax » est un puzzle-game aride et mécanique à ne pas mettre entre toutes les mains. Réparti en une succession de tableaux - 32 au total - son core-gameplay est basé sur la manipulation indirecte de portails donnant vers une dimension alternative agencée différemment de telle sorte que la résolution des énigmes spatiales proposées de part et d'autres de ceux-ci ouvre un passage vers la sortie. Le concept est simple mais la conception assez poussée. Pas de pot pour les développeurs de ToastyGames, le résultat final ne rend pas vraiment honneur à leur ingéniosité... Faute d'à côté et d'une atmosphère suffisamment travaillée, force est de constater qu'on s'enquiquine assez vite sur « Parallax ». Ceci dit, même si le jeu de base n'est pas très difficile, le véritable challenge réside dans l'obtention des fameuses 3 étoiles pour chaque niveau. Les moins motivés se contenteront de finir le jeu rapidement et de passer à autre chose.

Points positifs :
- Ingénieusement designé
- Bon challenge pour avoir 3 étoiles sur chaque niveau

Points négatifs :
- Visuellement fade
- Beaucoup trop court
- Rien à côté

Oct 24, 2019·5h·1·Verified

Steam User 3870STEAMRecommended

If you loved portal and / or antichamber, you should definitely give this game a try because it takes both concepts and gives them an...[i]unique perspective[/i]

Sorry not sorry.

But really, it's a very interesting game that should get more attention than it did. There were a couple of puzzles that may give you some frustration, even I was able to figure it out with some trial and error. Not sure if this would be great for speedrunners since there are levels that are time locked and I don't know how the RNG works.

That aside, this is short and will have you trying to get to the end in as few moves as possible without the stress of running out of time. Music is calming as well which adds to the monotone atmosphere which lessens the pain of falling off the edge you weren't paying attention to.

Oct 21, 2019·7h·Verified

Steam User 8618STEAMRecommended

Quite similar to Antichamber in tone (if you know that game).
Well worth it if you love puzzle games.

Jun 29, 2019·4h·1·Verified

Steam User 7934STEAMNot recommended

Great if you don't like your eyes.

Jun 19, 2019·Verified

Steam User 0603STEAMRecommended

Cool concept and cool execution, even though I probably spent most of my time clicking random buttons until I completed the level.

May 24, 2019·3h·Verified

Steam User 4896STEAMRecommended

Дорогой разработчик, ваша игра мне очень понравилась, красивая чёрно-белая графика, лёгкое управление, встроенные цветовые схемы, интересные уровни и захватывающий геимплей. Правда есть некоторые баги и у меня случился такой, что у пройденных уровней оценка была галкой, а я их проходил на звезду. Всё же вы их постараетесь исправить. У меня есть предложение: можно разработать саундтрек для этой игры. В общем, я рекомендую эту игру всем приобретателям компании "Toasty Games".

May 18, 2019·4h·Verified

Steam User 3569STEAMRecommended

I bought this game (like many other 3rd person puzzlers) and expected nothing... after 7 hours i finished it and I can say that this game is much better then most of its popular brothers and sisters. The puzzles start from easy and slowly introduces new mechanics and by the end I found myself disoriented in last 4 puzzles so there are some very challenging puzzles.Black and white colors add to the scence of disorientation and fit perfectly,the same could be said about music.The only downside is that you will probably want more levels :) . I really cant find nothing negative to say about this one.GREAT game and a MUST buy!

Apr 15, 2019·7h·2·Verified

Steam User 9334STEAMRecommended

Much like many other good-to-great puzzle games, Parallax presents a gameplay concept, then develops it, iterates upon it and complicate it until you reach the end point. As such, Parallax is also not a complicated game, with no story, no drama, no mind blowing stuff. What it is, however, is neat, tight, clever and well developed. If you want a TLDR, that would be it: it's a good game, nothing more, nothing less. But there are a couple of things I think is worth pointing out about the game that makes it actually stick out from the crowd a little bit, so I'm going to keep going for a bit.

One thing that truly sticks out with Parallax is the aesthetics. Now, black/white is not an unusual choice for an indie game, but the way that Parallax uses it is pretty special. Now, I'm not a designer, so I'm not sure how much goes into this, but in simple terms: the way that contrasts are used makes the game's environments very easy to grasp. I think it comes down to the background and how it's always the opposite to the primary colour of the objects, it just makes both extremes very easy to differentiate. On top of this, every interactive element has an extremely clear shape, which is important because they are sometimes flipped. My favorite example is how the boosters (that shoot you forward) always ramp upwards and has the shape of an arrow, meaning that it's very clear what it is even when it's upside down. The clarity of design is what I'm trying to convey here, and what makes it important is that you can imagine the solution without trial and error. In that way, it's very reminiscent of Portal 1.

Furthermore, the aesthetic has a fun little quirk that I think adds to the clarity. Unless I'm mistaken, the game actually smudges objects that you're not looking at a bit. It's not dramatic and I'm not completely sure whether it's just the edges of your screen or not, but unless I'm crazy, it's there. This creates a "focus effect" that I think makes it easier to handle all the information on screen and, more to the point, discern the different steps that you need to take one by one. It also makes the focused areas look more sharp. I think it's a nice touch, especially since it's not very noticable (given the stark white and black of the background).

Another thing I noticed is how the game teaches you things. Certain puzzle games simply put you in a room with a bunch of toys and expect you to find a solution, sometimes (or often, depending) through trial and error. Parallax, in contrast, often starts out by only having one possible first step, which makes the puzzles way less overwhelming. Odds are, when you take that first step, you start seeing the rest of them quickly thereafter. Only in the later levels, when you are already used to the way that the game operates, does it expand the amount of possibilities. Basically, it doesn't hold your hand, but it very much does point you in the right direction. It's a very easy and elegant way to motivate players to keep playing.

In the end, Parallax might be one of my favorites in its genre. The amount of care and effort that went into the game is very apparent, and it gave some really good results. I would be hard pressed to find any reason not to recommend this one. Very much worthy of consideration.

Mar 25, 2019·7h·Verified

Steam User 6186STEAMRecommended

This game melts your brain. I'm still trying to figure out how some of these portals are connected, even after solving. Would not recommend for anyone with motion sickness! Otherwise, find the vodka mode and enjoy...

Mar 24, 2019·3h·Verified

Steam User 4926STEAMNot recommended

Starts out fun and is definitely clever in some aspects but gets boring way too quickly.

Mar 16, 2019·3h·3·Verified

Steam User 4161STEAMRecommended

Primo

Mar 1, 2019·1h·Verified

Steam User 0850STEAMRecommended

[b]10/10[/b]

[h1]Beeindruckende und spielerisch perfekt unterhaltende sowie super motivierende Indie-Puzzle-Perle[/h1]

Parallax hat mich nicht weniger als weggeflasht, bin einfach nur fasziniert und habe großen Respekt vor diesem Werk. Es ist ein grandioser Mindf***, den es so nicht noch einmal gibt.
Kurz zusammengefasst: man wechselt per Dimensionstoren zwischen zwei übereinanderliegenden Paralleldimensionen, die sich gegenseitig bedingen, und muss Wege freimachen, um in einer der beiden Dimensionen das Ziel zu erreichen.

Pro:
- wunderschöne Optik trotz, oder gerade durch den Minimalismus
- anständiger inhaltlicher Umfang trotz nur 100MB!
- ambienter Sound, der sich, genauso wie die Grafik, von Dimension zu Dimension verändert
- verschiedene, in 9v10 Fällen hübsche Farbschemata ;-)
- technisch und spielerisch tadellos
- ein Spielprinzip, welches einfach nur schwindelig macht, im positiven wie im wörtlichen Sinn
- präzise gesetzte, ich möchte behaupten zentimetergenaue Save Points, man verliert nie Wege

An einer Stelle hat's mich mal an den Boden einer Map verschlagen, wo ich nicht sein sollte. Da tat dann auch der Savepoint nichts Gutes^^ Bei ein paar wenigen Portalen war aufgrund schrägen Eintretens die Sache mit der Schwerkraft etwas hakelig. Und es hätten ein paar Level-Momente dabei sein dürfen, die einem den Fortschritt etwas linearer sichern - oft muss man einiges wieder zurückrollen, um woanders wieder aufzumachen, man dreht das Ganze also 2-3x vor und zurück. Aber das ist Jammern auf ganz hohem Niveau, ich hatte nie wirklich Frust bei Parallax.

Den Spielumfang finde ich sehr fair und er verlängert sich dadurch, dass man durchaus eine Weile in den Levels verbringen muss, um alles zu verstehen und ein paar Mal erfolgreich abzulaufen.
Parallax ist in einem Moment zu ende, wo man zwar denkt, es könnte ruhig noch mehr kommen, weil es eben so viel Spaß macht, man aber auch froh ist, erlöst zu sein, weil einem schon das Hirn wegschmilzt xD

Es sei dazugesagt: Alles ist schaffbar, ich rätsle zwar gerne, stelle mich aber oft genug blöd an - und ich habe es auch geschafft ;-)
Es gibt Levels, da fehlt einem der Überblick, aber irgendwie renkt sich doch alles ein, zum Glück.
Und obwohl es ein Ego-Platformer ist, ist es niemals auch nur irgendwie fummelig oder unerträglich timingkritisch.

Also: kaufen, Spaß haben! Noch Zweifel? Es gibt sogar 'ne Demo :-)

Dec 29, 2018·6h·3

Steam User 8505STEAMRecommended

Though in the first person puzzle catagory like Portal 1 & 2, Q.U.B.E., and others, Parallax strips it to the bare essentials - No NPCs, no constructing things for an assist, no color, no cut scenes. It's minimalism may be too much (or too little) for some - sometimes the stark white dimension can be wracking switching back and forth. It's worth sale price easily. It's also available on the Google Play store (for those with nVidia Shields (K1 or TV) like myself. Cheers.

Nov 27, 2018

Steam User 1288STEAMRecommended

I like this game. I like the graphics which is clear and lucid. You can easily understand the level and its mechanics. Then just focus your mind to find the best solution. And thinking about the solution is the best part of puzzle games. In other words: You can not miss or overlook something important in the level.

Nov 20, 2018·13h·Verified

Steam User 0298STEAMRecommended

Nice little brain & puzzle game.

Sep 1, 2018·4h·1·Verified

Steam User 8223STEAMRecommended

[h1]Simple as black and white.[/h1]

A very relaxing, but at the same time challenging puzzle. Puzzles may not be so hard, but they are enjoyable to complete, and I had a nice time solving them. Music can become a little bit repetitive, because it really is just another one of those simplified instrumental tunes, and features approximately 4 or 5 of them. The artstyle, that this game is implementing looks really nice: with two-colored worlds, that switch colors if player passes one of them. The gameplay is your regular first person puzzle game: puzzles take a long amounts of time and the character walks like a turtle with a controller stuck up it's arse.

[h1]Conclusion.[/h1]

[i]A very short, but brief description (not that I've got nothing to say). Despite somewhat low selling numbers and unpopularity of the game, you should definitely give it a try - fun time guaranteed.[/i]

May 4, 2018·2h·2·Verified

Steam User 6784STEAMRecommended

I think that it's the best use of parallel universe inside a puzzlegame I've seen in my life. Thumbs up!

Mar 27, 2018·3h·Verified

Steam User 0920STEAMNot recommended

Idk, but this game didn't hold my interest enough for me to come back compared to other puzzle games.

It was kinda boring compared to antichamber and portal since it was a game that forces you to strictly do the puzzles only one way.

Portal and especially antichamber made you think outside the box to solve it's puzzles.

Mar 14, 2018·1h·3

Steam User 8814STEAMNot recommended

Parallax is visually stunning, and every level looks amazing. But the gameplay doesn't hold up.

The puzzles never really increase in challenge, instead increasing only in complexity, walking distance, or level of distraction. Additionally, many of the mechanics introduced later in the game are player-hostile, such as the laser walls (which are functionally identical to normal walls, but deadly) and the gravity changing (which, like the game Disoriented, only serve to obscure otherwise simple puzzles for the sake of confusion). In some cases there are even pointless moving laser walls that make you time your movement for no reason.

It seems like the dev didn't want to ever have a ramp with a drop to act as a one-way path, instead opting for moving laser walls or other laborious workarounds. While they look cool, they're very annoying to walk through as they are not traveling at the same speed as your walking speed. There are also many objects in the game that move back and forth, but every instance I saw could be replaced by non-moving elements with a path to walk around to the other side. This means you just have to wait for things to be in the right position or time your movements.

The player hitbox is also a problem, as it is the default pill body shape with a sphere for feet. The platforms are very narrow, so getting even slightly close to the egde results in the physics of the player collision model slipping you off the edge. I fell off of platforms constantly as a result. Simply changing the player hitbox to a cylinder instead would alleviate this problem.

A few of the puzzles were decent, but most were held back by the intentionally complex or confusing design surrounding otherwise decent puzzles. Ultimately I'm not convinced the game's spectacular look is worth the sacrifice in map quality.

Mar 13, 2018·4h·4·Verified

Steam User 0740STEAMRecommended

Parallax is a minimalist 4 dimensional puzzle game involving portals, switches and player oriented gravity. The game manages to carry an air of elegance across its 32 level campaign. Parallax has a super smooth learning curve that keeps things feeling achievable as the game moves into some nicely challenging territory.

I don't really have much more to say about Parallax other than that I'm really looking forward to replaying at some point in the future.

[i]This was originally written as part of [url=http://cheesetalks.net/gamesRoundup2015.php]a retrospective[/url] on games I finished in 2015.[/i]

Feb 28, 2018·5h·2·Verified

Steam User 0577STEAMNot recommended

Не, не доставляет. Выглядит стильно и интересно, но хотелось бы хоть немного смысла в происходящем. Ну, знаете ли, чего-то типа сюжета, или там, на худой конец, картинки с констатацией факта как в Antichamber. Здесь же решение головоломок является самоцелью. Возвращать средства не буду, но и проходить подобное [i]нечто[/i] пока не тянет.

Jan 9, 2018·2·Verified

Steam User 8555STEAMRecommended

Всем любителям подобного советую купить и играть!

Dec 23, 2017·3h·2·Verified

Steam User 3908STEAMRecommended

Отличная головоломка. Развивает (скорее выносит) ориентацию в пространстве. Жаль, что быстро проходится.
8 поломок мозга из 10 =)

Nov 29, 2017·7h·Verified

Steam User 2570STEAMRecommended

PROS
Simple mechanics
Nice difficulty curve: never gets annoyingly hard, but in the later levels it took me a little while to wrap my head around things
Great level design: very compact; non-linear progression inside each level
Super polished look (also appreciate the big range on the fov slider!)
Just the right play time for the amount of content

CONS
Sound design; annyoing laser sounds and (for me) unenjoyable music
Physics although generally really good can sometimes be just a little wonky.

Overall, a remarkably well-crafted puzzle platformer.

Nov 23, 2017·4h·Verified

Steam User 0755STEAMRecommended

we've made it to the future and Parallax is proof. I imagine immortals just sit around and make parallax type puzzles for each other. aside from sleeping and gambling.

Oct 6, 2017·2h·Verified

Steam User 0008STEAMRecommended

This game is more of an IQ test, heavy on boolean algebra. As the puzzles become more complex, my mind can't rationalize them on the fly, so I have to resort to trial and error. I know I've reached the limits of my own intelligence. I definitely recommend this game, especially to young people. I also like the game's aesthetics.

Sep 4, 2017·6h·3

Steam User 6866STEAMRecommended

[b]This game will bend your brain. [/b]

Each puzzle involves 2 maps (differentiated by their use of white & black). You move between these 2 maps with portals, with the objective of reaching the "goal" (exit) point. Not only do you have 2 map layouts for each puzzle to work with, but, well, the portals and some of the platforms rotate on their x-axis or y-axis at the push of a button... Yeah.

The aforementioned mechanics result in having to move between 2 maps for each puzzle, while rotating various portals and platforms, in order to orient yourself towards the exit point.

-Graphics sometimes seem more "bare" than "minimalist"
-Somtimes you have to spend the first 5 minutes wandering around to learn which switches rotate which portals/platforms
+Bends the brain (forces the player to imagine the 2 maps twisted into different states)

Recommended if on sale for those who enjoy first-person puzzle games.

Jul 1, 2017·4h·3·Verified

Steam User 5861STEAMNot recommended

Parallax es un juego de puzzles que se basa en el paso de una dimensión blanca a una negra a través de portales, siendo ambas dimensiones diferentes en su mapeado aunque interactúan entre si. El planteamiento es bueno, especialmente cuando se añaden elementos como los saltos unidireccionales, los interruptores y demás, pero el problema es que al final siguen siendo muy pocos elementos en juego. El resultado es que, aunque es un juego corto y los puzzles se van complejizando, no lo hacen a base de profundizar en las mecánicas, sino de hacer los cambios y relaciones entre las mismas más confusos y enrevesados. De modo que estaremos probando y probando combinaciones hasta que finalmente todo encaje, lo cual a mi se me hizo tedioso.

Gráficamente el juego cumple, con un diseño sencillo pero elegante que queda muy bien aunque en ocasiones puede ser algo desorientador. El sonido es más limitado, con unos efectos muy repetitivos y en ocasiones además muy presentes.

El resultado es un juego que tendría que haber sido desarrollado con más elementos y demás para darle una variedad que le vendría muy bien. Tal y como está, a mi no me ha convencido. Un 4.

Mar 14, 2017·4h·1·Verified

Steam User 2599STEAMRecommended

Great puzzler! Just the right amount of mindbending -- The mechanics are introduced nicely and the level designs are challenging but not cruel. The goal in each level is clear, and the solutions are pretty satisfying. Perfect visual polish too (although gray-on-gray is the only color scheme that didn't make my eyes hurt.)

Mar 9, 2017·4h·Verified

Steam User 2297STEAMRecommended

The concept is good (inspiration from the Portal series it seems) but I think that the game is harder than it needs to be. Why? I find it kind of hard to keep track what the other world is looking like when I affect it in the world I am currently occupying. I think it needs some sort of "opposite camera" as well as the player view. A toggle between these two views would be nice. The player doesn't teleport to the toggled location. The toggle just shifts perspective and disables movement as a button is held down. Once released, back to business as usual.

Despite this one flaw, I still think the game is worth checking out, but with a sale active or something. It's a Unity game that runs at 60FPS all the time on my low spec laptop. Most other Unity games I have played run sluggishly, even with disabled optional graphical features I can turn on/off in-game. Is it because the 3D shapes aren't textured and no lighting and shading effects are present? That's speculation on my part.

Jan 1, 2017·7h·2·Verified

Steam User 3163STEAMRecommended

holy mind f*** batman

Dec 27, 2016·4h·Verified

Steam User 4036STEAMRecommended

It's a simple concept that spirals in difficulty. Remembering two worlds, the crossing points of those worlds, and which actions will affect both worlds is quite a task. Overall, the game is enjoyable if you aren't easily frustrated.

Pros:
Challenging without being impossible. Planning moves ahead makes it significantly faster, but just doing things will show you what you need to do eventually.
Simple controls. Meaning the puzzle is entirely in the gameplay, not the correct button pressing.

Cons:
Short, only 4 worlds, 8 levels a world.

Dec 25, 2016·8h·Verified

Steam User 4655STEAMRecommended

So simple, but so not. Great game!

Nov 26, 2016·6h·1·Verified

Steam User 4837STEAMRecommended

It's a game where you go back and forth between two parallel / different worlds. I like the overall visual style of the game.

Nov 25, 2016·1h·1

Steam User 8113STEAMNot recommended

While it has interesting mechanics, the puzzles themselves are really a slog. The puzzles are really simple, but then eat a lot of your time before they'll let you proceed. Also, some of the levels are complex enough that is difficult to understand what is going on at first.

Nov 25, 2016·2·Verified

Steam User 0070STEAMRecommended

Buy this game IF:
You like puzzle games
You don't mind the lack of context

Don't buy this game IF:
you are intimidated by the idea of non-euclidean space
get bothered by staring at 2 colors for a long period of time

Tips:
don't use the red/blue color scheme. Seriously.

As far as purchases based solely on curiosity, this was easily one of my more expensive ones, and quite possibly my favorite that I have actually played. It is incredibly minimal visually, which is helpful for finding the solution. The puzzles themselves definitely require a good amount of thought, but if you can find a solution, it will probably be the minimum number of switches needed (the solutions are very specific). Taking me about 12 hours puts the game on the longer side for a first run in a first person puzzle game, but it was intensely brain twisting the whole way. If ever there were DLC or a sequel, I would be all for it.

Nov 24, 2016·12h·2

Steam User 5919STEAMRecommended

Just completed it! A worthwhile exercise. Some things come across as frustrating - if anything you need some patience in figuring puzzles out. A well executed 'pure' puzzler.

For those who need show, feel and/or glam - rather just avoid it altogether. But if you like your serious spatial mental exercise and aren't scared of old skool think-it-through with more contemporary minimalist dress-up this should be your cup of tea.

I do think the puzzles in the beginning are a little easy. In the second half the intrigue/ difficulty ramps up rather quickly. I can appreciate that some of the level design can be tricky - but there certainly could have been some more of the up/down/sideways/where-AM-I/take-a-break-and-try-again puzzles - maybe an extra 8 levels as a bonus for some or other achievement.

Nov 14, 2016·19h·2·Verified

Steam User 3002STEAMNot recommended

Let me begin saying that I have played through several first person puzzle games, and I've enjoyed every one of them. I enjoy a good puzzle on occasion. Knowing this, I was excited to play Parallax.

I've finished the game, and I only used a guide for the very end of the last stage of the last chapter because the lasers before the turnstile confused me (I didn't think you could go under them). So, I give Parallax credit for being relatively simple but not too simple to the point where it was child's play.

For some reason though, I found Parallax incredibly boring! And not the relaxing kind of boring either. It's not like I haven't played similar games in the past (Hook and Colortone come to mind). It took me about a month or so to force myself to play through this game. It isn't even that long! I did it in 3.5 hours. Those felt like the longest 3.5 hours of my life. After one or two stages, I experienced extreme Parallax fatigue.

There are no jump scares, but part of me wishes there was something so it could wake me up to play this game longer than 30 minutes.

Oct 28, 2016·4h·14·Verified

Steam User 6955STEAMRecommended

My brain hurts and this is what I expect from a puzzle game.

Oct 17, 2016·2h·1·Verified

Steam User 0856STEAMRecommended

A tricky, original puzzle game. There's not much to it though, no story, no graphics beyond black and white. Just some moderately well designed puzzles, half of which can be solved trough brownian motion. I'd say its not worth the full price, but I'll recommend it when it's on sale.

Oct 17, 2016·4h·1·Verified

Steam User 5524STEAMRecommended

10/10
Great first person puzzle game

Oct 2, 2016·8h·4·Verified

Steam User 4996STEAMRecommended

Des puzzles très intéressants, une esthétique sympa : un plaisir à jouer

Aug 29, 2016·6h·Verified

Steam User 7696STEAMRecommended

Perfeito para causar Mindblows seguidos de nós na cabeça!

Parallax te coloca em um ambiente mimetista bicolor e você precisa chegar ao objetivo intercalando entre duas dimensões. Você não tem armas ou recursos além de sua própria mente.

Ele vai direto ao ponto, sem enrolação, tudo o que você tem a fazer é "chegar ao objetivo". Os mapas têm apenas o suficiente para resolver o puzzle, sem distrações, o que os torna perfeitos para partidas casuais.

Os desafios são bem elaborados e a curva de aprendizado para apresentação de novas mecânicas ficou muito bem alinhada. Quem está acostumado como jogos como Portal e Quantum Conundrum dificilmente vai se perder nos puzzles.

PRÓS:
-Mapas bem elaborados
-Interface simples e direta
-Bons efeitos visuais e sonoros

CONTRAS:
-Nenhum enredo, apesar de isso não prejudicar em nada no game.

(10/10)

Aug 17, 2016·7h·1·Verified

Steam User 8089STEAMRecommended

This game broke my mind.

Aug 9, 2016·3h·3·Verified

Steam User 8761STEAMRecommended

an amazing game with a mind-bending new mechanic! so far it has been an amazing playing experience that makes me appreciate the amount of work put into this game. the developer has shown how they have put a large amount of effort into how the puzzles work! however they can sometimes be extremely difficult

9/10

Jul 15, 2016·5h·4·Verified

Steam User 0923STEAMRecommended

I had a great time, but then it stopped working. The stages stopped generating and at one point It dropped me through the level forever. dissapointing cause i had been enjoying it up to that point. play it if you can get it to work

Jul 14, 2016·3h·1·Verified

Steam User 6566STEAMRecommended

The puzzles are great, and get pretty challenging (if only because it starts to dissorient you beyond belief in the later levels). The pure black/white visuals work surprisingly well, along with the musical change between dimensions. Overall it's a very satisfying puzzle game, with just that little bit of replay value for the perfect runs to help you get more out of it.

Jun 30, 2016·4h·3·Verified

Steam User 7704STEAMRecommended

A sorely under-recognized game. The developer claims that it's a puzzle-platformer, but this game plays more like a puzzle game than a platformer despite the platforming features.

Overall the game is very well done. The art style is very minimalistic, even more so than Antichamber: just two colors in the entire game, menu and all. Really my only complaints would be that there aren't customizable color schemes and there's no thematic music on the dark side of all the puzzles. If you think that the game has no narrative or story, you'd be right, but let's face it: gaming for gaming's sake hasn't been appreciated enough.

Estimated initial playtime: 3-6 hours (for 32 levels). It's as solid a game as (say) The Swapper! I give it an 8/10 rating.

Jun 27, 2016·8h·8·Verified

Steam User 2804STEAMNot recommended

Никогда не дуимал что такое скажу, но это головоломка тупая. Хрен бы с ним что тут нет сюжета или персонажей, У кубика рубика тоже нет сюжета и персонажей. И это ему не мешает. Проблема Парлакса в том, что все загадки это просто цепочка одних и тех же действий. Ты в начале уровня, ты видиш финишную точку, и сразу ясно что нужно делать. Нужно просто повторять одни и те же действия много раз, снова и снова. Тут нет ситуаций когда ты обнаруживаеш второе, не очевидное, решение, которое и поможет пройти дальше. Все механики очевидны сразу или раскрываются при первой встрече.

Если сравнивать с тем же Порталом или любой другой ХОРОШЕЙ головоломкой. Вы всегда начинаете с азов, а далее механики расширяются и ближе к концу вам нужно отойти от решение "в лоб". Тут такого нет. Просто повторение одних и тех действия снова и снова.

Jun 19, 2016·4h·15·Verified

Steam User 4887STEAMRecommended

I'm stuck on the last puzzle and have zero idea what to do.
10/10 want more levels though

Apr 14, 2016·7h·1

Steam User 0635STEAMRecommended

this game takes a new form of puzzle game focusing on teleporting between two dimensions.
it is a calm relaxing game that you can enjoy and relax to.

Apr 4, 2016·10h·1·Verified

Steam User 4236STEAMRecommended

This is a sleek and fun first person puzzle platformer that executes a couple good orignial ideas well without bloating itself by getting overly long and tedious.

Basically, you use "rifts" to travel between parallel rooms, which can be differentiated by the monochromatic background (white or black). The rifts will be in the same place in both rooms, but nothing else necessarily will be. The puzzles are primarily based on orienting the rifts properly to over obstacles and reach switches to eventually make it to the exit. It starts off very simple and the difficulty builds in a very natural way. At the end I definitely felt challeneged, but never so much so that I wanted to stop playing. Eventually you are required to use platforms that manipulate gravity, which where the game really shines and will put your spatial reasoning to the test.

The aesthetic may not be for everyone (I personally loved it) and there's no plot to speak of, so if you're for anything besides puzzles you might want to keep looking. Otherwise this game provides a fascinating and unique take on the genre of first person puzzlers. The "perfect" number of moves also provides an extra challenge that I found engaging in most instances.

Mar 10, 2016·6h·2·Verified

Steam User 0393STEAMRecommended

bgm和界面有一点不舒服，不过游戏的创意还是值得肯定的

Feb 4, 2016·Verified

Steam User 3531STEAMRecommended

This game is flippn crazy man. The creator definetly has a creative mind as some of these puzzles are mindboggling. It took me a while to understand how the concept of this game works, and I feel I'm a pretty experienced puzzler. Riven, being my favorite. If you want a shoot your brains out challenge in a photo-realistic, origional enviorment: Riven.

Parrallax runs smoothly with only a few frame rate drops when you enter a new level. That's a minor complaint and may only pertain to my system.

Parallax uses an interesting concept, partially like Portal. You have ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ one-sided portals, which is nuts. And unlike in Portal, eash side of the portal takes you to a different level, and these 2 said levels in each game are only linked via the portals. Just think of that ♥♥♥♥ for a second. Sounds interesting, right?? I know!

The 2-color look (you can change these 2 colors) is cool and FPS movement feels good. They have an option for removing headbobbing. That's sweet. If only they had that IRL.

One thing that's insane is that every new level I get into, I look around for a bit and I'm like, "wtf is this ♥♥♥♥ man--there ain't no way I can't be this!" I usually quit the game, punch a few holes in the wall, smash a beer bottle on my head, then hop on later once I've cooled down, then beat the level and surprise the flippin flip out of myself by doing so.

Is this game worth a try? yeah! Wait til it gets on sale and scoop her up like I did your wife.

To the devs: very awesome job, guys. I'm very impressed with this indy puzzler. It's definetly one of the most challenging, and yet at the same time: simple puzzlers I've ever played.

Jan 17, 2016·7h·1·Verified

Steam User 2817STEAMRecommended

2 hard game

Jan 4, 2016·2·Verified

Steam User 6005STEAMRecommended

If you like first person puzzle games, this will game satisfy you. It has a lot of cool mechanics and interesting levels. Difficulty is not insane, but often challenging. One small downside is that there is a fair amount of repitition. If you do not like puzzles for the sake of puzzles, you will probably not enjoy this game.

Dec 31, 2015·1h·2·Verified

Steam User 5368STEAMNot recommended

First-up, it looks great, sounds great and has actual puzzles - no real issues there.

I'm not recommending it for a few reasons tho - they're kinda personal and MIGHT not apply to you but I'm raising em because they might!

1 - it's a puzzle game with no story/aim/objective or goal - just "solve the puzzles". I thought I could cope with that but after a while you do kinda wonder why you're bothering?

2 - you could solve most puzzles if you could jump a slightly larger gap or run (you can't) or just climb around the side of the portals - e.g the difficulty is in the limitations of movement and not the cleverness of the puzzles - no locked rooms or impossible leaps here, just roadblocks.

3 - puzzles can solved by elimination or deduction. These puzzles quickly add a LOT of combinations which means lots of elimination but are involved enough to make deduction pretty hard (and all the puzzles I saw were single-solution)

4 - I got motion sickness/a headache after about 5mins of play - after 2 attempts I gave-up. It's not something I've had much before (The Ball did it - that's about it) but this does it really well!

So, it's a fine game where everything works but it lacks some stuff. It needs some sort of a carrot to keep you playing, some reason for accepting the limitations of movement and it could feel a bit more of a puzzle to be deduced and a bit less of rat maze to be beaten by sheer effort.

YMMV

Dec 13, 2015·9

Steam User 1573STEAMNot recommended

Too simple, too boring.

Nov 23, 2015·2·Verified

Steam User 4993STEAMRecommended

纯粹的关卡式解谜游戏，3.5分（-5分至5分）

一共四个大关，每大关8个小关。

游戏的两个特点非常鲜明，一个是黑白的简洁画面，一个是黑白和白黑的表里世界，它们融洽的结合在一起，给人一种非常新鲜的冲击感。
游戏的规则是利用连接表世界和里世界的传送门的翻转来使玩家从起点前进到终点。难度循序渐进，设置的很合理，关卡数目也刚刚好，不会多到让人厌烦。

游戏的一个显著的优点是当玩家走得太靠边掉下去死亡后立即可以在掉下去的位置重生，不用经历冗长讨厌的重新玩一遍的过程，让玩家能专注于解谜。
另一个优点对我来说无疑是那简洁而毫无过多修饰的画面，同样也是让玩家能不分心的将注意力全部放在解谜上，而不是驻足于贴纸、困惑于眼花缭乱的装饰。

难度上，本作只要细心观察，相信喜欢探索的玩家全部达成perfect并不困难。由于挑战度不高，所以只给了3.5分，评价是非常值得一玩，但还不到神作的地步。
除了通关成就外还有3个隐藏成就，这里写了一篇指南，有兴趣可以挑战全成就：

http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=530656142

Oct 6, 2015·9h·9

Steam User 7321STEAMRecommended

It's a very cool and underappreciated game. It's a puzzler where you phaze between worlds in order to solve puzzles. Tons of polished content, reminds me somewhat of Portal. Thumbs up!

Sep 27, 2015·1h·1

Steam User 7959STEAMRecommended

BEST GAME EVER

Aug 10, 2015·2h

Steam User 4472STEAMRecommended

ステージに配置されているポータルを通って
白と黒の独立した足場を持つ二つの世界を行き来してゴールを目指すパズルゲーム。
ギミックとしてはスイッチで足場やポータルの向きを変えてゴールへ続くルートを作っていくといったもの。

PortalやAntichamberのように自分で何かを配置するギミックがない分
一本道感が強く、若干難易度は低め。

Aug 4, 2015·5h·14·Verified

Steam User 9987STEAMRecommended

Good game! Simple, elegant, great level design. If you like first person puzzle games, you´ll love Parallax . Okay, it's not difficult, has simple production values (no history, no character , just one level after another ), but this isn´t a problem for this type of game. It´s a good experience, play it!

Aug 3, 2015·5h·4·Verified