Quadrilateral Cowboy is a single-player adventure in a cyberpunk world. Tread lightly through security systems with your hacking deck and grey-market equipment. With top-of-the-line hardware like this, it means just one thing: you answer only to the highest bidder.
Very Positive
993 Steam reviews
| LANGUAGE | AUDIO | SUBTITLES | INTERFACE |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | Y | — | Y |
very poorly excuted game
I purchased this game nearly 10 years, and barely touched it. After sorting through my steam library I found it again and thought I would give it a shot. It was a marvelous experience, the whole ascetic it goes for with the graphics and music is sublime. My favorite aspect is the complete lack of dialogue which gets replaced with lots of informative signs and stickers. I will admit I had a couple bugs here and there that would require me to restart a level, but all in all a really enjoyable game.
this is peak
Hi Blendo Discord sever,
I love the game but wish there was more to play :(
I really like it, but some of the gameplay quirks drive me crazy, like having to wait several seconds for most of the time-based puzzles and the randomly generated codes.
Now that I actually know bash scripting, Quadrilateral Cowboy's tiny differences hurt my gameplay experience by quite a bit. Still, this is a unique game with a fun little premise, although I really dislike the "multiple iterations of yourself interacting" idea that plagues the latter half of the game. The story sections are quite slow and unfun too, even if they add an interesting bit of variety and have some nice, inspired visual design. It's almost a shame how locked and linear some maps are, and that there aren't many maps that have a truly sandbox design letting you approach the puzzle box the way you want to.
Out of all the games developed by Brendon Chung, I like this one the best, and it makes me reconsider about Blendo's output. Perhaps this was only a fluke? Skin Deep was nothing more than a disappointingly grindy affair without much gameplay variation or a true System Shock 2-like with multiple overlapping systems, and I couldn't help but wonder if Brendon really was just playing games while putting in the bare minimum of effort and outsourcing his new magnum opus to people that didn't care, with terrible maps, terrible writing, worse voice acting, and no real player agency.
this game has amazing vibes.
Game is good. Play game now.
A very fun game about planning and executing heists with all the gizmos at your disposal, and activating them through command lines. It's very refreshing from typical puzzle games, with an amazing wordless storytelling you piece together by taking the time to inspect details, pictures, texts hidden here and there, diving further into that bizarre dystopian universe full of captured memories, simple pleasures and smuggling cats. An indie game i warmly recommend.
This game is great; I wish it was longer.
As a somewhat competent programmer I can tell you this is EXACTLY how real life hacking works.
Edit: only play on Windows
Mac and Linux ports are broken
Up to this point was Blendo Game's most ambitious title. Love the concept of typing in prompts to open doors or disable alarms. The game is always tossing in new toys to play with during heists. It's just that by the time you're used to them the game is reaching it's finale. Often mechanics are introduced but it never feels like they're being pushed to their limits nor do you have the freedom of solving puzzles your own way. There are moments of satisfaction sprinkled in. It can feel rewarding when manually typing in a prompt that includes multiple steps and seeing it all execute in real time. But there have been at least a couple softlocking bugs and several crashes. I mostly continued on playing because I loved Thirty Flights and Gravity Bone. However despite sharing the same style and similar products, not to mention Bendo's iconic signposting, it doesn't have as strong of a visual narrative compared to their previous titles. Still, that said, reaching the ending is worth your time if you too are a fan of Blendo's past or present titles. Not to mention Chu Chu makes an appearance for those who have played Skin Deep. But I do have to note its only because I like Blendo in general that is getting me through this. Without the notoriety I'm not sure if I'd have even bother finishing the story.
This game was a big part of my childhood as it was one of the first PC games I played.
Also it's really good, if too short in my opinion.
Cladded in a strange combination of South American espionage and command line hacking using the minimum amount of polygons, this game won me over pretty quickly. Going by the mantra that style tops technically intensive presentation every time, this boxy Latin caper gradually teaches you a practical (though limited) coding language and asks to put it to full use in its short campaign or the numerous community made stages. For me it is one the best hacking-simulation games on the market right now.
One of my all time favorite games
Fun game with elements of coding, logical processes, reaction timings and a sense of exploration and confusion. I recommend to friends and family.
Круто сделанный симулятор проникновения со взломом компьютерных систем. Сюжет присутствует. Графика очень простая но тут она не главная, геймплей перекрывает)
那天晚上，三位黑客开着悬浮摩托，听着古典音乐，跳上火车，偷走了一枚处理器。之后，他们偷走了数据，偷走了保险，偷走了时间。
这是一个很浪漫的游戏，复古的UI，低多边形的画面，各种光怪陆离的设定，还有那无所不能的电脑和随身唱片机，共同构筑了一个抽象又纯粹的世界。
这个游戏很简单，没有门槛，不过有不少bug，这里感谢社区中一位名为Paparho的用户，在第四关中可能无法用子弹开门，他提供了一种解决办法“不要回车执行命令，直接左键执行“这解决了困扰我很久的问题。
La perfecta forma de hacer un videojuego de hackeos realista, mas que recomendado para todo el mundo. Algún bug puede fastidiarte un intento del nivel, pero al ser tan cortos de hacer una vez has entendido como funciona no acaba de romper la experiencia. Recomendado.
Потрясная игра: очень стильные локации в сеттинге киберпанка с элементами какого-то сюрреализма и лиминальности, прикольные programming-lite механики и небольшая продолжительность. Очень жаль, что о ней знает так мало людей. Закинул в бэклог другие проекты автора, как-нибудь доберусь. А эту - всячески рекомендую. 5 часов на полное прохождение с некоторыми затупами на паре уровней. Ещё час можно будет потратить на то, чтобы перепройти с комментариями разработчика; по крайней мере я бы так сделал.
Amazing little hacking puzzle game, super fun mechanics that get built on very naturally, one downside is I wish there were more levels cause it feels like there's so much potential with the mechanics that it only partially achieves.
Also the retrofuturist cyberpunk artstyle is very beautiful.
.
artisticamente genial, muy solido como juego de puzzles
recomendadisimo
great game. love to hack into the system
Quadrilateral Cowboy, developed and published by Blendo Games, is an inventive and atmospheric first-person puzzle-heist experience that blends retro-cyberpunk cool with hands-on programming in a way that feels both nostalgic and refreshingly original. Set in an alternate 1980s full of chunky hardware, cassette drives, and analogue futurism, the game casts you as a professional hacker assisting a small crew of thieves through increasingly complex infiltrations. Instead of relying on twitch reflexes or traditional stealth systems, it asks you to think like a programmer: to plan, write code, and execute multi-step operations under pressure. This commitment to a tactile, command-line-based approach gives the game a distinct identity, making it feel more like a cerebral caper than a conventional action title.
At the heart of the experience is your “Deck,” a portable computer that looks like a cross between a vintage laptop and a hacker’s lunchbox. Every mission begins by unpacking it, placing it on a surface, and typing commands directly into its terminal. Security in the game’s world is controlled through straightforward scripting: you can open doors for timed intervals, disable cameras, activate drones, or calibrate mechanical platforms simply by writing short lines of code. The game trusts the player to explore and experiment, and the satisfaction comes from watching a carefully written sequence unfold in perfect sync with your crew’s needs. That sense of being the unseen brain behind a coordinated heist—anticipating guard routes, timing openings, and adjusting scripts on the fly—gives the game a unique rhythm unlike anything else in the genre.
As the campaign progresses, new tools broaden your strategic possibilities. Remote-controlled drones allow for reconnaissance or precision tasks, mechanical helpers can recreate recorded actions, and deployable devices provide additional layers of interactivity. Each heist becomes a miniature puzzle box, encouraging clever sequencing and trial-and-error learning. Although the individual missions are often compact, they invite creativity: there’s usually more than one way to solve a problem, and success often stems from finding just the right balance of efficiency and flair. The game’s design encourages improvisation, rewarding players who treat each puzzle as a flexible system rather than a single-solution challenge.
What surrounds these missions is just as compelling. Between heists, you return to your apartment—an intimate, cluttered space full of personal artifacts, snacks, and souvenirs that quietly sketch out the lives of your crew. Blendo Games has always excelled at environmental storytelling, and Quadrilateral Cowboy continues that tradition by letting emotion emerge through physical details rather than cutscenes or exposition. The apartment acts as a narrative anchor and a tonal contrast to the missions: warm, cozy, and human, set against the stark neon-lit corporate complexes you infiltrate. This interplay between the personal and the professional gives the game a gentle emotional undercurrent, turning a story about hackers and espionage into something surprisingly heartfelt.
The art direction embraces intentional simplicity. Characters and environments are rendered in a chunky, low-poly style with bold shapes and minimal detail, reminiscent of Blendo’s earlier works. This aesthetic might not appeal to everyone, but it serves the gameplay well: visual clarity is critical when hacking security systems or navigating complex rooms. The minimalist presentation also supports the game’s retro-tech theme, making the world feel like a lost alternative-history vision of hacker culture—futuristic yet analogue, high-stakes yet handmade.
Quadrilateral Cowboy does carry a few limitations. Its short length, often completed in just a handful of hours, may leave some players wanting more. Certain mechanics, such as the multi-agent recording system, appear briefly before being set aside, leaving a sense of untapped potential. The command-line interface, while central to the game’s charm, can be intimidating for newcomers or frustrating in precision-heavy moments. Mistimed scripts or overlooked details sometimes force entire sequences to be reworked, which can disrupt the momentum. Yet these occasional friction points feel like natural byproducts of a design that values experimentation over handholding.
Despite these shortcomings, the game succeeds remarkably in what it aims to be: a clever, atmospheric, and deeply personal take on the heist genre. It captures the thrill of pulling off the perfect hack not through spectacle, but through planning, cause-and-effect logic, and quiet confidence. More importantly, it evokes a mood—part rebellious nostalgia, part intimate teamwork—that lingers long after the final mission ends. Quadrilateral Cowboy is a small game in scale but rich in identity, creativity, and emotional texture.
For players who appreciate thoughtful puzzle design, indie storytelling, and the tactile pleasure of typing commands into a virtual terminal, Quadrilateral Cowboy stands as a memorable gem. It is a game about ingenuity and companionship as much as infiltration—a lovingly crafted slice of cyberpunk that rewards imagination and curiosity at every turn.
Rating: 8/10
Ascoltare musica anni '30 e classica, mentre voli insieme alle tue amiche in una clinica sospesa nel vuoto per scaricare illegalmente dati del cervello di un uomo in fin di vita è il picco dell'industria videoludica .
Il finale però mi ha fatto scendere una lacrimuccia.
Gioco consigliato a chi interessano puzzle "a righe di codici" e plot twists stravaganti in questo mondo cyberpunk anni 80.
A little janky but so clearly made with love.
This is what games should be like when they say they're "cinematic" by the way. You don't even need dialogue in any way.
Absolutely beautiful. I've been a fan of Blendo Games since Gravity Bone. From all the games about Nuevos Aires and Citizen Abel, this is the best one for me! Amazing vibe, characters and scenarios. GOOD JOB!
I've had this game for a while, and I'm not sure why it's taken me this long to write a review, let alone how I stumbled upon the game in the first place, but here I am.
Quadrilateral Cowboy is one of those games that you can't exactly describe to someone, they just have to play it for themselves. In my years of gaming, I've never experienced anything quite like this game, nor have I had any game make me FEEL like this game makes me feel. Upon first playthrough, you might interpret the game as unfinished or equivalent to a tech demo, but the game really leans into this style, and it does it well.
In terms of gameplay, again, unlike anything else. If you enjoy the feeling of being a hacker and pulling off heists, that is essentially what this game is. Some of the levels will really have you thinking, and I enjoyed solving the puzzles this game put forth.
The story is, hard to describe, yet through it's subtle and vague nature it keeps you hooked throughout. You'll want to keep playing to see where things go.
The way this games makes you feel though the environments, music (I REALLY love this music in this game), and visual style is, I guess melancholic, yet there's also a feeling lonely liminality. It's hard to describe, yet everything is strangely comforting.
I would highly encourage anyone to give this title a shot, I thoroughly enjoyed it.
this is one of the earliest games i can remember playing. i love its puzzles dearly. it is the reason i know how to use a terminal. unfathomably peak
This is such a clever and original game, with a really palpable sense of style, but never taking itself too seriously and packed with great touches of humour... And yet, I kind of came close to just bouncing off it, which would have been such a shame.
The thing is, in some early missions, It seemed like the game had given me the tools to be highly efficient and slick, and yet I would sometimes complete the missions "successfully" but feeling like I just barely got the job done. Repeat attempts saw little improvement, and convinced me I must be a cack-handed oaf. It felt like I was doing something wrong - surely, in a futuristic cyberpunk heist sim, you're supposed to walk away from each mission in slow motion, feeling like a stone-cold badass, right?
Well, maybe not. I persevered, and something just... clicked. Most of the tools seem very cool on paper, but are actually pretty clunky in practice, and your character ambles around the level with the pace of a sprightly 85 year old... Maybe it's *intentional* that you are a shambolic team of dogsbodies, who nonetheless have got ideas above their station, and taken it upon themselves to engage in epic missions?
Honestly, I guess I'm still not entirely sure if that's the intended vibe, but I feel like it's the essential perspective to fully appreciate the game! With that mindset, I embraced my clumsiness and just dove headfirst into all the quirky, inventive, and most of all fun missions - and I had an awesome time.
If you go into this expecting the mechanics to be polished, you *will* be disappointed. If you want to feel like Ethan Hunt or Danny Ocean... look elsewhere. But there's something really satisfying about being the scrappy underdogs who would never get a second look at a professional agency (this is actually part of the canon - in one of the many fun little details you can find, there is a huge stack of rejection letters showing that no corporation trusts these guys enough to give them a shot), but who have managed to get their hands on some spy tech and will scramble their way to victory against the odds.
I'll admit, I have to join the common criticism in wishing that it was longer. It really does feel like just when you've unlocked all your tools and things are getting interesting, you're already at the end of the game. However, that doesn't detract from the fact that this is a brilliantly unique and engaging indie gem, and it deserves your attention.
Fun, but EXTREMELY FRUSTRATING, did you made a mistake? you lose, and you need to start over, in the beginning ok, but from the middle it's awful, because one mistake it's half an hour lost, EVERY MISTAKE.
Sorry, but this is too much, it's not that good to be that frustrating ...
I have never expected "hacking" to be this much fun!
Seeing the trailer for Quadrilateral Cowboy, I didn't really know what to expect or what the main gameplay loop was. But after playing through Skin Deep and liking it a lot, I gave it a chance and man, I am glad that I did! At heart, Quadrilateral Cowboy is a puzzle game: you go on heists to steal important stuff - but you do this with your trusty computer and you have to do a lot of typing and puzzle-solving to complete each objective. As you go through the campaign, you get more tools for your computer and by the end of the game, you feel like an unstoppable "master hacker" that can really get the job done.
All of this is a lot of fun and the feeling of executing a perfect heist is awesome! Plus, I also liked that you have to go through each level three times with increasingly complex objectives - this way, the game really teaches you all the new gameplay elements in a good pace.
What I didn't expect, though, is the quiet, narrative moments between the missions - Quadrilateral Cowboy tells a story without saying too much, and I enjoyed these moments of humanity and world-building a lot. In fact, the game could have used a bit more of it, to be honest!
Overall, Quadrilateral Cowboy is a short but very sweet experience that you should absolutely give a chance to if you like puzzle-solving and a good narrative.
amazing cyberpunk game, it really makes you feel the "high tech, low life" aspect of cyberpunk.
The best part of this game is the ambient and the story told trough the world details and scenarios. if you pay attention you will find a world made with love and tons of care.
I wish it was longer, the puzzles are fine but the mechanics of the game are not really fully explored at any point. the game seems to have support for mods but there isnt a lot of stuff in the workshop so not even that fills the need for more levels.
The price is a bit elevated for the duration of the game, but if you like programming games and cyberpunk its fully recommended, maybe get it when it is in sale like i did.
Quadrilateral Cowboy - Blendo's Most Charming Title, Buried Beneath Technical Issues
I want to preface this Review by saying: I enjoy pretty much most of these Blendo-type games. The ones with the cute drawn comic book-style characters with the blocky heads. Gravity Bone and Thirty Flights of Loving. And I was looking forward to giving Quadrilateral Cowboy a try, because not only does it manage to combine the wonderful attention to detail in the environments and a narrative that isn't told to you through words, but by simple observation, with an interesting gameplay loop that involves you trespassing on private property with your trusty laptop and all sorts of gadgets, and typing in commands into it to get to your goal, be it stealing a briefcase, a safe, or other types of heists.
Quadrilateral Cowboy has this interesting 1980s future hybrid where you have hoverbikes, houses that are literally just converted vehicles floating up in the sky and serve as homes, futuristic laser and turret systems Zeppelins that float in the sky and straight up drop bombs on you if you are caught,and other things, but mixed with tech of the past such as old alarm clocks, old laptops that boot into a DOS-style command line interface and portable walkmans that instead of cassettes, play vinyl tapes.
And within that story you play as Poncho, alongside your comrades Lou, who is an athletic redhead and Maisy, who is a brunette wearing a pair of stylish red glasses and together your job is to take contracts to steal stuff and make money. With progression being a linear affair.
You start out with only your laptop being assembled, then betweeen each mission you get an upgrade or new gadget such as a little drone you can send around, or a briefcase that deploys into a turret and many more, all of which you end up controlling with your laptop. And while I absolutely love how all of these tools end up working together, it becomes a bit clunky lugging all of that stuff around once you get later into the game, and it feels like some gimmicks that you are introduced to are sort of forgotten about after a while.
What also irks me and ultimately makes me give this game a a negative review is that it is just really inaccessible. Throughout my playtime I struggled to reach 60FPS consistently despite this game running on the same engine as Doom 3, I even experienced dips down to 30 and even 20 FPS somehow!.
I have also occassionally gotten visual issues and mechanical bugs in the game where pressing TAB to try and autocomplete commands would simply not work on some of them, making me annoyed and type out the thing manually while I groan.
I also encountered a bug where I would get my turret to fire at a button behind a door which is supposed to open said door because said button is out of reach, however the button would not do anything even after repeatedly typing "fire" and pressing enter. Where the solution ended up being to type "fire" and then left click to immediately leave the laptop screen and execute the command at the same time. Which is annoying to deal with as I thought I simply got the solution wrong, only for it to be a bug.
Sadly none of these issues will ever be fixed because Blendo has already moved on to new games such as the really good-looking Skin Deep, but it is a shame that this interesting game is left behind in such a state.
I still really recommend the game if it was fixed... But it isn't, and it never will be, and anybody who tries this game will experience these issues and then put it down, depriving themselves of an otherwise really charming and interesting game and universe that I absolutely would love to see more of.
Maybe in the future we can hope for a "Director's Cut" version of some kind with improvements... But for now Quadrilateral Cowboy stands as a diamond hidden in a pile of rubble that you have to claw your way through to enjoy the game.
I fell in love with this game from the first seconds of the opening scene, featuring a cyberpunk train robbery with Clair de Lune as background music. I came here for a "hacking game" but got something completely different and was not disappointed. Quadrilateral Cowboy is more about style than deep gameplay mechanics, but boy, what a style it is.
The game doesn't feature any actual programming. Your main loop is arranging heists using several gizmos that you can manipulate via a portable console. You can only type in several pre-defined commands, and the most "hacking" you do is probably chaining those commands with an in-game analogue of `sleep`. It doesn't present any real challenge, as most missions are very straightforward and often require inputting 4-5 commands in the console at most. But it's fun enough to keep your hands busy while walking around beautiful levels.
I absolutely love the amount of little details put into worldbuilding. I love the music, love the cubical character models, I love the made-up patch notes for the program you're using inside the game. The second thing that amazed me right after the Debussy opening was a pile of rejection letters in the main hideout. Apparently, our heroes offered their services to dozens of companies, and none wanted them. There are maybe two dozen letters, each crafted individually, company name, text and all. I think 99.9% of players will never even go through all of them, yet the developers decided to go all the way.
I don't want to go into details about the whole early 80s cyberpunk shtick though. You better explore it yourself.
Then there are books, and I absolutely enjoy reading books' spines in games. Even in good games, most developers don't care enough to make unique spines, copy-pasting a dozen books around. In Quadrilateral Cowboy you visit several places with lots of books, and I believe not many spines appear twice.
In the modern gaming world, development is pain, pain that doesn't even pay good money. Developers tend to cut a lot of corners to release on time, and the first things that often go under the knife are little worldbuilding details that most players won't even notice. But exactly because of that, all the gaming magic, all the immersion, disappears for me. I don't really like triple A titles anymore. I just want to find a game where I can spot some small detail that will make me chuckle and think "yep, they had fun making this". Feel some personal touch. It's so rare, but it is Quadrilateral Cowboy.
Bad "programming/hacking" game, one of the best gaming experiences I've had.
Incredible Charm
really, really enjoyed the premise and it's very im-simmy, but it's buggy (e.g the in-game cli bugged out on me if i tried to up-arrow previous cmds and it stopped working even after a restart)
8/10
在aimbot出场的第一章即盗取记忆的那一章，出现了恶性bug，按钮被子弹打中并且也有按下去的动画，但按钮并没有打开对应的机关。后来不知道为什么我让aimbot等一会再开枪然后我按f1灵魂出窍，穿到门后，按钮就会被子弹正常触发，然后f1回到身体就好了。很奇怪的bug，因为只有这一关的按钮会这样，而且我解决的方式也让我根本猜不到bug的原理。
总的来说，如果不是我凑巧解决了，这个bug会一直卡着我，当初的我遇到这个bug直接不玩了，直到大概2年后的今天把游戏下回来，误打误撞解决了才通关，之后一路打到结局。
这使得我必须因此bug给游戏-2分，但其他的一切元素我都很喜欢，无论是玩法还是关卡设计，至于简陋的画风我向来不在意这些。谜题不算困难，而且因为触发警报不会被秒导致有一些偷鸡的打法，总的来说如果不是因为那个bug，这会是可以排入我心目中前3的独立游戏。
但bug和流程较短，让我最高只能给出8分了，但无论如何这都是一款值得让任何人都试一试的好游戏。
good
Annoying, tedious, finicky, nothing like programming at all.
I came to this after really enjoying Skin Deep and wanting to explore more of the developer's games. However, for Quadrilateral Cowboy, I'm really struggling with leaving a positive or negative review.
In this game, you play an operator who is planning out and conducting heists in cyberspace. You will get different tools with each group of missions. The most important tool is your "deck," or your computer for those who are not familiar with Neuromancer and the cyberpunk of that era. With the deck, you can jack into systems to open doors, disable lasers, etc. You can also remote control other items. The gameplay has elements of Zacktronics games (like Exapunks).
On the one hand, I respect the creativity, the mood storytelling through interacting and environments rather than needless exposition, the graphical design, and some of the mechanics. On the other, at some point, I stopped having fun, in part because of the lack of a quick save feature. When you fail to execute the way you intended, you have to set the whole thing up again -- e.g., set up the autocase (remote controlled rifle) pointing in the exact right spot by typing in a console and looking at the CCTV awkwardly -- and it felt quite tedious. I noticed myself wishing the game would be over because although there was a new twist with every new set of missions, it felt like work rather than fun. I also encountered one bug in the fourth group of missions in which I had to look up a debug console solution (see here: https://steamcommunity.com/app/240440/discussions/2/2997669078633246937/).
Still, there's a lot of crap out there that's fairly unoriginal and uninspiring. This is interesting at the very least, even if it failed in its goals. I value interesting failures more nowadays.
Play.
10/10 game. It was just a bit short, hoping for a part two.
[h1][b] TLDR: A super creative puzzle hacking game that starts strong but fizzles out towards the end of its short journey. [/b] [/h1]
[h1]PROS: [/h1]
➕Wildly creative
➕Hacking puzzles are fun and promote thought in a physical environment vs normal hacking digitally
[h1]NEUTRALS: [/h1]
🔹Later missions change the dynamic dramatically
[h1]CONS: [/h1]
➖Achievements seem to not pop
➖”Scoreboard” is either broken, or is limited to friends only
➖Crashing on loading to save = have to start a new game at the same level
➖Starts very good, but tapers off towards the end
➖Very linear levels and design
[h1] [b] Content (Game world/Narrative) – [6/10] [/b] [/h1]
The game world is very simple, but very creative. It takes place in a ~1980s cyberpunk world where you use 80’s era technology to conduct heist missions. Often each mission “Arena” and the mission select hubs are on the smaller side, leaving not much to explore or take in. The game itself is very linear offering nearly no paths or allowing the player to explore. Still, I loved the vibe of the world and found it humorous. I just wish I could have explored it more and that the bulk of the game wasn’t inside a simulation or very small areas.
The narrative is subtle and there is no spoken dialog or text to directly assist the player, all narrative points are hints that the player witnesses. Due to the more subtle nature, I can understand how the narrative can be lost and be considered a lower point.
[h1][b] Gameplay (Mechanics/Difficulty) – [8/10] [/b] [/h1]
The mechanics are exceptionally well done. Each mission you must complete a puzzle without setting off alarms. To do so, you will need to use your hacking tools to overcome the alarm placement and timers. You use a portable computer to enter commands and take control of robots and turrets to complete the objectives. I found the creative depth between the turret, rover (weevil), and the environment to be exceptional, at least in the first half. In the later half the hacking elements sort of go away and are replaced with a more “Team-oriented” character swap, where each character has their own abilities. It’s still good, but not as good as the hacking.
The difficulty can be hard at times, especially once you unlock the “Blink” command. Due to the game’s naturally subtle nature to convey things to the player, there can definitely be some confusion.
[h1] [b] Graphics (Quality/Technical) – [6/10] [/b] [/h1]
Simple and blocky, but the quality is excellent, as you can zoom in and read almost any text in the game, which is needed since that’s how you as the player obtain information and learn about the world.
From a technical side, I experienced multiple bugs.
I have lost saves, but thankfully due to level select I can just go right back to where I was.
I have failed levels immediately by restarting and having objects from my previous run somehow spawn in and set off an alarm.
Steam Achievements don’t seem to pop after I have cleared the mission.
Also, there seems to be a continuous issue with the game failing to upload to Steam Cloud, which I checked the properties and it doesn’t even have an option to enable or disable the Cloud.
So while I encountered nothing game breaking, I did notice numerous bugs.
i9-13900KF | RTX 4090 | 64GB RAM | 1440p @ 240hz | Windows 11 installed on SSD
[h1] [b] Audio – [5/10] [/b] [/h1]
Decent, there isn’t any voice acting besides typical grunts and exertion. There is old-timey music that you can play via a “Vinylman” which is a Walkman that plays full-sized records.
[h1] [b] Replay Factor (Longevity) – [4/10] [/b] [/h1]
The foundation seems great for replay because the game supports mods via the Steam Workshop. Unfortunately, the mods are sparse as this doesn’t seem like a super popular game.
There also seems to be an in-game leaderboard, but it either doesn’t work or is only between friends, which I can’t verify because no one on my friends list plays this.
But the core concept of replay at the base game isn’t great, there are only about 7 missions and there doesn’t seem to be any variation on completing them.
[h1] [b] Final Verdict – [7/10] [/b] [/h1]
Quadrilateral Cowboy (QC) is a game about hacking puzzles, but what’s different here from most other hacking games I’ve played, is that there’s a physical element to the puzzles that combine the typical command-based hacking in a creative way. You’ll need to use a combination of hacking commands, robots, and physics to bypass alarm systems to complete the objective.
For my biggest negative, I would have to say it's the bugs as well as the later stages of the game.
I listed most of the bugs above in the technical area, so I’ll just say that while I encountered nothing gamebreaking, there were some bugs that definitely hampered the experience. One bug specifically was in the Stock Exchange level. There’s this whole thing where you have to open a door using your turret with a blink command from a very specific spot in the level. Well, I was able to simply open the door by clicking on it. Completed the entire level bypassing a huge portion of the puzzle.
As for the later stages, I was thoroughly impressed with the start, but the game doesn’t feel like it continues the creative momentum to decline. The puzzles went from fun and creative to frustrating by the time I hit the last level. Perhaps it's a byproduct of having a physical component in a hacking puzzle game, but I was starting to get annoyed at the level of trial-and-error plus precision needed with the code. And the cherry on top to the ending, which is a “Problem” of the subtle narrative, is a rather disappointing ending.
For my positives, I would say it's the creative gameplay mechanics.
When QC does a puzzle right, it's such a great feeling. It's almost like an espionage movie. I love the deck commands. The rover, while annoying to position at times, opens up some awesome possibilities. And the aimbot, especially combined with blink, is very cool.
Overally, I did really enjoy QC and felt that its unique creative hacking elements made up for the shortcomings I experienced. And while I didn’t think the game had as great of a latter half, It was still good fun. QC perhaps suffers from an incredibly small dev team of two (?) people. QC has such a creative foundation, that it could really use a few more levels or some sort of progression system that isn’t so on-rails.
[h1] [b] Recommend? (Price) [Y/N] [/b] [/h1]
[h1]Yes[/h1]
Due to this being a short game with lower replayability and it being kind of dead for mods, I would say $20 is too high. Anything below $10 is a great price point in my opinion.
You can find my curator page here: https://steamcommunity.com/groups/Synik_GR
This is a really cool, innovative, and fun game. All of that is completely ruined by bugs that the developer has had nearly ten years to fix, and yet failed to do so.
One of the primary mechanics of this game is entering commands on a deck, in a terminal-like session. This is supposed to feature command history and autocomplete, neither of which work correctly consistently. This is not just a problem with me - the Steam discussion forums are filled with pages and pages of people having these same problems. The game is certainly playable without these things, but is is beyond ridiculous for such glaring, commonly-hit bugs to still exist this long after launch.
It's not just these issues though - I've had graphical issues (interfaces being waaaay too zoomed in), crashes to desktop, and issues with commands - for example, the Weevil has a "go" command, where you have to supply a distance as a argument. However, it will walk forever, until it runs into something or your manually stop it, regardless of what distance you tell it.
I really applaud the fun, innovative game design, but when it's a 50/50 split between gameplay and dealing with bugs, it is not acceptable.
Mildly annoying gameplay, but I respect the creative ideas.
I don't have the heart to give Quadrilateral Cowboy a thumbs down, even though I do have issues with the game.
I can't say that the gameplay clicked for me. It revolves around interaction with various gadgets that you lug around, and as neat as they are, they are also clunky, and not entirely in an endearing way.
I've also ended up having far too many doubts about the level design. Chances are that bigger, meatier levels would be more enjoyable than these little bite-sized heists where everything is over in the blink of an eye once you have the solution discovered.
But these matters aside, the reason I will most likely remember Quadrilateral Cowboy with sufficient fondness despite its flaws is just how effortlessly it nails the setting. Simply taking it all in was positively delightful for me, and if that's not a sign of masterfully done work, then I don't know what is.
You won't see me rushing to recommend Quadrilateral Cowboy to everyone and their dog, but maybe cautiously consider giving it a go if it seems enticing and there's a good enough discount available.
Pretty good but is kinda short. Get it if its on sale for sure.
A very fun heist game using the command line on you laptop to use tools.
unfortunately it's really quite short and never feels like it 'gets going' in regards to difficulty.
additionally there were two tabs in the guide book which were scribbled out, which felt like they were going to be tools for later but they never showed up.
8/10 wish there was more levels and maybe more substance to go with it
Great
The game mechanics were great, and the gameplay was engaging. The game’s atmosphere was also 10/10. The story was okay for me — not too heavy for a casual gamer. I would recommend this game to everyone.
风格独树一帜的黑客解谜游戏，利用复古风格的手提电脑骇入各种门和机关并完成各种劫案，很多时候也需要各种工具的帮助，有点低配版Zach风解谜的味道了。这里的绝大多数操作（比如开门和关激光）只能持续三秒，超时就会报警，所以很多时候需要计划好时机，配合wait指令、眨眼脚本等等来一气呵成，完成后成就感还是挺足的。这游戏我20年就半价买了，当时不知道什么原因弃坑了（好像是没看懂要怎么推进下一关），这次回坑后反而玩得还挺顺畅XD
6小时通关，感觉游戏最棒的还是氛围感的营造，关卡之间的小串场就已经把这个赛博朋克世界描绘的淋漓尽致：有了悬浮摩托还要住上床下桌的寝室，甚至洗手间和厨房都是好几家公用的，找工作屡屡被拒，和小伙伴们的日常也只是吃泡面打羽毛球；但在据点看着忙活修车和健身的伙伴们，自己再用电脑跑一遍合约模拟，用模拟出的结果赚上一笔不义之财，就真的非常浪漫了。
прикалдесный симулятор ограблений
who up neuromancing they wintermute
Not a super long game.
It has a heartwarming story <3
I love how most things are taught to you through environment and play - no info dumping here :)
Full of fun puzzles, well-made done.
A few bugs here and there but overall it is worth.
Retrocyberpunk hacking game. I love this. I always wanted a cyberpunk game where it is Eighties, cyber is C64 and the punk aspect is something like Milli Vanilli. Set this in cold war Finland and it is a story about my childhood, except my hacking didn't go far beyond copying C64 tapes!
iz gud. play it
My only complaint is that there isn't more game. I had so much fun with this, but I wanted longer and more complicated puzzles. Still, a very fun and charming game, and perfect length to enjoy over a weekend.
Really fun and pretty complex
One of my all time favorites. The low-fi, retro-futurism, alternate history cyberpunk world makes the perfect setting for the incredibly fun pseudo-programming and hacking game play. The story is simple and strangely hopeful. Quadrilateral Cowboy is an indie masterpiece.
I played through Quadrilateral Cowboy game back in 2016, and I came back to it because Skin Deep just dropped, but I think about it often. It's true that there's a lot of cool concepts that are introduced in each level, but then moves on a bit too quickly. But something about the aesthetic, the setting, the tactile sounds, the way story and character elements are very much "show, don't tell", I felt there was something really beautiful about the whole thing. The ending as well, it's so simple, yet it hit me like a ton of bricks, and every time I hear Clair de Lune I remember it. I guess it just reminded me of good times with my own heist crew when we were younger. Been a Brendon Chung fan ever since.
This is a really mellow and stylish programming game about committing heists. Highly recommended!
A delicious blend(o) of coding, puzzle solving and storytelling. The end credits were quite beautiful. Also it feels so good to write code that doesn't immediately break XD
This game is so cool... so much style to it... minimalist graphics, but still expressive. Music, atmosphere.. is all great. The game is also super clever and the command line interface.. pseudo DOS style hacking is fun and feels real-ish. Such a cool game. Play it.
Если бы мне нравилось прогать в свободное время, то я бы не попал под сокращение и играл бы в нормальные игры вместо инди-дерьма.
Fun slapstick hacking heist game. What more could you want
like if jazzpunk gave you a computer and told you to hack your way through the game
One of the best ever made
10/10
i'll be surprised if i find another game that scratches the particular itch that quadrilateral cowboy does.
it's a beautiful experience that i wasn't expecting in the slightest.
10/10
What a blast. Fun puzzles, doesn't quite unfold into a full on imsim the way you might want it to. Oh well, if only Blendo was planning on releasing a real live immersive sim sometime soon...
Product technically received for free, it was gifted to me by a friend.
First off, despite my downvote, I thoroughly enjoy the concept, the gameplay, and the ideas, and I would love to play more. I really love coding (despite not doing all that much of it), and this scratches that itch in my brain very nicely. Each of the features I'd gotten to play with were great; the hacking deck feels tactile, the weevil is fun to control, and the booster pad is a blast to use.
However, even with how much I adore the game, concept, and mechanics, I personally cannot justify paying any money for a game with as many bugs (only 2 experienced personally). The first one was basically a softlock, the game stopped registering any game inputs that weren't wasd, mouse inputs, and the Function keys. I couldn't even hit esc to close the game directly, and had to tab out and close it via Steam.
Second bug was simultaneously a tiny issue and a thorn in my side, and what's worse is there's a community post from *2016* that brought it to the dev's attention. The main tool in the game is basically a laptop you carry around to hack into various devices using a coding prompt. Similar to many command windows (i.e. Source game Consoles), you can press ↑ to fill in the previous command(s). However, seemingly randomly, the game decides that any input that changes the code field also counts as pressing enter; meaning that hitting enter to send a command will also send a blank line, and more annoyingly, pressing ↑ will, instead of cycling previous commands normally, will instead *run* previous commands one at a time.
Overall, I can't recommend this game if playing it involves any money whatsoever. If the game were free then my complaints would very likely be more tame, but for $20 I could chose several other games off my Wishlist, and I'm sure I would have less issues with bugs. Hell, there are several free games in my Library right now that are not only much bigger, but also have a much better bug problem.
I can only genuinely fully recommend this game if, not when, it gets some necessary pesticide. Although given that such a massive thread about a single bug that still exists is from nearly a decade ago, I have my doubts about that.
I adore this game.
It conjures up a vision of some lost era, elegantly stitching old-world grit to futuristic edges, yet radiating a romance so tangible you can almost hear your own heartbeat echo in the night.
In that inaugural chase—a speeding motorbike in pursuit of a hissing steam-powered locomotive as Debussy’s Clair de Lune gently unfolds—you realize it’s far more than just another cyberpunk romp. [b] All of this feels so reminiscent, romantic, and oneiric that I found myself shedding tears in serene contemplation[/b]
Perhaps it’s in those hushed pauses between missions, the faint hum of distant machinery, or a simple exchange of glances among friends—but a veritable, understated warmth bleeds through. I found myself unexpectedly moved, as though the game’s illusions were merely an invitation to a more private, wistful waltz.
[b] Best Indie
10/10[/b]
I've only played this for half an hour and I know that I'm going to sink countless hours into it. What a charming, cute, and sophisticated game!
telnet
Its somewhat tricky for me to recommend this. In typical Blendo fashion its a wonderful little story vignette, but on the mechanical side it struggles a bit. As other reviews have said, its eager to introduce and then just as quickly abandon new mechanics. The gadgets are all cool in their own right but without relying on workshop content it doesn't give you enough puzzles to actually enjoy them before it moves on to something else. I finished the entire campaign in about 3 hours and I think it definitely could've been at least a little longer without overstaying its welcome.
My final verdict is I think its worth it at a discount. I really enjoy what its doing I just wish there was more of it.
I made a note scavenger hunt for anyone on my friend's list. I love this game
A wonderful hacking experience through and through - if you want to be an entire heist crew, with tiny robot included, grab this. Can be a bit janky at times (to be expected of a game this old) but a wonderful experience.
Short but very fun. Probably the best Blendo game?
It's perfect
NOBODY DOES IT LIKE BRENDON CHUNG
A short but fun puzzle game set in a corpo-world dystopia with a charming aesthetic. The puzzles are heist-style and aren't difficult to solve, but they make you think just hard enough to feel satisfaction in solving them.
If you play through it, definitely check out the few fan-made levels on the workshop as well.
The game can be finished in about 5 hours, 3 if you're quick. It is a niche game and if you feel that $20 is a little steep for that - grab it for 50% off during the steam sales.
Steam dice que he jugado esto por 12-13 horas pero eso es mentira, lo he jugado por tanto tiempo que ya ni recuerdo cuándo fue que lo empecé (Suelo jugar sin conexión y esas horas no las cuenta el sistema).
ESTE no es un videojuego, es una carta de amor escrita con toda el alma, hacia lo lindo que se sienta programar algo y que te salga BIEN. La historia te permite ver la vida de 3 ladronas que usan tecnología de películas de espías para realizar sus golpes, PERO, la maquinaria que usan para cada atraco depende de líneas de código que tú como jugador debes escribir en tiempo real. Obviamente es una versión muy simplificada de cómo se hace coding en el mundo real, PERO SI EXISTE UN VIDEOJUEGO QUE DE VERDAD TE HAGA SENTIR COMO HACKER, ES ESTE.
Jamás he vuelto a sentir tan enorme satisfacción escribiendo algo en una consola, que cuando logré encadenar códigos para hacer que una puerta se abriera/cerrase sola cada vez que yo parpadease 4 veces seguidas.
La historia viene aparte, pero se siente tan personal, y tan cercana (Y OJITO, NO HAY UN SOLO DIÁLOGO, TODO ES "ACTUACIÓN" MUDA POR PARTE DE LOS PERSONAJES), que me hace desear haber sido parte de ese trío de ladronas intentando sobrevivir la dictadura que las oprimía (Sin dar mucho contexto, tira un poco a lo Robin Hood el asunto).
SUPER DIVERTIDO
SUPER REJUGABLE
DURACIÓN PERFECTA.
Un jeu de hacking cyberpunk diablement original qui, malgré ses 10 ans, n'a pas pris une ride ! Utilisez vos scripts pour infiltrer des systèmes dans une aventure rétro-futuriste unique où chaque mission est un puzzle créatif qui stimule l'intelligence et l'imagination.
A really really unique game with interesting puzzles that could probably be solved a million different ways. Feels like a game that inspired "Teardown" in some way. I really enjoyed it and just wish there were more baseline levels to play ^,^
See you, square cowboy.
剧透部分已遮挡
玩了两遍。初见流程大概就 5 小时，第二遍凭着之前的印象勉强 3 小时通关。
- 游戏性方面：内容不多，关卡难度不大，但是还算有意思。游戏道具的设计很有创新性。
- 美术方面：我个人很喜欢这种复古简陋的着色，很喜欢作者在场景中加入的各种可以互动的小物件。
- 故事性方面：虽然全程除了系统提示和警报声外，没有任何人说任何一句人话，但是这个游戏真的有在“叙事”。游戏的叙事主要是从剧情和场景中的细节来进行的 [spoiler]比如基地里挂在墙上的求职信（？）和好姐妹房间里的照片[/spoiler]。
如果要说不足的话：我在游玩的时候确实碰到过一些 bug；游戏的引导其实做的不好。
总体上好评，期待作者的新作 Skin Deep。
the atmosphere is amazing even with low poly graphics, maybe its even better because of it. very addictive with a great story despite no dialog.
9/10.
This game is very short, to the point where once you figure out the puzzles and how general puzzle structure works, it almost feels trivial to figure out how to solve more puzzles, but it's engaging enough and introduces enough new elements to the point where you don't feel like you're out of the dark.
I'll admit, I do wish there was a DLC or a Quadrilateral Cowboy 2, but I respect the developers for just making games that they feel inspired to make rather than cash-in on good will.
Good
Really liked the game. Puzzles were fun. Beautiful story told through the environment. I know this is an old game but I can't help but wish for more...
A really good hacking game. The art design and world are inspired, the gameplay is on the small side but very fun. Good community content too.
Love the way the narrative plays out.
esse e sinceramente o jogo mais diferente que eu ja joguem em toda minha vida
I got this in a big bundle over on itchio quite a while ago and it turned out it was one of the onlyworthwhile games that I didn't already have in that bundle. So I decided to get it on steam to throw the devs some bucks (that's why my playtime here is just half an hour)
It is pretty much a heist-planning-sim. It reminds me of the old game "The Sting!" ("Der Clou! 2") just a bit simpler.
It is not really compareable to games like thief simulator, because the main danger here is alarm systems, not humans.
But as plenty of people know neither game:
It is a game where you simulate heists on your state of the art fictional 80s computer. you start out outside of a building or simlar and need to get inside to steal something specific (or photograph something or similar). The alarm systems are your obstacles on the way and you surpass them by your trusty laptop and it's very simplified command interface. You can, for example, open doors using it, but most doors can only stay open for 3 seconds or the alarm goes off.
During the game you get more and more tools, like a mini-remote-controlled-robot. There never are any human guards, thankfully.
Unlike other stealing type games (like the aforementioned thief simulator/the sting) you're only interested in one thing, you do not actually steal all that isn't nailed down.
Later on there is a sequence where you plan a few heists for more than one person at a time. I really didn't like those because of some clunkyness involved. Thankfully they were over again quick.
The story is.. meh. It's mostly a cheap framing device for the heists, and I already forgot most of it despite having fully played through the game earlier this year.
The graphics, well, look at the screenshots. That's what you get. It's blocky and low res. But other than oher games, in this one it really feels those graphics were used for style, not lazyness. For example, it uses real textures, not 10x10 pixel ugly ones like so many indies I could list. They're still low res, mind you, but with a high enough resolution to not be an eye sore. For how simple it looks, it looks fine.
Now price.. It's currently half off on steam, autumn sale, and I think this price, $10, is a fair price. I'm not sure I'd recommend it at full price. After all, it's an 8 year old indie game that's quite short. I'd say wait for a big sale like the current one.
Quadrilateral Cowboy is an excellent, albeit very short, puzzle heist game. Blendo Games drops probably their best game to date. I loved Gravity Bone 16 years ago when I was a kid, but Thirty Flights of Loving disappointing. This game is no disappointment. Once again, they excel at immersive storytelling without a single line of intelligible dialogue. We follow three friends and their numerous heists over the years. It's less about the heists themselves and more about the bond of these three women. It's a nice simple story, but the gameplay is the real highlight. The heists are brilliantly crafted to take full advantage of your arsenal of tools to solve the increasingly intricate puzzles cleverly disguised as heists. Instead of hitting you all at once with everything and hitting you with a glorified manual like some other puzzle games. The difficulty increases on a curve as more tools are provided to the player. You start with a computer deck for hacking electronics in the environment. I love the approach of typing out commands like a real computer. I won't list them all out, but the case gun is my favorite. The puzzle design is more akin to a Zachlike than a Mystlike. To explain, instead of restricting you to one solution for you to figure out, you're given wiggle room to experiment and solve it in a number of ways. I gotta give compliments to the unique art style indicative of a Blendo Game. The boxy character models and cyberpunk architecture is unique and inspired. I really wanted to explore more of the world. If I had any complaints, they would be with the short length and soundtrack. I have no issue with the music itself, I just don't think it fits the cyberpunk setting. A more atmospheric soundtrack would be better here in my opinion. Regarding length, because the game eases you into its mechanics by introducing tools over the course of the campaign, by the time you get them all, you only have a few missions to use them before it's over. Bonus missions or just an extended campaign would've been nice. There are some workshop maps, but I don't count that as a positive for the vanilla game. I recommend Quadrilateral Cowboy to fans of puzzle programming type games. (8/10)
<Quadrilateral Cowboy> 1인칭 퍼즐 어드벤처 게임이다. 플레이어는 해커인 주인공을 조작해 매 미션마다 특정한 건물에 침투해 문서나 물건을 탈취해야한다. 가방 모양의 노트북 하나와 여러가지 가젯(미니 로봇, 터렛, 발사기 등)들로 무장해 건물의 방범 기능을 하나씩 해제해 가며 플레이하게 된다.
해킹이라고 해서 꽤나 복잡하고 어려운 게임이라는 첫 인상을 가질지도 모르지만, 게임 자체는 크게 어렵진 않다. 다만 컴퓨터 코드와 cmd 환경에 익숙치 않은 사람이라면 첫 걸음을 떼는 데 어려움이 있지 않을까 싶음. 상당히 독특한 퍼즐 매커니즘을 가지고, 어려가지 사용가능한 가젯들이 추가될 때 마다 그것들을 활용해서 복잡한 문제를 풀어나가는 재미는 확실한 편이다.
스토리는 있기는 한 것 같은데 간접적으로 알려주는 수준이라 썩 눈에 띄진 않는다. 스토리와는 별개로 배경 설정과 배경 미술은 상당히 독특하고 매력있기 때문에 인상깊었음.
단점이 있다면, 게임의 분량이 너무 짧다는 거다. 얻을 수 있는 가젯들을 모두 얻고 그것들에 익숙해질 쯤, 더욱 복잡하고 응용을 요구하는 퍼즐이 나오지 않을까 하는 참에 갑자기 엔딩이 나와버린다.
부족한 분량을 보충하기 위해 자체적으로 유즈맵을 제작 및 공유하는 기능을 지원하긴 한다. 그러나 인지도가 떨어지는 게임이라 그런지 그 수도 턱없이 부족하다고 느껴짐.
cool
A really interesting heist game with a deus ex flavor.
It's more about puzzle work than Deus Ex but the feeling is still there.
