Screenshots & trailers
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (OpenCritic) | – | 63 | 12 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 89% | 83 | 154 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | – | 0 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 100% | 97 | 0 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 1 reviews sampled · 1 total reviews in window · weighted 1 up / 0 down · computed 2h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (13)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 60
“Sephonie’s thematic scope is admirably wide-ranging, but its wordiness only crowds a game whose mechanics are tenuously connected. For a game that concerns the interconnectedness of all things, it’s unfortunate how awkwardly some of its pieces are glued together.”
read full review ↗ - 58
“A mixed bag of intriguing ideas and story elements paired with over-complicated but pretty easy puzzles and awful 3D platforming”
read full review ↗ - 85
“Sephonie is an outstanding 3D platformer that's weakened some by overly verbose, and often heavy-handed story-telling.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Perhaps some players won’t resonate with certain aspects of the narrative, but there’s so much here to get lost in and enjoy, that the heart of the design and atmosphere is what will draw you in, another corker from Analgesic Productions!”
read full review ↗ - 55
“Sephonie is an enjoyable experience gameplay-wise, but every other element weighs down an otherwise great puzzle platforming experience.”
read full review ↗ - 50
“Sephonie is an interesting puzzle-platformer but one that didn’t leave a lasting impression on myself. The sci-fi story didn’t do much for me, the platforming and puzzles needed more work to make them more enjoyable, and the visuals aren’t very detailed. There is plenty of options to make it so anyone can get through it but I think there are many better options in the genre out there to spend your time on.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“This game has fun platforming, relaxing puzzles, and a great story that asks big questions with down-to-earth protagonists. Sephonie manages to juggle three strong cores to individual games and bind them together (if a bit loosely) to make a satisfying experience that pulls you in, it has definitely won me over after my time with it.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Sephonie is a narrative-focused action platformer that follows three scientists on their journey to a somewhat living island named Sephonie. Along the way, they discover unique areas to traverse, interesting creatures, and more about themselves and their history. I was excited to get into this game, as I played and enjoyed Anodyne 2 last year, a game from the same developers. Did Sephonie make its way into my heart? Find out in this Rapid Review.”
read full review ↗ - 50
“Sephonie is one of those games that’s absolutely bursting with ideas. Its Steam page called the game a “Tony-Hawk-esque 3D platformer”, it’s got lengthy dialogue sequences that are basically just philosophical musings, and one of the core parts of the game is cataloguing all the flora and fauna of an underground cave network, which you do via minigames that look like Tetris reimagined as a match-3 puzzle. Unfortunately, it also doesn’t have any notion of how to turn those ideas into a particularly interesting game.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“An interesting narrative-driven old-school infused 3D puzzle platformer”
read full review ↗ - 75
“Sephonie is a game that succeeds in making non-punitive decisions for the player. What could be a frustrating experience becomes a relaxing and fun activity. However, this does not make it exempt from criticism, especially in platform sessions. The rich biodiversity draws attention for its creativity and excellent description of the species. This makes the environment more alive and rich, giving more pleasure to explore the scenarios for new living beings. Sephonie may have its problems, but it's included in the selection of those good games to pass the time.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Three people travel to an exotic island in the near future. Using an impossible technology, in an unimaginable place, we have an adventure to discover and understand. Sephonie is a 3D platformer with a dour engine that takes away much of the charm it's intended to achieve. But with a good playable base, and music that catches and envelops you to greatly endow that charm that its artistic section does not finish transmitting.”
read full review ↗
Slant Magazine
Nindie Spotlight
PC Invasion
Games Freezer
GameGrin
ThisGenGaming
Thumb Culture
Rapid Reviews UK
Gaming Age
PS4Blog.net
GameBlast
33bits…and 1 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- 1.0.7 (Linux only)Dec 8, 2023