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) | – | 61 | 14 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 88% | 82 | 543 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | – | 0 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 100% | 97 | 3 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 8 reviews sampled · 8 total reviews in window · weighted 4 up / 0 down · computed 4h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (20)
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.
- 70
- 60
“The overarching story within NUTS is probably worth experiencing on its own, despite the repetitive gameplay. It’s reasonably well written and is just about compelling enough to hold your attention for its 2-3 hour duration. There’s nothing here that you’ll connect with on an emotional level, but the voiceover work really helps drive the mystery. Unfortunately, there also a number of framerate dips throughout the experience that will really hamper your enjoyment; hopefully, this will be ironed out in the future.”
read full review ↗ - 68
“With a focus on the mischievous little woodland creatures, the squirrels, this is a pretty unique adventure you'll undertake as a wildlife observer of sorts...”
read full review ↗ - 90
“Games like Nuts don't come along very often. A compelling storyline and intriguing puzzles combine to create my favorite gaming experience of 2021, so far. Don't let it's simple demeaner fool you. There is far more going on under the hood than meets the eye. This is an investigation that deserves your attention, as soon as possible.”
read full review ↗ - 50
“The visual design harms the experience, and there are frequent framerate stutters and hiccups while playing the later levels. I enjoyed the premise and the ideas the game presents, but within this context the Switch version does not do the game justice. There is nut much to be gained here.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“Developed by a team working remotely, NUTS is a unique and surprisingly effective experience for what seems to be, at first, a mere squirrel-photographing simulator. The attention and care put into each and every aspect of the game are tangible, but there's no denying that more gameplay variety and some small adjustments would be ideal for this game to become a masterpiece.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Embrace the bucolic life as a grad student tracking some squirrels across a forest in this unique narrative puzzler.”
read full review ↗ - 40
“Nuts is a short hike through mostly uninspiring terrain.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“Nuts is an interesting game where the story fairly quickly overshoots the gameplay in scope.”
read full review ↗ - 40
“I cannot, in good faith, recommend a game that I could not finish thanks to game-breaking bugs. Looking past that, on the grounds that said bug can be squashed in time, you have a great concept that is just poorly executed. For all its atmosphere, for all its potential, the game feels totally hollow. Perhaps the point of the game was that you feel closer to the squirrels than your boss, who you hold in such contempt you refuse to speak to her. Perhaps the game is just dull.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“NUTS is an adorable walk through a forest of tranquillity. The gameplay is fun and unique, and nicely paced. The game doesn’t feel too hectic or too slow, and the specific requests from Nina players must achieve for each level increase in difficulty and keep the game interesting. The story is fabulous, especially if you love (or even just like) squirrels. A small group of people trying to protect animal habitat from a huge mega-corporation that wants to tear it all down in the name of profit. It is a story that is, sadly, all too real in this day and age. You’ll be rooting for yourself, the forest, and the squirrels the entire time as you try to capture their adorable furry faces in your camera. Definitely pick up this game if you like: calm, relaxing games, squirrels, photography and unique art!”
read full review ↗ - 50
“I feel like I was completely duped by its misleading trailer. The concept does have potential, but they didn’t go dark enough or weird enough with it. The story never gets terribly interesting and it leaves you with a lot of unanswered questions. It’s also incredibly short.”
read full review ↗
Fintendo
Nintendo Life
Nindie Spotlight
PC Invasion
NintendoWorldReport
The Game is a Lie
Eurogamer
GameSpot
Explosion Network
TheSixthAxis
LadiesGamers.com
WayTooManyGames…and 8 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Bugfix feb 12Feb 12, 2021
- Features and FixesFeb 10, 2021
- BugfixesJun 16, 2020