Ever Forward

Most of the puzzles were well-designed and I appreciated the chance to put my problem-solving skills and spatial awareness to the test, but the game is insolently short. I finished the campaign in approximately two hours, but it can be done much faster even without skipping the cut-scenes. [11/2020, p.54]

With some quite tricky puzzles, Ever Forward is a rather challenging puzzler. The luscious graphics and lovely soundtrack definitely help the experience, but I’d have liked a bit more game. The pacing is a touch on the slow side too, so not one for the impatient.

Ever Forward has so much potential. Due to the unused graphic style and soulful story, developer Pathea could have created a real indie pearl. The gameplay around the frustrating puzzles prevents that, although great puzzles crept in in between, which I was happy to break my head about. At the latest because of the stressful puzzles with time pressure, I often lost the fun of the game. Especially the gravity puzzles at the end are one cramp. It's a shame, it could have been so good ...

Ever Forward is a satisfying and pretty puzzle game, with a compelling narrative. However it suffers with being a bit too frustrating at times when the precision required is made difficult with clunky controls.

It's quite telling that Ever Forward's demo (released independently with the subtitle Prologue) isn't that much shorter than an actual full play-through. Despite the title's tense stealth sections, and fairly involved puzzle-solving, the fact of the matter is that the final product plays out like the tutorial to a much longer adventure that never starts. By the time Maya's story starts to breathe, and the core gameplay begins introducing complex and layered puzzles, the journey is more or less over. The atmosphere is commendable, as are the puzzles actually present, but the is sure to leave genre veterans disappointed, and newcomers desperate for some meat to chew on.

Ever Forward is a refreshing puzzle game but doesn't stand out.

As an overall package, Ever Forward is a solid enough puzzle game with enough eureka moments for puzzle fans to want to get involved. It's unfortunately let down by its more action-based moments and its up-and-down difficulty curve, which stops it from being a must-play. Nonetheless, there's still a fair amount to love for those after a punchy and short puzzle game.

Ever Forward isn’t an easy road, but whatever you make of its final narrative revelation, it’s an engaging, rewarding journey that’s well worth taking. Just remember to stop scratching your head when you hit brain matter.

Ever Forward is a strikingly beautiful game with interesting and challenging puzzles, but harsh difficulty spikes make it a little more frustrating than it should be.