MIND: Path to Thalamus

 PC
Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 18 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 18
  3. Negative: 0 out of 18
  1. Adventure Gamers
    Feb 11, 2015
    70
    MIND is a great-looking first-person puzzler with a nice atmosphere and promising but flawed gameplay that’s often held hostage to a narrative that falls flat on its face.
  2. Game World Navigator Magazine
    Oct 25, 2014
    70
    Fascinating experiments with spheres are clouded by the vastness of locations, the lack of clues and ingenuity of puzzles. And if you get used eventually to the intricate brain-teasers with their dreamlike logic, then boring mumbling narrator keeps you annoyed until the very end. Hero spits stamps like a fifth-grader and cites quotes on about everything. But this is forgivable minus, because Carlos Coronado did programming, game design, script and music himself. And games that made with love are rarely bad. [Nov 2014, p.75]
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  3. GameSpot
    Aug 18, 2014
    70
    Even if you don't fall in love with Path to Thalamus, I suspect you won't be fully immune to its gravity.
  5. Kill Screen
    Aug 14, 2014
    67
    Mind: Path to Thalamus is, at times, messy, but it’s a beautiful mess, one that still exhibits powerful moments of emotional impact that are so true to the game and the medium that it’s almost painful.
  6. GameCritics
    Oct 16, 2014
    60
    Mind: Path to Thalamus is beautiful and has several elegant puzzles, but it doesn't tell any story with those attributes, nor does it tell a good story with anything else.
  7. GameStar
    Aug 8, 2014
    52
    The only bright spot is the graphical and atmospheric implementation.
  8. DarkStation
    Aug 28, 2014
    50
    Three years in the making, Mind: Path to Thalamus is a valiant effort on the part of Carlos Coronado. There are moments that impress, but the parts all add up to a mediocre story shoe-horned into a mediocre first person puzzler. I encourage the development team to keep it up, but I can’t really recommend this one as a must see.

User Reviews

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User Score
6.8

Mixed or average reviews- based on 92 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 48 out of 92
  2. Mixed: 23 out of 92
  3. Negative: 21 out of 92
  1. ROKUGAN
    Aug 7, 2014
    1
    One single word to describe this game: IRRITATING. I played it to completion. At first I was intrigued as I've had great experiences withOne single word to describe this game: IRRITATING. I played it to completion. At first I was intrigued as I've had great experiences with other narrative games (eg Dear Esther, Gone Home), but tbh the best moment in this game was when after completion I un-installed it. Boring trial and error puzzles, lots of nonsense, repetitive scenarios, crappy graphics, and most of all: a dialogue that is as presumptuous as absurd and irritating. I ended hating the main character's non-stop wining about his daughter. God I've never play another indie game again without a direct recommendation from a trustful source. You're warned about this one!… Full Review »
  2. dillos
    Aug 6, 2014
    1
    walking solve puzzle ... walking solve puzzle .. great art and music but gameplay is boring , i don't know how people can give 10 to this ? ifwalking solve puzzle ... walking solve puzzle .. great art and music but gameplay is boring , i don't know how people can give 10 to this ? if you like puzzle this game is for you but otherwise if you like action stay away....… Full Review »
  3. BSim500
    Aug 17, 2014
    4
    It's impressive it was created with such a tiny design team, and the atmosphere and audio are nice, but there are several major annoyancesIt's impressive it was created with such a tiny design team, and the atmosphere and audio are nice, but there are several major annoyances which sadly spoil the game. Firstly there are game breaking "collision" bugs. If you use or drop the puzzle sphere in the wrong place it can bounce out of range (or even fall through the floor) so you have to restart. Secondly, I suffered from highly distracting chronic screen tearing even with both the game options and GFX drivers forced VSync to "on". Other people on the net complaining about the same thing, and yes this is the proper release not an "early access build". Thirdly, keys are not remappable (a relatively simple feature) and are inconsistent. Up and down arrows move forward and back, but left and right arrows "turn" instead of strafe (but WASD work as expected and strafe not turn).

    Finally, the biggest annoyance is no quick save. Some of us have busy schedules and can only "snatch" 10-15mins during certain periods. If it takes 16mins to complete a chapter and you quit just 30 seconds before completion, you'll have to restart the whole chapter over again. What are us busy people supposed to do, not game at all until we have a clear 5 hours? Come on people, this is 2014 PC gaming not 1986 cartridge based consoles. Even Doom in 1993 had a QuickSave feature, as have many other small-dev Indie games over the years using the same Unreal engine...

    End score = I would have given 8 out of 10 without the 4 annoyances, but it shrinks to 4 out of 10 with them as combined they make the game highly frustrating rather than fluid and enjoyable.    … Full Review »
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