Membrane

 Switch
User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 30 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 21 out of 30
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 30
  3. Negative: 6 out of 30

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. MedusaMadman77
    Feb 24, 2018
    8
    Both interesting and weird. If you like puzzle platformers, it's worth a look. It's like BoyBoy meets Gonner.
  2. superduper99
    Mar 1, 2018
    10
    very fun game. Really enjoyed the art style, something fresh and different and the creative element to building and solving puzzles was dope.
  3. saiteron
    Oct 8, 2019
    3
    short take: wanted to love it but beyond a surface level found more to hate than love.

    long take: Membrane looks and sounds great. the simple but vibrant graphics and basic but effective music and sfx give the game a crisp, modern feel. when it comes to gameplay, however, Membrane offers a series of repetitive, shallow puzzles that vary wildly from too easy to blisteringly difficult,    short take: wanted to love it but beyond a surface level found more to hate than love.

    long take: Membrane looks and sounds great. the simple but vibrant graphics and basic but effective music and sfx give the game a crisp, modern feel. when it comes to gameplay, however, Membrane offers a series of repetitive, shallow puzzles that vary wildly from too easy to blisteringly difficult, exacerbated by imprecise controls, poorly defined mechanics and semi-unpredictable physics.

    generally speaking, easy puzzles in the early game prepare you for the harder ones later on, but occasionally I found a level that took so much longer to complete than the adjacent puzzles that I was sure I had somehow skipped ahead a section. I'm no stranger to hard games, but in games I truly love, the difficulty ramps more gradually and predictably. In Membrane I'd often suddenly find myself stuck for nearly half an hour after breezing through puzzle after puzzle effortlessly. To make things worse, the source of the sudden challenge was often related to the bad aim controls: when aiming, there is absolutely no nuance to your joystick motion. all aiming is "on" or "off", meaning your target changes at the same speed whether tilting the stick gently or with gusto. This makes precision nigh impossible which becomes a glaring issue whenever a puzzle requires accuracy.

    the last beef I have here is with the imprecision of the physics engine. a perfect example can be found in a level that requires pressing a switch to launch a big green ball. the ball starts the level moving. if you wait for it to reach a position of rest, theoretically it should launch identically (or at least with minimal variance) every time. instead, I discovered the amount of time I wait after the ball stops moving greatly impacts its response to the launcher. wait half a second and the ball veers far off target; wait two-ish seconds and it's a bullseye. wait three? again, far off target. three and half? off target but in a different direction. the logic behind this escapes me. plenty of other examples of things varying wildly due to seemingly arbitrary factors as well.

    in summary: Membrane seems like it could have been great but uninspired puzzle design, faulty controls and fallible physics make for a frustrating experience.    … Expand
  4. jeffbizloc
    Sep 25, 2019
    8
    Well I got this for 99% off so wasn't expecting much. Membrane turned out to be a great game. I like games that use your tools to build paths and solve solutions.

    Game(s) like: Semblance

    Pros:
    - Good puzzles and length of the game (about 5-7 hours)

    Cons:
    - The controls did not seem exact to me
    - Some of the later levels were a bit frustrating due to the inexactness
  5. doughboi
    May 7, 2018
    10
    This game has a p cool art style (you have to see it in motion) and I like that I can create my own solutions to the puzzles. Kind of like World of Goo meets DK 94.
  6. carlosW
    Sep 28, 2018
    10
    weird game. i like it, but its weird. stumbled upon it on the eShop and I dug the art style.
  7. Balakovsc
    Jul 24, 2019
    8
    A very funny game, with puzzles which difficulty increases as you play, but that let you create your own solution... It has a very nice style and the controls, despite simple, are well designed. The fun one might have playing really worth the cost of the game.
  8. gergey
    Dec 10, 2019
    10
    Got this game for on sale $1, but its way worth the full usual price of $10
  9. jandleslapper
    Apr 4, 2021
    7
    nice little physics based puzzle game. In the latter portion of the game the levels become a little confusing as to what to do, generally my solution was to finagle my way to completion. The fact that I picked this up for very little added another point to my score, anything over 10 NZD is not really worth it.
  10. tellitonthemoun
    Dec 19, 2021
    10
    This game is rad, super creative and mellow puzzle vibes, relly enjoyed my time with it and havent found a game as unique in a while

    -tellitonthemo

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
71

Mixed or average reviews - based on 7 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 5 out of 7
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 7
  3. Negative: 1 out of 7
  1. DarkStation
    May 29, 2018
    40
    I really hope to see Membrane revisited at some point with a greater focus on making satisfying puzzles and using the mechanics to their fullest extent. As it stands, though, there really isn't much to go on here. Membrane's got great aesthetics and all, but there's nothing to really back it up, and so you wind up going through the game without feeling much like engaging in it. There are fun levels sprinkled throughout, but for the most part, I found myself wondering what the point was, and never wound up finding an answer.
    Read full review
  2. TheSixthAxis
    May 10, 2018
    80
    Membrane is an immensely enjoyable puzzle game filled an increasingly interesting use of it’s simple base mechanics.
    Read full review
  3. GameSpace
    Apr 18, 2018
    80
    Membrane is a delightful title for the Nintendo Switch that offers hours of fun solving increasingly complex puzzles.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »