Metascore
65

Mixed or average reviews - based on 7 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 7
  2. Negative: 0 out of 7
  1. Jan 24, 2020
    60
    A delightfully presented text adventure that relies too heavily on replaying old dialogue — even if the actual story is good, it may not be interesting enough to make you persevere.
  2. 60
    SELF is a story that I wanted to engross myself in more than anything. I felt for this child and wanted to do everything I could to help them. The game had me hooked in that way, but unfortunately, it squandered that enthusiasm away through some questionable storytelling devices and lackluster mini game sections. As purely a story experience, this is one I can recommend, if you can get through the broken-up design choice, but for those looking for anything else outside of a sorrowful and sinister puzzler, this is probably one you can leave behind.
  3. Jan 30, 2020
    50
    If you’re a fan of interpreting the meaning behind dreams or stories, or if you like the puzzle aspects in piecing together understanding from a hodgepodge of randomness, then you might really enjoy SELF. But I think there are better options for text-based adventure games out there on the Switch. For the 2-3 hours it took me to complete every ending I don’t feel like it’s worth the time or money that could otherwise be invested into other things. Although a lot of the Kafkaesque story beats, like the father-son relationship and the surreal, absurdist scenarios the boy found himself in, were unique and initially interesting; SELF just didn’t have the metamorphosis it needed to turn into something greater.
  4. Jan 18, 2020
    50
    From a game with this ambition, it's expected that the plot will be engaging and interesting but that's not the case with SELF. Rather, its soundtrack stands out the most and it's well worth listening to. Overall, SELF is a strange experience, one that may be worth a try but for which expectations shouldn't be too high.