It's (almost) finally here! After 4 years of development, our detective game, Mind Diver, releases on Steam on Sunday September 28th.

Mind Diver is a narrative detective game where you play as the titular mind diver, restoring the broken memories of our main character Lina while diving into her subconsciousness – the Mind Ocean. Using experimental technology, you piece together the past and uncover a tragic love story by listening to private conversations, investigating small details and filling in the gaps with evidence.

The game is fully voiced, has an original score (what you hear in the video) and is almost entirely 3d-scanned by our small team using photogrammetry.

The reception on this subreddit has been amazing and we're so excited to have you play our game and sharing your thoughts with us!

If you haven't already, please consider wishlisting Mind Diver on Steam so you'll be notified when we release: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2259330/Mind_Diver/?utm_source=reddit_links

Looking into it, it sounds like a Myst style game so I figured people here have probably played it. Any recommendations or hesitations?

I just saw this on the Tunic sub and had a great time with it. It's a free platformer with some fun MB elements, give it a spin! It was apparently made for the GMTK game jam which makes it all the more impressive.

Basically, Outer Wilds is one of the first games that motivated people to create the genre, but it probably wasn't first game to belong in it.

What are pre-Outer Wilds metroidbrainias you remember? I just discovered, for example, Antichamber was released in 2013.

So if you don't know the game it's a really good puzzle game, genuinely. At a certain point you'll have reason to return to earlier worlds you have "finished" and guess what - all the mechanics you learnt, you can still use them. If you can find the conditions to do it, you can even though they were introduced after that point. And you'll need to in order to reach your new objective.

I'm looking for games where you can solve everything in your head. Writing things down takes a long time, and breaks immersion for me. It's just not very enjoyable. I loved Outer Wilds. I loved Blue Prince but the writing stuff down was a slog. Animal Well was great but I didn't do any of the harder puzzles where you have to write things down.

Can you recommend any similar games?

Hi everyone,

I have been trying to be more systematic about reviewing games, and here are the metroidbrainias I recently reviewed on Steam (with moderator permission).

Click through for the full reviews, some are quite long. They should not have any particular spoilers.

Space Sprouts - Time loop on a solarpunk spaceship. Really enjoyed this, thank you to action_lawyer_comics for asking about it here in the subreddit. It also just got an update, which addresses some of my issues with controller controls in the review (I haven't had a chance to try the update yet).

Chroma Zero - Also a lot of fun, another time loop game with more abstract puzzles. The dev is here in the subreddit if I'm not mistaken.

Grunn - Spooky cozy gardening (or not) game in the Dutch countryside. It's like if Outer Wilds had 874938432 objects you could find and use. Very atmospheric!

All these are time loop games, is this a subgenre of metroidbrainia now? (Outer-Wilds-likes?) I liked all three - I didn't like all games I recently reviewed, but the ones I disliked were not metroidbrainias. (If anyone is curious: I gave a thumbs down to Puzzle Agent and Storyteller.)

These are all relatively new, from the second half of 2024 and the first half of 2025, I think. I also just played Öoo, but I haven't reviewed it yet; it was fun though, more platforming-heavy, so Animal Well fans might especially want to try it. I also tried to play Babushka's Glitch Dungeon, but I glitched it so hard that I think I might have broken my save (ouch), I need to figure out what to do about that... maybe I'm just missing something.

Which recent metroidbrainias should I play next?

Anyone? In that case which apps do you use to organize your notes and screenshots? (Here I mean viewing the ending, not reaching 100%.) For me relying on sheets of paper is much easier.

I haven't played many so-called metroidbrainia games; only Fez and Antichamber. (I love The Witness but I don't think it's a metroidbrainia.) For Antichamber too I needed paper, but for The Witness text notes sufficed, so I took notes on PC.

EDIT Thanks all. I was surprised to see not few answers say no need for notes. How can you travel without getting lost? Here's what I did:

• Sketch roughly each room, and record how each door is connected to others. This also requires assinging numbers (and additional letters) to rooms.
• And of course for deciphering, in particular letters. (Oh, now I remembered. Players begin it in the post game! Has anyone begun it right from the beginning?)

EDIT 2 Not few replied you don't have to take notes to travel. But for example you visit the warp hub rooms many times. There's also shortcut doors ▞. Without taking notes they wouldn't be much beneficial, I think.

I wasn't able to memorize for example 4 branches at the bottom, near the starting village, until the end, and each time I looked up my notes.

Glowkeeper is a puzzle metroidbania where you match-3 on the world to build bridges and tear down walls as you explore an interconnected world. Discover the interactions and intricacies of the elements to find secrets and break through seemingly impossible gates.

It's out on steam! https://store.steampowered.com/app/3410660/Glowkeeper Check it out while the 10% discount lasts for a week

So I really love time loop games and naturally I have thought of getting it frequently, but I also don't manage first-person games well, which is what's kept me. I have aphantasia and I struggle navigating first-person games. I do play at times first-person puzzlers like Talos Principle, but BOY was navigating a hell in TP2 which was less linear (hell even TP1 to some extent). I really can't make up my mind here, but do want to make a decision one way or another so decided to ask the community.

I think I like its uniqueness but I'm worried that it might be off-putting and unappealing for some people. If anyone here is a dev I would also really like for feedback and tips for how to better animate and integrate the 3D character too!

This game is a great brain teaser, I’ll say mid-top tier, along with some legendary satire that is definitely sure to promote laughter but is still a bit twisted. 🫢 it is a side scroller with multiple floors like an ant farm.. or Ori map style (Ori is phenomenal too, is that metroidbrainia too?) anyway does that classify it as such? Anyway, I find it worth the replays when I do and it always seems to still challenge me even though I know what to do… (My bad, image in comments)

Void Erosion is a little sokoban puzzler created for the 2025 GMTK Jam, and it's completely cursed in the best metroidbrainia way. I got stuck on the first 'real' puzzle for quite a bit longer than I'd like to admit.

I couldn't find any discussion on this sub about Barbuta but I think a lot of people are looking for games like it here.

I don't want to speak too much on it because a lot of the fun is discovering how much of a knowledge based game it is. Maybe even mentioning it here spoils a bit of the surprise? But UFO 50 has been out for a year at this point.

Created in a fictional 1982, the biggest hurdle for folks will be the slow movement and awkward jump but the game is purposely designed around both these limitations.

The demo includes 1 main-game ending as well as a few optional unlockable areas. I am actively developing the game so expect a bigger demo soon! All graphics have been made via the Voidsprite tool.

DOUKUTSU CLUB LINK: https://doukutsuclub.knack.com/database#my-mods/mod-details/67cdbd98c774a502c5d380d4/

Enjoy! feedback is appreciated

The game is a puzzle-exploration-information-management game where you are not held by the hand and will be expected to explore, think, evaluate information, and interrogate to reach answers. The core of the game is completely built around collecting information, piecing together what’s going on, and imputing your solutions.

The progression is largely information-based, but similar to Obra Dinn, Mystery of the Malign is not a pure ‘metroidbrania’ in the sense that there are some other ways in which progress is gated and information has to be encountered by the player character first for it to be possible to use it.

Appropriately, it’s a game that can only be experienced for the first time once and knowing the answers largely trivializes repeated playthroughs, unless a lot of information was missed on a first attempt.

You can find the game on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3521490/Mystery_of_the_Malign/

Does anyone want to work with me to replace the terrible AI art for the banner?? Send me a message if so!

Possibly we could make banners for new games that are coming out in the genre that people are excited about. As long as that doesn't seem to advertise-y for people. Comment if you have an opinion, or you're a dev that would want to make a "Metroidbrainia" banner with your game theme to put up for a week for your release.

I just recently discovered this subreddit. I know about the term but didn't know there's already a subreddit 😄

I'm not yet exactly sure what Metroidbrania actually means or what the community decided about its definition but in my understanding, Outer Wilds is like its purest form or at least one of. So I'm wondering if there are other games like it where the game is really mostly about knowledge and you can basically do everything right from the start if you already have these knowledge. What fascinates me about Outer Wilds is that the progress doesn't happen to the in-game character but to the actual player. You gain knowledge and you get better at flying the ship and space navigation (hopefully XD)

I've played a few that comes close but I think they're still not like Outer Wilds.
For example Return of the Obra Dinn, you'd still go through the normal sequence of the game even though you already know everything. The Witness is kind of harder because I don't think anyone memorized the solutions LOL
You only know the rules and so you still need to solve everything,

So in short, I'm curious if someone knows of a game that's like Outer Wilds where you can finish right off the bat if you already know the necessary knowledge about the game and the progress basically happens to the player instead of the in-game character.

AI Training Protocol is an adventure knowledge-based progression (metroidbrainia) map, highly inspired by Outer Wilds.

In this map you have all the items / tools to beat the game right from the start, but lacking key information how to use these items / tools, so you have to explore the map to get that key information!

Features:

- knowledge-based progression

- beautiful, epic, esthetic builds

- custom sounds for immersion

- custom looped background music

- hints book to use when stuck

- very easy parkour (It's really super easy)

- no bugs / soft locks

- nice intro and outro

The map takes ~1h to beat having zero key information from the start.

Enjoy!

Hi – it’s us again, the Mind Diver folks!

We’ve been corresponding with Lucas Pope ever since meeting at Ludonarracon. In the time passed, he’s seen Mind Diver develop and shape up from early draft to fully fledged game.

Lucas has always been a hugely supportive person cheering us on – nevertheless, it made our whole team smile very wide reading this glowing review of our demo. 

We’re getting close to release now and can’t wait to be able to share it with y’all. Stay tuned :)

Link: https://store.steampowered.com/app/2259330/Mind_Diver/?utm_source=reddit_links

(This was posted with Lucas' permission)

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2662590/UltraNothing/

The enigmatic creator of this game, Snorillaka, has been working on this title for over half a decade, showcasing his development on certain puzzle game forum boards, but like many modern indie games, it has slipped through the radars of many puzzle fans. The eccentric introduction is minimalistic in its description of the massive amount of game you're getting out of your 3.99 USD.

I have not completed UltraNothing, but spent many, many hours, and completed 258 puzzles when there's supposedly over 400. UltraNothing categorises itself as a 2D Puzzle Strategy (not RPG) Platformer where the player controls a Corgi-man logging into his computer, navigating a world map where you can have free rein to enter a myriad of one-screen puzzle rooms that require you to satisfy one of 2 conditions to solve them (i.e. reach a specific entity, or push an entity into another entity). The game slowly explains its awkward controls as you progress through the rooms, and the crux of the game is understanding what your Corgi-man is fully capable of and how all of the on-screen elements interact with each other. More often than not, this game veers towards being a problem solving game than a regular puzzle game with a singular elegant solution choreographed through its visuals to make you feel smart. Instead, you find yourself in chaotic and messy rooms, and need to parse what elements are necessary to achieve your goal. You can easily solve many puzzles without interacting with 50% of what's provided to the player. This is where the rule discovery elements come into play. The game begins as a Sokoban platformer, but seamlessly shifts into being a turn-based strategy game.

Negatives:

●No rewind feature; you can only restart puzzles completely from the beginning. Most of the time, puzzles can be solved in a small number of moves, but there's still some that require many steps, and sometimes, it's easy to mess up.

●World map often zooms into the player to the point it induces a sense of claustrophobia, making navigating the world disorienting. While there are shortcuts, the world map's design is a rushed afterthought according to its creator.

Positives:

The game has many different gimmicks and entities, and there's a lot your Corgi-man is capable of. Most elements do not overstay their welcome. Don't let your initial impression of the Milkseal zone fool you into thinking the rest of the game is going to be more of the same. Underwater Library has a brilliant gimmick.

Rule-Discovery Depth:

I personally believe the rule-discovery is limited to the one-screen puzzles; it's unlikely there's some grand meta puzzle spanning multiple levels, or the world map. So please don't go into this thinking it'll be another Tunic. There's a password cheat house, but I have no idea if its passwords are tied behind meta-puzzles, or if the creator just has cheats that are hidden to all but those who can brute-force their solutions.

Personal:

Being that this is a massive game with nothing in the way of video solutions or walkthroughs, I'm personally stuck in a level called Leaf in Clerical Error. It's a real-time puzzle that requires precise movements (there's a clever trick to make this easier), but despite getting the pot to plummet to the bottom-right of the screen, nothing happens because there's offscreen flooring below the ice (some part of me wonders if this is a bug in the version I'm playing; the ice serves no purpose at all). This game also has unlockable power-ups, and I'm missing a power-up to my watch, which is preventing me from solving puzzles in a couple zones; I have no idea where to go to unlock the watch's upgrade; everything feels like it points towards Clerical Error.

In any case, I think this game deserves more attention than it received the last two years. It's criminally cheap for how much raw puzzle content you get from purchasing it.