TR-49 Reviews
I really enjoyed playing TR-49, but it’s too wrapped up in its characters for me to totally forgive the fact that I came away from it not caring about any of them. Still, the formula at the center of this one is a winner, and if you’ve already played some of the genre’s very best, TR-49 is absolutely still worth a look.
Inkle builds a weirdo computer for the ages, then let you use it to solve a beautifully-written mystery. Outstanding.
Inkle mixes archive-surfing and audio drama to create a surprisingly powerful story of obsession and a machine.
A fabulously imaginative and unique take on the budding detective genre, that mixes clever investigation work with an unpredictable but gripping story.
The UK game developer's latest is a database mystery constructed from an archive of fictional books. Their combined contents threaten to crack the code of reality
While there were a couple of things that didn't quite work for me, the stories that the machine holds, the strong writing, and the novelty of the game itself elevated TR-49 into something that really pulled me in.
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They don’t just present an overarching series of arguments over the very purpose and place of fiction so much as they embody it. As the game puts it, “The world is the sum of our beliefs,” and in that light, TR-49 becomes a world unto itself, a heartbreakingly beautiful artifact of an alternative history.
TR-49 is a strong start to 2026 and continues an unbroken chain of extremely well-crafted packages by developer inkle. It’s smart, it’s thoughtful, and it’s filled with those investigative moments that make you feel smart just for making an educated guess. Its playtime manages to cram in a lot in a short amount of time, and is especially meaningful for today’s world, where written works can be generated — and overwritten — by machines.
If this game lands for you, it will be an immense success!
TR-49 is delightful, a game that takes an interesting core concept and builds an intriguing and complex story around it. The two parallel narratives unfold slowly, while the atmosphere remains dark and mysterious. The voice acting, both for the protagonists and the people whose writing was fed into the machine, is impressive.
Beautifully presented and intelligently put together, TR-49 is a masterclass in puzzle games done right – although coming from the developer of Heaven's Vault, that's not at all surprising. This delve into curious and forgotten literature is far more compelling than it has any right to be, and it's a must-play for any puzzle fan.
Unlike Inkle’s 80 Days there’s not much replayability here but uncovering the mystery is consistently enjoyable, although I could have done with a bit more variety in the visuals, as the entire game is played simply looking at the TR-49 device or your notebook. But the story has a great deal of resonance to our current era, where falsehoods are brazenly peddled by fascist governments, and where speaking the truth is sometimes an act of rebellion. TR-49 is another fine addition to Inkle’s growing roster of narrative adventures.
If inkle’s TR-49 isn’t a game you’d typically reach for, I challenge you to step outside of your comfort zone and give it a try. This code-breaking puzzle is fresh and really highlights the importance of branching out.
TR-49 is a perfect type of puzzle for people who love reading through tons of data to complete intricate investigations.
Behind the code-breaking lies nothing more than a blend of a deduction game and an audio drama, which—despite its simple design and minimal gameplay mechanics—manages to remain engaging and effective. Even with the large amount of reading involved, it never becomes overly demanding from a logical standpoint, though it does require a certain mindset to fully appreciate it.
Review in Unknown | Read full review
At around seven euros, buying TR-49 is an easy decision for puzzle lovers. You can play through the game in a few sessions, while getting to know deceased scientists, writers and just ordinary people. The game reminds you of the importance of reading, fact-based science. Of human freedom to think and be. Once again, another success from Inkle.
Review in Finnish | Read full review
TR-49 is a challenge to the modern gamer’s attention span. It asks us to slow down and listen to the whispers of the past, to become readers before we become players. It is a work of restraint, a puzzle box that, once opened, cannot be easily closed. It lingers in the mind like a half-remembered melody, the kind of game that stays with you long after the screen has gone dark.
I was absolutely riveted by TR-49. I played in two long sessions, finishing the game in about seven hours. However, I wanted more — and so I did something I almost never do, and spent extra time getting 100% of the achievements, discovering multiple endings. TR-49 achieves everything it sets out to do. Furthermore, for its amazingly low price point of $6.99, TR-49 is an absolute bargain for an experience this good. If you love books, weird games, games that make you think, great audio design, code-breaking, war-time stories, and/or poignant reflections on what it means to be alive in the world, then you'll love TR-49. I could hardly bear to put TR-49 down, and once you try it, neither will you.