Semblance Reviews
Two-hour logic platformer with an interesting idea of deforming environment, but there is nothing for creative players. You will not do anything what was not planned by the developer.
Review in Polish | Read full review
A charming and interesting puzzler, with a refreshingly accessible approach to level design.
Semblance is a decent puzzle game that could've been a lot better with a more varied gameplay and a lenghtier campaign.
Review in Italian | Read full review
Unique puzzle platformer with some great ideas. Just without certain story and adequate ending.
Review in Slovak | Read full review
Semblance is a different type of puzzle/platformer that brings something new to the table. I had a lot of fun playing the game on Nintendo Switch on my TV and on the console's screen, finding the right way to bend platforms to do my will as I grabbed all spheres in my path. The game can be completed in around four hours or so, but your mileage may vary depending on your experience with games in the genre.
Semblance is a unique gaming experience about reshaping the world to solve puzzles and to reach new places, but it doesn't last for long and it left something to be desired.
Review in Arabic | Read full review
Whether it was deforming surfaces or squishing the character to yield completely new physics, I was never disappointed. Some of the later platforming can be a bit frustrating, but with the option to move onto another puzzle it never bogged down the experience. With a unique hook that is constantly building upon, this is an easy recommendation and one you won't want to miss.
It's a good lesson for approaching Semblance, too; you'll need an open mind and some flexible thinking in order to overcome its ingenious (if sometimes frustrating) puzzles. Between that design creativity and the sheer stylistic beauty of it, Semblance is a game that'll stick in my mind for a long time.
Semblance's haunting atmosphere and clever gameplay mechanics make it a memorable and satisfying puzzle platformer.
Nevertheless, even four years later, Semblance is a really good time, and the world-shaping gimmick is a whole ton of fun to mess around with. I only just wish it hadn’t taken me this long to finally get to shaping this delightful experience.
The puzzles involve a host of mechanics, slowly introduced over the course of the game, mainly centering around terrain being reshaped, much like Play-Doh. The character’s dash ability allows the player to mold the environment to a certain extent in a bid to access previously inaccessible areas.
Semblance is yet another Switch title that’s easy to recommend. The excellent level design, the ‘platformer-is-a-mechanic’ headline lives up to its promise and then some, with a wondrous visual style and a heartbeat throughout which pumps the blood of a revitalised genre through every vein of its code.
Regardless of these issues, Semblance is a breath of fresh air to the platforming genre and one that is entirely welcome. Puzzle lovers will enjoy the idea of working around a problem, casual players can find enjoyment in every aspect and speedrunners are going to have a blast working out movement tech to beat the game swiftly.
"Familiar-looking platformer, flexible physics engine."
Review in Finnish | Read full review
Overall, the handful of hours I spent getting to Semblance’s conclusion were rewarding and well-spent. Having played so many indie titles on both the PC and Switch I’m always taken aback when I run into something so fresh and new, and from its terrific visuals and music to its continuously evolving challenge this game manages to check just about every box I can think of. When you throw in its extremely reasonable price I consider Semblance to be an absolute steal and a title anyone who enjoys puzzle platforming should be looking to pick up.
Gameplay is king and it shows in this title. The game oozes fun and lightheartedness, but beneath that is a powerful story told through some of the best environmental storytelling I've seen since Gone Home or RiME. Semblance was made by a group of students as their final university project. But in my opinion, it should be taught to design classes for its expert execution. Semblance is a masterpiece.
Even the areas that can be bent in significant ways have serious and sometimes baffling limits that force you into one or two envisioned solutions by entirely sabotaging other approaches. There’s nothing inherently wrong with that, of course, as many excellent puzzle games have specific solutions, but where Semblance fails (and does so big time) is that it gives you the impression that you’re being afforded the freedom to come up with your own approach, only to consistently snatch it away from you while the controls undermine you and the simplistic two-tone visuals give you a migraine.
Within a sea of platformers in the indie gaming universe, Semblance attempts to offer a new twist; something that doesn’t conform to established notions, but rather conforms those notions to itself.
What happens when you give players rules and powers that let them shape the world around them? Puzzles no longer need a key to solve as everything becomes a tool. Semblance is smart and satisfying and will squish its way into your heart.