Evan's Remains Reviews
More than anything, Evan's Remains could be the start of something special, either in a sequel or a future work from this developer.
Evan’s Remains is a neat little game, it’s only a few hours long, but I enjoyed my time with it. A good and fun mystery to unravel with some nice emotional moments and some puzzles to solve. As good a recipe as any, I think. The release date is a ways off at June 11th, and there’s no set price yet. Even though I think this game comes short of being something special, if you like puzzle platformers, this is worth putting in your collection.
Evan’s Remains is a beautiful game that blends puzzle and visual novel elements together to tell a gripping narrative. However, some dark themes emerge from this with a few convenient “ah-ha” moments that don’t really match up with what is revealed to the player.
If you are looking for a bite-sized mystery-thriller story puzzle game that makes you go “holy crap” and takes you on an emotional roller coaster, then I would extremely recommend this game.
Mike: Let’s not waste time here. Evan’s Remains is something special. The difficulty for us, I guess, it is explaining why, without giving anything away. I’m sure you’ll agree that this game sits in that pool of the story-driven experiences, the likes of Gone Home and Undertale, where the player benefits more by knowing less. But, Alicia, let me first ask you this: what made the game first resonate with you?
The surprisingly compelling storyline and interesting puzzles keep you powering through, even as the dialogue drags on at times. Plus, the pixel art style and retro-inspired music give the game real charm. Considering the budget price, it’s well worth checking out.
The story resolution won’t sit well with everyone, but it’s still worth playing for the mystery and clever puzzles.
I am not sure if Evan’s Remains entirely earns its thematic heft when so much of it is inscrutable, but that it is willing to end its plot in a moment of intense duress is daring enough to elevate its weaker moments. It's untidy, its themes barely cohesive. But if Evan's Remains was not so unusual, if it had simply doubled-down on puzzles and pretty screens, I do not think it would have left half the impression it did.
The puzzles will make you think carefully as you try to order them in your mind and then try it out in the actual game…or, like me, you can simply keep hopping around and testing things until you triumph. There is also an option to actually skip specific puzzles if you bring up the menu while trying to get through them. Impressively, the puzzles are also worked into the story in various ways. Evan’s Remains is polished in just about every department. It may not focus on gameplay as much as some would like, but personally this didn’t bother me at all. It’s a sad and interesting experience, and one that I definitely recommend.
The story here is intriguing and occasionally shocking, but it isn’t particularly affecting. I’m sure this story would’ve hit me more had Schmied spent more time developing the world and the characters, giving the audience a better chance to connect with them.
Evan's Remains is a wonderful narrative adventure full of feelings that will touch our hearts. The puzzles are a very important part of the game and have a fair difficulty with the player. Its structure can become repetitive but the desire to see how the story continues will make us continue with great enthusiasm.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Evan’s Remains tells a gripping, amazingly convoluted tale interspersed by irresistible puzzle platforming that left me wanting a lot more than what I got.