I was so excited to find this on Steam for my sister, and then came to check back in on the app. To my horror, my star rating for an older, broken version had never updated. Allow me to resolve this by reviewing in both places, because Penrose is one of my favorite games in the world.I’m about to sound really pretentious, so I have to emphasize upfront that Penrose has something for anyone who loves stories. It’s very accessible without being shallow. This game deserves to be so much more widely known. For a very simple, largely text-based interface, the graphic design is immaculate, allowing for quiet immersion in the story and excellent sound design. This might sound silly, but as a person with ADHD sensory issues, I have to point out the actually-for-once perfect dark mode color choices. On that same note, this is the only game I will never play without the background music on. It’s mournful and mysterious and never grating, setting a perfect ambience to the story. The writing is clean and economical while remaining engaging and lovely. Purpose-driven yet immersive. Some may respond negatively to the mystery and the requisite imagination the story demands, but in the age of Content, Penrose is a work of artisanal craft and a standout journey. Exploration is so hard to blend with narrative even in a fully rendered 3D environment, and yet this interactive novella manages to inspire a sense of cohesion and discovery with an elegance one almost never encounters in interactive media. It’s an experience that has stayed with me for years and always will.

Tested it again, app works perfectly! Updated review as promised… now I’m off to continue this wild story 😆<previous review, issue now fully resolved>Great story, can’t wait to pick up where I left off from the web demo, but I’m still having the same issues the other reviewers are getting. It looks as if the last line of every paragraph has been erased and left an open space. To the dev: I appreciate the story and the work you’ve put into this. If you want to see screenshots of what it looks like, reach back out to me. I’m on iOS 15.2, iPhone XR. Once this is fixed I’ll be happy to update the review! Thanks again

I am quite honestly blown away. I’ve played most of the other games made by Doublespeak and they were a lot of fun; seeing the price on this one and the fact that it was an app and not a website gave me high expectations, and the game delivered. The story is presented at just the right pace, unraveling itself slowly and keeping the reader guessing. The interactivity is super original and super unique; I found myself putting off an hour of my time to just keep going. The music is really nice and sets the mood and theme of the story.I did not expect the complexity and intricacy put into this game. This was worth the dollar I spent and much more.

The fact that I’m able to sit down and get sucked into this game when there’s not much I can concentrate on now in the pandemic tells you everything you need to know. I love how to make some feel like I’m actively solving the mystery. It feels like sci-fi noir that I’m living through but in a surprisingly grounded way. Totally an instant purchase for any A Dark Room fans (which is a game this company first developed).