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Blackbar

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Blackbar

  • Games
3.6
90 ratings
Age Rating

9+

Seller
Mrgan LLC
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User Reviews for Blackbar

3
Interesting story, very difficult to play

I played Grayout before this one, which made the story more familiar to me and it probably helped me figure out quite a few of the answers. BUT, often the answers were difficult, sometimes ludicrously so. I ended up looking up answers many, MANY times, and more often than not my reaction when seeing the solution was “How the hell was I supposed to get THAT?” This was especially true with later puzzles that involved some kind of riddle or clue-most of the time, I found the “clue” to be too vague for me to ever get the answer on my own.

:-L, Feb 22, 2018
4
Very interesting game!

As other reviews mentioned, seems a tiny bit off on a few of the puzzles. The design itself is very ... if you don’t get it you’re just sort of flailing without recourse, and the back and forward buttons are super annoying to use to traverse prior puzzles. But I enjoyed it mostly. For $3? Yeah, get it. An interesting look at a different type of word/novel/puzzle game. :)

anechoe, Nov 03, 2018
4
Excellent, but too short and a missed opportunity!

This game was delightful, and I’m glad for every moment I spent with it. But I finished the whole thing in a night! The creators did just enough with the censorship mechanism to keep it interesting and I definitely wanted more—maybe some DLC?The one mechanism I’m sad wasn’t explored more was *SPOILER ALERT* the single puzzle that had TWO possible correct answers for progression. Granted, one led to an immediate game over, but finding other ways to implement this would’ve been amazing.Thanks for the great game, looking forward to trying Grayout!

clcallag, Feb 25, 2020
2
Mostly fun and challenging puzzles, but some killed it for me.

A few of the puzzles, even after googling the answer, made very little sense and I can’t see how anyone would come to that conclusion as the answer had the vaguest connection. Developers, that is definitely not how a raven is like a writing desk. One literally has no clues or context whatsoever, you’re just guessing words until you find one that fits, only then do you have context for the rest.The game was great in concept, truly unique, but at times poorly executed. It killed the pacing of an already cliche, but well done, dystopian story.Unlike some I actually really liked that it was supposed to be a short game, if the developers would just get a few of the puzzles to make more sense this could be a very interesting brief experience. $3 for an hour or two of interesting entertainment is well worth it. This game could so easily be fixed to be the interesting experience it set out to be.

crtalen, Dec 19, 2017
5
Word Puzzles with Eerie Narrative

Very well-written game. Somewhat short, but well worth the price due to originality and inventiveness of both story and gameplay. No instructions/tutorial on how to play, but that's part of the point. Playing the game itself is initially a puzzle. I got stuck twice, so be warned. A couple spots are particularly cryptic. Hope they'll make a follow-up.

RhymeisReason, Aug 08, 2016
4
Where's the rest?

Great game, excellent use of text, tricky puzzles. But given the themes and plot, and the price, it needs to be three times as long.I did not need a walkthrough, I played it over several days and used a bit of trial and error for a couple pages. BTW, there are two endings, sort of: a "black ending" and a "yellow ending." If you got the black ending, go back one page and try again.

Strangelander, Aug 04, 2019
3
A challenging puzzle game that ends too soon

I really liked Blackbar, I thought it was a good mix of challenging puzzles and an interesting narrative. It is a very difficult game, and I had to resort to a walkthrough more times than I’d like to admit. The only problem with it is how short it is, I finished it in around an hour, which would be ok if the game was free, or maybe 1 or 2 dollars, but it’s 3 dollar price tag makes it a little costly. It’s a good game to get if you’re looking for a good puzzler, but don’t expect it to be a game you keep coming back too or spending much time on.

tenaciousPotato, Nov 08, 2017
5
Amazing game

GREAT game. Terrific story, good puzzles, quite challenging at times. I recommend playing with a friend so you can bounce ideas off each other. Some reviewers thought it was too hard. It can be difficult, but it just takes time and thought to figure it out- this is not a game for people who want to zip easily through puzzles. Well worth the price, and I just bought grayout too! Thanks for such a great experience- I hope there will be many more games like this to come!

textomb, Nov 08, 2017
2
Neat idea, boring gameplay, lackluster story

The concept of the game is fun and original. The game itself is pretty dull. Not a lot of clever; not a lot of fun. The cute little twists all leave something to be desired, I think because the medium itself—like a worse kind of crossword—is sorely lacking. The plot, which is really the only thing worth keeping on for, isn't worth keeping on for at all; it's a heavy-handed, childish take on a dystopian government, the sort of thing a teen comes up with after reading 1984. The characters are shallow, the Evil Government is boring, and the one attempt at tugging your heartstrings manages to be simultaneously melodramatic and boring. This is not a good game, for all it was created by a great guy.

Tom Hanks Is Bela Lugosi, Jun 26, 2018
4
Enjoyable puzzles, too short

My wife and I have both played Grayout, and now Blackbar. They were very enjoyable! I like how easy they were to pick up/put down. No menus, loading screens, time sensitive activities- it was as simple as checking your text messages, so I never felt tied to it.My suggestion would be making them longer, or possibly having them branch storylines in the style of a choose-your-own-adventure. That would allow for some replayability at least.Definitely worth your time and money, so pick it up if you haven’t!

wildchuk, Dec 20, 2021

Description

"Blackbar is a brilliant game." —Ron Gilbert "Its allegories are smart, and its approach to story-telling on touch-devices is just as well. 4.5/5" —TouchArcade "Taut and intelligent. 8/10" —Eurogamer "A political statement—a super fun one. I _______ love this _______ game." —Loren Brichter "Awesome and totally unexpected." —Shaun Inman Blackbar is a text game: a sci-fi story of a dystopian future told through the medium of word puzzles. Reminiscent of text adventures and interactive fiction, it has a unique mechanic centered around the concept of censorship.

Censorship is frustrating, but the human spirit can beat that frustration by turning it into a game. You'll pick up Blackbar instantly; however, its challenges will keep you searching, thinking, and trying for days. "An ingenious puzzle game that critiques censorship" —Fast Company "The humor is black, the puzzles go from simple to truly challenging, and the story is top-notch." —Gamemoir "Playing Blackbar is Like High School English Class, And I Love It." —Kotaku "Wonderfully written and does a fantastic job of pulling you into a not entirely unrealistic tale." —Gizmodo "Well-written and entertaining, with just a touch of a deeper message to hit a few concepts home. Just plain awesome." —JayIsGames

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