I first found out about Rumbral when I was looking for indie games to add to our weekly Indie Wednesday featured article. It caught my eye with its resemblance to other games similar to it like Limbo and Inside, which I enjoyed a lot. However, the thing that really got my attention was its dimension switching gameplay. I thought that would be a cool twist on the formula and add a lot to the puzzles and gameplay. Was Rumbral able to set itself apart from the others?

I’m just going to be blunt here: it doesn’t. And I don’t take any joy from this because I was genuinely excited for it, but I figured I’d give you the answer as fast as this game is over. Rumbral is going for that mysterious storytelling where you piece together some clues based on environments and collectibles. There isn’t a direct story in a traditional sense, but like the other games listed above, you don’t need that if the world building is well done. Unfortunately, there just isn’t anything really interesting about this world outside of the neon pink dimension swapping liquid.

Welcome to Rumbral, where you will be falling in neon pink ooze over and over.

What is more of a kick in the nuts is that right when you start feeling like the game is actually picking up and getting interesting story-wise, credits roll. I’m not even kidding when I say that I audibly said: “What the hell? That’s it?” Refusing to believe that I played the full ending, I went back through the game again that same night to grab the rest of the collectibles thinking maybe at least there would be a secret ending. Nope, it just ends right when it starts getting actually interesting. Rumbral can be easily beaten within an hour, hell, there is even an achievement for doing so in forty five minutes. However, there is really no reason to play again since there isn’t any good breadcrumbs of lore to ponder over, and it just isn’t engaging enough gameplay or puzzle wise to bother.

Gameplay is pretty basic and most of the puzzles revolve around you getting access to boxes and using them for pressure plates or climbing. There are a few panel switch type puzzles where you have to find the correct combination to activate all switches, but majority of the time you’ll be pushing boxes around. The thing that annoyed me the most was the lack of control for the character. There isn’t any clambering up edges or grabbing ropes, it’s pretty standard only jumping platforming. However, oddly you can’t jump off ladders. This made some puzzles feel like forced annoyances than engaging puzzles. “JUST JUMP OFF THE LADDER!” But no, you’re stuck going up or down all the way, then having to find the alternate path to get to that level. Controls also felt floaty which led to some annoying precise platforming parts.

Honestly, screw this dang deer… even if I do like its design.

The only thing the gameplay really has going for it is the dimension swapping with the neon pink liquid. At first, this is fun even if it’s a bit simple. The way they are laid out, its less of a puzzle and just more of the level design on how to keep moving forward. There were never sections where you are stuck trying to figure out which portals to swap between. Overall this gameplay system felt underutilized, and it left me feeling underwhelmed that there weren’t any creative uses of it. The most difficult part of Rumbral is the chase sequence. This requires near perfect timing since the animal chasing you will immediately charge at you as soon as you step out of cover even if its bending down to investigate something. It doesn’t help that there isn’t a sprint button or any way to distract the beast.

Visually, I liked what Rumbral is doing with its bleak atmosphere, even if it’s not the most detailed 2D game out there. It has a sense of aloneness that really feels like these areas are abandoned. However, I felt like the environments didn’t have enough variety. It felt like everything blended together and I was hoping for a bit more detail variety for the areas. I do enjoy the intense neon pink puddles as a contrast to the dark greys and blacks. That is eye catching and used well in the later parts.

What is this? Seriously though, what even is this? The game doesn’t tell you.

When a game like this relies solely on environmental story telling than the sound design needs to be top notch. Unfortunately, it falls short in this department. It has a fairly basic soundtrack, and your typical ambient sound effects, but nothing stands out. There needs to be some emotional impact to the sound design and I just didn’t feel it. It isn’t bad, but it just doesn’t quite do what it needs to push the atmosphere forward.

Unfortunately, Rumbral was a bit of a disappointment for me. I don’t mind a short game as long as it’s impactful for the small time I’m in it. However, on almost all accounts it falls short. There is a great idea here with the weird dimension shifting neon pink liquid, but it’s never fleshed out. There isn’t enough creative puzzles, gameplay, or story that would make me think about this game after I have beaten it.

Rumbral is available now on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch.

Reviewed on Xbox Series X.

A Copy of Rumbral was provided by the publisher.