Recursed

Recursed
N/A
Metacritic
98
Steam
86.35
xDR
Our rating is calculated based on the reviews and popularity of the game.
Price
$1.99
Release date
30 September 2016
Developers
Publishers
Steam reviews score
Total
98 (462 votes)

A puzzle game where the rooms are items and the items are rooms. Get to the goal by moving, rearranging and duplicating rooms and altering the structure of the world.

Show detailed description

Recursed system requirements

Minimum:

  • OS: Windows 7
  • Processor: Yes
  • Memory: 100 MB RAM
  • Graphics: OpenGL 3.1
  • Storage: 80 MB available space

Recommended:

Recommended requirements are not yet specified.
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Fennec Fox
Fennec Fox

TL;DR: This game managed to stay fun and feel like a game even as it becomes more difficult in later levels. The difficulty is fair, incremental, and satisfying. For casual players: You can most likely get through the first half of the levels and have several hours of fun before deciding you've had enough. Since this game goes on sale for $2 regularly, I'd say it's worth it even for casual puzzle players who just want to jump around in some rooms and see what happens.

For the 10-15% of people who usually finish puzzle games that they start, this will be a longer and more satisfying world to jump into. You don't need to have programming experience to enjoy this game, the concepts like recursion are not something you have to know about formally in order to solve the puzzles. (If anything, this game will help someone who's learning programming to visualize what they are trying to learn and to think creatively about solving problems).

Is it difficult? Yes! Is it unfair? No! Every level gives you what you need to know to get to the answer. It lends itself to trying a few different things, seeing what happens, and in time gaining an understanding of how the mechanics work. I think it's best approached a puzzle at a time in the later worlds, from the 'ruins' onwards.

If you're stuck, step away and think about it, come back later. I ended up needing hints for a couple of levels but never a walkthrough for the problem solving levels. The exceptions being 2 main levels in void and one paradox level in Interlock, which rely on platforming tricks rather than puzzle solving. As well the achievement for finding the escape, and what to do about it when found, as that is also outside the main scope of problem solving.

In addition to the huge set of main levels, and sevral hidden levels, there are also two sets of DLCs that add even more dynamics. I'm just starting those and while they are smaller puzzles than some of the main ones, they introduce some new toys to throw around and a continued sense of mystery.

So I would say this game is very worth it, unless:

- You need to 100%. This one would take a while and have some tough challenges
- You really can't stand simple graphics or need you character to move fast.
- You aren't very patient. This could get frustrating. I don't normally like 'walk around inside the puzzle to solve it' puzzles but this one didn't bother me. If you get into an unsolvable state or accidentally trigger a paradox when you want to be completing a main level, you have to restart the level entirely. As well, if you get into an unsolveable state inside a paradox, you have to restart the main level, reenter the paradox and get back to where you were. This will drive some people crazy in later levels. So, it does require a playful and relaxed mindset. Best not to hurry through it.

This is probably one of the best puzzle games I have played. In terms of introducing puzzle challenge without becoming repetitive or tedious, Recursed walks that narrow line successfully. It costs almost nothing on sale and is almost guaranteed to be fun. Earlier levels could probably be easy enough for older kids, and could be a good simple learning tool for building problem solving skills (for adults as well). Learn without feeling like you're in school, and jump into treasure chests like a happy elf. Then jump into the same treasure chest again, if it's green (seriously, this is a hint). ;)

Anokturnus
Anokturnus

Difficulty : 4/5 for the base game (Very Hard)
4/5 for Oobleck's Conundrum (Very Hard)
4.5/5 for The Last Tapestry (Extremely Hard)
∞/5 for The Ice Palace (Insane)

Global : 5/5 (Perfect)

I absolutely don't know why this game isn't more popular, this is the very definition of a "hidden gem". Even the price is ridiculously low for a game like that so I really don't get it.
Recursed is a puzzle/platformer consisting of 99% thinking and 1% platforming, you don't need any skills in platforming to do any of the puzzles.

The goal of the puzzles is simple, there is a gem and you have to touch it. To do so, you use various mechanics revolving around the main one : recursion. There are chests you can enter that contain a room. This room can also have items, for example another chest that leads to another room (or to the same room than the previous one). At any moment you can exit the chest you're in and you can carry one item.
This seems complicated, and it is. The difficulty potential of this game is through the roof and puts games like Baba Is You and Stephen's Sausage Roll to shame. But the base game doesn't push the difficulty that high, don't worry.
The difficulty curve is very good, the first few puzzles don't even use recursion. The mechanics are slowly added (one in each world + one in each expansion) and introduced through easy levels like any good puzzle game. It takes time to get used to the mind-bending nature of this game so it's consistently very hard.

Puzzle design is phenomenal. The puzzles are small and despite the recursion you never have the feeling they are redundant. That's the mark of a very good puzzle game.
There are also hidden levels when you manage to trigger a paradox or an invalidity. These levels force you to think outside of the box and this is the mark of a masterful puzzle game.

Now I'd like to talk about the fanmade dlc that isn't directly in the game, The Ice Palace.
The base game and its 2 expansions push the difficulty extremely high, but that's nothing compared to this dlc.
I said the difficulty potential was through the roof and The Ice Palace pushes every mechanics to their absolute limits, making use of things you didn't even imagine after having fully completed the base game.
It doesn't even fit in my difficulty rating, this is 2x harder than Stephen's Sausage Roll or Baba Is You to give you an idea; and without being unfair or artificial. The puzzles are still small with just a few items, you can easily memorize them and think outside of the game (I solved several puzzles while sleeping).
I'm a huge puzzle fan and completing it is my best achievement by far. It's 18 levels and it took me more time than the base game + its 2 expansions.
And there is a chest after The Ice Palace that contains 6 levels that I couldn't beat (at least at the time of this review). Being defeated by fair puzzles is a first for me.

Anyway this game is perfect and deserves all the praise it gets from the few people that found it.
I really hope the dev will continue to make games.

Targoss
Targoss

Do not be fooled by the clashing art style and stock-asset-esque music. This is a serious puzzle game that will tie your brain in a knot.

Picked this up from a recommendation from a player of Patrick's Parabox. I knew from the first few levels that it was something I would enjoy. The early levels are also a gentle introduction to the game that will steadily introduce you to new mechanics. Which was especially great for me, because I missed the tutorial in the main menu!

Gameplay-wise, this game is a hybrid with an exploration platformer. You'll need to have some fine movement/control timing to get some important items in the right place, which took me some time to master. (Game seems to play decently with keyboard controls. I have not tried a game controller with this game yet.) On the other hand, I appreciated the lowkey worldbuilding (with optional voice-acted commentary), and exploring the levels is fun.

Overall, I recommend this game if you enjoy logic puzzles. I am not really drawn to straight-up platformer and "metroidvania" games (they all look kind of same-y to me), but appreciate strong unique tropes, and this game seems to have that.

backdaniel
backdaniel

its not that you should play this game, but it truly deserves to be played... probably better than you with its instances and chest recursion tricks

that said it is not a "perfect game", has some poor design choices, and not much polish (just enough), it is an OUTSTANDING logic puzzle though, from a programmers perspective it compiles some recursion brain teasers that I would not find if trying to search for myself

recommended, the dev streamlined some fun logic problems

Milkshakes
Milkshakes

This game immediately had me confused but hooked. I love puzzle games, but especially ones that make my brain overload with layers like this. It took me a few minutes to adapt to the logic, but once I did, I was very impressed by the level design. Some solutions are so simple, yet took me quite some time to figure out. Others are more complex, and I felt quite accomplished figuring them out.

I learned a lot of gimmicks as I played and you plug them all together to solve puzzles. Quite a rewarding experience. The game gets progressively harder at a fair pace, but I never struggled long on most levels. Only two levels really had me stumped.

After I completed everything, I downloaded the community mod Ice Palace. I got through the first few levels, and it is really challenging almost immediately. I lost my steam and started playing other games. I think it just got way too hard for me and I was over it, but the content is great and free, and I love seeing a community of dedicated players improving already awesome games.

I spent about 50 hours on this game to get all of the achievements and 100% the main game, several hours in the community mod, and the game is really cheap. It's on sale right now for 2 dollars! There is no reason not to buy it at that price. But, it is more than worth it at full price. Just get it.

wbn
wbn

Great little puzzle game. The mechanics are introduced at a comfortable pace, and are straightforward and not deceptive once you learn them. (That is with the exception of a couple of rooms in the last area of the main game, and The Last Tapestry, an area which I felt should have been kept locked until after the ending.) A lot of the puzzles are decently involved and will really make you work for the solution! This is one of the most fun and engaging puzzle games I've played and I'd recommend it to any fan of the genre.You can jump down through a block with Down + Jump!!!

Quality Gull
Quality Gull

I bumped from Recursed hard like 6 years ago, going back now with a bunch of other puzzle games under my belt certainly helped to appreciate it much more (+ it's always a galaxy brain moment to be able to manage a puzzle game your past self wasn't able to).

It's hard, and while its rules are always consistent, it takes some time before you understand what is really happening as the recursion concepts are not super intuitive at first !
Thankfully, it clicked pretty quick for me this time around.

That being said, Recursed is one of the puzzle games with some of the most interesting ruleset over there, and it manages to pull off creative puzzles with satisfying solutions that require you to think outside of the box in increasingly convoluted ways, it's the kind of puzzle game that will make you think about it when not playing it and make you come back with new things to try.

My only gripe with the game is that there is no rewind / undo, which makes the gameplay really involved as you can easily do a mistake and have to start over, most levels are small so it's not too much of an issue, but it still annoyed me a few times while I tried to execute a pretty convoluted solution and restarting entirely due to a mistake made me lose my train of thoughts.
It didn't deter me to finish the game but I'm not very inclined to go hard on bonus campaigns even if they introduce interesting concepts due to this. Still I would say that I certainly had my fill and the experience overall was a very satisfying one.

Recursed is cheap and goes on sale for dirt cheap at times so you can't really go wrong by trying it.
I'd say it's a must play if you're into puzzle games as it's certainly a very good one, and even if it isn't a game you can stomach right now, who knows what could happen a few years from now...

Rushin'
Rushin'

A truly unique, charming, long, and difficult puzzle game that is just as hard to explain as it is to comprehend it.

Instead of trying to bring a key to the exit room just grab the entire exit room itself and bring it to the key instead.

Duplicate a chest and dump it into water, then jump into it - the entire room is now underwater as well, swim up to grab a key and then go back to the unsubmerged copy of this room to exit.

This game is incredibly well done and it will certainly melt your brain with its later puzzles. I love it.

baba_is_you2
baba_is_you2

I absolutely LOVE this game. It's my third favorite puzzle game, just after Baba Is You and Stephen's Sausage Roll. This game will challenge your ability to think backwards from the end goal and construct an intricate plan to solve the puzzle. Similar to SSR, by the time you complete the game, you'll have exercised all the mechanics in so many surprising, subtle, and novel ways. I feel the challenge of some of the levels rivals some of the harder levels from SSR. However, I didn't find the game very challenging until after I completed the first 40% of the levels.

A cool thing that distinguishes Recursed from BIY and SSR is that it's part of the nature of Recursed that you can't view the whole level at once; you can only see the room you're currently in. You need to reason about how your plan incorporates all the rooms in the level while only being able to view the room you're currently in.

In addition to the main goal of each level, which is to collect the level's ruby, some levels have an additional collectible. The fact that not every level has this additional collectible, and that you've gotta learn how to spot levels that may have it, adds a cool extra layer to the game.

Precise movements or timing is part and parcel of the "platformer" half of the puzzle-platformer genre, but I'm happy to say that Recursed does a good job of minimizing the need for players to exercise such precision, and it instead focuses the puzzle mechanics.

One thing that would improve the gameplay is a backtracking mechanism.

[TM] IMaginatory
[TM] IMaginatory

Shockingly, this is one of the best expert puzzle games, and perhaps the most unique one out of them all. The thought patterns you'll employ here are unlike any other puzzle game I've played. The feeling of mastery is exceptionally potent, rivaling or exceeding the best puzzlers, even though under the hood all you're doing is nesting and un-nesting some functions in computer code, and pushing objects up or down a literal "stack" - but why is that?

This game's core concessions are also its biggest strengths. From the very start, you're playing with a triple-layered blindfold on:

The simple, logical, *binary* puzzle elements are abstracted into platformer objects like boxes, keys, chests, and level geometry, and strewn throughout a physical level you move around;
The room you're in is the only one on screen, other rooms exist only in your mind and you can't even see which chests go to what rooms, you must remember;
There is no undo or time rewind, one mistake, one wrong fold of the paper crane, one lost object, one accidental button press, one missed jump (!!) sends you to the reset button.

All this together creates an incredibly high-stakes experience where you untangle a vast knot purely in your own mind while interfacing with the silly-looking platform game on screen. Easy to play yourself, hard to watch people play and understand what in the world they are doing.

The base game is just the jumping off point - the expansion levelsets introduce a single mechanic each that vastly increase the complexity, and then there's the community-made DLC "The Ice Palace", which is one of the most sadistic levelsets created for any game. The limit is your own ability, and you can go to the stratosphere with this game.

11/10.

t.tv/JanEgeland_ftoa
t.tv/JanEgeland_ftoa

Simultaneously made me better and also worse at my job.

I'm also reasonably confident that it's the source of 80% of all my migraines.

10/10, would speedrun.

taupelink
taupelink

I'm continually fascinated by this game. Lots of logic puzzles where the solution always feels juuuuust out of reach.

Mineswee
Mineswee

It was ok

it had good music the controls were crisp (better than a lot of platformer games) the puzzles were really good the only downside was the puzzles started to be too hard for me near the end but basically the dev hit all the right notes so if you want a really hard puzzler this one fits the bill

Azdamine
Azdamine

A computer science nerd's puzzle game.

If you have a strong grasp on how recursion and states work, this is one of the best puzzle games *ever* created. It's utterly brilliant, has tons of absolutely genius puzzles, is HARD AS HELL, and is insanely rewarding. 10/10, easily my favorite puzzler of all time.

If you're not familiar with those concepts, you'll probably struggle heavily with this game. I recommend giving it a shot anyway because it's *just that good*, but temper your expectations. You'll likely find it intensely frustrating. And that's fine - it's a hard game even for people like myself with a literal degree in computer science.

Absolute masterpiece. The highest recommendation I can possibly give.

genderfluid cistern
genderfluid cistern

Solid puzzle game that has an incredibly odd progression system of level unlocks and doesn't exactly teach you the rules well (I had to look up a video to figure out one of the mechanics).

Would still recommend but it's definitely not the smoothest sailing.

knexator
knexator

10/10, best puzzle game ever made. Great combination of "catch" moments and logical deductions, interesting mechanics.

Magma
Magma

Wow, I must say, this is an absolutely excellent brain-bending puzzle game, with many fiendishly difficult yet always satisfying levels.

The base mechanic is that you have chests that lead you to a new room by entering them. Then you can leave them again. Seems simple, right? Well, there are tons of things you can do with this. What happens if you put a chest within a chest? What happens if you put a chest underwater? What happens if you have a chest that contains itself? You'll figure out all these details, and so many more that I won't spoil, by yourself as you play, because the game is designed to make you think hard about what it is you're actually seeing in order to solve the challenges you face.

When you enter a level you're often like "hey, this doesn't seem possible", but then after a while you figure it out and you feel like a genius. Every level is short and to the point, and there are no repetitions: each level can only be solved with a fresh epiphany. You see a new mechanic and are like "hey, that's pretty interesting, I wonder what's in store", but after a few levels you're like "how does the game keep coming up with new uses for this mechanic?" And don't get me started on all the brilliant ways various mechanics interact with one another. Every solution is right there for you to figure out by yourself, and if you get stuck, a good night's rest will get you back on track (or you can just skip the level and come back to it later).

The learning curve of this game is perfect, and you'll learn so fast that after beating the campaign you'll go back to the first half of the game and think "wow, how did I ever struggle with these levels" even though you don't remember any particular solutions. Vice versa, if you were to look at a solution video of a late-game level if you haven't played the game yet, you'd have absolutely no clue what is going on. (Don't do that though, even though you won't remember the solution you'll be spoiled on the later game mechanics.)

The base game is amazing on its own, but the game comes with two whole free expansions that add yet more novel but well-designed mechanics, explore them in depth, then combine them with existing mechanics in new and mind-boggling ways. Also in both the base game and its expansions there are a ton of secrets to find, and the way you do so is by literally breaking levels. How do you break a level? Well, you'll find out soon enough.

Let's talk negatives. There is a small flaw in the game's design, and it's that the chests aren't color coded. Well, that's about it, no more negatives, even though I tried my best to find more.

This game has been the most concentrated fun I've had in a puzzle game, I'd even dare to say it's been more fun and creative than Baba Is You. It is worth so so much more than its measly price point, and everyone who likes puzzles should play this!

Viktor
Viktor

A strange puzzle game with strange physics. The rings tried to explain me whatever happened in a funny way. Some features like the Jars were hard to understand, which doesn't mean that it wasn't fun to find out how they do work.

I enjoyed playing this game!

rolamni
rolamni

A really well-crafted puzzle game I really enjoyed playing. It definitely deserves a place in my favourite puzzle games ever.

Each mechanic is introduced in its own level. Afterwards you will have to combine the different mechanics of the game. Although the beginning being relatively easy, the difficulty ramps up towards the end. The difficulty curve isn't too steep or flat. You will learn new mechanics, tricks and interactions between those throughout the entire game. The levels usually don't feel repetitive or tedious.

Olesch
Olesch

So, probably you heard about games like Braid, Baba is You, Snakebirds, Stephen's Sausage Roll, The Witness, Talos Principle, etc.? You played and liked them? But you didn't hear about Recursed? You are missing out and should get this game immediately!

The rules are simple, but each Puzzle has a unique new idea, which you need to find in order to solve it. Sometimes you're thinking for an hour, and suddenly there's the eureka effect - just need to move this chest into the other chest then enter it to fetch yet another chest out of it and presto!

I've completely solved the main game and the first expansion at this moment and I am really looking forward to solve the second expansion! It's a really strong recommendation from my side. Also the game is really cheap, for what it has to offer. So go and get it!

(Also, showcasing Jonathan Blows poor Review is real madlad.)

Edit: Finished the last Tapestry (second expansion) now. This took as much time as the rest of the game and reached completely new mind-Boggling levels! Now there's still a community expansion, which is allegedly even more difficult (without just overwhelming the player with objects)!

maildropfolder
maildropfolder

My biggest complaint is honestly how long I went without knowing this game exists. This is the epitome of underrated indie puzzle games. It clearly wasn't made by a big team, but it didn't need to be! It needed to be well though-out, and I can guarantee you that it was. The complexity doesn't come from mountains of mechanics or excessive misdirection, it stems from the lack of limitations. You're allowed to bring levels inside of each other. You're allowed to duplicate and stockpile items. You're even allowed to set up and cause paradoxes, and the developer made it a feature. Let me emphasize that. Putting the game into an invalid state is a fully-implemented feature.

Fair warning, there are a few occasions where platforming skill is needed, especially if you want to get all the collectables. That, and the lack of an undo feature (if such a thing would even be possible in this context) means you will have to completely restart puzzles after messing up the very last step.

BUT, those are literally the only nitpicks I could possibly make. Everything else is hands-down amazing. Don't even get me started on the level design. Level design is make or break for puzzle games, and Recursed abso-flippin-lutely nailed it.

tl;dr Fantastic. Play it. Tell your friends. More people need to know about this game.

Chocos Ramabotti
Chocos Ramabotti

I love everything about this game the graphics are simplistic but fitting with an distinct style. The 2D environment and 3D objects as well the random backgrounds gives it a mystique appeareance.
The premise as well the execution is downright awesome, who could thought that a game about putting boxes in another boxes can be so exciting?! I don't think I have to explain the games concept since it's already well layed out on the steam description.
The lenghts has become ginourmus since release, the 41 hours playtime up to this point doesn't lie. There is the main game, but also 2 free DLC's who introduce new features and concepts to the game, if you still haven't enough, there is a massive fan DLC consisting of over 25 levels who will tease your brain even more.
Asides from that don't be scared about how complicated the concept sounds, like in real life recursion looks more intimidating than it actually is I would even dare to say that this help you to understand recusion as a concept better, at least to me it helped me to finally understand the recursive algorhythm of "Towers of Hanoi", something which feels incredibly weird at the first becomes eventually totally normal, the game has a great difficulty curve so that it never becomes overwhelming, if you stuck on a level there are always alternatives, since you always unlock several levels ahead. There was only one puzzle in the second DLC which was a bit offturning to me since it required you to use an "out-of-box" solution , unfortunately it happend way too fast and in my opinion there are not enough cues to bring you to the required solution, however it was completely optional.
Often time puzzles seem more complicated than they really are, but you still always have an "Aha" effect, so yeah I think everyone should at least try it out for 2 hours and see if they are fond of the puzzles.

Props to the developer for giving the Fan DLC an own forum btw.

dalma
dalma

Very good puzzle game! Levels are cleverly designed and feature solid and deeply-explored mechanics. The game gets pretty hard, some levels can give you quite a headache and require a full understanding of all the interactions. Not really into the art direction, nonetheless it is a very enjoyable, challenging puzzle game

RaptorInsurance
RaptorInsurance

A fantastic puzzle game, every bit as good as others like Baba Is You and Stephen's Sausage Roll, but that seems to not have got as much publicity as those. The puzzles all have some new idea presented, and the difficulty curve is well balanced. The graphics are basic but work well, and the controls are tight. I'm annoyed I didn't find out about this game sooner!

Once you've finished the main game, and the extra content in The Oobleck Conundrum and The Last Tapestry (both of which introduce interesting new mechanics), there's the fan-made DLC The Ice Palace available online, which has many more great (and, towards the end, extremely difficult) puzzles with ideas not explored in the main game. I've been tearing my hair out over the last few puzzles in that set for hours!

xeere
xeere

Very good puzzle game that uses a creative mechanic effectively. Puzzles can be somewhat difficult but i found the overall difficulty curve to be just right. This is one of the best puzzle games i have played and i can not recommend it enough.

Deus ex-Boyfriend
Deus ex-Boyfriend

Gives you a headache but keeps you coming back for more.
For fans of Zachtronics, Antichamber, and Portal.
Allows you to think for yourself and discover mechanics, strategies and solutions by yourself with minimal handholding. You will feel pleased with yourself when you come up with these solutions.
Worthy of repeat playthroughs too: I admit, as the game picked up in difficulty, there were some levels I beat without really understanding how or why. I've had satisfaction going back to these after my understanding of mechanics improved.
A separate button for throwing would be nice and maybe some colour coding on the chests to help me remember which one leads to which room, but other than that I think this is a pretty flawlessly executed problem solving game!

saintjasper
saintjasper

Difficulty: Very(Very(Very(Very(Very(Very(Very(Very Challenging)

One of the most confusing puzzle game I've played, chests in inside cauldrons inside green chests inside more chests……

You really need to figure out how exactly everything in the game works, it requires lots of logic thinking, brain will feel tangled up sometimes, drawing clues on the paper have helped me a lot organizing my thoughts in this game, I definitely recommend it to anyone who loves puzzle games!

And I love the soundtracks!!!

chesscougar736
chesscougar736

A mind-bending puzzle game in a similar vein to Baba is You. The basic structure of the game is that the rooms within each puzzle are contained within chests, and the puzzles revolve around shenanigans like bringing chests into other chests or repeatedly re-instanciating rooms to harvest items. I wouldn't say it's quite as *good* as Baba is You, but if you want something that makes your brain hurt in the same way you could do a lot worse.

Oh, and a useful tip: If you take this review with you when you close Steam, you can reload to get infinite reviews.

jeromocles
jeromocles

An excellent game with excellent ideas and elegant puzzles marred by incredibly janky controls. The number of times you will inadvertently warp into a room, jump into a chest, or throw an object is inexcusable for a game with some puzzles that require precision. Incredibly frustrating when you're in a nested recursion and the level resets itself because of rigid platforming.

Otherwise, an excellent little puzzle game, just one where the frustration with the controls means I play in little spurts rather than marathoning it.

Majeck
Majeck

Absolutely Fascinating Game! A must play for puzzle lovers =D

The Game Mechanics are presented in an intuitive manner with level design being Top Notch!
It's amazing how great the difficulty curve feels, after completing a quite challenging level you are greeted to a once again simple concept and it's all amazing. It feels great to play and getting stuck is no big deal as there are countless other levels to try.

I'd only have two negatives but they're certainly not crucial to the game,
First, the main character's art is not that great (I think all in all he/she only has 12 frames or so) and since you'll be staring at him/her for hours at a time it feels like it could be better. By no means is the art ugly though, just nothing too impressive.
Secondly the sounds get annoying super fast, but thankfully the game has subtitles (voice and sound are linked) and options to independently modify the sound and music (The soundtrack is pretty great, a special kind of music that manages not to be annoying but also lets you think).

All in all, amazing game and a definite recommend to anyone who wants their brain to have a workout.

Monitor
Monitor

Very fun game. Well worth the money. Same class as Baba Is You, the Talos Principle, and Portal. Good mind-bending fun.

agrajag
agrajag

Deserves all the praise it gets and more. The central premise of the chests being rooms that you can enter and which reset to their initial state when you exit them is simple, but rich with possibility that is well exploited in the puzzle design in mind twisting ways. Then, the game introduces enchanted items and things start to really go crazy. The finale of the main sequence (non-DLC content) is surprisingly memorable as far as these things go for puzzle games, a compact summation of all you learned.

I have some complaints regarding the art design, mainly that I would have preferred that the graphics be more "blocky" and gridlike so as to be more easily parsed at a glance. It is not entirely clear sometimes what jumps you are and are not capable of making without actually attempting them which can be annoying. Other than that, I actually find the graphics rather charming. Also could have used some kind of "rewind to the last room" function which would have saved some tedium.

Leeman
Leeman

The most challenging puzzle game I'v ever seen and played. I like watching how other ppl trying to complete it.
Feel free to force any streamer try it (not Dota or CS:GO players obviously but anyone who enjoy brain challenges) Some levels are impossible to solve even with tips or guide (cuz it fits in like 2 pages) You need to understand the solution, not just following it and this is briliant.
Most of gameplay happens inside your head and that's fucking awesome. You dont need any kind of next gen graphic for this, just launch it and dive inside your mind.
10/10 (believe I ll complete it one day by myself)

DDRJake
DDRJake

Wonderfully mind bending puzzles. Simple to pick up, hard to execute well.

smvr
smvr

Hands down one of the best puzzle games out there. Clean and minimalist mechanics, which give rise to a dizzying depth of possibilities.

Kenji
Kenji

A platforming puzzle game about recursion? Sign me up.

Pros
- Recursion based puzzles that'll have you looping reality as you see fit
- Excellent level design that teaches the player mechanics as they advance
- Pleasant music
- Bonus levels after the main game is complete

Cons
- The endgame can be quite hard
- Brain might melt
- You'll want to keep playing even after your brain is fried

AlphaPentaGo
AlphaPentaGo

Recursed is without a doubt a 10/10 puzzle game.

However, there is a very major duplication glitch they need to fix...

Krox
Krox

i bought it full price and i'm actually glad i did because i would'nt have the heart to buy this masterpiece for only 2$. if you like hard puzzle games and having your brain melt then i can not recommend this enough. my favorite part about this game is thinking that i broke the game, while it was actually intended for you to do that, you'll know what i'm talking about.

also there is a community made dlc called the ice palace which you can download it for free, i haven't gotten to it yet but will definitely try it

noam.tashma
noam.tashma

This is a fun and intellectually challenging game, and I highly recommend it.
My thoughts on the game: the levels are challenging, the solutions are satisfying and the idea is absolutely awesome.
I also recommend making your sister play this game because then she will forever be indebted to you. You're welcome.
Enjoy!

mmiked3
mmiked3

I played a lot offline, so it's much more that my time shows. It's a great little puzzle game with very cool concept. The graphics is simple, but clean and consistent. There isn't much story there either. The puzzles are the meat.

Not sure if it's worth the full price, but if you can get it on discount, you can get a couple hours of mind twisting fun.

devilfish
devilfish

solution = key - (chest / (portal * chest) * (chest^(key + portal)))

Fuzzy
Fuzzy

Computer science (stack frames, pointers, threads) turned to wizardry. Feel your brain reshaping itself as you play.

Zeik
Zeik

The single-best programming platforming puzzle game I've ever played. The way it weaves together programming concepts like static/global data, instancing/stack frames, recursion, pointers, etc. is flawless. If you enjoy puzzle games you'll probably still enjoy it but if you like exploring programming then this is one of the best visualizations of those ideas in game form.

Grilgamesh
Grilgamesh

This is a fantastic, imaginative puzzle game. It's made me think, but even though I've got stuck a few times, I've never felt frustrated by it. Totally recommended.

Big Mac
Big Mac

Interesting game concept. I liked playing it, but I also gotta admit that it gets very confusing pretty quickly. So no, it's not easy to pick up.

patati Tripa Seca
patati Tripa Seca

Good puzzle game!

(+) Good puzzle design. You really have to work to solve the puzzles. I found myself using the notepad to list all the steps I need to make to solve the puzzle.
(+) Every element is used well, the possibility space is well explored.
(+) There is a lot of late and post game puzzles, all of them are challenging and of good quality.

Its really well done game, but in my experience the late game can be exhausting, but that might just be me, because I played this game non-stop for a week. Really enjoyed my time with it and I will pobably come back to finish the challenging post game content after the headache I got from this game is gone.

junkmail
junkmail

Playing this game made learning SML easy

Patashu
Patashu

A unique, mind bending puzzle game with nothing like it. If you liked Braid, Baba is You or you're excited for Patrick's Parabox, this is for you too.

Winkrometer
Winkrometer

I cannot recommend this game enough.

Twist your brain into knots.

0.5°
0.5°

Starts slow but after...

And kudos for obscure achievements

Arctic
Arctic

Video Review https://youtu.be/Pubi4u8kZug

A very fun and unique puzzle game. Recursed uses recursion as its base puzzle mechanic which you won't find in many other games. That mechanic works very well too allow for some mind-bending puzzles that leave you stumped for a while. Finally solving it is like ecstasy.

The game includes multiple areas with their own style and use of mechanics. For example, one area utilizes water, another keys, and permanent items that survive the recursive process. Of course, later levels make use of previous mechanics that were introduced earlier. And you're free to skip some levels to progress. There are also secret, optional levels hidden within that require breaking the game by creating paradoxes.

I enjoyed my time with Recursed. The difficultly is manageable with levels ranging from a breeze to time to whip out the strategy guide before my brain breaks down. It's fun especially the moments when you have a brain blast and figure out the puzzle. I recommend Recursed to anyone that enjoys puzzles.

Not to forget that there's a free dlc called The Ice Palace that you can download.

dan
dan

I'm only 2 hours in and already can tell this game is great. If you are in any way a puzzle game fan pick this one up. Underrated gold.

Eulerian
Eulerian

Tough one! Things go from "okay, nested chests and state-resetting, no biggie" to "oh, water..." to "wtf permanent objects" to "wait duplicated states are global?" to "neat, secrets!" to "omg red water removes permanence" to "how the hell do jars work" to "cauldrons??" to "green cauldrons?!?!?!?" to "paradoxes?!" to "NESTED PARADOXES???"

This game likes to beat you over the head with your own stupidity - I love it. Belongs right up there among other high-quality brain-benders like Baba Is You, Talos Principle, etc. Hadn't even heard of this game until recently - very much a hidden gem.

FinalStarman
FinalStarman

I don't know how the creator came up with these puzzles, but big respect. This is intense!

The bird doesn't always show up when I fail, though. I want more bird.

ChrisspyB
ChrisspyB

Probably the best puzzle game I've ever played. Play it.

glass
glass

Challenging puzzle game. Borrows concepts from computing. Much bigger complexity space than typical puzzle games.

chinbagdeluxe
chinbagdeluxe

This is a very clever game with a lot more under the surface. Challenges feel very tough, but not overwhelming. It introduces mechanics very quickly, sometimes throwing them at you with no explanation. No level ever feels the same.
8/10 Great game

toruokada
toruokada

Well, this one surely had me fooled. When I saw the 8-bit graphic design and only 8 (sic!) levels, I regretted that I bought it given that I hate platformers. Oh, how wrong my first impression was, and I bet the game is intentionally designed that way. It already took me some time to find out that throwing is dropping with direction. And when you think you understand the game dynamcis, well, then they introduce different elements that make previous solutions impossible. Great logic game, an overlooked gem. I apologize that I bought it accidentally when on offer.

eX_ploit
eX_ploit

After completing all of the puzzles and all of the secret puzzles in this game, I can definitely say that this is one of the best puzzle games out there, with the only downside being the graphics.

I especially liked the secret puzzles. While being hard to solve they are also hard to find in the first place, but it can be done without any guide, unlike many other games.

Darches
Darches

tl;dr

This is a game about manipulating space, so you could say it's in the same vein of games like Portal. The game has charm, deeper mechanics, and clean level design. It's fair yet very hard, and ultimately very satisfying to solve. SO WHY HASN'T THIS SOLD A MILLION COPIES!? WHY AREN'T YOU ALREADY PLAYING IT!? This game is a serious mind fuck and I can't recommend it enough. It's one of my favorite puzzle games, up there with the BIG BOYS. Don't miss out on this hidden gem.

Overview

This is a puzzle platformer based on functional programming, with chests as the main mechanic. But there are many smaller mechanics (like gravity and water) and nuances that all work together to create a surprisingly vast possibility space. The general difficulty progression and level design is great! So long as you properly learn and understand what's going on in the easier levels, the harder levels shouldn't give you TOO much trouble... Also, creating paradoxes or invalidities dumps you into secret levels! It's puzzle-ception!

Presentation

The graphics may be simple, but the game's presentation is consistent. The title has a zoom effect showing nested titles, hinting at what you'll be doing with chests. Even the level select menu is full of nested chests to maintain the feeling of getting lost in an infinite void. While most things are rendered in 2D, all the objects are actually 3D, hinting at the extra dimensions the game hides. And the extensive music track brings it all together. This game... has charm.

Explanation of some core mechanics

This should help you understand what's going on. I've decided to remove anything that might spoil any puzzle.

    • Chests are items like boxes and keys, but do a little more. When you enter a chest, its designated room is instantiated. When you exit, the room is destroyed.
    • Some items are enchanted with a wild green glow, meaning they're like static variables. These items are the same across instances and aren't created or destroyed by the chest mechanics. In gameplay terms, they're one of a kind items that kind of just stay where you put them. They almost sound like normal objects...
    • Some chests later in the game have green exit points known as fissures. Using a fissure essentially creates a savestate of the room in the form of a jar. Your character then jumps out of the chest holding the jar as a new item. Jumping into the jar resumes the instance of the room, but with the fissure removed (so you can't reuse it). After leaving a jar normally it shatters (the room is destroyed normally).
    • Cauldrons transport you to different threads. You are essentially jumping between different universes. Each thread has a different background color. Static items still persist between rooms, even across different threads!

There's also a wonderful hint guide with solution videos to help you when you're inevitably stumped.

Complaining time

It wouldn't be a fair review if I didn't complain about something.

    • A rewind function would help alleviate mistakes and accidents on longer levels. For example, just GETTING to the paradox room in the level Submerge takes about 80 seconds. Make one mistake, and you have to do it all over again!
    • It would be nice if the chests could be labeled or something; a significant portion of the challenge in this game is recalling which chests go where. At least cauldrons should bubble with the color of the thread they lead to.
    • You don't move fast enough in water.
    • Most of the in-game hints are far too vague to be useful to the average player. Even worse, some of them aren't hints at all which makes things more ambiguous.
    • Some of the black paradox rooms have dark red backgrounds, which is colorblind unfriendly.
    • Some of the player and item movement options are highly nuanced. The problem is these nuances are used in a couple tougher puzzles without being formally taught to the player.

Fascist submarine
Fascist submarine

This is one of the best puzzle games I've played.
The mechanics of the game are all mind-bending, and force you to learn to think in a new way to solve the puzzles. Each mechanic is squeezed to force you to do as many strange and wonderful things as possible. The puzzles are well designed, giving a very steady difficulty curve. All of the mechanics are taught to you by experimentation, but this never feels too fast or too slow. Many puzzles include a clever twist at the end, so that just when you think you've solved the puzzle, you have to reevaluate how you did everything to squeeze one extra bit of leeway out of the game. This all suggests to me a lot of thought and polish was put into every level.
The visuals are pretty average, but they are, again, very well polished. Similarly the sound is pretty poor, but the sound effects are never grating, and you will likely find yourself forgetting about them altogether, which is more than sufficient.
I quite liked the music. Though it was only a couple of tracks on repeat, they fit the tone of the game, and were never annoying at all.
Overall, this is an excellently designed, perfectly polished puzzle game. If you like mind-bending puzzles, then you can't find anything better than this.

macwh
macwh

TLDR Recursed explores an apparently simple concept to its full potential, never feeling repetitive; it won’t change your life, but it’s well worth the price. [17/20⭐, 24h🏅, 4/5💡]

Context In Recursed solving puzzles involves manipulating the passages to other levels (here, chests), including passages to the level you’re currently on (hence the recursion). The concept is refreshing enough, if not completely novel (Baba Is You does it in a way that feels more organic, for instance).

Plot Recursed doesn’t have any plot. I have no problem with minimalistic plots or themes, but here we simply select levels from a (recursive) menu. World elements also seem largely arbitrary. There is a talking ring? And jars and cauldrons, and you collect gems? Maybe I missed something, but it mostly felt random and not memorable, and that the developers shoud have invested more time building some connection between the levels, some overarching message. But maybe I’m asking too much for a 7€ game.

Aestetics Visuals are pixelized and cute enough despite the erratic “world building”. As often happens with this kind of games, the soundtrack starts off quirky but gets tiring really fast. I often wonder if the devs actually spend as much time as players listening to their tracks on repeat.

Gameplay Each level is small enough to be challenging but not overwhelming. The mechanics are fully explored and used creatively, so levels and solutions don’t feel repetitive. I particularly like the way paradoxes are addressed. Although the mechanics are mind bending, particularly in later levels, I wouldn’t put it in the top hardest games. In the end there are few solutions you can attempt with the elements you’re given. (Well, technically there infinite possible solutions, but it’s often clear that increasing the recursion depth is not the answer). There is no gameover but you can hit deadends in levels. There is no undo, but you can just reset levels without penalties. Mid-level progress is not saved when quitting.

Just as a note, as a player I didn’t really feel the connections with programming concepts that others have encouraged. Not that the concepts aren’t there, but I don’t think being conscious of that improved my experience or my ability to solve the puzzles.

Value Either way, I still spent 24h to complete the game. You can revisit previous levels through the menu, and there is a single progress slot. Achievements are mostly related to finishing the levels, including the hidden ones. There are also some silly achievements that require you to do unknown movements. There are no user-designed levels, so replay value amounts to revisiting the same puzzles.

PS: despite the Steam warning, the game runs in recent macOS versions.

Leylite
Leylite

A neat, relatively minimalist puzzle game with the central concept of chests that contain resetting rooms, and taking objects into and out of said chests (which could be other chests). As the name implies, this lends itself not only to recursion, but also to either function composition (in the mathematical sense), or tactical combinations (in the puzzle game sense).

Puzzles in this game generally ask the player to perform a seemingly simple task (rather than see through some deception in level layout or premise). Starter problems could include "obtain an infinite number of keys" or "figure out how to get two objects into a room", before progressing to even more advanced tasks like "get an object from point A to point B" or "try to break the rules".

Probably my favorite subtle touch in this game is the rule (introduced in the short, optional primer at the start of the game) that you always jump 3 tiles of height when not holding an object, but 2 tiles of height when holding an object. This allows for very elegant filtering and enforcement mechanisms for puzzles that would otherwise require much more complicated widgets, and helps the game adhere to its minimalist decorations and aesthetics. This game generally does a lot with a little, and expects the player to do the same.

This game is definitely of the class that includes very few hints within it; if the player gets stuck they are generally expected to write down notes, or re-play earlier levels or other unlocked levels to get inspiration. It is difficult, but only in terms of the concepts being complicated and having far-reaching consequences - the main campaign otherwise doesn't go out of its way to be difficult just for the sake of it, or to test the player's patience or platforming skills. It's definitely tough in absolute sense, though; I got stuck on several levels for several hours/sessions before finally managing to come up with a new idea for how to get through them.

If this game clicks with you, then it'll last you a pretty long time - there's plenty of levels *and* plenty of optional objectives, but thankfully the game will not obligate you to get every last crystal in order to beat it. While not every puzzle is unlocked at the start, a steadily larger number of levels get unlocked at once, so you do have a good amount of freedom to solve puzzles in whatever order is convenient.

Overall, the game does a great job exploring its theme, and the art, small pinch of optional voice acting and story, clear and distinguishable sound design, and generous amount of music, all make it enjoyable to work through the problems. A solid game well worth the time and effort!

dpuza
dpuza

Unique and clever puzzle game. Simple but deep gameplay mechanics make it not too easy but not impossible. I'm compelled to keep coming back to it. Recommended as a hidden gem compared to Baba Is You sold it for me. You really have to think "outside the box", pun intended.

Pegram
Pegram

This game really teaches you to think outside the box outside the box outside the box outside the box outside the box outside the box outside the box outside the box outside the box outside the box outside the box outside the box outside the box outside the box outside the box outside the box outside the box outside the box outside the box outside the box outside the box outside the box outside the box outside the box outside the

dietzribi
dietzribi

This is a cult classic and you're missing out if you're not playing it

DALCOhstangultion
DALCOhstangultion

Well, that was a waste. I started up "Recursed" and my very first "puzzle" turned out to be "what in the world am I supposed to be doing here and how am I supposed to do it?" I looked at the controls in the menus (and both the menus and controls are horrible) and found nothing that would help me. Looked around the Discussions and found nothing. Ditto for the Guides. So, back it goes and I'll see if I can get a refund for the huge $1.99 ( :) ) I paid for it. Not Recommended.

Developers: a simple tutorial for the first couple of levels explaining movement, controls, and what the objects on screen are would be nice.

thewart
thewart

I noticed this game the other day while sifting through my Steam library. No idea how or when I bought it. I was about to consign it to the forever-backlog when the Rock Paper Shotgun curator recommendation caught my eye. I count this as a minor miracle, and a testament to the utility of Steam's discoverability features even within the set of games I already own!

This is an absolutely brilliant little puzzle game, up there with the all time greats of Portal and The Witness. It wrings every drop of possibility and teases every implication out of a small set of intuitive rules, and introduces those rules slowly and thoughtfully over the course of the game. Even better, puzzles are compact and elegant, relying on judicious use of a small number of elements rather than the tedious rearrangement of many moving parts; the gap between conceiving and executing an idea is usually pretty short*. However, as others have noted, you can end up in a no-win scenario and have to repeat steps. A rewind function would have been very welcome and reduced the amount of busywork in the game to near zero.

*This applies at least to the 60% or so of the main game which I have played, and could very well change in later levels.

Conando
Conando

An amazing puzzle platformer that can really mess with your head but once you do get the hang of it you feel increadible. The only thing to note is that it takes some time to really get to the crazy levels that build the premise for this game but once you do hit them the difficulty really increases and the fun really begins.

trtlz
trtlz

Phenomenal game. The puzzles require very little knowledge about mechanics, and only require logic to solve. I was a bit sceptical about the game during my first 15-30 minutes of gameplay, but fell in love quickly after that.

lijunkang🍍
lijunkang🍍

Recursed is a real hidden gem. This is a puzzle platformer based on ideas from recursion, functional programming, metaprogramming, and much more (but does not require any experience with programming). Although the art and graphics are underwhelming, its puzzles and level design are rock solid. And don't be fooled by its simplistic trailer: puzzles become mind-bendingly hard real quick.

The overall gameplay experience is very much similar to programming, not just because of the fact that many mechanics are borrowed from programming. A typical puzzle-solving session goes like this: by experimenting with the objects of a puzzle, you gradually get a vague idea of what might be a viable solution. Then by carrying out the idea, you discover that the puzzle is one step ahead of you and your solution is not yet complete. By iterating these steps, which are in fact debugging in disguise, you may finally arrive to the correct solution. What is ingenious about the puzzles is that their difficult does not reply on combinatorial explosion of the search space. Instead of trial & error, brute-force search or straightforward logical deduction, solving puzzles in Recursed requires deep understanding of its mechanics and high-level abstract thinking. Hence the difficulty of the game is fair and gratifying.

The game could use some QoL improvements though, such as a counter which shows your depth of recursion. My biggest gripe is the platformer nature of Recursed:
- Misjudging jump height happens frequently. It is only when you execute your plan that you realise you still cannot reach your objective and have to revise your solution.
- Sometimes well-timed platforming actions are required, which does not jive with the philosophy of the puzzles.
- Most importantly, unlike puzzle games with discrete actions, Recursed does not have undo button to rewind from your misclicks or mistaps. So when you make the puzzle unsolvable by inadvertently falling into a pit, exit a room with the wrong object, etc, the only option you have is to restart the whole puzzle. This becomes annoying in later puzzles where solution are complicated and involves lengthy manipulation of objects.

Overall, I wholeheartedly recommend this game to puzzle lovers and programmers. If you want to know more about the game, this Rock Paper Shotgun review is excellent and is well worth your reading.

PS: The game is in fact 64bit and works fine on MacOS Catalina or later.

ktj
ktj

A neat idea that I couldn't get into. Check out some videos on it to see if it's for you. I'll still mark it as a recommend since it will definitely appeal to a certain kind of puzzle gamer out there.

Alcaro
Alcaro

A brain crinkler as powerful as Baba Is You. Certainly lives up to the last 3/4 of its name.

cursednz
cursednz

I absolutely love this game, in between moments of hating it. The number of times a puzzle has had me so perplexed I've started to think the creator made something without a solution. It's a wonderful, artful game that carves fiendish puzzles from it's very creative world of portal like chests. Money so very well spent.

Lebowski
Lebowski

A unique and interesting puzzle mechanic to begin with that keeps adding more depth to make it even better. But some of the levels have really lame solutions, like having to place a block on the edge of a ledge to just barely be able to make a jump, or throwing something at what looks like the background to have it bounce off and land in the perfect spot. Don't overthink it. 4/5

Taren
Taren

Recursed is my favorite style of puzzle game, and quite possibly my favorite period. Take some weird mechanic - levels are items and items are levels - and every puzzle investigates some consequence that follows. Every puzzle requires the player to find some new insight, (almost) every level is really fun to solve, and a lot of them left me captivated by how clever the solution was.

For folks familiar with continuations the game is a really fun puzzler. For those not familiar it is a really fun but also (probably) really hard puzzler. If you like hard puzzles, and especially games with similar approaches like Baba is You or Induction, you absolutely must try Recursed!

Custy Turkard
Custy Turkard

Very fun game I just wish I wasn't as dumb as a dodo.

_ItsHydra
_ItsHydra

peak puzzle with really good concept

Charlie
Charlie

There is this Knexator guy calling this the best puzzle game ever. You are wrong Knexator: that would be Baba is You (sorry Portponky).
But this might be the second best one, which still f*king rules, and this game's price can't be beaten: at its normal price its a steal, and discounted its a crime.

oposdeo
oposdeo

Really well thought out and brain melting puzzle game, I enjoyed every second, even the 6 hours I spent on one particularly dastardly puzzle. It is restrained in its level design and number of mechanics, requiring that you think of big ideas instead of brute forcing, and not overwhelming you. I didn't need a guide for any puzzles, even the roughest ones, so I can attest to them being fair and well designed if you put in the brain power. You will feel like you've transcended time and space once you start to understand the recursions intuitively and solve the harder puzzles.

My few minor complaints would be
1) That there's 3 obscure easter egg achievements that require certain input combinations that you basically have to look up, players could be led on a wild goose chase trying to find them
2) There are a few instances where it seemed that you needed to do a difficult platforming maneuver to solve a puzzle, which can make it less accessible as a puzzle game, but these aren't often and personally I enjoyed doing them.
3) The "true ending" is locked behind a great puzzle, but also is visually hidden, and I fear a lot of players will miss its existence by just failing to notice it, I wish it was a bit more visible or hinted at in other places.

TendogAU
TendogAU

This is the hardest puzzle game I have ever played.

Upon completion of all of the level sets, I'm still not sure if that is an overstatement or not! If not, it's the hardest puzzle game I have ever completed.

This game basically leaves no concept, no matter how devious, untouched. It gets so complex, you really have to rewire your brain just to handle it. In my most desperate moments, I tried writing down what was happening, but even that was difficult and in the end I felt like gaining skill with the mechanics was superior to a more methodical, slow approach.

Running into paradoxes was both frustrating and exciting, especially when you don't expect it. On the one hand, you're attempt at the level is dead. On the other, HERE'S ANOTHER TOTALLY DIFFERENT REALLY HARD LEVEL! I think overall I appreciated that an end wasn't completely an end, however...

Losing all your progress in a level can really suck. The set-ups get pretty intricate and if nothing else, re-setting them up becomes a chore. The last thing I want to do after reaching a sort of Game Over state is commit myself to a totally different puzzle.

Other gripe is that this game hardly makes any sort of attempt or even guiding hand towards its more intricate mechanics. It took me far too long to understand how exactly the enchanted items were functioning and how some paradoxes were occurring, and the most help I got was the ring man going "oh geez, looks like something strange is happening here. Oh dear oh my". I stopped using the ring about 10 levels in when I realized it was not really adding to my experience.

Still a great puzzle game. Love it. Just add a rewind feature and it's nearly perfect.

E
E

The worst game I've ever played . 0/10

Piroks
Piroks

chest inside a chest inside a chest inside a

From the many puzzle games that I've played through the years this one is certainly one of the hardest and the must fun ones. The mechanics are simple to understand, yet really hard to master. When you think you are done with the game, you are probably wrong because this gem also has a lot of hidden levels, which despite being easy to find if one knows how to trigger them, may provide some of the greatest challenges of this game, without ever feeling cheap or BS (look at you Witness)

Charvari
Charvari

I printed out a picture of having all the achievements and hung it on my wall.

Kawaii Desu-chan
Kawaii Desu-chan

The worst part is that it all makes sense

elephant.lyh
elephant.lyh

very creative puzzle game. It is a great feeling after solving each difficult level

sandyllama
sandyllama

Underrated hidden gem of a puzzler.

Highly original concept of recursing and manipulating instances of physical space and objects across various levels of recursion. It's impossible to convey how clever this is in writing.

This ought to be in the conversation alongside other top tier entries like Baba is You and Braid.

Kevstar
Kevstar

This may be the hardest and most mind-bending puzzle game I've ever played. Absolutely phenomenal and insane puzzle design, but all the mechanics follow logically from basic behaviors. Can be maddeningly frustrating at times, but figuring out the solution is always extremely satisfying.

Zero
Zero

Pros:
-Mind Bending
-Outside of Box Thinking
-Very Difficult (DLC is Extremely Difficult)
-Satisfying

Cons:
-A couple levels involve hidden mechanics that is never introduced, which I am not a big fan of. Many reviews have pointed this out.
-Not enough tutorial on the Jars. Some trial and errors are needed to fully understand its mechanic.

In General:
-I would say this game is a mental arithmetic version of Patrick's Parabox/PP is a more visualized version of this game. This game really needs more attention. My personal rating for this type of game is
Talos Principle > Recursed > The Witness > Baba Is You > Patrick's Parabox > Braid> A Monster's Expedition
Gonna try the sausage and the snowman game next.

About the fan-made DLCs:
-Really difficult and challenging, definitely worth trying after beating the main game.
-The Ice Palace contains a bunch of challenging puzzles, none of the main game levels can compete with them. There are some bad design decisions on a few levels, but since it's fan-made content, they shouldn't be considered as flaws of the main game.
-All puzzles in A Day Out are constructed extremely well. They are the most difficult puzzles in the game, and they are very compact. It's one of the craziest puzzle set you can find on steam, without being repetitive/complex in a dull way. You can easily stuck on these puzzles for hours if not days.

DITW
DITW

In Recursed, you play as an unnamed protagonist who has found themselves trapped in the world's most poorly-written software application. Some junior programmers have just learned about recursion, but not the reasons to avoid it, and have filled their application with it. Without a debugger or any tools, you need to navigate your way through the bug-riddled abomination to escape back to the real world.

Recursed is a brutally difficult puzzle game. There's only a tiny few stupid platforming elements (example: at one point you need to realize that exiting a chest is the only way to trigger a short-hop), but otherwise it's just a set of basic mechanics around traveling between rooms and carrying things between them.

The main gimmick is that these mechanics are wildly unintuitive, so even after being shown a mechanic, executing it multiple times, and completing a puzzle, you might not fully understand what it is you really just did.
This is where it gets brutal, as the layering of mechanics and complexity quickly grow past the point where you could just kinda stumble through it.

You'd pick this game up if you want to see some wild mechanics you probably haven't seen before that make you go "Oh no... this is going to get REAL complicated isn't it...".
You'd stick with it if you want to experience one of the more insane levels of cognitive load that a game can throw at you.