Particle Hearts Review
Particle Hearts creates a world composed of glowing, shimmering particles that flow and dance.
Particle Hearts. Credit: Underwater Fire / First Break Labs
Particle Hearts, developed by Underwater Fire and published by First Break Labs, is an exploration-heavy puzzle platformer that clearly draws inspiration from Team ICO's masterpieces, attempting to capture that same sense of mysterious wonder that made Ico and Shadow of the Colossus so memorable. While it succeeds in creating something visually spectacular, it doesn't quite achieve the emotional impact and level of awe that made those earlier games so powerful.
You awaken as a nameless, voiceless, horned protagonist, the Drifter, in a strange world with no memory of how you arrived, chased by wolves who break off their pursuit for reasons unknown. Guided by cryptic messages from an unknown voice that repeatedly mentions wanting to save you, you must explore this mysterious realm to piece together your identity and discover what happened in this world. To move forward, you must deliver magical fragments from protected shrines to a creature that looks like a demon. Is this, in fact, something you should even be doing?
Particle Hearts. Credit: Underwater Fire / First Break Labs
As the Drifter, you explore open-world biomes littered with glowing white gates that transport you to short puzzle platforming levels. These gates function similarly to the shrines in Breath of the Wild, offering self-contained challenges. They break up the exploration, but you must complete them to progress to the next area. While some of these platforming levels show creativity, many feel routine rather than inventive. They became chores I had to complete to access the next beautiful part of the world to explore.
The story unfolds through optional wind chime collectibles scattered throughout each biome, and this is where the game stumbles. These chimes, often hidden, contain crucial narrative context that provides emotional weight to the entire experience, but they're entirely missable. Without headphones, you'll likely miss many since audio cues are your only indication they're nearby. Missing these collectibles can rob the story of its intended emotional impact, creating a disconnect that seriously detracts from the experience. These should not be missable, as they’re more than just the background lore that’s typically collectible in other games.
Particle Hearts. Credit: Underwater Fire / First Break Labs
Movement feels weightless. At first, I thought that was intentional as an effect of the particle-based world, but the character animations in cutscenes show real weight and presence. Controlling the Drifter during gameplay lacks that same sense of physicality and momentum. The platforming works mechanically, but doesn't provide the satisfying feedback that makes traversal feel good. More juice in the movement physics and their feedback response would have gone a long way. Far too many developers overlook this, and I won’t get off my soapbox about it.
I experienced frustration in moments when the camera switches to distant fixed angles during gameplay, making navigation frustrating and imprecise. When you're actively navigating the environment, they create unnecessary friction. Being unable to line up a jump to nab one of those crucial wind chimes thanks to the camera placement just plain sucks. These alternative camera angles should be reserved for cutscenes where you're not trying to control movement.
Particle Hearts. Credit: Underwater Fire / First Break Labs
While the game has its shortcomings, the visual presentation isn’t one. It’s genuinely stunning. Everything in this world is built from particles that glow and shimmer with ethereal beauty, creating an art style that feels unique. Most importantly, the particle-based graphics don't just serve as a gimmick. They play into your character’s abilities and create a cohesive aesthetic that makes exploration feel like drifting through a dream.
Particle Hearts, inspired by some all-time great games, has lofty goals that it doesn’t quite reach. Its particle-filled world creates something worth seeing, but its uninspired puzzles, weightless gamefeel, and crucial story elements hidden behind easily missed collectibles prevent it from shining brightly like its visuals.
Particle Hearts is available now on Steam, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch.
Overall Score: 6/10
Played on: PS5
