MANDAGON

The game is really, really beautiful, as you can see from the screenshots! Even though it looks a bit crude (looks jagged in movement, some patterns seem a bit flattened, etc.), there are tons of intricate patterns I really like! The music is a bit strange, with some details I enjoyed (the birds and bells, for example), but I wasn't aware of it, for the most part. So yeah, wasn't good nor bad, for me. The game itself is the worst part, since, despite a beautiful and rather large "world" (the game is short, it's only "large" in the context of a single room/level), it's just about jumping on platforms and using lifts to get to several tablets spread around the game. The platforming isn't challenging at all (you're quite slow in the air), and most of the jumps are very forgiving, giving you a fair window for error. There are no mechanics at all, other than a single jump. So yeah, you can imagine it being very stale. It's just about moving around, with the most basic movement system ...

It's always bittersweet to find a free game that you want more of. Such is the case with Mandagon, a 2D exploration game set in a Tibetan vision of limbo. You don't know why you're there or what you're doing or why you're a cheeful-looking stone head that can jump, but all will be revealed as you wander the serene temples and ruins of this magical place. There's no real puzzling to do, other than sussing out the story from the cryptic rhymes shared by ancient statues, but the exploration is more than enough to keep you engaged for as long as it lasts. The heart of Mandagon's appeal is its environment and atmosphere, which would be remarkable even for a full-priced game. The graphics are finely-detailed pixel art, showing off every crack and bit of moss on stones and every groove in the pillars holding the place aloft. You'll start your adventure in a stony valley of pools and cliff dwellings, but soon your adventure will take you to etherial ruins floating in the sky, their banners an...

It seems rare to find games that are this intricately detailed, and clearly lovingly crafted. It's rarer that these games are free. Mandagon is a short experience, but if you ever find yourself with an hour in the afternoon, let yourself enjoy the serene soundtrack and find your way through the temple door.

short game great art great sounds relaxing weird atmosphere finally a game with a soul of its own 11/10

I chose to play this game because it looked very appealing visually. And it definitely is. The gameplay is short, nothing is explained and there is no tutorial, just how I like it. You figure things out on your own. The OST matches the creepy vibe. All in all, a great f2p game. 8/10.

To summarize things: Mandagon is - in my opinion - a beautifully made game with a lot of thought and heart put into it. ART - 9.5/10 I love, love, love pixel art, so I am probably biased, but I thought the art in this game was amazing. There is so much detail and I enjoyed every little bird, plant, the shrines, the big temple, the houses, the water, the snow ... should I go on? It has a very distinct Tibetan touch and it makes you feel like you got teleported into a little pixel Himalayan region. It's absolutely beautiful. MUSIC - 8/10 The music sounded ominous and a little disharmonic and spooky, but kinda ... ethereal? I found it to be very fitting in regards to the place and the story. STORY - 8/10 The more wisdom totems you speak to, the better you can figure out what's going on. I do not want to spoil anything for anyone, but there is symbolism around to help you understand too (the six big murals/pictures on the walls as you ascend in an elevator) and if you pay a little atten...

[h1]A Relaxation Game for the Already Calm or Pensive...[/h1] [b]a game that both requires and reaffirms a strangely specific state of mind.[/b] For those who wanted find out more about this game's inspriaion and meaning, you can visit Buddhist website-Tricycle: https://tricycle.org/trikedaily/explore-the-bardos-in-mandagon-a-video-game-inspired-by-tibetan-buddhism ----------------------------------- [b]Confession:[/b] I need to say that I'm definitely not in the right mindstate when I tried out this game, and had to abandon it since this game has little room for a preoccupied mind. [b]Some of my overall positve experience[/b] [list] [*]Easy to control - you don' die from falling since you're already in limbo [*]Beautifully designed map and environment [*]Simple but breathtaking, calming environment [*]Mastery of solemn undertone without being grim or "morbid" [*]Love the use of colours - quite similar to colours used in ancient Eastern art [/list] [b]Personal Peeve & Disappointm...

Mandagon (mantis/panda/dragon) teleports you straight away to a Tibetan Buddhist concept known as 'Bardo' a limbo place between death and rebirth. Buddhists mainly believe that if you do good deeds you get rebirthed into a higher lifeform or do bad deeds and your soul will get rebirthed into a lower life form. The objective of the game is to simply find six keys and a number of totems (optional) and open the big door where you will find a 'god' who will then cast his vote. The totems give you back ground information as to your background story as you can't tell much just by looking at yourself since you look like an Aztec version of pacman. Tom Kitchen the main designer behind this game, suffered a family loss in death and looking through various answers though he is not a religious man himself found 'some' comfort in the Tibetan book of the dead and it's the information from that which gives you the background information to your game character as well as to what may have helped To...

As the "inspired by Tibetan theology and philosophy" comment in the game description suggests, this is a very calm and poetic platformer, with no fear of dying. A very simple but touching story unfolds through your exploration of a pleasantly realized pixel-graphic landscape, accompanied by a soothing atmospheric soundtrack. Definitely worth the time investment.

When an indie title describes itself as philosophical, I anticipate a self-indulgent exercise on the part of the developer, dragging the hapless player through a bloated exhibit entitled "Look how deep I am!" Thankfully, Mandagon is not particularly philosophical at all, but rather loosely based on some elements of Tibetan religion. What that produces is a quite relaxing puzzle-platformer with an enchantingly mystical atmosphere. It's short. It's good. It's free. What's not to love?