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Paratopic
Smuggle contraband VHS tapes across the border. Discover the remnants of illicit industry. Prepare for an assassination. This is Paratopic, an atmospheric retro-3D horror adventure through a cursed fever dream.
What players say
Steam review score and the most-helpful voices, which may include critical ones. Score via Steam as of 2026-09-02 · quoted reviews as of 2026-05-13.
What reviewers agree on
19 of the 73 reviews raise this.
“Art in playable media format is the real category for games like this. I was left confused but then it was the "what just happened?" that made me piece together 'a' narrative of what I think is happening in this world.…”
“I'm afraid I don't get it, which is unfortunate, because this is an incredible piece of art. Play it, and discover what I couldn't.”
“Very short story with surrealistic horror, resembling David Lynch in some way. Made with style, but it's bad that the plot ends with a cliffhanger and some long fragments without anything happening. 5/10”
14 of the 73 reviews raise this.
“Art in playable media format is the real category for games like this. I was left confused but then it was the "what just happened?" that made me piece together 'a' narrative of what I think is happening in this world.…”
“confounding atmospheric adventure that switches location, time, and even perspective the second youre even remotely comfortable with the situation. even long after playing it, it lingers in my mind and i have constant…”
“Nice little Lynchian world you get to explore with a nice story underneath. Worth a buy.”
9 of the 73 reviews raise this.
“Paratopic feels like digging up some cursed VHS and deciding “yeah I’ll watch this” and then regretting it in the best way. Cuts make no sense, characters talk like something’s wrong, and you’re just there trying to…”
“I liked this. The narrative is a bit of a web that takes some time to unweave, and there are some things that go completely unanswered, but there's enough there for one to speculate on what's going on in the world of…”
6 of the 73 reviews raise this.
“Not the scariest or most exciting horror one-shot I've ever played, but there were a few elements in it that was nice like the choice of voice design that I thought was fun. Quirky little experience to sit through on a…”
4 of the 73 reviews raise this.
“This game is awesome. The suspense and horror elements are really chilling at times and the story (which makes a lot more sense after a second run) is genuinely super interesting and paired with an excellent setting.”
“I had no idea what was going on at all, but there was some fun scenery and I am still very much into the polygon style. I'll probably look up more stuff on the story, or do another playthrough eventually; maybe then…”
“I replay this game every few years. It's so short, but I love the atmosphere.”
20 of the 73 reviews raise this · 14 of them still recommend the game.
“Very short story with surrealistic horror, resembling David Lynch in some way. Made with style, but it's bad that the plot ends with a cliffhanger and some long fragments without anything happening. 5/10”
17 of the 73 reviews raise this · 5 of them still recommend the game.
“The first few minutes were promising, but this has to be the most excrutiatingly boring nothing burger I have ever laid eyes upon. #”
“I can enjoy a walking simulator from time to time. A driving simulator occasionally punctuated by walking simulator segments is where I draw the line, I suppose. Snark aside, there's so little to engage with in this…”
12 of the 73 reviews raise this · 5 of them still recommend the game.
“speaking as a person who likes games that are up their own ass, this game is way too far up its own ass”
“I'm afraid I don't get it, which is unfortunate, because this is an incredible piece of art. Play it, and discover what I couldn't.”
“Very short story with surrealistic horror, resembling David Lynch in some way. Made with style, but it's bad that the plot ends with a cliffhanger and some long fragments without anything happening. 5/10”
4 of the 73 reviews raise this.
“More of an art project than a video game, and not a particularly interesting one at that. Honestly, if you find this game intriguing, then a lore explanation on youtube would more than suffice”
“very david lynch, i didnt like it”
Counted across 73 English reviews, sampled to match this game's 73.0% positive rating · as of 2026-05-13
“This game is amazing. From the gameplay to the lore, this game is for casual and hardcore gamers alike. The lore is extremely rich and deep and it will keep you invested. I recommend this to anyone.”
— a player, Steam review · 3 hrs played“Its like playing some unreleased David Lynch film (RIP). Surreal, dream-like, a world that is scary, odd and mysterious, people with jumbled speech and faces, long unprovoked driving scenes, a non-linear plot that is paced yet provoking. I love it, just wished there was more.”
— a player, Steam review · 3 hrs played“This is like someone's idea of a game... nailed it visually, but everything else falls unbelievably short. This was half an hour long and I had to force myself to finish”
— a player, Steam review · 1 hrs playedPlayer activity
Monthly average concurrent players. Live data self-collected from the Steam API · history through 2023-03 via SteamCharts.
Achievement stats
Global completion rates across all Steam players — a data view of how far people actually get. Source: Steam official stats · as of 2026-09-05.
Price tracking
US-region pricing (USD), sampled twice daily by our own tracker since 2026-07-25. Steam prices vary by region — always confirm your local price on Steam.
Regional prices at last sample, in local currency — Steam sets each region's price independently.
Cheapest → most expensive, converted to USD at ECB reference rates (2026-09-04). Relative comparison only.
Latest official news
Developer announcements via the Steam news API — links go to the original posts. More across all games on the news hub.
Japanese localization added to Paratopic!
Thanks to our friends at Baltoro who have been handling the Switch port and localizations of the game, we've added a Japanese localization to the game! You're able to switch language in the settings -
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From our knowledge graph — ranked by shared traits, not a black box. Each card says why it's here.
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Screenshots
Official Steam store screenshots — click any shot to enlarge.
Facts & details
From the Steam store record, snapshot 2026-05-13.
| Genres | Adventure, Indie |
| Player tags | Indie · Horror · Surreal · Adventure · Retro · Atmospheric · Short · Experimental · Psychological Horror · Stylized · Great Soundtrack · Dark (SteamSpy community voting) |
| Features | Single-player · Steam Achievements · Full controller support · Captions available · Family Sharing |
| Languages | English * , Japanese * |
| Controller | Full support |
| Achievements | 20 |
| Official site | https://serenityforge.com |
Minimum system requirements (PC)
Minimum: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS *: Windows 7 Processor: Intel Core Duo Q8300 @ 2.5GHz Memory: 4 GB RAM Graphics: Intel HD Graphics 630 Storage: 392 MB available space Sound Card: Onboard Sound Additional Notes: These specifications match the lowest tested.