Epigraph (2024)

Developer: Matthew Brown
Platforms: Windows
Genres: Indie
Rating: 4.4 of 5, 321 player ratings
Typical playtime: about 4.7 hours
Where to get it: Steam

The 3D catalog: game boxes on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalog in 3D

The same catalog has a room you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real games from it when you tell them what you feel like playing. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this game is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

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How it feels

A methodical and mentally demanding text-deciphering puzzle experience where each inscription feels like a piece of a linguistic mystery to be solved through careful pattern recognition.

puzzleinvestigativechallenginglinguisticanalyticalfocusedcerebraldeliberate

What players say

Players praise the clever linguistic puzzles and the thrill of figuring things out, but warn that the game is very difficult with almost no guidance. Many find the font hard to read, and some say the lack of confirmation on guesses is frustrating. A few compare it unfavorably to Chants of Sennaar, noting it feels more like real dead-language deciphering.

Screenshots

More games like this

More by Matthew Brown

This page is from Underplayed Gems, a catalog of older and overlooked games. Not quite it? You can browse by platform and genre, or take this one into the 3D catalog and ask the Catbot for something closer.