Anomaly 1729 (2015)

Developer: Anvil Drop, LLC
Publisher: Black Shell Media
Platforms: Windows
Genres: Adventure, Casual, Indie
Rating: 4.0 of 5, 35 player ratings
Typical playtime: about 1.1 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 calm but disorienting puzzle walk through a surreal world where perspective shifts gently and discovery feels like quiet meditation.

puzzlingdreamlikedisorientingcontemplativeabstractatmosphericgentle

What players say

Players praise the unique room-rotation puzzles and minimalist visuals, but warn that the game has noticeable bugs and its alien text is deliberately unreadable until late in the story. Fans of Portal call out the similar no-tutorial feel. Players split on whether the clunkiness breaks the experience or is a fair trade for the challenge.

Screenshots

More games like this

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.