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Game
Game2011
Critical Mass
Developer Manic Game Studios
Critical Mass is an action puzzle game that takes traditional match 3 and brings it into the world of 3D. From the Steam store page
207 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon) · newest Oct 31, 2026 · last updated Nov 1, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
51
Mixed
95 positive · 90 negative
95% range 44–58%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 95 | 90 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 4 | 0 | 16 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 2 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mixed
177 of 284 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
52% recommend · 97 yes, 91 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 188 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mixed (303 of 441 positive).
Many reviewers note that the game's online servers are shut down, blocking achievements and leaderboards. [1][2][3] Some players find the lack of a visible timer and strategic depth frustrating. [4][5][6]
Liked
Representative posts
- [1]
I keep getting this error when I start the game: Unable to connect to game server. Online Ranking, Skillpoints and Achievements are unavailable in Offline mode. This game is advertised on Steam store page as having Steam Achievements. But that is misleading since those achievements along with skill points are blocked because the game can't go online anymore. I thought this was a normal single-player puzzle game. Why …
- [4]
As user Mica aptly summarized, "Critical Mass can't decide if it wants to be frantic or strategic, and ends up being neither instead of both." If you go too long without making a combo, the block structure starts to rumble (go critical). You only have a few seconds then to make a combo, or only enough time to add a few blocks, but there's no timer or other useful indicator before the sudden explosion. There's also …
- [7]
Too many puzzle games rely on complexity--Critical Mass addicts you with absolute simplicity. If you've exercised you hand-eye coordination with FPSs and have a good mind for 3D objects, you'll love this game.
- [8]
Simple puzzle game that require player to fill in blocks of the same color. 4 cubes must be connected to disappear. Few gameplay modes. Clear all cubes before time runs out as they fly towards camera closer and closer intensifying this blocking experience. For what it is - simple puzzle game that require quick decision making it's ok.
- [9]
A fun little game that I play when I don't want to have to think too hard, but still want to challenge myself. The controls are simple and easy to use even on a touch pad. This is one of my favorite mindless puzzle games to go to for relaxation. It is easy to get sucked in and just start a new game over and over again until you have spent hours on the game without realizing it.
Summarised from 34 of the 206 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 13, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Players who liked Critical Mass talk about simple and addictive puzzle mechanics; those who didn't talk about online servers shut down, achievements unattainable. Which matters more to you?
Reactions
60 of 207 · most liked firstBlueSky has definitely reached “Critical Mass” for me. There are already more retro gamers & gamers here than I could ever possibly keep up with. It’s great !
neutral · AI labelView post →I hate bashing on Ozzie companies. ;p And this isn't an evil, unplayable game. My first impression was good, I played it for a bit, expected to play more, had it installed forever, yet every time I fire it up, I close it after 5 minutes. It's a match 3 game with some 3D tetris elements. The concept is good. The graphics are polished. The music isn't bad. The controls feel annoying at first, but they're actually mostly okay. The problem is, the gameplay doesn't feel satisfying. It expects (and…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not recommended for a few reasons, mainly - the achievements. This is because I am a big achievement hunter so when games do things like THIS game does, it really annoys me. At least 5 of the achievements (maybe more, I forget) require you to get to Rank 1 on the leaderboards in each game type as well as the Overall leaderboards. This is impossible through legitimate play as the current Rank 1 players are clearly hackers, so there is no way for anyone to claim those achievments legitimately. If…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I say this every time another game gets caught in a Big AI Scandal That's Not Really A Scandal Because The Industry Reached Critical Mass And I Could Stop Buying New Games Tomorrow, but you could literally play PS2 games for the rest of your life and die with actual good games on your to-do list.
neutral · AI labelView post →3D cube matching game where you must race to match colors before the whole structure gets too big and hits Critical Mass. You basically have two options: rotate or place and the gameplay doesn't get any more complex than that. There's 4 different game modes, but they really don't feel vastly different. The game doesn't even provide basic gameplay elements like a heads up about what the next color is so you can strategize accordingly. It's a different spin on the classic Tetris game, but it was…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I keep getting this error when I start the game: Unable to connect to game server. Online Ranking, Skillpoints and Achievements are unavailable in Offline mode. This game is advertised on Steam store page as having Steam Achievements. But that is misleading since those achievements along with skill points are blocked because the game can't go online anymore. I thought this was a normal single-player puzzle game. Why does it need to be online? This game shouldn't be allowed to be sold in its…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you're an achievement hunter, avoid. The leaderboard achievements are terrible and may be nearly impossible to get legitly. Otherwise, it's a good time waster, but wasn't that all fun for me than what I was to believe. I strongly suggest you play the demo first and see if it's fun for you, but I would avoid this game even if you're not going for achievements.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game can only be played in practice mode now, servers that allow achievements and leaderboards have been shut down.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As user Mica aptly summarized, "Critical Mass can't decide if it wants to be frantic or strategic, and ends up being neither instead of both." If you go too long without making a combo, the block structure starts to rumble (go critical). You only have a few seconds then to make a combo, or only enough time to add a few blocks, but there's no timer or other useful indicator before the sudden explosion. There's also no indicator what the next block color will be, so you can't plan ahead much. If…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Late summer 1997 and Gofers pinball is still cooking but we're in a quiet period now. Mechs and art are being finalized, code is still WIP. You're hoping for what Coriale used to call "Critical Mass": the point where the game starts to feel real. And these two are always hanging out at your door:
neutral · AI labelView post →Too many puzzle games rely on complexity--Critical Mass addicts you with absolute simplicity. If you've exercised you hand-eye coordination with FPSs and have a good mind for 3D objects, you'll love this game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Critical Mass is a surprisingly fun twist on a match three game. Unfortunately, the servers have been shut down and neither leaderboards nor achievements are available anymore, which kind of makes the whole thing pointless.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Definitely worth its low price and I will be recommending it to my friends. It also has a colour blind mode which is a good feature.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →lets make a badass arcade puzzle game where you BLOW UP A RUBICS CUBE
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Simple puzzle game that require player to fill in blocks of the same color. 4 cubes must be connected to disappear. Few gameplay modes. Clear all cubes before time runs out as they fly towards camera closer and closer intensifying this blocking experience. For what it is - simple puzzle game that require quick decision making it's ok.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →OK I'm gonna say it, third person action games set in feudal japan are starting to approach Zombie Game Critical Mass
neutral · AI labelView post →Between this game, Duke Nukem Critical Mass (PSP), and obviously Duke Nukem Forever - I've reached the conclusion that Duke Nukem is the Macbeth of Videogame Development
neutral · AI labelView post →Decently fun game. However, the developers chose to have their own server for leaderboards which are shut down now - I don't know why they didn't just use the Steam leaderboards. It's impossible to get any of the achievements now because of that.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Big disappointment! If I were just to mention the facts they closed the online feature, meaning you can not compete anymore with leaderboards, or unblock achievements, etc - all the online features are DEAD, reducing the reach the game might have had in the first place - well, it would already be a big negative point for that game. Sadly, online or offline does not much matter, the game itself is really poor. Puzzle design is uninspired, gameplay is totally boring (it felt there was more to it,…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →this is not for a casual, relaxing experience which is what I was looking for. it has a time limit, but it DOESN'T HAVE A VISIBLE TIMER! please correct me if i'm wrong, but where i'm at now (the first level) I say ♥♥♥♥ this game: looks fun and casual, but it is not. Again, correct me if i am wrong and tell me what settings to change. but if the tight time limit is integral to the game, then it is stupid. it should be a casual puzzle game that helps me fall asleep which I thought it would…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Cannot recommend this game, needs a patch to be fully playable offline. Side note - Would be awesome if it had a relaxed mode with a reduced time limit as well.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →In nuclear engineering, a critical mass is the smallest amount of fissile material needed for a sustained nuclear chain reaction. The critical mass of a fissionable material depends upon its nuclear properties (specifically, its nuclear fission cross-section), density, shape, enrichment, purity, temperature, and surroundings. The concept is important in nuclear weapon design. Even though, the above 3 lines serve no purpose for the understanding of this game, the name of the game is inspired…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I would have recommended this but it appears the devs have abandoned it and killed the servers making the achievements unattainable, and they lacked the brainpower to implement a fix/workaround beforehand.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Game servers are down, can no longer use most features including achievements in offline mode :(
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is the WORST game ever! DON'T you ever buy it, even if someone is gifting you this game - DON'T accept! And I'll tell you why: You would expect this game to be fun and easy - well it's not - my hand hurts a lot and it's shaking, I didn't get the achievements I was aiming for, my eyes are red and everything hurts... that's due to the fact that I played for 5 hours straight and found this PIECE OF SH*T ridiculously bad - that's in the rare occasion that you actually log in. Yeah - for years…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Man, SCUL and Critical Mass have really uppe their game!
neutral · AI labelView post →Random Game of the Day Day 13 - Duke Nukem: Critical Mass This quietly released around the same time as Forever. It is a sidescroller like the original games were. Except for the boss battles that are played as a 3rd or FPS. This was originally part of a trilogy but 2&3 got cancelled
neutral · AI labelView post →Did you know that Los Angeles, California is smack dab in the middle of Mexico? Game: Duke Nukem: Critical Mass 😎 Previous out of context DS game post: bsky.app/profile/mr-s...
neutral · AI labelView post →https://youtu.be/3d0e4h_8lhk Match three in a three dimensional space could work but here it's clunky due to an invisible clock fail condition instead of being move based.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not playable anymore.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Reliance on its own servers, which are now defunct, means that much of the meta functionality (leaderboards, skills, and even achievements) are all broken. All that remains is a base game that is simultaneously too easy (in terms of skill), and yet partnered with an unrelenting time limit that turns this potentially relaxing game into something stressful. It's not like Tetris where there's a great deal of strategy and satisfaction in beating the progressively faster pace, but more just…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Critical Mass is a action puzzle-solving 3D game taking place in space, where you use the mouse buttons to rotate and place blocks. You start off with a cluster of cubes and your objective is to connect 4 or more, successfully make your way a little closer to zero.. or not and gradually it will start zooming in towards your inevitable fate. Sounds familiar? it's basically modern time tetris with a twist to it. My biggest problem with this game is the way the mechanics work, having everything in…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I've been thinking of the BB Cosplayer shoving the whole pie in her face and have reached Critical Mass being away from game and them so-
neutral · AI labelView post →Game is either crashing or stuck at "logging in..." screen.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Kinda meh and multiple achievements require you to be #1 on the leaderboards. Leaderboards that you cannot get to anymore because the online doesn't work. Also, I get an error and the game has to reinstall something every time it's launched. notes: Achievements fair? - NO (require being number one on multiple leaderboards) Parts of the game don't work any more
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game no longer has online mode. So no achievements, skillpoints and online ranking.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I have had this game for years, but have never been able to play it, no matter which computer I try it on. I cannot even launch the game, it immediately crashs. Fixes on the discussions don't work, and there is seemingly no way for me to get this game to run. This game is simply too broken for me to be able to consciously recommend.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Critical Mass is a rare specimen. It is the first game I have ever seen that actually looks like it would be easier to play on a tablet. To me that is amazing, I mean... touch screens are usually so finnicky and unreliable, and as a society we have used computers for decades, we've been brought up on them! But Critical Mass is actually hard to play using a mouse... A touch screen would make this game great. Props to the developer for thinking of a playstyle that would be completely at home on…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game servers are down, so achievements and other features will not work in offline mode.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a simple extension into the third dimension of a typical match-x game. You start with a vaguely cube shaped pile of blocks and then fire predetermined color blocks onto the mass attempting to connect at least four of a color, causing them to be removed. In it's base mode each fired block causes the mass to grow while matching blocks causes it to shrink. Take too long or fire too many blocks without clearing any and you'll reach critical mass and lose. The interesting thing about this…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A funny little game. So I have palyed a small amount of this game, andI I can say it feels like Bejewled. Not the way it plays, but more like the fact that it`s a time killer, it`s ment for you to play like 10 minutes, and then come back to it. The game is about maching colloured blocks, that are stuck in a cluster in the middle. There are some power ups like a time slower and a multiplier, which will come in handy. Overall the game is really fun, and there are tons of modes to play. Of…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is immediately very fun, that is the first thing to note. From the very first moment you start it, you'll be hooked, and an hour will have passed before you know it. Along with the great core game, the audio and visuals are sublime. After my first session of playing this game, I started looking on Steam for it's soundtrack. The art, as well, is execlent. I haven't spent much time playing it yet, but that's going to change very soon. My only issue with this game is that the cubes…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Even though the game coincides with Critical Mass, it’s a busy night at the 35th Street racks. @chicagobikesox.com @chicritmass.bsky.social @bikegridnow.org
neutral · AI labelView post →Well, I can't even get the goshdarn thing to run. The minutes you see indicated here are all from trying startup. If this changes I'll review it anew. Until then, beware, this may not play kindly with newer vorrichtungen.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Dead game with not working servers which are mandatory to leaderboards, achievements. Everytime you try to start the game you get out of date message for OpenGL...
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →game stopped working after all my playing
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It looks like a nice casual game, but it's actually very stressfull. All the countdowns and vibrating graphics are making me panic and be bad at it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Most action packed adventure ever! (DON'T BUY THIS GAME! IT'S SO BAD!)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A fun little game that I play when I don't want to have to think too hard, but still want to challenge myself. The controls are simple and easy to use even on a touch pad. This is one of my favorite mindless puzzle games to go to for relaxation. It is easy to get sucked in and just start a new game over and over again until you have spent hours on the game without realizing it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I think I was unable to play the game without it crashing way too often, back in the day. Now, years later, I see they've effed up the possibility of even getting achievements. Decent concept, poor execution.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Today, Critical Mass reached 200 downloads! I’m still really proud of this game and I’m glad that people are finding it (mostly as part of a major bundle, but still)
positive · AI labelView post →It doesn't work.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Average game, and game's servers are down so a lot of its features are too.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The games servers are offline so most of the features are gone. You stil can play it but it isn't as great as before
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →this game worked just fine when i was on win 7, now on win 10 it doesnt work keep getting errors. dont get this game its broken
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →1. If you are a cheevo hunter, stay away. Only the BEST PLAYER IN THE WORLD IN EVERY SINGLE CATEGORY gets to ace this game. Completely stupid (#1 leaderboard cheevo) 2. I cleared the game on normal, then casual was as hard. Casual is WAY to hard. It's supposed to be CASUAL. Did the devs every play a video game before? 3. This 5-second loop music drives me nuts 4. Buggy leaderboard search 5. 80 APM required in rush. Yeah right. Good luck. 6. Stay away.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →When I first got this game I thought it was a lovely game to play while I waited for other games to download. Couldn't be happier to recommend it. Now, the game's server doesn't exist and each game mode seems to want to check the server when you leave them creating a hang or crash. Don't buy it. avoid.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Warning: DPI overscan problems prevent this game from working on modern PCs. This is a derivative puzzle game which functions like a 3D version of Bust-A-Move/Puzzle Bobble. You rotate a shape made of coloured cubes around three axes, and drop additional cubes onto the structure. When you match 4 cubes of the same size, they disappear. If you add too many cubes, it explodes (critical mass). If you wait too long, you lose. Not terribly original, but a fair enough attempt at a puzzle…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I love how this game really exercises your 3D spatial reasoning skills. It's a simple and unambitious design, but feels polished and complete. One minor warning: the immersive and relaxing atmosphere belies how tense it can get; just be ready for most rounds to end with you scrambling to make one more match as the whole thing explodes in your face.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This Game Mixes a 3D word with puzzling much like our own world, as your cube grows larger so does you mind. Fun, Puzzling, Visually pleasing and overall a great game 7.5 / 10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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