Quell
Quell
Game
Game2020
Filament
Developer Beard Envy
Solve challenging cable-based puzzles and uncover what really happened to the crew of The Alabaster. Now with Hint System (for those ultra tricky puzzles). From the Steam store page
207 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Mastodon) · newest Oct 29, 2026 · last updated Oct 30, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
69
Fresh
130 positive · 58 negative
95% range 62–75%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 130 | 58 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 2 | 0 | 14 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 3 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
379 of 462 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
69% recommend · 131 yes, 58 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 189 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Very Positive (651 of 766 positive).
Some reviewers compare it to The Witness but note it lacks eureka moments. [1][2][3] The game has a relaxing soundtrack and beautiful graphics. [4][5][3]
Liked
Representative posts
- [8]
This wasn't for me. The biggest problem for me is the unpredictability of the wire mechanic. Since you can't actually know how the line will stretch before you do it you basically have to do every possible solution over and over again until one works - you can't just ponder an idea and go "nah, that won't work", which wasn't very fun for me.
- [3]
TO ANY THE WITNESS FANS: Nothing this game does is inherently bad. Good graphics, good soundtrack, fun and varied environments... But in terms of puzzles, this game probably is pretty far from what you are looking for: This isn't a game of learning, this is a game of trail and error. This isn't a game of "AHA" moments. The only exception to this is a certain small section of other puzzles. It's true this game has a …
- [6]
Difficulty : 4/5 (Very Hard) Global : 3.5/5 (Very Good) First, Filament is a VERY long game. It's not your average little puzzle game. Second, it's also VERY hard you're warned. It features lots of various puzzles and mechanics that are nearly impossible (or at least very hard) to anticipate. You have to try things and deduce while doing the puzzles but they are not unfair unless you're not even trying to think and …
- [14]
This is a hard game to recommend. The concept seems simple enough, but then the mechanics become oddly complex. It can become incredibly addicting, then the puzzles become more and more complex to the point of annoyance. Some of the final puzzles were so obtuse that I had to use a walk-through. Out of all the people who have downloaded the game, only 8 percent have actually completed it. While I did manage to figure …
- [4]
This is a puzzle game that truly makes you think. I'm usually very good at visual puzzles, like mazes, yet these seemingly simple tasks prove to be quite the challenge! On top of the fantastic puzzles the story is quite thrilling. Every time I think I have it figured out, a puzzle unlocks a clue that throws me completely off. The graphics are beautiful, the keyboard keybinds are intuitive, and the music is just the …
Summarised from 34 of the 205 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 10, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
69% of the 189 Steam reviewers we collected recommend Filament. The complaint that keeps coming up: too much trial and error. Deal-breaker or nitpick?
Reactions
60 of 207 · most liked firstThis wasn't for me. The biggest problem for me is the unpredictability of the wire mechanic. Since you can't actually know how the line will stretch before you do it you basically have to do every possible solution over and over again until one works - you can't just ponder an idea and go "nah, that won't work", which wasn't very fun for me.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I’ve entered the 3d printing age - Filament only but it’s already knocking out terrain. This could be a game changer for both terrain and bespoke storage for my figures #wargaming
neutral · AI labelView post →This just in: local artificer starts his morning with a game of Filament Chicken on his 3d printer. Place yer bets.
neutral · AI labelView post →Puzzles feel more trial and error than skill based sadly. Opening puzzles were good and communicated the rules well, however as puzzles become more complex there are so many possible paths that are sabotaged very close to the solution in ways that are extremely difficult to foresee.There is an obvious comparison to The Witness, however in that game you can usually apply the rules as you go to complete puzzles. I really wanted to like this but didn't find much satisfaction in the more difficult…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Sorry, I can't recommend this. I want to like it, and I keep coming back to it, but it just frustrates me and I need to move on. It's difficult and I can't seem to find any knack for getting better, and I'm lacking the will to push forward knowing I'll never finish this game even struggling with beginner series of puzzles. There's so much love and care put into this game that I want to like it, but I just get frustrated playing it and get little sense of accomplishment in solutions. The…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →TO ANY THE WITNESS FANS: Nothing this game does is inherently bad. Good graphics, good soundtrack, fun and varied environments... But in terms of puzzles, this game probably is pretty far from what you are looking for: This isn't a game of learning, this is a game of trail and error. This isn't a game of "AHA" moments. The only exception to this is a certain small section of other puzzles. It's true this game has a similar concept and structure to The Witness. You have one simple way of…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I wanted to like this game, but I ultimately could not enjoy it. I found the puzzles to be difficult, and not in a fun way. Perhaps I just need to "git gud", but I think there is still a problem with the puzzle design. The puzzles have an enormous possibility space, since there are thousands of ways to weave your threat through each level's pillars. This is not a problem on its own; the problem is that finding the correct path is more like searching for a needle in a haystack than reasoning…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Visually, great. Plot, so so with a lot of room for interpretation. Gameplay, nauseating and tedious. Puzzles, see below. A game that doesn't understand the difference between obscurity and a good puzzle. The number of combinations for puzzles goes well into the thousands and so often a puzzle will reject a solution because of some minor deviation that's acceptable in one context, but not in another. Gaps too small. Wires pulled barely off of their triggers or into a fail trigger. A…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Write your game in Dart, get hot reload, and drop 3D views right into your Flutter widgets. ECS core in C++ for performance, Filament renderer for those crispy visuals fluorite.game #gamedev #gamedevelopment #indiedev #fluorite #dart #flutter
neutral · AI labelView post →Next level puzzles for high-IQ puzzlers only. Hardcore Souls-Like Puzzles. Had to use a guide for a good chunk of the puzzles. Only recommend if you're IQ of 180+ or like playing games by using a guide.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The concept is interesting, and the puzzles are challenging. However, the puzzles themselves aren't that satisfying to solve. One thing I like about other puzzle games is being able to put down a hard puzzle and randomly solve it outside of the game. This has almost none of that. The puzzle layouts and solutions are very long so it's hard to keep in your head. Also, some pathing is a bit finnicky so you actually do need to try out the path in game to see if it could work.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The puzzles are hard for sure, but somehow manage to give nearly zero feeling of reward for finding the solution, since it's largely brute-forcing stuff. The accompanying "story" doesn't tie in to the puzzles, or bring anything useful to the game. Instead the spaceship set that relates to the story just makes it tedious to go between the different available puzzle levels. UI is very low-contrast, and why is it not possible to move around while in the directly-overhead view? One thing to…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's a fine game with challenging puzzles, but it lacks any real eureka moments, more often being rewarded for persistence rather than guile. Most every level comes down to trial-and-error, and there's no good way to visualize if a cable will be taut enough around to register a pillar or if your bot can squeeze through a tight space. Or maybe I'm just dumb. Game is a little too cerebral and slow for me, just missing element that makes me feel clever and motivated to tackle the larger puzzles.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Hello, internet! We're hard at work on Red Filament, a first-person exploration game filled with mystery, danger, beauty, and consequence. More details to come! Watch this space! store.steampowered.com/app/3538660/...
neutral · AI labelView post →After some great early feedback and a lot of thought, we're going to remove most of the procedural level generation from Red Filament. We initially wanted to make an exploration game with solid replayability, but now we're focused on crafting one awesome playthrough instead. #gamedev #indiedev
neutral · AI labelView post →This is so tough, both the game and leaving a negative review for a game that clearly has so much work put into it, but I just feel that 95% of people won't find this fun. The core component of the game is solid and there's decent variety but slogging through sets of 15 puzzles that get tediously more difficult just isn't enjoyable when they get so complicated that there is too much trial and error involved. The Witness balanced this nearly perfectly (with a very similar mechanic) but too…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Bad puzzle game. Puzzle should be intuitive. This game is not. Wires IRL can be stretch when we push or squeeze objects between gap. But this game treat those wires as hard walls. Furthermore, the playable character in the game also can't jump over / crouch under existing wires. It's so annoying counter-intuitive. Puzzle should be clear of logic. This game is not. Mainly this happen because of the design that's rely on continuous 2D coordinate (unlike other games that's play on…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Difficulty : 4/5 (Very Hard) Global : 3.5/5 (Very Good) First, Filament is a VERY long game. It's not your average little puzzle game. Second, it's also VERY hard you're warned. It features lots of various puzzles and mechanics that are nearly impossible (or at least very hard) to anticipate. You have to try things and deduce while doing the puzzles but they are not unfair unless you're not even trying to think and just hope it's gonna solve by itself. The difficulty is progressive for each…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Can't recommend, it becomes increasingly frustrating and there is absolutely no logic to the more difficult puzzles, just "find the correct way by trial and error". I guess I will never like top-down perspective puzzle games, only the first person ones
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Overall the game is good But the puzzles failed to deliver the "Aha" moment. Most solution is acquired by brutal force for several of minutes I didn't find the joy of finding a brilliant solution
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Despite some of the things I'm about to say, Filament a good game that is well worth your time if you're into puzzles. Filament shares a lot of similarities with The Witness, the biggest ones being the variety of different mechanics and the fact it teaches you new things by letting you solve very simple puzzles and gradually ramping up the difficulty. (And they do get very hard). Due to the nature of the mechanics some puzzles felt like I was just brute forcing them. The game also has some…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Refunded after an hour of gameplay. There is no strategizing or thinking, it's just trial and error. I rather mindlessly mash buttons than run around in circles trying to solve some unnecessarily complicated 'puzzle'. The developer seems to think that requiring complex solutions to progress somehow adds substance to the gameplay. Complexity does not equal intelligent design. Nor does it contribute to the game being fun.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →So much of this game is good, but there are a few intentional quality of life omissions that I just don't understand. 1) There's an overhead view for the puzzles, but the character movement gets locked for no reason. 2) Puzzle movement speed is slow. 3) Puzzles don't follow a predictable grid, meaning that it's always a gamble whether a diagonal line will touch a corner, or if the bot will be able to squeeze between something later. The game is already hard, and these points make it so much…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →i will never finish this game, but i loved every minute of it. thanks for making this game!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Since DMs are open here, I guess I'll say it: If you need files 3D printed, usually for Tabletop/RPG Games (but I'm game to challenges!), get with me, I print in both Resin (ABS-Like) and Filament. I've done everything from terrain to bits. If you got files but not the printer, hit me up!
neutral · AI labelView post →Feels like endless trial-and-error and brute-forcing, rather than figuring out the solutions using clues and reasoning like the way puzzle games are typically designed to play. Reasoning does work sometimes like figuring out most prominent paths around a local formation, but that's all I can do. Most of the time I was doing trial-and-error here and there. This game might be "challenging" from some sense but really is not fun to play. If brute-forcing is the intended way to play, I'd deploy an…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I bought this to play on the Steam Deck since it is "Verified" but there is a graphical issue that I was unable to resolve, so on my stock Deck I was unable to play it. On a technical level the puzzles are sound; they have the logical elements and progressive mechanics of a good minimalist puzzler, but I definitely see what people are talking about with the guess and check especially at later levels. There are so many options and no logic to anticipate the solution and the stages are dark so…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game takes advantage of what I call "artificial difficulty". Levels just get bigger and more complex instead of "harder". When two different colors isn't challenging enough, they introduce a third color. It's as if a crossword had a mix of English and Spanish words. The Witness had me staring at a 4 x 4 grid thinking "I'm convinced that this puzzle is impossible".
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a Witness-like with significant UI problems. The puzzles are "fine" but that's not enough to retain my interest. In each puzzle, you move a character who drags a tether connected to the wall on a noncrossing path around some pillars; when all of the pillars' constraints are satisfied, a door opens, and you must reach that door (still without crossing the path) to finish the puzzle. The puzzles are not meaningfully connected to the overworld. After each set you unlock some kind of…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Puzzle games should be both challenging AND fun. Filament is challenging, but it sure ain't fun. Solving a puzzle gives me zero satisfaction and no sense of accomplishment. The Witness is significantly more obtuse and difficult, but figuring a puzzle out is FAR more satisfying. Filament is well made and clearly passion went into it. However... I hated playing it so I cannot recommend it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm sad to say I don't like Filament, but I'm not sure it is worth a thumbs down. I'm a big fan of masyu puzzles, and Filament reminds me of them, if about ten times as complex. I wouldn't mind that, except that as other reviewers have noted, Filament has three "flaws": - The puzzles aren't on any kind of organized grid, so you can't look for familiar patterns of node types and utilize learned strategies. Filament comes down to trial and error. - The puzzles are huge, even from early on in…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I’ve played games from @kasedogames.bsky.social and have thoroughly enjoyed Filament. Life Below looks like such a relaxing and gorgeous underwater world builders. Check out this trailer and wishlist the game today! youtu.be/r1LbOA-4ack?... #Steam #gaming #games #indiegames
positive · AI labelView post →It's not a difficulty curve, but a difficulty wall... also I feel like there were two different stories told, which made no sense (maybe it's explained at the end, but I dropped before that)
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Filament has a cool isometric space exploration vibe and feels a bit like The Witness, but it doesn’t hold up. The puzzles start off decent but quickly become frustrating, relying more on trial and error than clever problem-solving. There’s no real difficulty progression, and solving them doesn’t feel satisfying. If you love puzzle games and haven’t played The Witness, go play that instead. If you’re looking for something similar after The Witness, Filament might scratch the itch, but it’s…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I don’t like this game, maybe I am just too dumb for it, but it's neither fun nor that interesting, at first it seems like an interesting concept but it's the same over and over again and most of the time it's just guessing or/and trial and error, also I found the hints not that helpful but I’ll credit where credit is due, the atmosphere of the game is pretty charming everything other than the core gameplay is pretty cool
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Not terrible, but not good enough to recommend either - so my recommendation/review assumes you're paying full price, it might be worth it on deep sale (75%+) for the puzzle elements if that's your thing. Played partially on Epic so add about 5 hours to playtime recorded by Steam. To summarise the game, it revolves around solving puzzles using coloured filaments and environmental clues; the closest comparison I would make is to 'The Witness' and in particular the line style puzzles within it.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Deck: Visual artifacts on default settings, fine after being put on Proton Experimental. Will update the review after more playtime.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a hard game to recommend. The concept seems simple enough, but then the mechanics become oddly complex. It can become incredibly addicting, then the puzzles become more and more complex to the point of annoyance. Some of the final puzzles were so obtuse that I had to use a walk-through. Out of all the people who have downloaded the game, only 8 percent have actually completed it. While I did manage to figure out most of the puzzles on my own, it took hours and I can understand why…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Lady talks to much. She wants to be rescued but having to wait for to finish her long spiel requires a level of patience I do not have. Puzzles are very fun and unique though.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →While Filament has a great mechanic and puzzle design is fresh and interresting... I cannot recommand it because the difficulty curve is brutal and solution finding is more trial and error than real thinking. It will please only a specific type of brains... be careful before buying.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →My visuals were super glitchy and almost sending my into a epileptic seizure. I don’t know what that’s about!
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a puzzle game that truly makes you think. I'm usually very good at visual puzzles, like mazes, yet these seemingly simple tasks prove to be quite the challenge! On top of the fantastic puzzles the story is quite thrilling. Every time I think I have it figured out, a puzzle unlocks a clue that throws me completely off. The graphics are beautiful, the keyboard keybinds are intuitive, and the music is just the right amount of soothing. I'm very surprised at how good this game is. 10/10,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Overall progression and the kind of puzzle mechanics introduced seem very inspired by The Witness. Instead of a grid you find yourself in a free space where you can draw your lines however it physically fits. Which is one of its weaknesses because it's never clear in advance whether or not you fit through a small gap before trying. Or if you're capable of pulling a line and leaving a large enough gap so you can still squeeze through later. Calls for a fair amount of trial and error, but it's…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Perfect example of beating a dead horse. You must REALLY love line wrapping puzzles. The differences between puzzle types were way to minute to not become boring. Also, each type of rope-wrap puzzles had 25 levels... Each new type was fun for 5 levels, tolerable for 10 and after that a chore.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I finished Filament (the puzzle game) and I liked the puzzles a lot, but the ending was unsatisfying to me, which is a shame because I liked the narrative until then I understand stories that don't want to explain everything but, it felt like it explained absolutely nothing.
neutral · AI labelView post →I feel like I should love this game, and for the most part I did enjoy it up until the point where I gave up and used a walkthrough. The thing is that the puzzles eventually get way too hard, and solving them requires brute force rather than logic. Also, a couple of puzzles are a bit buggy and I probably wouldn't have been able to solve them without the walkthrough explaining that the puzzles are buggy. While I don't recommend this game, I don't regret buying it. I enjoyed solving the puzzles…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A number of the puzzles are extremely frustrating, and the secret puzzles maddeningly-hard to spot, but overall a fun puzzle game. Just be sure to have a walkthrough for when you get really stuck.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm a puzzle game enthusiast and I liked this the-witness-like a lot. I understand the complaints about too much trial-and-error though. But it's just some of the puzzles. For me the game was like: 70% pleasant medium-effort puzzling 20% very good, tricky puzzles needing some tactical thinking 10% tedious trial-and-error borefest I tend to be allergic to trial-and-error but for some reason I could not put this game down until the end, even though some of the puzzles really were horrendously…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Extreme thumbs up for an absolute gem of a puzzle game. Gave me a taste of what made the Witness so great. I will say a few of the endgame puzzles are pretty questionable, but overall a massively positive experience.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Yet another game I really want to recommend and yet I can't. The concept of stringing a wire around levels is interesting. The game introduces new game elements at a steady pace to keep things interesting. I enjoyed the first couple of dozen puzzles but then the flaws of the game became apparent. As others have pointed out, the puzzle solving is mostly a case of trial and error. The difficulty ramps up fairly quickly as well. What makes the trial and error aspect particularly frustrating is…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →At least early on, the puzzles are mostly trial and error. This wouldn't be much of an issue if you didn't move so slowly. You're not just slow in the puzzles either; you move slowly through the hub area which is pointlessly large, and the game stops you from moving forward to play dialogue at you, even when that could have been done during a puzzle or in the hub. Overall, this game doesn't respect your time.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →PHP shines! Laravel rocks! Pest simplifies! Livewire sparks! Filament delivers! Grateful to build with the best tools in the game! 🩷
neutral · AI labelView post →It's true, on all counts! Filament, dragon, and REPO. Come watch me scream in unmitigated terror at this silly game!! #repo #games #videogames #3dprinting #plafilament #creality
neutral · AI labelView post →Filament Games was one of the most revolutionary things to come into my classroom. Whenever I talk to one of my old students they usually being up a game we played to learn Science or Civics.
neutral · AI labelView post →It delivers simple but deep and complex cable puzzles as advertised. They aren't sparse, and I enjoyed the environment between puzzles. Not going to change your world or life, but there are no ugly surprises. It is exactly the cable mess it promises to be.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The puzzles aren't fun.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I just can't reccomend this game, to anyone. Think of it like The Witness, you have an area you can run around in and do a bunch of line puzzles. Only difference is that the puzzles in this game are super super hard. That may sound fun, but..... it just ends up becoming incredibly tedious. Game has 300 puzzles, it takes me about 20-30 minutes to solve each one...that's about 100 hours to finish the game. And there's no real way to "logic" your way through the puzzles, you basically just have…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →There's a hidden game in this game. If you hate the trial and error puzzles, try putting on a tinfoil hat and look for other puzzles to solve. 10/10 I'm too stupid to solve cyphers and morse code.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game has distracting visual glitches seemingly stemming from the ui elements. Tested for a few minutes of gameplay on the steam deck.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I honestly think this is the hardest puzzle game I have ever played. A serious challenge
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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