Proteus (2013)

This was such a neat experience. I sat there with my three year old and explored and experienced the impressionist art and the use of music. Very well put together, well enough that when things got trippy at the end, it produced a real, palpable feeling in my stomach. I'm trying to remember the last time a piece of visual art did that to me. It's been a while.

This review is going to be short, which is unbelievably appropriate given my experience with Proteus. It’s a funny thing that happens when you’re a PC gamer. You end up participating in a lot of Steam sales and picking up Humble Bundles. In addition, there are a lot of other sites now (GreenManGaming, GOG, Nuuvem, etc.) that are constantly having sales. As a result, I’ve had to keep a document of all the games I’ve acquired by various different means. I even have quite a few duplicates just waiting for one of my friends to claim.

I had been listening to the Giant Bombcast over the holidays and there was a decent amount of positive talk about Proteus. I thought I might check it out and then I realized I actually already owned it. Perfect! I was going to fire it up that night. Many of these little indie games are the perfect length to take me one or two nights to finish. I got home, ate supper, and fired up Proteus at around 7:00. I was done at 7:35.


I don’t usually complain when things last 40 minutes…..

It’s difficult to describe Proteus in typical game terms because it’s not really like any games I’ve played before. I absolutely hate to even touch the “Not a game” debate that has been popping up with certain games lately, such as Gone Home or even The Walking Dead. You can call it a game, you can call it interactive fiction, whatever you like. In my mind those games are games. With Proteus, on the other hand, I have a great deal of difficulty classifying this as a game. It’s a first person experience in which you walk around, there are absolutely no controls other than movement, and you have basically zero agency over what’s going on.

It’s neat for a second or two when you realize that walking near certain objects will cause them to manipulate the music a little bit, but that’s about all you can do here. I’ve heard a great deal of positivity given to the visuals in Proteus, and I’m just not buying it. It doesn’t look great. There are one or two moments where things look interesting, like during the first nightfall, but it’s nothing above and beyond any average game being made in the last few years.


I don’t dislike Proteus, but mostly just because I don’t care strongly enough to even feel negative about it.

That’s the problem. Proteus’ purported strengths are the visuals and music, and even those struggle to hang in the middle of the pack when it comes to current indie games. Before I made my final judgement on Proteus, I felt the need to do a price check. As I said earlier, I didn’t even remember picking up this game, so I don’t know how much I paid for it. It was probably in a bundle. Some people will say how much a game costs shouldn’t matter when reviewing a game, but in my opinion it absolutely does. Gamers on a budget like me need to know what kind of value they’re getting for their limited funds.

If Proteus was $1.99 or something I could give it a pass as a cute little demo game that’s worth a couple bucks to cruise through for a few minutes. I looked it up on Steam and at the time of this article Proteus was selling for $9.99. In this case, the price point is definitely working against my opinion of the game. For less money, I wouldn’t endorse Proteus but I wouldn’t advise against it if someone was wanting to try it. For ten bucks it is a very poor use of a budget gamer’s money. I’ve honestly had much more enjoyment out of a ten dollar DOTA announcer pack than I did out of Proteus.


Games under $10 regular price: Fez, Papers Please, Portal, LIMBO, FTL, etc. Proteus Just can’t hang.

If it was free, I would be confused by Proteus. Since I apparently did sort of buy this game I’m a tad disappointed. If I paid full retail price I’d be borderline angry. So here’s my endorsement of Proteus. If it falls into your lap and you’ve got 40 minutes to spare, go for it. Otherwise, there are much better uses of your money.

Proteus is a not-quite-a-game in which you walk around an island. And that's all.

As you explore different terrains and approach different objects, the music will shift and change to suit the setting. Unfortunately, there aren't that many different terrains or objects to encounter, and even with a variety of neat weather patterns and a gorgeous day-night cycle, there's just not enough here to merit any kind of positive rating. I may not have given it enough time for a fair review, but a game about exploring an audio-visual wonderland really should not bore someone to the point of giving up only an hour in.