Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Game
Game2021
8Doors: Arum's Afterlife Adventure
Developer Rootless Studio
8Doors is a story-driven Metroidvania-style action platformer heavily influenced by Korean folktales. Play as ‘Arum’, a brave girl that has entered the realm of the afterlife in search of her father’s soul and guide her through the '8 Doors of Purgatory' to solve the mysteries that lie deep within. From the Steam store page
203 reactions from 3 sources (Steam reviews, Lemmy, Bluesky) · newest Oct 7, 2026 · last updated Oct 8, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
78
LovedLoved
153 positive · 42 negative
95% range 72–84%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 153 | 42 | 0 |
| Lemmy * | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
8 newer reactions are still waiting for a label.
Steam's own rating
Mostly Positive
1,243 of 1,599 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What people are saying
A solid, artful Metroidvania with divisive difficulty and rough edges.
Many players praise the game's gorgeous hand-drawn art and Korean folklore setting, calling it a hidden gem. The music and exploration are also frequently highlighted as strong points. [2][12][17]
However, critics point to frustrating chase sequences, tedious boss fights, and a lack of polish in menus and translation. Some also find the combat and abilities generic. [30][34][35][36]
Praised art style · Korean mythology setting · music · exploration
Criticised frustrating chase sequences · tedious boss fights · unpolished menus/translation · generic combat
Summary drafted by an AI model from the 36 reactions it cites ([n] links open each post), then checked by code: every paragraph cites real posts and every quote is verbatim. Written Oct 8, 2026. Method
Reactions
60 of 203 · most liked firstI beat this game while my wife dated a Korean, it was a great game that sadly lasted longer than the dating. My NEW wife’s boyfriend though says it’s like Hollow Knight + Okami, but Korean. Just beat it a couple of weeks ago and wow, what a game! It was super solid from start to finish and everything felt very polished, and while not particularly unique, it does everything pretty well. A metroidvania that doesn't do anything bad and is just good across the board is still super fun to me. I…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Despite the charming artwork of this title, the gameplay falls flat in more than a few areas. Many of the tools you acquire are mostly useless outside of niche environmental gameplay or specific boss encounters, and worse still, as the game reaches the late stages of the story, things become an absolute chore to play through with various areas feeling like overly padded elongated messes. The final area specifically leaves a lot to be desired with massive gaps between checkpoints, and even a…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I feel like people must be tired of me recommending the same few games (you know, if anyone cared enough to read all my comments), but I'm the type of guy who is pretty much only interested in finding the more hidden gems, and I generally ignore the stuff that keeps showing up on the front page of Steam. - [The Upturned](https://store.steampowered.com/app/1717770/The_Upturned/) - A cartoony horror-comedy game with a great sense of humor. - [Withering…
unlabelledView post →This game has pleasantly surprised me! The art, specifically the color palette, is absolutely gorgeous, and the gameplay is reminiscent of a simpler, easier Hollow Knight with similar progression and exploration loops. The combat is also fun with bosses actually punishing the "dash behind" play style, and the varied, growing arsenal of weapons gives the player options to tackle challenges in different ways. 8Doors doesn't come without its issues, though. There were a few times I pressed…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This one reminded me that I really enjoy Metroidvania games. Fun, not exent of difficulty, nice art direction, great music. If you like the genre don't miss out.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you like insane platforming you will probably enjoy it more than me I was having fun until a certain area but it was asking too much of me so I stopped. I should give a little bit of details I was being chased by something and the game wanted me to be precise with jumps oh and if you mess up you have to do the whole sequence again yeah that was when I said I am done.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fun game until you get to Bulgasari chase... don't even bother. One of the most frustrating chase sequences since the game has slow and sluggish controls with terrible hitboxes. This needs to be fixed as it is difficult for the most hardcore platform players and will definitely turn away majority of players. Afterwards, you get better weapons and loot, but game spikes in difficulty which is a poor design choice instead of offering proper gradual progression. Enemies get tankier and the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →8Doors: Arum's Afterlife Adventure ⭐️⭐️⭐️ === ( 🎯 Difficulty ) === ☐ No Difficulty ☐ Easy ☑ Standard ☐ Big Learning Curve ☐ Hard ☐ Impossible === ( 👪 Audience ) === ☑ Everyone ☐ Kids ☐ Teens ☐ Adults ☐ Mature === ( 👀 Graphics ) === ☐ What Is This? ☐ Bad ☑ Acceptable ☐ Good ☐ Great ☐ Stylistic ☐ Beautiful ☐ Masterpiece === ( Sound/Music ) === ☐ Bad ☑ Nothing Special ☐ Okay ☐ Great ☐ Beautiful ☐ I´m Gonna Cry === ( 🌏 Story ) === ☐ This Game Has No Story ☐ Nothing Special ☑ It´s Alright…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →At its best, this game can be pretty fun to play. The movement feels pretty decent, combat can be okay, the visual design is nice, story is pretty interesting, music is alright. Unfortunately, there's a handful of things that really drag down the experience. First, the combat. While it's alright most of the time, the bosses are a real chore to fight. They usually have 3-4 attacks which feel pretty samey on most of the bosses. A 2-3 hit combo, a ground slam (sometimes with a wave spreading from…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A decent by-the-numbers metroidvania with nothing interesting to add. - The combat is basic, the music is forgettable and the abilities are your vanilla metroidvania abilities. - Boss fights were fun, though! - It's not as difficult or unforgiving as the some steam reviews made it seem, but you will take some time to figure out where to go several times throughout the game. - The writing is not only terrible, but there is so MUCH of it. Most of the dialogue is empty with absolutely zero…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Buy this on sale. I love a Metroidvania. I also love reading the salt in reviews of Metroidvania games, where players lash out at Metroidvania game mechanics. "Backtracking the map makes my mom sad!" they cry. "I want fast travel to take me directly to where I want to go because five mobs and platforming combined means I won't be able to satisfy my wife!" they mourn, impotently. This fine example of the genre boasts a unique art style and cultural tie-in that I haven't seen anywhere else. I…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →4.5/10 - Maybe worth checking out if you can get it for like 75% off. Art direction is great. Decent challenge on the "Normal" difficulty, and I play every game on the hardest setting. Pretty good platforming and each area is surprisingly interesting for all using the same 3-4 colors. Biggest issue is that it seems like this game was put together by AI then no one play tested it. Eg. the limit on Souls you can carry is 4. You NEED souls to get stronger, and they can only be cashed-in in…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game looks very ugly The UI and graphics look kinda rough, almost looking like placeholders waiting to be replaced. Besides that, this is a very generic metroidvania that doesn't really stand out
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →For lack of a kinder word, 8Doors feels amateurish. Menus look and respond like alpha placeholders, there are awkward pauses in the action between cutscenes and gameplay (I kept thinking the game had frozen), and the Korean to English translation feels like it was done using Google Translate. The dialogue is atrocious. To be fair, the game is polished enough where it counts: traversal is fairly enjoyable (although the lack of a ledge grab makes platforming incredibly frustrating at times) and…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This edition of mod @gbmento.bsky.social's "Indie Game of the Week" is for 8Doors: Arum's Afterlife Adventure by developer Rootless Studio! How does this game set itself apart in the 2d Metroidvania field? User Blog: www.giantbomb.com/profile/ment... #games #gaming #indiegame #indiedev #8doors
unlabelledView post →Hollow Knight: Taoism Edition Actually a good game, a hidden gem on Steam. Average Metroidvania with a parchment art style and a Taoism setting. A bit challeging, but nothing impossible. There is a nice variation of weapons to collect, although you might not use most of them outside of places that force them. Some are fast, some are slow. Some have unique uses that are required to travel through a few areas. A nice variation of enemies, no enemy reuses the same attacks or strategy, which I…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →YES YES YES!!!!! THIS IS AWESOME.... STAY and read. To begin with, this game offers a few surprises: 1- I dont know why developers who use Unity make sh*t games, but in my experience THIS is one of the ONLY MAYBE 6 Unity games worth a damn, and it is GREAT 2- most times, when you see the "female protagonist" tag, you know what to expect... lecturing, girlbossing... all the trademarks of a developer whose hair is blue and smells like crap. NOT THE CASE HERE!! 3- recently, theres been an…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I like the atmosphere and drawings, they're quite simple yet unique in their own way, but I just couldn't really enjoy the game. It's just not that fun nor satisfying and the map is super dispersive
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Im almost finished with the game i gotta say i love the art style. And the boss fights are pretty good i don't really have much bad to say about this game. Except some of the secrets are a ♥♥♥♥♥ to collect. Took about 35 hours with casual play and looking for those damn collectibles. There isn't much for me to say except im thankful there is a 100% completed map out there. Just buy it on sale if you like metroidvania games didn't think much of it at first but it grew on me after a couple…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Super delightful and engaging Metroidvania. I'm not sure how this game didn't get popular, I randomly found it and never heard of it before. I saw some reviews about game-breaking bugs but thankfully, I didn't get any. It's not the highest-budget Metroidvania nor the most eye-flashing or biggest, it's arguably a low-budget too, but most importantly, it's a fun one. Death is inevitable, that is one of the few life facts that are stone cold. But also, Life is a journey, and while death is…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's good. It's a kind-of-rough metroidvania in the vein of Hollow Knight based on Korean mythology. Easier than Hollow Knight though, which is probably why I actually finished this game and not HK.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you read the first (most important?) paragraph in the description on Steam, what does it highlight about the game? Story driven – Korean folktales – finding Dad – solving mysteries. It doesn’t say a thing about boss fights. But there are boss fights everywhere! Tedious pattern-memorizing boss fights. Boss fights with a hard-for-hard’s-sake feel to them that makes me wonder about the developers. Are they mean-hearted people?? They give you an easy and normal difficulty to choose from at the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The influence of Korean folktales helps make this game unique in a sea of 2D platformers
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →100% achivements. Game is pretty solid. I would say it's easily a 7~~7.5 out of a 10. I think the art is pretty unique, the weapons are simple but cool and with personality. The story by itself is nothing amazing but it works and i found the OST to be extremely good. I would definetely recommend this game for any metroidvania lover, but not for a super casual player. This is one of these games that i feel like only GAMERS would enjoy, like a lot of titles people would normally not digest…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Previously did not recommend, but have changed my mind. I did not find the world or story particularly engaging, but there is enough there to integrate into the gameplay, which kept me interested and playing. Input handling is dubious (when spamming the attack button, it's impossible to turn around) but overall manageable. I was getting tired of the game toward the end of its main story, but i came back around to it in postgame. I didn't originally put enough effort into getting used to…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Nice metroidvania game, unique style and not soooo hard as hollow knight but still enjoyable.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Honestly atrocious game - so unsatisfying to go around the map, so badly designed bosses... To elaborate, I believe the first boss to be really important to setting the tone of the game. When I was playing ori 2, I remember the 1st boss gave me quite some trouble. But it was important to show how to kite out the bosses and enemies, it shows you how the combat will flow in the game. In Hollow Knight you get the same thing - the first encounters are meant to teach you how to move properly. They…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I've got a frog on my hat.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →probably more neutral than negative. am seeing the usual platformer elements. though i must say i dislike the harvesting mechanic. or rather, the requirement of needing to have enough mp (or sin or whatever they want to call it) to use the skill of a particular weapon. if you've trekked all the way there and have no mp or forgot to switch wep and wasted the mp? trek back to some mob or suicide and trek back again. unless i missed something.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →::: spoiler hidden as the list can be long; also should I list games not on Steam? - 8Doors: Arum's Afterlife Adventure - A Vampyre Story - ABZÛ - Anodyne - Battle Chef Brigade - Celeste - Codemancer - Coromon - Dandara - Divekick - Downwell - Dreaming Sarah - Dreamscaper - DUSK '82 - Etherborn - Hollow Knight (& Silksong) - Ittle Dew - JackQuest - Knight Club (friends required for this one) - Kraken Academy - LiEat - Lost in Dungeon - LYNE - Micro Mages (includes ROM!) - Momodora III (iirc…
unlabelledView post →No stream on Monday or Tuesday due to the doctor visit (if you know you know), but I'll be back Friday! Starting with MATRESHKA, a new indie horror game with cursed Russian nesting dolls!? Oh yeah! Then, if time is left, more 8Doors: Arum's Afterlife Adventure.
unlabelledView post →Honestly, the game is pretty average. You won't lose much if you decide to skip it. But if you are really itching to try a new metroidvania, this one is not a bad choice.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →What happened to Vsync? I thought that was like..... game programming 101? Nobody wants screen tear.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Honestly a great game, wayyy better than i expected after reading the reviews. Final boss is 10/10 for me personally
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I Really like this game on the surface. Hand-drawn metroidvanias are a new addiction for me, and 8Doors was initially something I couldn't get off my mind. It's not all bad, but 45-50% in I'm noticing trends that make it incredibly un-enjoyable. Pros: - Hand drawn aesthetic is clean and simple. - No contact damage (outside of pokey enemies.) - Currency and talent point pacing is well done. - Some boss mechanics are super fun and engaging (I rant below about a boss that had one of these…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →8Doors: Arum's Afterlife Adventure is a hand-drawn, cute, story rich, emotional and adventure game with multiple endings where you play as Arum who goes to purgatory in search of her father's soul.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's okayyyyyyyy-ish? Love the art and overall style of the game but it's just not that fun to play. It's gameplay is very simple and not really fun or rewarding at all. I didn't hate it though, a solid 6/10 kinda game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One of the best, most straight forward metroidvania style games I've played. I loved the art style, and the music was excellent. I want this soundtrack right now. The controls are tight, and the story doesn't bombard you, but its there, and its great. But you have to be really paying attention. I absolutely enjoyed this game. And I loved the ending. I felt all the feelings i could about it. Hidden gem in my massive steam library. Don't forget, all the characters dialog changes with each new…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I wish steam had a mixed option for reviews. I don't think this is a bad game at all, i simply never had fun with it. I tried, i got very close to the end but stopped, planning to pick it up later. That was a few years ago, and every time i look at my library and see this game i think "i need to finish it". But why should i? I wasn't having fun. I started playing it back when i was in my "i need to finish every game i start" phase and forced myself to play most of it, and after dropping it i…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →8Doors: Arum's Afterlife Adventure is yet another of literally thousands of 2D retro platformers infesting Steam and lowering the average quality of all video games everywhere. This Nintendo Switch game is a metroidvania type platformer with okay-ish 2D "paper art" style cartoon illustrations instead of, you know, computer graphics you expect to see in a video game from 2021. I mean, 3D graphics were invented some time in the 1990's right? At least by 2015 they had invented 3D graphics. So…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Looks awesome, thanks for posting! Apparently I have another game from the same publisher (8Doors), and the publisher is the studio behind *Lies of P*. I don't know much about the publisher or studio, so I'll have to keep an eye on them.
unlabelledView post →The visual design is very attractive. Combat mechanics are equally impressive. The game seamlessly combines exploration and platforming elements. You also have froggy boi who deserves an entire game dedicated only to his epicness.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I've been playing this game on and off since 2022 when I got it, and honestly I just beat it this year (2026). I could've given up but there was always something that pulled me back in. I think story mode is plenty hard enough so I can't speak to the hard mode, but the game's difficulty scales in a really nice way where you never feel totally unequipped for an area. There are tons of secrets to collect and bonus bosses to fight. The art style is really unique and is used well. The story,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →8/10 Great little game. Great music Great art style Good controls Cool story, felt unique. Started off a little slow but as you gain abilities every hour or 2, it makes the gameplay much more engaging and less tedious. Glad there are save points fairly often and the boss run backs are the perfect length (im over the usual MV grueling 10+ minute boss run back-obstacle course) Coulda used a bit more color and the controls coulda been a little more refined but it’s easy to get use to and part of…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Glad I take notes, I guess. Could never remember so much stuff without. Also wonder if I should count Crystal Castles twice, since the arcade and Atari 2026 feel pretty different from each other. ::: spoiler the list - 1983 Crystal Castles - 1984-1990 1st gap - 1991 Sonic the Hedgehog, Wonder Boy in Monster World - 1992 Sonic the Hedgehog 2 - 1993 Day of the Tentacle, MegaRace - 1994 Final Fantasy VI, Sonic the Hedgehog 3 - 1995 3D Pinball for Windows – Space Cadet, Block Kuzuchi,…
unlabelledView post →Gorgeous art style! Bosses are tough but fair and plenty of secrets to find, many of which are hard to find on a blind first playthru, 100% in game percent in 21:02. One of my gripes is there are only 8 fast travel points, spread very distant from each other. Often you still have to cover a lot of ground if you want something. Otherwise, great game!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →8Doors: Arum’s Afterlife Adventure, developed by Rootless Studio and published by NEOWIZ, is a captivating indie action-platformer that blends fast-paced combat with atmospheric storytelling and beautiful pixel art. Released to a warm reception, this game immerses players in a vibrant afterlife world filled with challenging enemies, diverse environments, and a narrative that explores themes of loss, redemption, and perseverance. Its combination of tight gameplay mechanics and evocative…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I wish for a 9doors.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →So far I find this a very disappointing game. The graphics are the quality of a kid's drawing (but that one you'd know from the screenshots and video) and the controls are just ... meh. Especially that third oh so sluggish attack that locks you into place and gets you killed in boss fights. Hitboxes not matching graphics, boss fights that take too long, it all just feels like playing a prototype or student project or something.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The graphics are beautiful, much better than all that pixel art we keep seeing. The only problem is, the difficulty isn't tuned very nicely. I have a rule, if I can't beat a boss in ten goes, I need to explore other areas and come back when I git good. However, it's very linear, so there's nowhere for me to go. Mertyle was too difficult for a first boss fight. Ten goes, couldn't beat him, turned off the game. Shame, I would have loved to see what comes later, but life's too short.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is fantastic! I do feel slightly misled by the metroidvania tag, the story is fairly linear, but there is an extensive amount of secrets and the map exploration gives metroidvania vibes as well. Regardless, I enjoyed this game tremendously. Pros: Splendid art style, good music, great characters, interesting story, fun gameplay, clever secrets, and challenging bosses. There's also a big variety in weapons you can use and for most of the game you're entirely free to use whichever one…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I like this game more than Hollow Knight. I really like HK but i really dont like hardcore platformers and the white palace is required for the true ending which i hate. This game sticks closer to exploration and boss fights while also have more weapons with a basic combo system making general combo more fun and a special mention to both Sol fights as they are mantis lords level perfection. My favorite metroidvania PLEASE give it a try if you are reading this and remotely like the genre or…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very well made game! Backtracking doesn't feel bad. Has teleports but they don't break the game and are usefull. Controls work well and responsive. Never felt the game being unfair. Failure was on my skill always and not the Game doing something that felt unfair or something that can't be dodged or something. Graphics are nice and don't confuse you like some other games. You can not duck. Feels weird somehow but you don't need it, you can dodge everything without it. It is a very solid…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Recommended. its art style is very unique, the bosses are fun except the the last one had me steamed. I liked to chat with the NPCs, gonna miss the guard.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Great mechanics and story line. Loyal to metroidvania elements.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →idk what to say... im sure that game dev is tough... and i for sure i couldnt make this... its kinda close to being something decent, but theres just a ton of wonk n clunk for me to wanna play much more of it... if one person made this. then that person has tallent, i wish they spent more time and effort in dialing the game play some more... it is playable, and theres nothing really wrong with it. i just think it still needs a year in the dev oven till its ready for public consumption 6.5/10
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A solid metroidvania style game with plenty to explore. The game has a fascinating lore and story to keep you engaged. It might not be game of the year, but it's a great sleeper hit.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I feel a bit mixed about this review. Short version: if you're really into 2D Metroidvania/souls-like games, here's one more for you to try, otherwise maybe skip. The game has a neat art style with pretty good animation. The controls are decent, if a bit less tight than I'd like. Part of the big frustration for me is an exceptionally poor English translation, with the dialogue and grammar feeling really awkward.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →At first I was certain I was going to write a negative review about this game, but I stuck with it and ended up loving it. It's definitely rough and the first few areas seem a bit uninspired with the level design. If I were to guess, the devs weren't too sure on how to design areas where you have no or limited abilities. However, it eventually picks up a lot. What it lacks in technical design, it makes up for it in art style, aesthetic and especially soul. At the end of it, I feel like I went…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very cute little metroidvania. Smooth traversal, decent combat, really nice art style. Your best friend is a froggo.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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