Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Game
Game2017
Odyssey - The Story of Science
Developer The Young Socratics
Odyssey is an enchanting and innovative science adventure game. Help Kai and her family escape their captors on the Wretched Islands - and learn the history of astronomy, mechanics, and scientific reasoning as you read Kai's journal and solve puzzles along the way! From the Steam store page
196 reactions from 1 source (Steam reviews) · newest Aug 27, 2026 · last updated Oct 8, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
74
Fresh
145 positive · 51 negative
95% range 67–80%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 145 | 51 | 0 |
Steam's own rating
Mostly Positive
230 of 306 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What people are saying
Mixed: praised for education and beauty, but criticized for puzzles and controls.
Many players appreciate the game's educational approach, calling it a 'fun way to know more about Astronomy through puzzles' and noting that it 'teaches you science without you feeling as if you're learning in a classroom.' The graphics are often described as 'beautiful' and the music as 'amazing.' However, some feel the game is more of a 'digital textbook' than a puzzle game, with one reviewer stating that 'the puzzles themselves are a disappointment' and that the answers are too easily found in the journal. [10][25][6][14][32][31]
A significant number of players criticize the controls, with one calling them 'the most inexcusably ♥♥♥♥♥♥ UP controls I've ever encountered' and another reporting 'serious motion sickness.' The game's length is also a point of contention: some find it 'short but good,' while others feel it ends abruptly, 'making the entire experience nothing but frustrating.' [33][36][11][32]
Praised educational value · beautiful graphics · engaging story
Criticised poor controls · puzzle difficulty · short length
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 196 · most liked firstDon't get me wrong, I'm all for science, I'm all for reading, I'm all for playing, I'm all for learning while playing games...BUTTTTTTT there is a right way and a wrong way to combine all these things. This game really really gets it wrong. There are nearly 300, yes 300 pages of text to read as you move around this Myst-like island. However, unlike Myst where the puzzles are engaging, these puzzles aren't actually puzzles at all. They're just bland representations of scientific models where you…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →You can do everything you can't do in real life, like doing math and talking to a girl. 10/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's interesting how a video game like this one allows you to teach so much interesting and also very detailed information about the universe in the form of a diary that reveals more and more, the more puzzles you solve! And if you're really interested in astronomy, you can even master the game in English, if you, like me, are actually only able to speak German. As Albert Einstein already used to say: ɪ ʜᴀᴠᴇ ɴᴏ ꜱᴘᴇᴄɪᴀʟ ᴛᴀʟᴇɴᴛ. ɪ ᴀᴍ ᴏɴʟʏ ᴘᴀꜱꜱɪᴏɴᴀᴛᴇʟʏ ᴄᴜʀɪᴏᴜꜱ! :) Rating: 82/100
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Overview Odyssey: The Next Generation Science Game is what you would get if Myst and The Witness got together, figured out the puzzle of making of love, and had a baby. It’s primarily an adventure puzzle game that sees you set ashore on a series of islands. Using a journal and information you discover as you play, you set out to solve puzzles. It begins easily enough, like drawing a constellation on a door to open it, but quickly turns difficult, and puts real world applications to use. To…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Short puzzle game that focuses on the narrating a story through the journal of a child. This journal also contains tips to solve the puzzles you will encounter, which are all related to science. The difficulty bar is set rather low, so it's an enjoyable adventure that anyone can go through easily in 1-4 hours. The technical aspect is rather mediocre: graphic isn't particularly remarkable although it can show some good angles, there are a few texture errors around and the sounds aren't much…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →[url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/9686972/]Follow "First Person Exploration and Puzzle Games" for more games like this! This is marketed as a puzzle game, but it's not. It's actually an educational fictional book with interactive 3D models. If you walk in expecting a game like Myst or The Witness, you will be massively disappointed. However, as an book that teaches you Science, this game does a fantastic job. The game works like this: you find a few pages from a girl's journal.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I was ready to look past the bad voice acting in the opening scene. I was reluctant but still willing to look past the fact that 90% of the "gameplay" is reading journal entries. I'm not a fan of reading page after page of tedium, but I still hate doing so less than fiddling with slide puzzles, so this game's "Oh crap, this is the entire game, isn't it?" moment still left me less disheartened than when I tried to play "The Witness". The scenery was pretty, the concepts were explained in an…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The screenshots, nor the trailers, could prepare me for how upsetting this was. Not even an hour in and I just want it gone, if it wasn't for the fact I picked it up during the Summer Sale I'd be getting a refund. Her Interactive are known for publishing good mystery games, with a good balance of puzzles and story. That will not be found here. Odyssey starts out giving you a note book, and then giving you page after page after page filled with text, don't worry though only the yellow is…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm 49% for this game, and 51% against. I feel morally obliged to like it because it is edutainment and science, and therefore worthy. Clearly "an attempt was made" to do something really good here, but this was sadly undermined by the implementation. The graphics are very pretty indeed, and the sound is done well. However, the "puzzles" themselves are a disappointment. Even after you have read the 300 page in-game physics text-book, and have a firm grasp of the underlying physics (which you…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This a digital textbook and occasionally you have a pop quiz that you actually get to interact with called "the game". Then the the game suddenly ends when you feel like you have just gotten out of the prologue, making the entire experience nothing but frustrating.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Wonderful little game! Bravo! It's not for everybody, of course, but I really enjoyed it, and gave it its due. Don't think you're playing Myst-- it's really not quite as puzzle-based and there isn't the exploration/discovery of a Myst. But that's a high standard-- doesn't mean this game isn't enjoyable. Let's look at the pros and cons: (+) Pros + quite beautiful graphics + educational / science, without being a chore + You can choose whether you want to do a lot of reading, or "cut to the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →First off I'm going to start with the controls. You can not strafe side to side while you are walking or running. It makes this game frustrating to navigate if you are used to moving in 3D games at all. The motion of the game makes me a little bit sick, its got a weird tremor to it that just turns the stomach at times. Overall not a great game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Broken Controls and Not Worth It How did this happen? Why aren't more reviews talking about it? These are the most inexcusably ♥♥♥♥♥♥ UP controls I've ever encountered in a video game. Who publishes a game in this state? How is it not FIXED yet? I am talking about using the mouse to look around and using WASD to move. Yes, it's THAT which they screwed up. Cursor movement jitters and also DECCELERATES when you move the mouse faster. I'm not kidding. The WASD thing is difficult to explain.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I was sad that the game was a little shorter than I expected but its unfinished so far, and what theyve made, could stand on its own. The next installment if it comes will be more polished and have more content. The puzzles were sometimes TOUGH, but with thought and applying either Math, Physics History or Physical science to the problem made them all solvable. Reading may be an issue for some, as I have ADHD and the solves sometime weren't so apparent. I loved the game and would love to see…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's the first time a have to say this about a game... don't buy this if you have a powerful PC this game is a ressources hog with no options to prevent this program to turn your computer into a turbo jet engine it's ridiculous.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Excessively complex, obtuse.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I tried to play this game and tried adjusting the sensitivity and smoothing but I experienced serious motion sickness. Cannot recommend.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Trust me, I am a physicist. This is a game unlike any you've played before. If you are looking for a game that makes you stop thinking and perhaps even makes you write down some calculation to solve the problem, then this is the game for you. If you never experienced such a game, then this is still the game for you. Good luck to the developers!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →just to make it clear: it's an educational game. NOT a puzzle game! i only looked at the screenshots without reading any of the description. so i expected a puzzle game but instead i went back to my school days. not exactly what i had planned for the day! still it does a decent job at being educational. it's perfectly fine if you want to buy it for your kids or in case you're a little nerd yourself. but personally i wouldn't buy or play it again. the game is clearly aimed at school kids.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Well. That ended abruptly.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →+ cheap price for 2 or 3 hours science journey. (US$2.5, 80% off sales) + It is a fun way to know more about Astronomy through puzzles. + YOU DON'T NEED TO READ ALL THE TEXT. I only read those yellow highlighted words to solve all the puzzle in no time. I don't see what those negative reviewers whimpering about. - No pirates actually appear.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →"Odyssey - The Story of Science" is a first person puzzle adventure where for some reason you decide to visit a tropical island and do maths and science puzzles. Yeah, me neither. The graphics look really nice here, which is a shame, because unfortunately the puzzles aren't super interesting. I think Far Cry went a lot further than it could have by trading the traditional, gritty, dingey atmosphere of rival games like Unreal and Quake for a very pleasing to the eye tropical island theme, and…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This 2017 game feels like made in 2007. Just because something has educational value doesn't mean it must be poorly made. And to give credit to 2007, there were some great games made that year. This game isn't good. It just feels like a failed project from that time period. This game was very clearly made by someone with zero experience in game design. On top of that it's the antithesis to "Show don't tell." And I assume the developers know what an antithesis is considering the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →See that popular tag Education? Underline it. Enjoy the learning.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I got this game more for the island theme and natural beauty. I thought that it's going to be a peaceful atmospheric game. But it is too in-depth to be of a casual fun. If you're looking for casual puzzles and have a day job that drains you mentally then avoid this game. To solve these puzzles you'll need to read through a manual that contains lots and lots of text. If you have a hectic day job (especially a retarded boss who sucks your soul) then you'll find it very difficult to read all…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →So so game. some interesting science though be prepared for a ton of reading and the same music track played for the entire game with no other audio or voice acting. The writing and graphics aren't bad. if you have problems with motion sickness do not play this game. The first person locked camera can be pretty bad for motion sickness and I find my self desperately wishing for a third person camera at times. your view follows your mouse unless you are looking at your inventory. left shift works…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Recommend this game during sales, this game is short but really good otherwise, the puzzles make you think at the start of the game, things do start to slowly taper out as you go though, the puzzles eventually becoming super easy. Overall good game, graphics are pretty.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm crushed because this game sounded amazing, but its awful controls made it very difficult to play. I know there's a lot of story waiting to be found further ahead, but the bad design makes uncovering it a huge chore. If this game is an ongoing project, please, developers... get some outside help.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Nah too much text for me. I give this game 2/10 because it was very good graphics!
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →finished the game in less than 2 hours most puzzels are just a reading quiz Ends on cliffhanger on a bad story one of the puzzles in the trailer is not even on the game if you think that im just missing something I have 7/7 achivements
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Short but good experience, it was nice to use the knowledge that I "blew off in highschool", only to have to relearn again for my own sake as an adult, then apply it to puzzles... It was satisfying to figure it out without the notebook/journal The game is only too short
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Interesting concept held back by weak puzzles and an abrupt end.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really liked this game. It was really pretty and the music was amazing. I liked the science aspect (of course I would as a physics and calculus lover) and that everything was demonstrated in the journal notes. The journal was also the downside because you'd get like 20 pages and then be able to play for a minute or two so honestly by the end I stopped reading the journal unless I was looking for how to work something out.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →pretty nice and straight forward puzzle game. physics intensive puzzles but you do get some help in form of diary sheets you find throughout the game. all sheets are unmissable as they are a part of each puzzle. i enjoyed its complication and it simpleness at the same time. the only thing that bothered me is the FOV i feel like i have crossed eyes. a bit painful.... i recommend this game for all who like puzzles or even for those who play HOGs from time to time like my self.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Suuuuuuuuper basic 'puzzles.' They weren't even really puzzles, just barriers that ask you to confirm that the Earth is round and Venus has phases. It might be good for a precocious 7 year old, but that's about it. If you already know that the sun goes around the Earth, and that momentum is a thing, you're only going to be bored by all these "puzzles," barring the two middle school algebra ones that might throw anyone with basic math struggles. Also, the graphics would be nice in 1996, but…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Too short and too easy. I would only recommend this to teens maybe. If you want a proper puzzle game (think "Myst") to explore and discover, this is not your game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game teaches you science without you feeling as if you're learning in a classroom. I feel like I learned so much more science and physics from this game then when I did them in school.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Really nice puzzle game where you have to read a lot.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Well I was disappointed with this game first the movement was bad, HOW??? imagine wasd movement but you can't use 2 buttons at the same time (technically you can but the second button will effect your character by like 5% speed in the second direction but again only 5% is CRAP and is basically like not having it at all) second the voice acting was bad (an older person attempting to sound young that repeats their message like 2-3 times) luckily you only have to hear it during the opening scene…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I’m going to hesitantly give this a positive rating. It was not what I expected and the ending was entirely unsatisfactory to me. Much of this “game” feels like a homework assignment, if a good one. It’s explained very simply from the viewpoint of a 13-year-old girl so it’s easy to follow. Better than any instructor I had in school assuredly! For that alone, it gets a positive mark. The game goes into great detail explaining the physics of why and how the solar system works, how gravity and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is an educational game primarily focused on astronomy, physics, and scientific history. The story is that you come to a beautiful island where you must solve scientific-based puzzles to save a family, and do so with the help of the daughter's diary. The graphics are beautiful (especially for such a small development team), and I really liked that the story was written from a child's perspective. But why I recommend that game is for how well it teaches you its concepts. It catches your…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As a former obsessive fan of all the Myst series of games and their hyper-realistic environments, this game was a great revisiting of those earlier games. I've really missed the quality of game immersion of those, particularly Myst Exile and Riven. Their quality bar was set very high and Odyssey brings it all rushing back. If only there were more of this in a Mac OSx platform!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Highly recommended! This game is very much in the Myst style of puzzle-solving games. It is very engaging and a lot of fun to learn along the way as you are guided through classic discoveries about how the universe worrks. I would love to see a sequel! I was actually really sad when I solved all the riddles and the game was over!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I got this freeish out of the curiosity box from VSauce and while it is fun if you like science for it's inner workings and not pretty colors and spaceships, while I have had fun with it I wouldn't reccomended it to any of my friends as I know for certain a handful would get confused by it. Some issues I had with the game were that the controls were odd to me and kinda stiff, going up ladders become a choir sometimes and you can't really strafe at all, along with the frustration that is the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Odyssey is an interesting puzzle game. A lot of effort has been put in contextualizing the puzzles (that can otherwise appear arbitrary) by tying them to the both the narrative and the girl's diary. Be aware though that not all the puzzles are created equal. Some are so easy they don't need you to dig for hints in the diary, and others remain hard, even with the help of the diary. One of them was solved almost by accident, and another one required a quick check on a video walkthrough. I'd…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Odyssey is Myst's little brother. It's beautiful, it has nice simple puzzles, and even highlights clues. If you like Myst, this one will be an easy victory as it's not as hard, but it's nice. Overall I would recommend this game for people who like games like Myst or puzzles. Things I didn't like or I think could've been better (and these are minor): The majority of the clues you get from the Diary, and the important parts that related to the puzzles are hightlighted. I would have prefered…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I liked this game a lot. The graphics are beautiful and the story line was interesting. While I enjoyed solving the puzzles I was a little disappointed that the answers were in the journal and there wasn't a lot of independent thought to figure out the puzzles beyond what was written. Hopefully that is something the developers will develop more in the second part. On another note I really enjoyed reading the entire journal but for a puzzle game it was a bit much. Overall really great with a few…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Similiar to the old Myst games but with a scientific twist and chance to learn about the beginnings and history of astronomy and other science fields. There isn't a whole lot to the game but definitely a fun little game to explore on the island and solve the games fairly easy puzzles. Not sure if there is anything in the pipeline now but would be nice to get a sequel down the road. Overall I would recommend this game that wants a quick lesson on astronomy in game format.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Myst type puzzle game pure nostalgia love it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As an astronomy graduate, I can say it's an awesome educational game about physics and astronomy. The history of our understanding of our place in the universe is presented like a detective novel, where you need to use reason and find clues to show that the Earth goes around the Sun. It's the best ways to learn about science. It took me some extra time to complete the game, because I was looking up things like When did we first measure a stellar parallax, and how precise is our best telescope.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I truly enjoyed this game. Reading about the geocentric model (where everything revolves around the earth), how accurate it was at its time and how difficult it was to disprove, was truly an enjoyable experience. Trying experiment after experiment that slowly makes the heliocentric model (where everything revolves around the sun) more and more viable and finally being able to disprove the geocentric model, was such a great way to appreciate the history of astronomy. Every aspect of it was…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This one is quite good. There are inspiring puzzles in an island. Puzzles are so scientific and takes time to solve. I think the game is not gain to you fun but it's kinda relatable. So don't give up and solve the puzzles!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Short puzzle game. Managed to finish all of the puzzles within 103 minutes. Not bad tho for a discounted game xD
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Buy this game for your flat earth friends. Of course, I'm kidding. It would be a complete waste of money. If a flat earther comes to my door and says "I am a flat earther" why should that inspire me to buy them a game, or even waste a single breath on explaining anything to them? No I would shut the door, lock it, and find a quiet place to go on with my life, and let them go explore the world for themselves if they really want to understand it. Now your mileage may vary - but I already…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Wow!! There have been attempts in the past to meld this medium (computer gaming/video games) and educational material and I have always felt that this was an under utilized tool and again, just ...wow. The story is told in small enough and vague enough pieces (through the journal) to keep my interest in the outcome of the heroine, and even after making it though college level mathematics (1000 years ago) I still learned lots of things I never knew!! It was exciting to feel the light bulbs…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Good educating puzzle quest, like old good Myst-inspired games developed by Heureka-Klett, such as "Physicus: Save the World with Science!" (1999) and many others (Chemicus, Bioscopia, Geographicus, Mathica, Informaticus, etc). There's child's diaries, experiments with natural science and repeating of historical discoveries, then knowledge testing on series of plot-justified puzzles (science models). It's nice to read reference webpages and use Stellarium virtual planetarium alongside the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A really simple and fun way to learn about our solar system. The gameplay is a bit like the Room, but you'll learn about scientific history and how the world works along the way. Highly recommend if you're a patient gamer that enjoys learning.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The story isn't particularly interesting and isn't even concluded at the end of the game. Most of it isn't even remotely challenging to anyone remembers high school physics. I'm very much a fan of teaching and learning science, but this felt like a waste of time. It would only be relevant if you were in high school, and there's not enough interesting content to keep the average teenager's attention. If the story were done much better and felt urgent the boring/easy puzzles could probably have…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →(Note, I got the game during a sale for ~3€ which naturally influences the rating as well) I'm torn about this game, but am tending to still rate this positively overall. Verbose review: First a fair warning: This game feels incomplete, as it is. The ending is rather abrupt and the game essentially contains 3 out of the planned 6 chapters. Development apparently did not progress beyond chapter 3 as the funds ran out and (at least in ~2017) the dev-team planned to continue development on the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game tested the limits I had regarding astronomy and sciences. I really enjoyed the puzzles!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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