Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Game
Game2018
Paradox Soul
Developer Ritual Games
Paradox Soul is a chilling fight for exploration and survival; a Metroidvania pixel action-shooter hybrid! From the Steam store page
180 reactions from 2 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky) · newest Oct 6, 2026 · last updated Oct 8, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
38
Rotten
67 positive · 108 negative
95% range 31–46%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 67 | 108 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
5 newer reactions are still waiting for a label.
Steam's own rating
Mixed
290 of 664 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What people are saying
Summary pending — the reactions are listed below.
Reactions
60 of 180 · most liked firstThis game involves passing through corridors while avoiding enemies or shooting at them. ✅The only two pluses of this game are the decent soundtrack. ✅The second plus is that the game has a lot of checkpoints. ❌You keep going through the same corridors over and over again; there's no variety. ❌This game has no storyline; it's unclear what it's about. ❌The graphics are awful, 2/10. ❌The price is too high for this awful production. If you have any questions about my reviews, feel free to ask.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →hopefully its worth the $0.00 that I spent on it
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →TLDR: Good short fun overall, lacks polish. I hope we see more from the devs! Before the harsh couch critics dismember everything, bear in mind, that it's probably the "dev team"'s (2 people) first ever attempt of a game release on steam. There are some neat ideas here and my objective review will be to provide feedback for the devs, so that they can use it to evolve. I like the graphics, not to complicated, but it get's the job done: Intro and ending animations, nice movement and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I got lost, found an upgrade, got lost again, somehow beat a boss, and called it progress. The cover system felt weird at first, but after a while I started pretending I actually knew what I was doing. The map had me walking in circles more than once, but finding a new ability and unlocking another path was always satisfying. It's not the greatest Metroidvania ever made, and it's definitely not perfect, but I had enough fun to finish it. If you catch it on sale, it's an easy recommendation.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I just discovered that a Steam review can only be written if you have at least five minutes of gameplay. This is a reasonable requirement as "How can you can review a game, if you haven't even given it an iota of a chance?" Yet, after less than a minute of booting up Paradox Soul, I felt immediately compelled to uninstall it with extreme prejudice. Courtesy of its absolutely terrible default control scheme. For instance, who on god's green earth decided that the Enter key would be used to…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A straightforward metroidvania with a charming art style that I genuinely enjoyed. It’s not particularly difficult, though the bosses can feel a bit tedious due to the limited combat mechanics. Still, it’s worth checking out even if, like me, you’re not especially into metroidvanias.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →nobody's gonna read this anyways... so... i'm gay...
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →100% reccomended IF you have a controller that works with your device. dont play this with a keyboard its just awfuly layed out
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's not good. The "combat" is either repetitive 1-2-3-4, then shoot back, cover shooting, or it's constantly restarting the "room" because there's nothing but "gotcha" trial-and-error gameplay of random assortments of obstacles that kill you in one hit. You think, "that's not too bad, you die in one hit but restart over in the same room," except you then start dying to the obstacles you already figured out how to clear because you're just trying to rush through the first half to get to the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's a very rough and painful game. Has a cover system which isn't explained, causing you to die a lot confused at first.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I have conflicted feelings about this game. It has a lot of flaws, and I had a hard time with the start and end of the game but I had fun with the core gameplay after I understood how to play. Globally it's an okay game so I'll give it a positive review, mostly because I still had fun and I got the game for free. However, I DON'T recommend buying it at full price. The game is apparently often on sale and it gets really cheap so if you want to buy it, wait for sales, it's not worth it otherwise.…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →wacky uneditable controls with zero tutorials. die in one hit to literally everything and have to restart the room only to realize youre going to die in that same spot 30 more times until you figure out the perfect way to get through an area. genuinely no fun playing this game i get why its free
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →On one hand it was free, on the other hand it's really crap.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I hate pixel dogs
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game has no tutorial and terrible keybinds you can't change. I went the entire game without knowing some mechanics existed and finished the game extremely quickly. I would maybe buy the game for a dollar max but I was frustrated playing this even when I got the game for free. Can't really recommend it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Questionable is how I would describe Paradox Soul. Clunky, weird controls, having to restart rooms every time you die, repetitive gameplay and a non-existent story are hard to swallow even having received it for free. It might be a short game, but even that was too long for me to want to finish. There is not much to this game and what's there just isn't fun.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The only good thing about the game is the art. The rest is quite frankly ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥. Especially since you can't rebind your keys directly in-game. Movement is ass, the game doesn't elaborate on how to hide behind the barricades. Although buffs are somewhat good and helpful. There are also annoying backtracking, meh secrets, and tough mobs fighting against a fragile player.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →peanut would love some pets and treats :) 🌸＞ フ | _ _ l ／` ミ＿xノ / | / ヽ ﾉ │ | | | ／￣| | | | | (￣ヽ＿_ヽ_)__) ＼二つ
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game felt more like a prototype. The devs should've put in more effort and got creative—they had a solid idea to start with!
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Got the game for free. Its not good; It very rapidly loses its charm. The unchangable unusual keybinds make combat somewhat nightmarish. You die often on levels you would have done fine with WASD controls. Lots and lots of unavoidable 'gotcha' deaths. Whats that? You passed a robot cage and it broke out and you don't have enough space for the 5 shots needed to kill it, no where to jump to, nowhere to hide? You die. Start the room over. This IS the gameplay loop. You die, randomly at…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →There’s a sad saying about hoarders. They love to hoard everything that they think is valuable to them. Everyone else knows it’s garbage and has the fun task of going through it when their beloved family member with a hoarding problem dies. Lucky for me, my hoarding is digital and will not burden anyone when I die. It’s still a problem nonetheless due to me insisting on collecting every single free game that’s been pushed out without caring if they’re garbage or not. And this game is just more…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →not even worth the 0€ i spent on it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Paradox Soul aka breakdance sim for your little fingies Even after watching some videos to learn how to play — because the game tells you nothing — I still couldn't beat the first boss. The controls are just weird. Once you understand them, it feels a bit rewarding, but everything else sucks that feeling right out of you. Every time you change floors or rooms, the enemies respawn. OK, cool — if they had any function besides existing to annoy you. There is no story or explanation as to why…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Retro 1990 2D graphics. Excellent fun addictive gameplay.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Extremely hard to play game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A lot of the negative reviews was my forewarning, but I still took the dive. This game has to have one of the worst keyboard controls for a side-scrolling platformer game that I have every played. Especially the swap where the up arrow is to enter doors, and the "x" key is to jump? That makes no sense. And you can't change the controls either. I'm also peeved that the BGM and audio does not save whenever you exit and re-open the game. So you get the same ear-rape music on blast every time, and…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is free to keep when you get it before June 17, 2025! A very challenging side-scroller shooter with awesome music. One hit deaths but checkpoints at every stage. Honestly too difficult for myself. 5/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →After playing this game, I feel Paradox Deadlock even deeper inside me.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →There's a reason this game got the 100% discount (it is not good). If you are able to DO NOT buy it, waste of time. It is not bad, but there's a lot of things that make this a bad game and doesn't really have that much replayability
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Alright game. Music and sound effects where great. Levels were a bit repettive but I didn't mind it. Keyboard controls were very weird and a bit difficult to get used to. Boss battles aren't too hard. Honestly fighting with the controls and pressing the wrong button was the hardest part. Very short. Maybe pick it up on sale.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →constantly confused, no tutorial. got tired from running through the whole map EVERY TIME you unlock something new. enemies spawn back after clearing a floor, adding to the annoyance of running through the map back and forth.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →i agree with ballisticwillow10 and SeptemberYT, IF you have a controller it is okay and game is "hard" and by hard it just means annoying enemies can suddenly speed up on you or something and you are stick shooting while walking slowly and cant dash , how to navigate anything btw when you die and you get to restart from the door you just walked through allowing you to try and try again until you learn the timing and placement of what needs to be done. which is not that hard, just annoying. is…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →How to get past A07?
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The most enjoyable part about this game was uninstalling it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Trash I could never get past the room with the dog and the guy with the gun. The bullets are not feasible to dodge, you cannot shoot the guy before it shoots you and if you try to double slide and jump, he is in the exact spot where you land and will blow you up by touching. None of the controls work together. You cannot shoot while jumping or sliding. You cannot jump or slide or even turn around while you are shooting. So you have this game that requires extremely precise control, in a game…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Painfully boring
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →How is this game so ♥♥♥♥♥♥ hard? (I have done Abs Rad radiant btw)
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It feels like an experimental or early access game. The game is hard, but partly because there's almost no tutorial (I don't know if it's intentional) and the controls feel rough/stiff. Some default buttons are weird, such as arrows to move around, X to jump, and Space to use a bomb, but without the option to change them. If you already own this game and like side-scrolling shooter/metroidvania games, give it a try. Otherwise, skip it.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I played only a few minutes after the first boss, which I was not impressed by. Combat encounters become tedious, with the same gotcha feel or only able to address it with one solution. Inputs mainly between firing the gun and rolling require a slight pause in order to trigger properly. So in my case I guess I was too quick with releasing the fire button and then rolling it would not register the roll and therefore not roll. At least by the trailer the other boss fights look visually…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really don't understand why this game recieved such a negative feedback. It's not perfect, but it's still a really good and fun-to-play game that I genuinely enjoyed. There's really not much of a story to be mentioned, but the setting, the art, the environment and the animations are pretty great. The game has many different levels, multiple types of enemies, and a couple of interesting bosses, while also having some upgrades to spice the gameplay up along the way. I admit it feels a bit…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →You are not introduced to the controls at the start which is going to frustrate a majority of people, even afterwards everything is going to one-shot you, even after getting the suit. Even after getting the roll and double-jump, progression is slow, often having to waste time dealing with respawning enemies, castlevania did this right where they respawn but they don't insta-kill your ass everytime you need to revisit a room. The map makes no f*cking sense, this fails as a metroidvania.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →all the rooms look the absolute same. map is ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ and confuses more than it helps. if you didnt get it for free then theres no point in spending the 5 euroes.its also very easy and gameplay is just cover shoot, cover shoot agaiun and again. im guessing im at the last part of the game after the 2nd boss. but sice every room IS THE SAME i have no idea what rooms ive opened and thus have no idea where to go. im not saying i need yellow paint to guide to where to go, but maybe if EVERY SINGE…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I wish I could say this game is good but there are too many problems with it: This game is virtually unplayable with a keyboard and mouse. The controls for keyboard and mouse don't make any sense and which makes controlling the player awkward. I would've immediately stopped playing if I didn't have a controller on hand. The map is confusing and took me a very long time to fully understand. Boss fights are quite repetitive, but the general game play is okay. Almost no tutorial is present,…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Paradox soul is a great 2D game, you run through a facility/labyrinth full of ennemies and bosses. The game can be confusing but once you get the mecanics, you roll and jump to the end of the game. It has a decent soundtrack for a game this short. It's a good game to relax and chill on a cold day.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very minimum cinematic/story. Difficult in a good way
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Really frustrating to control. Jump is X and bombs are spacebar, while dashing automatically runs you into cover which often killed me due to melee enemies and you CANT change the control scheme. I gave it a solid half an hour, beat the first boss, then just got frustrated while not really having fun.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →literally doesn't teach you the controls, and some of them don't even make sense (sliding to hide behind boxes, really?, could've just made it up arrow). the combat is extremely annoying and repetitive, you die in one shot while it takes at least 6 to kill basic enemies. the music is okay for about 2 minutes, then it just pisses me off because it loops constantly, no variability there. to sum it up, doesn't teach you controls, repetitive gameplay loop that mostly consists of you dying over and…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'll try to be constructive here. Gameplay-wise there was an idea here for a puzzle-type exploring platformer. However the execution is lacking as the difficulty is just a repeating pattern of cheap deaths, repetitive combat and tedious rooms length. I get the sense that backtracking isn't necessary but the very idea of having to go back through the motions required to go back has completely discouraged me from considering it. The game also doesn't ever introduce the rules to you and sort…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →this game is a waste of my time its like those old game boy games no explaination no nothing you just gotta figure it out yourself i dont know why i have this game in my library its not fun at all
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A fairly fun game that honestly surprised me after reading many reviews before trying it out. The game is hard yes, figuring out where enemies are, how to navigate bosses, and what secrets to find but with how hard it can be, it's also very forgiving. You die and you get to restart from the door you just walked through allowing you to try and try again until you learn the timing and placement of what needs to be done. Are the controls a little wonky? I personally didn't think so, I know how to…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →i understand why it went free
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Average ♥♥♥♥. Control is badd
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is hot garbage. If I hadn't got it for free I would get a refund, 100%. Online playthroughs show your character as having a health bar, however, this version has none, and everything 1-shots you. It's pointlessly tedious to repeat until you get through. Just don't waste your time on this trash.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →very unfair. weapon is too weak. theres reason it was free.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →THESE CONTROLS f8AKING SUCK
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Yeah, it's bad. I thought maybe it could still be okay with the reviews, but no.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →really awful game
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I don't even know where to start with this one. For clarification, I got this for free a while back and picked it up to play through it. This game, to put it mildly, is ROUGH. And not Dark Souls rough, I mean rough in the sense that its gameplay is a slog and some design decisions really leave me scratching my head. This is essentially a shooter Metroidvania. That sounds cool, but for some reason the game manages to make shooting feel like chore. You traverse rooms with enemies, backtrack,…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game was fun for a bit. Cool side scrolling run and gun action. Difficulty is high. Few will be able to finish it. You may as well finish off a cold one and call it a day
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Got a cat here. Friends passing by can touch her and click Like to pet her once. Award for good luck, Take My Points for infinite pets :) ⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀ ＿＿ ／＞ フ | _ _ l ／` ミ＿xノ / | / ヽ ﾉ │ | | | ／￣| | | | | (￣ヽ＿ヽ)__) ＼二つ
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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