I am in LOVE. The artstyle, the atmosphere, the mechanics, everything just clicks. I went in knowing this wasn’t my usual genre and fully expecting to struggle with keyboard controls (which I absolutely do), and still had zero regrets. Died a lot. Learned a lot. Had a blast anyway.

You play as an unknown entity trying to escape a research facility by jumping around, hacking human tech, and merging with the environment itself. It sounds simple, but if you’re not used to this kind of fast, precise gameplay, it gets tricky real fast. Skill issues were plentiful on my end, but the experience stays fun thanks to super frequent checkpoints and intuitive design. The stark black-and-white visuals create the perfect atmosphere and make important elements easy to read, while a small orange dot and level arrows guide you forward (all without holding your hand).

The mechanics and puzzles are fun to experiment with, and many levels allow alternate routes or secret solutions tied directly to achievements. Speaking of achievements: there are a LOT of them, they’re varied and well thought-out. I completed 14 out of 30 on my first run and already want to go back for more. The settings menu is stacked with options to tweak visuals, controls, and overall experience, making it approachable even for players not used to keyboard-heavy games. I also loved hearing the human side slowly panic through the system core’s voice as you mess with the facility. Extremely satisfying.

The game is short by design, around 1h30 to 2h00, but completionists will get way more out of it. A few loud sound effects might be rough for sensitive players, the last level demands actual thinking instead of waiting it out (sadly speaking of experience), and there are rare spots where you can get stuck. Thankfully, reloading the last checkpoint is always one button away.

If you enjoy that spacey, tense vibe just like in Prey, and that you like beautiful puzzle platformers, SECTOR ZERO is a steal, especially for the price. It instantly earned a spot among my favorite games of 2026 so far, and and I can't wait for the sequel where you play the chaos from the human side! Definitely a dev I'll keep an eye on!

For more reviews like this one, please check out Ele's Little Recommendation Corner!

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This is a game that's got a lot of style. It introduces a few key concepts you'll need to beat a given level, and then moves on. I like a really lean sausage, but the best sausages have some fat in them.

This is a lean sausage. This is a really, really lean sausage. And I also mean it's a missed opportunity.

Two major issues though, and they're huge: the game isn't what it implies it is. And what it actually is isn't anywhere near enough. Like I said, it's a lean sausage.

The store page says, and I quote, "But even as The Corruption spreads, isolated sectors remain under human control, sealed off, fortified, and defiant. It’s up to you to adapt, infiltrate, and finish what humanity began when they invaded your domain."

You don't really do that. Not meaningfully. If the text actually said "You will scuttle through an abandoned facility in essentially linear fashion, occasionally tampering with neglected machinery to achieve light puzzling goals and broken up with easy jumping puzzles," that'd be way more accurate, but much less sexy.

And it's not enough. A map introduces a key concept, has you use it a few times, and then it largely goes underused. Case in point: one of the first powers you get, a "blast", can be used to break small items or push larger ones away. It's never really used much beyond clearing routes. What else could you do with a blast? Maybe a physics cascade? Maybe intentionally pushing something onto a landmine? Maybe knocking a pendulum around? Maybe combining that power with another power to get some tandem effects? Hijack a cargo crane to haul a laser turret and...

The advertising copy uses the word "intricate". I would not, not once. If you want intricate, consider the later levels of The Talos Principle. The hardest level here is on par with some of the easiest puzzles there.

And then there's the boss fight. Most of the puzzle is being forced to move on occasion and waiting out a timer so you can yank a thing off the wall. The difficulty stems from not stepping on a steadily-increasing number of hazards. There's nothing intricate about it.

Now, go into the game expecting an interesting visual design, maybe to whet your apetite for other first-person puzzle games, and you've got something.

The style is one thing going for it. How it guides you to the key of each level is another huge plus: It just puts a waypoint marker on it. Maybe that's out of character, but it does resolve the main problem I've had with this sort of game: The mash-LMB scavenger hunt. You know, just basically crawling around the map, smashing your interact button, finding the one thing you need to click on to get the level to proceed. So big, big points for Sector Zero here. I genuinely mean that.

There's a hint at the end of what's in store in the future. I remember thinking, "Gosh, I really needed a whole lot more of this," and then the game basically goes, "Hey, you want more? Well, we're working on more! In another game!" And maybe that's a bit crass, but I also respect the honesty.

Now, the game does say it's one hour of gameplay (true, I took my sweet time and I clocked 74 minutes) with two hours of cheevo-hunting. So that's a value proposition you'll need to make. There's a lot of hidden tidbits I didn't discover, apparently, and likely won't.

Just, in short, I think the game promises a lot more than it actually delivers. I bought it for the visual style, and I'm really fond of some indie stuff. So I'm keeping it, no fear. Just bear in mind that unless you really like to scour maps, the game really is short and doesn't deliver what it promises.

Get this at a price point that's agreeable to you for 1 hour of gameplay (3 if you're a cheevo-hound), support indies, get something with some visual style. Enjoy how it looks, look forward to the sequel which I hope will be a much plumper sausage. Like a chorizo, maybe. Mmm.

Well, if you're down here, you're my sort of person. I've got a curator, I do some Twitch stuff, it's all in my profile. Pop on by, see what weird stuff I'm getting up to. I'd actually quite like that.

Short and sweet, the artstyle is novel, puzzles and platforming are just perfect difficulty - no genius level thinking required, but can't just breeze through either.