Steam 'beautiful' free game made by just one person: 'give it a try'

We can all appreciate how much work goes into developing a game but with hundreds of people behind some of our favourite titles, it is often easy to overlook solo developers.

However, that will not be the case when it comes to Hold Me Still, a brand-new point-and-click puzzle game that does not just come from a solo developer, but a solo developer who created the game at just 14 years-old as part of a school project.

Released earlier this month, Hold Me Still is a short but heartbreaking point-and-click adventure which will see the main character investigate their friend’s disappearance by exploring their home.

Players will need to interact with the environment to collect clues, solve puzzles, and most importantly, uncover the truth.

The developer, Zeroshade123, warns players that Hold Me Still deals with topics of suicide, especially the high suicide rate in Korea.

As a result, it is worth approaching this game with caution if such themes are triggering for you.

If you do decide to play Hold Me Still, you will find a 10-15 minute video game about the fragility of life and all presented through the gaze of a young person navigating the world we live in.

Since its release on 6 July, Hold Me Still has received a ‘positive’ rating on Steam with one fan recommending that players “give it a try”.

“Would I buy it if it were paid? No, but I’m giving this a 7/10 because the game was developed by a 14-year-old for a school project. If the story is also the idea of the 14-year-old, they have a great future in game development,” one positive review read.

“I hope that whoever developed this game has a good and successful future in game development if they decide to follow this path.

Overall, I would recommend anyone to try this game out.”

Another positive review by user Niko reads as follows:

“A simple but effective game handling the topic of depression.

The pixel art is lovely with a good amount of detail and a perfectly murky colour palette, which really sets the atmosphere…

Equally good is the sound design from the background music to the footsteps at the end of the game.

It feels like the story draws from real life experience and thus is very well done in a straightforward and easy to understand manner.”

Hold Me Still is now free to download and play on Steam right now and so it is the perfect opportunity to show your support to an up-and-coming game developer.