Particle Hearts Review (PC) – Vibes And Particles

The impact of a good game can be felt for generations. That was my feeling when I tried out Particle Hearts. Particle Hearts has many influences, but the ones that you can feel are Ico, ABZU, and Flower.

Game Name: Particle Hearts
Platform(s): PS5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, PC (Reviewed)
Developer(s): Underwater Fire
Publisher(s): First Break Labs
Release Date: August 25th, 2025
Price: $19.99

Particle Hearts throws you into an unknown world with no information on how you got there. Your goal is to piece together who you are and what happened to make the world the way it is. Everything is particles: the people, the visages, the chimes, and even the enemies you find throughout the game. You will unlock more and more information as you find chimes throughout the world that have messages from an unknown friend.

The Good

Particle Hearts is a minimalist game. It uses what little it has very well. You can dash, you can jump, and you can run. Eventually, you get other abilities that help manipulate the particles around you or even your own particles. Once you are given control of your character, you are given only one piece of advice: follow the white objects. The world has structures that are white that you can enter. Once entered, you are placed in a dungeon that requires you to solve the puzzles to get to the end of the dungeon. You are given a purple collectible at the end of a dungeon. Once you have enough purple collectibles, you can transfer them to the circle surrounded by the white spikes to progress in the game. This becomes the loop, and it is something you must figure out through exploration.

Sound is used in very small but significant ways. You can hear multiple things in the world as you are traversing it. One big thing is a loud chattering that signifies you are near wind chimes. It is great to have headphones on and be able to pinpoint the chimes directly based on your own location. Another sound you can hear is the wolf screeching as you get close to an enemy. If you hear the wolves, it means you have to find another way forward or try to dodge them. They are fast, and if you are not meticulous in walking in a specific way, they will find you and make you go back to the beginning of the checkpoint of that level.

The narrative of the world is completely optional. You figure out this world through the wind chimes that pop up in each level of the world. You need to find 10 chimes to unlock the next section of the story. You don’t need to find all 10 chimes, though, to progress in the game. You can completely skip out on the chimes and just focus on the puzzles and making it through to the end, but I would recommend figuring out the mysterious friend who is sending you these chimes so you can learn more about your own character.

Performance on PC was fantastic. I was at a locked 120 FPS for 1080p. My PC is powerful, however, with an NVIDIA RTX 4080 Super and an AMD Ryzen 7 7800X3D. Steam Deck OLED is locked at 90 FPS at 720p, and it looks gorgeous on there.

Slow and methodical is the name of the game when it comes to Particle Hearts. The puzzles in these dungeons may have moments where you need to be timely in your jumps and dashes, but you don’t really need to sprint dash often. I found that if you do try to run and dash, you are liable to fall or miss the jump more easily. Even in some instances, you will fall before you jump. Take your time and calculate the range of the jump you need, and you should be set.

The Bad

Dungeons in Particle Hearts are nice and intuitive, but if you make a mistake or fall down by accident, you are taken to the very beginning of the dungeon. Luckily, the work you have done is still there, and all the paths you have opened remain open. Sadly, though, it can be frustrating if you just need a hop, skip, and a jump to get to the end, but you fall and have to do the whole dungeon all over again.

The world of Particle Hearts is defined by the particles and the colors of the world. There are times, however, when you do get lost just exploring, and you are unsure of where to go. Taking time to look around can help, but it can also make you more lost if you are looking for something in the wrong place, but are sure you are in the right place. I had a chapter where I needed to find the white spikes, but it wasn’t anywhere that I could see. Even climbing up high wasn’t helping. It added more time than I would have liked before I finally found the white spikes, but it would be nice if there was something that could help indicate where you need to go when you do get helplessly lost.

The Verdict

Overall, Particle Hearts is a pretty interesting experience. It has a sense of loneliness that feels inspired by Shadow of the Colossus. It also had some fun ping ponging of emotions in the environment that reminded me of Flower when I played that game for the first time. It is a game that asks you to stay aware of your surroundings, and you don’t need to finish the game quickly. Take your time to find the best route and find all the little collectibles. Sure, rest under that mushroom. Explore and enjoy the world. If you are interested in adventure platforming titles and a world where you can explore in a unique way, this is the one to look out for.

Particle Hearts will be released on August 25th, 2025, on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, Nintendo Switch, and PC.

Review Disclosure Statement: Particle Hearts was provided to us by First Break Labs for review purposes. For more information on how we review video games and other media/technology, please review our Review Guideline/Scoring Policy.

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