Quern - Undying Thoughts on Steam - User reviews, Price & Information
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Discover the truth about Quern’s past, unfold the mysteries of its present, and be the explorer who shapes its future. Quern introduces reusable puzzle mechanics to the classic genre, making the player think about the game as a whole, and not just as a series of individual challenges.
Quern - Undying Thoughts is a adventure, puzzle and mystery game
developed by Zadbox Entertainment
and published by Zadbox Entertainment and Blue Brain Games.
Released on November 28th 2016 is available on Windows, MacOS and Linux
in 10 languages: English, French, Hungarian, Italian, German, Spanish - Spain, Russian, Czech, Polish and Simplified Chinese.
It has received 3,544 reviews of which 3,248 were positive and 296 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.8 out of 10. 😎
The game is currently priced at 22.99€ on Steam.
The Steam community has classified Quern - Undying Thoughts into these genres:
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System requirements
These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.
Windows
- OS *: Windows 7 or higher
- Processor: Intel Core i3-2100 or AMD equivalent
- Memory: 3 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 650 2GB or AMD HD7770 2GB
- Storage: 9 GB available space
MacOS
- OS: OS X 10.8 Mountain Lion
- Processor: Intel Core i3-2100 or AMD equivalent
- Memory: 3 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 650 2GB or AMD HD7770 2GB
- Storage: 9 GB available space
Linux
- OS: Ubuntu
- Processor: Intel Core i3-2100 or AMD equivalent
- Memory: 3 GB RAM
- Graphics: NVIDIA GTX 650 2GB or AMD HD7770 2GB
- Storage: 9 GB available space
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User reviews & Ratings
Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.
A fairly solid recommendation for a flawed but very well made game. Okay, so it's like Myst. Except I don't get to make that comparison, really, because I don't recall exactly how Myst was; because I was a little kid when I played this game on PC and didn't understand sh*t about it; and I was a teen when I actually finished it on Nintendo DS. But the vibes are Myst...is what I'm going to assume based of screenshots of Myst. Look, if that is a useful comparison to you, cool! You like Myst? You like...Obduction? Well that's pretty much in the ballpark. Now for more details... --- Basically Quern puts you in the shoes of an unfortunate (and unwilling, I believe, though that is unclear to me) portal traveler who finds themselves trapped on a mysterious island made of white rocks, pine trees, big white rock and pine wood houses, tons of weird mechanical devices and a load of crystals of varying colors. You quickly realize you are here to follow the guidance or a mysterious man who speaks to you from the past through letters, bringing some context to the story. The narration is solid enough to carry you from main puzzles to main puzzle. Without saying it is the most compelling plot I ever witnessed in the genre, the voice acting is solid, and the prose is subtle enough to be both good at exposition, while remaining somewhat mysterious. And when the game does go for a big exposition dump, it ends up being used to change our perspective on the plot in a pretty drastic manner, adding some more depth to it, which is welcomed. Solid stuff. That story is served by, again, very solid and competent art and level design, mixing simple and recognizable architecture, that manages to be just alien enough to be interesting to look at. The steam punk (crystal punk?) technology, with tons of unnecessary beeps and boops (I'll get to that), juxtaposed with the huge rock faces and minimalist, if not austere houses, make for an interesting place to roam around. And everything is tied together by a pretty chill soundtrack, composed of mostly hits, with a couple of misses here and there, in my opinion. Some themes, especially the main court one (which you will hear A LOT in the first half of the game) feel under-composed, quickly redundant and boring, while also being too short to blend in the background. Thankfully, the vast majority of the OST is very competently made, with tracks that build the mysterious atmosphere well enough. Surprisingly though, the game never really goes quiet, with each zone of the island having its own little theme, that will start whenever you move from one to the other. I feel like a little quietness here and there could have helped sometimes. --- But what about the puzzles though? Well, I'm going to say I mostly had a good experience with the puzzles; which is why I recommend Quern in the first place. But I need to highlight a couple of things I really disliked, and another that I'm still debating as to how much I liked it or not: -Out of the dozens of puzzles that composed the game, there are three that I HATED with a passion. For two of them the game expected the player to revisit puzzles they ALREADY SOLVED, to replay them with a new item; I f*cking hated that, I didn't like it, I was not a fan of it. Though it is understood, fairly early, that you will visit each place several times, puzzles should be done and discarded. I already am trying to juggle in my mind all the concurrent inventory items I have, and unresolved puzzles that might be solved by said inventory items, I cannot also be expected to keep in mind the growing list of puzzles I already solved, just for the sake of TWO OF THEM being relevant several hours later. For me, this is not clever, this is not thinking outside of the box, this is a hard "no". As for the third puzzle, I am not even going to burry the lead, it's the Simon Says. And not only would I not be super enthusiastic about it, because at face value...it's Simon Says. But this one has the audacity to ask you to remember 14 (FOURTEEN) consecutive notes, composed of a range of five, that will be randomly composed each time you retry the puzzle. Now here is the deal: it is obviously a ridiculous task; so the only explanation possible (one that was confirmed by reading a developer talking about that puzzle in a game thread) is that you are not expected to actually play Simon Says. But you are expected to either spam the note system and then painstakingly reproduce the combination, by opening/closing the notebook 14 (FOURTEEN) times; or...to take your smartphone, the thing you are trying to forget when playing video games (I'm not particularly addicted to my smartphone, I'm just trying to be relatable here) to film your screen, and then (again) painstakingly scroll through the timeline of the video to look at each note to reproduce. This SUCKS a big dongle. Taking notes on a piece of paper is one thing. Filming my Steam Deck and then having to alternate between my phone and my Deck to enter a 14 (FOURTEEN FFS) notes combination is just silly. To be clear, I wrote two whole paragraphs, because quite frankly, I just found it infuriating. But the reality is, it was not that much of an issue in a 14-15hrs playthrough. -On a broader subject, I am a bit torn on the whole input system. To be clear, I played this 2016 release on Steam Deck, using both joysticks and the right trackpad like a mouse. It is very likely that keyboard and mouse make a better combo for this game. Although the game has controller support... Basically, when it comes to the interactions with puzzles, Quern plays like a Frictional Games game: i.e you don't just push buttons, you click and drag, click and pull, click and push. The nature of the game world, the ancient and magical technology aspect of the game is remarkably extended to the machines you interact with. It is rare that Quern asks you to simply dial a code on a keyboard. You'll be pulling levers, to align arrows, making sure little LEDs are lit properly, before turning a knob somewhere else. And for the most part, that works to create tactility with the game world. Being a fan of Frictional and games like Statik on PSVR, or the Room trilogy on Android, I'm actually really happy that this is how Quern works. The issue is just that, several puzzles became incredibly tedious to solve because of these controls. Some of the puzzles that I ended finding tedious to solve, felt tedious because testing hypothesis took a lot of mental energy, and required a lot of button presses to get things done. Sometimes, it felt like the expected behavior for solving puzzles was to look at each part of it, then onto a piece of paper, calculating in advance your moves before testing them. I don't believe that is actually what was expected of me; but it felt like that at times. The worst offenders are the alignment puzzles (you move a piece another one also moves; if you move that second one, it moves a third one etc.). These are typically "fumbling" puzzles, where you fiddle around, not necessarily to stumble on the solution, but to look at the thing moving while you are doing it, so you get to a position where you see the solution a couple of moves away, and then start calculating. To be played the "fumbling" way, these require A-that you can look at it while moving pieces, and B-that you can quickly manipulate it. It's a very simple iteration on the Rubik's Cube. But with these controls, and with this admittedly lovely crystal punk aesthetic, a lot of tubes and levers, you are always in for a cumbersome interface, that sometimes is justified and enhance the puzzles, sometimes kind of ruins the solving process. To an extend, I recognize this is a skill issue on my part. If I was better at solving some of these puzzles, I wouldn't mind at all the fiddling. But it is what it is. --- TL;DR I enjoyed Quern a lot. It is well made, has three puzzles I hate and a bunch I loved solving.
Quick review: A fun puzzle game, with not a lot of hints, so you can't just breeze through it. Story rich, and leads you through the lore so you can eventually make your own decision. What you get to play: Quern is a puzzle game that isn't a room to room puzzle. You are brought to an island you need to "solve". These puzzles are arranged so you can unlock parts of different places. You can revisit any area (sortof) and use it (like potions or telescope) again to solve new puzzles. Very intuitive and thought through. Although the freedom is at it's highest in the first area, the lore is at it's highest in the second area. About hints and things you can do: Be not afraid to use the hints however. The puzzles don't always point to the next area/item. The best "first hint" is using alt to see what can be interacted with. Second, a question mark in the bottom right corner in the "items" inventory. The third, is to look around, connect logical conclusions and look for symbols. There are levers you can pull/push, pull up/push down, lights toggled on/off, ... . For you, and 2 tips: This game is for someone that likes puzzles, finds new logic, uses interprative meaning. It has only a few standerd "game logic" puzzles, it's more of a real world that uses magnitism, bait, weight, sequencing, music notes, "lazer" beams, ... . Be imaginative, use items where you think it might work. And don't forget 2 things. You CAN take notes with "p" and view the screenshot in your notebook and add notes. You CAN press mouse 2 to hold your screen still and move your mouse cursor like normal to solve puzzles because all of them are world interactions. Get it: I definitly recomend the game if you've got some puzzle sense or even mastered them. It's harder for newcommers but definitly doable. Get it on sale, around max €15. Added notes: It's a well thought out puzzle game, I like the lore very much, and the graphics are amazing. But it is just a one and done game. If I may compare, Outer Wilds has the same "unlock things" (knowledge) like Quern (stage progression), has the same once known/item-obtained, it's always an open world. But Quern sets it up so you can only do THAT next puzzle when you get THAT item. Sometimes you get 2, but it's mostly just a part of a key to unlock a box after some puzzles. That is how the puzzles are set up in Quern, and it's not a mistake. It just makes it seemed forced while it's just needed to be that way. Altough I'd like to play a version where the keys aren't keys, but they're.. grapling hooks. They did that right with the green crystal (you'll know later).
This is a fantastic puzzle game that really respects the player’s intelligence. The island itself isn’t the most colourful place – the palette leans heavily into muted greys and dull browns – but the slightly subdued visuals actually help to focus attention on what the game does best: its puzzles. Every puzzle I encountered felt logical, grounded, and fair. Solutions make physical sense within the world, and the game consistently teaches you how its systems work without resorting to cheap tricks or obscure logic. Not once did I feel like I was fighting the game or dealing with an inscrutable puzzles; whenever I got stuck, the answer always felt obvious in hindsight rather than arbitrary. I would recommend this game to anyone who enjoys puzzle games.
This is one of the best puzzle games I've ever played. Extremely satisfying and rewarding for a player that likes puzzles that require synthesizing information. Broad range of puzzle types, some comparable to high quality escape rooms, but to reduce it to that would be a disservice. The flow of clues and logic is solid and well-integrated into the world. I felt challenged but never stuck, which is a standard few puzzle games have achieved so consistently. And bonus, the developers are responsive to issues. My PC crashed during one puzzle that caused a bug. I reached out to the devs and they got back to me within a day with the fix. Highly recommend, and I'll remember this one.
Quern – Undying Thoughts completely took me by surprise. I expected a decent little puzzle game, but what I got was one of the most satisfying and immersive experiences I’ve had in a long time. Right from the start, the game drops you into a mysterious world without much explanation — and that’s exactly what makes it so compelling. You’re alone on a strange island, surrounded by ancient technology, quiet ruins, and a story that unfolds piece by piece as you explore. It’s incredibly atmospheric, without ever feeling forced or overdone. The puzzles are where Quern really shines. They’re clever, well thought-out, and incredibly rewarding. One of the things I appreciated most is that the game never tells you exactly what to do next. There are no quest markers, no guiding arrows — you have to figure things out on your own. And while that’s part of the charm, it can also be a bit tricky at times. Sometimes it’s not immediately clear what your next step should be, and the game trusts you to pay attention, think carefully, and slowly piece things together. Quern doesn’t hold your hand — but that’s okay, because figuring things out on your own feels way better than being told what to do anyway. Just be ready to occasionally stare at a locked door for ten minutes wondering if you missed something obvious. (You did.) Visually, the game is gorgeous in a calm, understated way. The world feels handcrafted, like every part of it has meaning and the subtle, haunting soundtrack perfectly matches this mood. If you like myst like games that make you think and reward curiosity, Quern is absolutely worth diving into. Highly recommended!
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Frequently Asked Questions
Quern - Undying Thoughts is currently priced at 22.99€ on Steam.
No, Quern - Undying Thoughts is currently not on sale. You can purchase it for 22.99€ on Steam.
Yes, Quern - Undying Thoughts received 3,248 positive votes out of a total of 3,544 achieving a rating of 8.81.
😎
Quern - Undying Thoughts was developed by Zadbox Entertainment and published by Zadbox Entertainment and Blue Brain Games.
Yes, Quern - Undying Thoughts is playable and fully supported on Windows.
Yes, Quern - Undying Thoughts is playable and fully supported on MacOS.
Yes, Quern - Undying Thoughts is playable and fully supported on Linux.
Quern - Undying Thoughts is a single-player game.
Yes, there is a DLC available for Quern - Undying Thoughts. Explore additional content available for Quern - Undying Thoughts on Steam.
No, Quern - Undying Thoughts does not support mods via Steam Workshop.
No, Quern - Undying Thoughts does not support Steam Remote Play.
Yes, Quern - Undying Thoughts is enabled for Steam Family Sharing. This means you can share the game with authorized users from your Steam Library, allowing them to play it on their own accounts. For more details on how the feature works, you can read the original Steam Family Sharing announcement or visit the Steam Family Sharing user guide and FAQ page.
You can find solutions or submit a support ticket by visiting the Steam Support page for Quern - Undying Thoughts.
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Last Updates| Steam data | 15 June 2026 07:33 |
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| SteamSpy data | 11 June 2026 05:42 |
| Steam price | 15 June 2026 12:47 |
| Steam reviews | 14 June 2026 11:47 |
If you'd like to dive deeper into the details about Quern - Undying Thoughts, we invite you to check out a few dedicated websites that offer extensive information and insights. These platforms provide valuable data, analysis, and user-generated reports to enhance your understanding of the game and its performance.
- SteamDB - A comprehensive database of everything on Steam about Quern - Undying Thoughts
- SteamCharts - Analysis of Quern - Undying Thoughts concurrent players on Steam
- ProtonDB - Crowdsourced reports on Linux and Steam Deck Quern - Undying Thoughts compatibility
Game modes
Features
Online players
20
Developer
Zadbox Entertainment
Publisher
Zadbox Entertainment,
Blue Brain Games
Release
28 Nov 2016
Platforms