Games I Played in 2025 - Occlude

 

Console: Steam

Developer: Tributary Games

Release Date: July 10, 2025

Occlude is an occult-themed Solitaire game where you must try to figure out the hidden rules by observing the behavior of four coins. It's a modified version of Solitaire, featuring two-sided Foundations (starting at Aces and Kings), a "Purgatory" slot where you can place a single card, and seven different "Rituals" which serve as the game's puzzles. The whole thing is tied around a cosmic-horror narrative, where the game of Occlude is played by desperate participants to change their realities. It's a fairly simple and straightforward little game that can be finished in one or two sittings, depending on your skill at Solitaire.

Occlude's main gimmick has to do with the four coins in the top right corner. Each of the game's seven Rituals have a different hidden mechanic which must be figured out by observing their reactions, all with the same end goal: ending each Foundation with the correct card. Since Occlude has two-sided Foundations, there is flexibility in the gameplay that allows you to delay adding a card to the Foundation when you've figured out it's the correct card. Moreover, the game allows you to mark cards as you see fit, so it becomes easy to remember things you've figured out.

The puzzle quality is quite good, with only one Ritual being disappointing to me due to requiring knowledge that isn't in the game or doing trial and error a TON of times to figure it out through brute force. Even knowing how it works, I think it's the weakest of the seven by far. Some of them are simple, while others are quite complex and can take multiple games to figure out. It's easy to look up the way a Ritual works (and I had to with the one I disliked), but the joy of the game is figuring out how the Ritual works by analyzing the coins' behavior. 

 

Each Ritual has three endings: one for winning with no coins, one for winning with a 1-3 coins, and one for winning with all 4 coins. They also all start with a little blurb with the location and time, as well as the protagonist's state of mind before this Ritual started. In general, the no coin ending will be a disappointment, the 1-3 coin ending a calamity, and the 4 coin ending a resolution. It's not what I'd call substantial, but I'd say it gives the game a definite charm.

Getting the 4 coin ending will unlock a relic to inspect on the main menu, which will give insight into the larger narrative at play in Occlude, namely through stolen confidential documents snarkily annotated by an unknown third party. Unfortunately, while this is all genuinely cool and intriguing stuff that's also well-written, I think it's a bit too open-ended to end up being noteworthy. There's no real resolution or deeper story at play, and it kind of just ends as is. I've seen people mention there is an ARG tied to it or something, but whether or not that's true, I don't think it changes the fact that the in-game narrative is neat, yet lackluster. There's also an extra piece of lore in .pdf form included as part of the Supporter Pack DLC, but I can't say it adds much to the experience.

As far as negatives that aren't the one Ritual I think is pretty bad, I think it mostly comes down to the fact that Occlude doesn't feel like it goes all-in on its presentation. Every Ritual looks the same to the player: it takes place on the same table, in the same room, with ostensibly the same music (made by Ed Sibley) playing, using the same deck of cards and four coins. While there's only one key music track, there are four variations of it, as well as plenty of unnerving sound effects that seem to play semi-randomly as you play, which does help with immersion to a point. But why must the same track play each time?

However, the rest of the game falls flat in terms of immersion, which is a huge shame. It never really feels like you're playing with something you shouldn't, like the so-called Entities in the marketing are watching. Instead, it just feels like a neat little Solitaire game with extra rules and a somewhat spooky atmosphere. It's a game with a bunch of potential that feels like it could be expanded upon with more Rituals and variations of Solitaire, more unique atmosphere, and deeper lore, but it is what it is.

PROS AND CONS

PROS

• Generally fun puzzles to figure out.

• Good music that is greatly enhanced by additional sound effects.

• Good atmosphere. 

• Interesting lore.

CONS

• Lack of a narrative conclusion leaves the player cold instead of unnerved or curious to learn more.

• All seven Rituals essentially play and look the same, just with a different side rule added.

• The Sixth Ritual is a disappointment and doesn't feel like it's in the spirit of the rest of the game due to needing outside/niche knowledge.

• Only one music track with four variations.

• Feels like a lot of potential was left on the table as far as atmosphere goes.

• Low replay value; once the puzzles are figured out, I don't think it's particularly fun to keep playing over the real Solitaire.

 

WORTH PLAYING?

Occlude is a solid puzzle Solitaire game with good atmosphere, music and theming. It's not mindblowing, but I did find myself pretty shockingly locked in when it came time to figure out each Ritual, especially as they got more complex (with the Seventh Ritual being a highlight). Despite one bad Ritual, I still think it's a fun game to play and easy to recommend to anyone who thinks this sounds neat. Just be aware that the game's marketing is a bit more intense than the game actually is. Solid little title for an evening or two of kind of spooky, puzzley Solitaire.