Ludography
More scores
GameFAQsEasy-Just Right
3.88/5
Player reviews
97% positive437 reviews
Steam Deck
Verified
Runs on
Windows, Linux
Price
US$6.99

Where to get it

Qomp cover

2021 · Stuffed Wombat · Action · Adventure

Qomp

You control the ball on its journey to freedom.

Released
4 February 2021
Platforms
LinuxWindowsmacOS
Genres
ActionAdventureIndiePlatformerPuzzle
Developers
Stuffed Wombat
Publishers
—
Modes
Single-player
Perspective
Side view
Themes
Action
Languages
English
Time to beat
1.5hmain story2hcompletionist

About

Qomp (stylized as qomp) is a 2021 puzzle-platform video game developed by Stuffed Wombat and published by Atari for Windows and Linux. Upon release, the game received positive reviews, with critics praising the game's minimalistic design, gameplay variety and short length. A sequel, qomp2, was released in 2024.

›Story

You have been trapped between paddles for decades.

Now it is time to take matters into your own hands and try to escape this endless torment.

Players say

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Players control the direction of a constantly moving square ball by clicking the mouse, which reverts the vertical angle of direction of the ball. Players must navigate the ball through a maze with hazards, including spikes or rotating blades. Players must unlock doors by collecting keys throughout a level to progress. When entering a body of water, the square ball has additional weight, changing the physics of the ball's motion. After completing all levels in the game, players can replay the game with more challenging versions of each level.

Development

Qomp was created by Stuffed Wombat, the pseudonym of Austrian independent developer Joshua Hollendonner. Describing the project as a "small game about freedom", Hollendonner stated he intended the game to be a small project, and confined its scope and content to reflect this purpose. Under the working title Pomg, development commenced in 2017 and went through several iterations. Development of the first iteration of the game was affected by the collapse of its original publisher, Sindiecate, in 2019.

Hollendonner was able to continue development in 2020 following funding of the game from independent developer Mario Zechner, after experiencing financial difficulties with the project. Hollendonner also involved several co-creators to complete the project, including programmer Gustavo Chico, sound designer Britt Brady and artist Miroslav Marinov. In 2024, publisher Atari released a sequel, Qomp2, developed by Graphite Lab. Hollendonner was not involved with the project, although expressed support and was "really excited to see how Atari is carrying our work forward".

Reception

Stating that Qomp delivered on its "goals of being a simple, clever, enjoyable game", Josh Kuchera of Polygon highlighted the simplicity of the game as a "welcome respite" from more complex titles due to having "perfected its own limited scope", later naming the game as one of the best titles of 2021. Slant Magazine also named the game one of the best of the year, with Ryan Aston praising the game's "incredibly amount of gameplay variety" and "satisfying" ending. Similarly, Vincent Acovino of Wired praised the game for its simplicity and accessibility, whilst "cleverly [subverting] its key mechanic several times" and having a "simple but always-evolving gameplay mechanic that's constantly surprising the player". Gary Hartley of Honest Gamers stated the game featured "tons of cool ideas", highlighting its challenge, "unique control scheme", and short length.

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

PlatformReleasedRegions
Linux4 February 2021Worldwide
macOS4 February 2021Worldwide
Windows4 February 2021Worldwide

Editions and related releases

Followed by
qomp2Qomp2

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Collections1 collection

Publishers

Description adapted from its source, CC BY-SA 4.0.