Ludography
90/100
Metacritic8 critic reviews
More scores
Metacritic usersuser score
67/100
Player reviews
94% positive207 reviews
Steam Deck
Verified
Runs on
Windows, Mac, Linux
Price
US$5.84

Where to get it

Videoverse cover

2023 · Adventure · Indie

Videoverse

Take a trip back to the days of the early internet and fan forums, when the video game console "Kinmoku Shark" and its online social network "Videoverse" were still popular...

Released
7 August 2023
Platforms
LinuxNintendo SwitchPlayStation 4PlayStation 5WindowsXbox OneXbox Series X/SmacOS
Genres
AdventureIndieSimulationVisual novel
Developers
—
Publishers
—
Modes
Single-player
Perspective
Side viewText
Themes
DramaRomance
Age ratings
PEGI 16ESRB T
Languages
English, Japanese
Time to beat
5hmain story8hwith extras10hcompletionist

About

Videoverse is a 2023 narrative adventure game developed and published by Kinmoku. Players control a teenage gamer in 2003 and help him navigate relationships on a fictional social network dedicated to his favorite video game. Upon release, Videoverse received acclaim from critics, with reviewers highlighting the game's nostalgic imitation of early online communities and the strength of its writing, dialogue and themes. It was released on consoles in 2025.

Players say

Media

The articlegameplay, story, development, reception

Gameplay

Players can like posts, post fan art, and communicate with friends in a retro style user interface. Players collect "Help Out" tasks to assist other characters on Videoverse, listed on a notepad.

Story

Set in 2003, players assume the role of Emmett, a fifteen year-old German boy who plays his favorite video game, Feudal Fantasy, and interacts with other fans on Videoverse, a fictional social network tied to his game console, the Kinmoku Shark. He reconnects with Markus, a fellow Feudal Fantasy player, who invites him to a community about the game on Videoverse, where he meets Vivi, a fellow user that shares Feudal Fantasy art. During Emmett's time on Videoverse, the platform experiences declining moderation and a rise in trolling and harassment. Emmett learns that Kinmoku are retiring the Videoverse services to support an online service for the new Kinmoku console, the Dolphin.

Development

Kinmoku modelled Videoverse's social network on MSN Messenger and the Miiverse, a defunct Nintendo social network. The name of the game's fictional handheld console, the Kinmoku Shark, was inspired by the GameCube's codename, Dolphin. Kinmoku gave the Shark modern attributes but modelled it after various handheld consoles from the 1990s. The initial designs featured more of a shark motif, but this was simplified to make it easier to draw.

It initially released on August 7, 2023, and was updated with Steam Deck support on October 13, 2023. 2 was released, which featured new artwork, a gallery and extra drawing opportunities. Ports for Nintendo Switch, Xbox Series X/S, and PlayStation 4 & PlayStation 5 were released on 14th November 2025 by Ratalaika Games.

Reception

According to review aggregator Metacritic, Videoverse received "universal acclaim", and was the sixth highest rated computer game of 2023.

The game's nostalgic setting and imitation of online communities was praised. Keith Stewart of The Guardian found the game to be "achingly nostalgic" and a perfect replication of early online spaces, highlighting the game's imitation of the dynamics of fandoms and "lovely explorations of gamer culture". Edge noted the prescience of the game's themes to the Miiverse, finding the depiction of its online space was "familiar" and a "blend of earnestness, creativity and innocence. Mikhail Madnani of TouchArcade considered the game to be "the closest time capsule experience to the early 2000s internet there has ever been".

Releases by platformdates and regions as published

PlatformReleasedRegions
macOS7 August 2023Worldwide
Windows7 August 2023Worldwide
Linux7 August 2023Worldwide
Nintendo Switch14 November 2025Worldwide
PlayStation 414 November 2025Worldwide
Xbox One14 November 2025Worldwide
PlayStation 514 November 2025Worldwide
Xbox Series X/S14 November 2025Worldwide

Games like this

Collections2 collections

Years

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