★★★★★ Play if you like unusual stories: Beautiful, smart & stylish
Sat Jun 19 2021 saturate_sfGorgeous art, and an engaging sci-fi story about a crew of interesting characters with psychological depth. They aren’t defined by anything except what they believe, what they do, their way of communicating, and who they care about. (When do we get a game about Vlad & his intriguing creative world?) A refreshing change to see a trans character in a game not defined by that surface characteristic, but by their personality. After all, discovering who we really are over a lifetime is all about becoming our own truest (and hopefully most happy) self. This game, at its heart, seems to be about that. Who we think we are, who we really are, and the gulf between. It’s also about forgiveness and redemption. Not so much forgiving others as forgiving ourselves in the face of the fears, past baggage and negative stories we carry around with us. People who have faced great adversity in life may get a bit more out of the experience. Recommend this game to people struggling with depression/anxiety or low self-esteem.
Wish it were longer, but understand what a huge amount of work it must have been for a small team doing a work this detailed! Great work folks! Bravo for having such a strong sense of what kind of game you wanted to make! You nailed it. 👏👏👏
Also. Experienced no bugs. 👍
★★★★★ Wish there were more
Sun Nov 06 2022 Rie LeeAbsolutely incredible game. The story really hit home with the guilt and the insecurity and the suicidal ideation and the feeling of never being enough. The writing was fresh and modern and connected me instantly with the characters, and I love that there’s essentially a nefarious thing hanging over the atmosphere of the story but no one character is the villain. I love the premise, the art, the subtle planting of clues, the character relationships, the character development. I love that the main character is a young Latina architect who struggles with Catholic guilt. I love that she isn’t dealing with an immigration storyline. Honestly, it feels a little Black-Mirror-esque, only more hopeful.
I just wish there were more about the consequences of Mesmer & Braid and their software. A court case in an epilogue, maybe? A sequel?? I cannot get this world out of my head and I’m sad that it’s over.
Thanks for making this game. And if you’re wondering if you should play it, the answer is “yes.”
★★★★★ Explore And Discover with a Vaporwave Aesthetic
Wed Sep 30 2020 HastinZI jumped into Holovista after playing the Mesmer & Braid ARG (alternate reality game), go search the web and play along. It’s not needed to know the game, but it’s more fun backstory as you play the game.
This is essentially a discovery and story game purely set in the Vaporwave aesthetic. You’re Carmen. You’re trying to get hired at this architectural company Mesmer & Braid. You take pictures of objects (moving your phone around VR like or with your fingers), and then post them to a social media feed. You discover the story via your social messages and feed. I won’t spoil anything after that.
It’s so refreshing to see fully contained games and experiences on the App Store. Well worth the $5, and just a neat vibe.
★★★★★ Queer and Accessible and Beautiful
Wed Feb 10 2021 MxOnyxI rarely do reviews but felt really compelled for this one! I’ve only played the first few rooms but am already loving this game.
I was so pleasantly surprised that there are queer, trans, and nonbinary characters, of varying races and ethnicities, who are all really interesting and relatable as well.
There’s also an entire section in the settings talking about accessibility features of the game, and a whole section with content warnings! You are able to turn on a setting that makes the visual effects, such as strobing, less intense.
Some people are talking about the game being boring or tedious but I disagree. It is not a fast paced game, so if that’s what you’re looking for, this isn’t it. But I LOVE just looking around all the rooms! And really taking my time with it, admiring all the artistic details.
As a transgender nonbinary Latinx artist who has epilepsy, the characters and features of this game and the attention to accessibility mean a whole lot to me!! I love being able to see myself represented in a game.
★★★★★ Not a gamer, LOVED this!
Tue Mar 05 2024 AVirginia92My friend suggested this game to me while I was in the hospital with a severely broken ankle. I had no information about it and was stunned from the start. It is beautiful, relatable, eery, atmospheric, detailed, and will fully wrap you up in its world. I want to use this game in my job as a high school English teacher to teach mood, tone, characterization, and setting. Even allusion— I saw those film and literary references! When nurses would come to take my vitals, I was so glad at the end to get back to the game! It’s so good that it fully did its job of distracting me from the worst pain of my life.
★★★★★ What a cool chilling experience
Thu Oct 16 2025 VinnieTheTorchWas introduced to this game by a friend and I am so glad I played through the whole story. The mixed reality experience chatting with friends and family, experiencing the protagonist through memory and observed experience and attachment to places and objects, really fantastic writing here. The interaction with the other characters was also rich, it really sucked me in. I finished this game while on vacation in a solid 3 hour block. Must play with headphones also to appreciate the soundtrack and how it bleeds with the scenes and story. Recommend!
★★★★★ These are the kinds of quality games the AppStore needs
Wed Oct 14 2020 AppDude27I wish I could give the developers of this game a big hug.
These are the kinds of games that the iOS AppStore needs.
Premium Games that have their heart and soul in them. Games that truly capture the essence of the platform they were built for.
Holovista is innovative and makes me crave for more, even while I’m playing it.
Without spoiling this masterpiece, Holovista is a mobile adventure game with modern, 3D, futuristic art at its core. The game is an actual story told through Instagram posts.
The living breathing world of these characters is beautiful and I find myself lost in the universe of this world.
Thank you, developers for making this game and breathing life back into the iOS App Store. Thank you for making this a premium game and NOT some freemium cash grab. Thank you for making this experience and really capturing my heart and mind. I love holovista and I can’t wait to finish it.
★★★★★ Crashed twice
Tue Sep 10 2024 physicsrules1Went through fine about 3/4 of the way on day three the second time in the pool than after taking pictures went to messages where you upload pictures to friends, had a message from the day before about rubbing bunny’s belly and no pictures showed up then it crashes, exited and I hard to start over again, as if it forgot the point I played to. I had to play all the way through a second time and it crashed again with same message, rubbing bunny’s belly which was a message from an earlier day. Then I gave up.
What I did play was cool though. But am upset I can’t finish it.
