Part 2: Reception and Sales of Narcosis

We reached out to the developers of Narcosis and asked them some questions about the development in part one of the interview (click here to read it). In this part of the interview we talk to them about the game’s reception and Sales. Quentin De Beukelaer (Game Director, Narcosis – @QuentDeBeuk on Twitter) answered them for us.

Here’s a small taste of what other critics thought of the game:

Where you happy with the reception of Narcosis (by Critics* and Gamers**)?

We are quite happy yes. With Narcosis we made some risky choices, like removing strafe from a first person game altogether, because the feeling we wanted to achieve justified that. But this will not please everyone. Also, I have to admit that the game has some flaws; fortunately it has some strong qualities too. Better this than being average across the board, no? Besides, some players have praised the game in a way that makes us really proud. Check out the #playnarcosis hashtag on Twitter, to see what I mean.

*The game has a 72 score on OpenCritic and our site rated it 80/100

** “Very Positive” customer reviews on Steam

ADDED: Excerpt from their Press Kit:

Hold on a sec… I know all about videogames. Why haven’t I heard of this?

We’re a small team, making a narrative-driven game on an “indie-sized budget”, so almost all of our efforts were dedicated to getting the game done, without spoiling too much. We’ve shown the game at a select few events in North America and France, including E3, GDC, Indiecade, GamesConnection, and SXSW Interactive, as well as a handful of smaller, more “indie-focused” events and expos, such as Évry Games City, Festival des Jeux, Media Indie Exchange, and the Whippering Indie Cup.

Narcosis has been honored as an official selection at events around the world, including Busan Indie Connect Festival, GameON: VR Expo, and the Strasbourg European Fantastic Film Festival, and has earned positive accolades from leading media, including Fortune, Game Informer, IGN and Polygon for its unique setting, striking visuals and audio, and subtle-but-effective usage of VR.

Of the current platforms it’s available on, where did it sell the most copies?

Steam, to no surprise. Distribution among countries is quite standard too, with USA and Western Europe leading the pack.

Do you think the numerous Streamer videos have helped or hurt the sales of Narcosis?

Hard to say for sure, but considering the millions of views the game has had on the Internet versus the rather modest volume of sales we’ve made, I suspect streaming has somehow cannibalized a portion of our potential players. Narcosis is a narrative experience with low replay value; watching a playthrough is very likely to reduce any interest of buying and playing the actual game.

Are you planning on porting it to other consoles?* Will Narcosis be brought to the PS4 and Switch at some point?

Well, let me take this opportunity to make a call: we are looking for someone to port Narcosis to PS4 and/or Switch. Get in touch!

*Here’s a list of locations where you can buy Narcosis:

Are you planning to upgrade Narcosis for the Xbox One X? (4K assets, HDR support etc)

If we feel that there’s a demand for that, we’ll probably do it.*

*Let them know if you’re interested, you can contact the Developers on :