Shadows Over Loathing
Hooks you almost right away
What the data shows
- In the first 2 hours 1 in 6 reviews are negative (16%); after 15h it's 1 in 35 (3%).
- Fully opens up by hour 15.
- The opening is criticised less than in 80% of games we track.
- Few early reviews, so this is a rough estimate.
- At least 21% of players who start reach the ending.
- Most players drop off before “Predestined” (You closed the Time Loop): only 30% of starters get there.
- Only 41% of owners have even the first achievement — the rest barely played.
When it gets good
Share of positive reviews by how many hours the reviewer had played when writing the review.
before it gets good opening up fully opened up
Based on all 3,372 Steam reviews in every language. Median playtime in a sample of 298 reviews: 23.9h for positive, 16.5h for negative. Almost every game is rated lower in the first 2–3 hours: that window includes refunds and quick first impressions. What matters is how deep the dip is and how fast the game recovers.
Where players quit
Share of players who started the game and reached each story milestone. 100% is the most common achievement (40.7% of owners), so people who bought the game and never launched it don't count.
- Started playing 100%
- Predestined You closed the Time Loop Most players quit here 30% −70
- Bullet of Pure Love Molly saved the universe ≥21% −8
story milestone ending (most common ending) biggest drop-off
Story milestones were labeled by AI from achievement names and descriptions; mistakes are possible.
All achievements (37)
story milestone ending side
- You Did the Monster Sash You got a fully-decked out Monster Shack sash 100%
- A Victimless Crime You solved Mrs. Brewster's mystery 88%
- Jasper's Six You executed a perfect heist 73%
- A Witch in Time You saved the village of Sandwich 70%
- Fuel Reserves You filled the gas can up ALL the way 68%
- A Friend of Ours You completed all of Don T's assignments 60%
- Chessica You beat Jessica at chess 53%
- Esprit de Corn You maximized morale in the Maize Maze 51%
- Temporal Oopsie You got locked out of the universe because of a temporal paradox 45%
- Just Showing Off You defeated the Ziggurat Goliath 41%
- Freaky Frogday You helped the workers of Haim Quarry 34%
- Bad Dog(s) You got into the Secureberus vault 34%
- Ten Tickles You gave a tentacle ten tickles 33%
- Predestined You closed the Time Loop 30%
- Everything's a Sandwich If You Believe You ate a stuffed pepper 24%
- Bullet of Pure Love Molly saved the universe 21%
- The Duality of Hat You posed for two different fedora pictures 20%
- The Gang's All Here You received the hobo camp's highest honor 19%
- More Meat Than Sense You bought a barrel 17%
- No, Truce With the Fishies You made peace with the Fishmother 16%
- Cat Fancy You unlocked every cat 14%
- The Hot 100 You tuned a radio with your talented talons 14%
- Cleaning House You drove enemies out of 23 Hilbert House rooms 13%
- The Last Dance Gabby saved the universe 12%
- The Prince of Tides You met Largestmouth Luke 12%
- Hardcore Gamer You won all the prizes at the Ocean City Boardwalk 12%
- This Wrench Kills Machines Simone saved the universe 11%
- Sanitation Engineer You flushed every toilet 9.8%
- The Dark Side You learned all nine Shadow skills 9.3%
- Your Neck Will Go On You found a fancy necklace 9.1%
- The Forbidden Melody Obie saved the universe 9.1%
- A Well-Rounded Education You passed all nine SIT courses (requires multiple playthroughs) 8.6%
- Somebody Else's Problem You destroyed Gobulon Prime 8.6%
- The Umbraline Solution Adams saved the universe 7.6%
- No Dogs Don't Prevent Oblivion Barker saved the universe 7.6%
- The Bite Heard Round the World Alphonse saved the universe 6.4%
- The Milk of Human Kindness You completed the game without fighting 6.4%