Borealis
Released Sep 2014
Weave through missiles to generated music, and let the world flow around you.
58% positive · 504 reviews
Done
All announced content has been released
High confidence
Done
All announced content has been released
High confidence
Where to buy
Steam Lowest $0.99 $4.99 −80% IndieGala Steam key $4.99
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Evaluation
Borealis launched on September 2, 2014 as a complete, self-contained game. Following launch, the developer shipped two small feature patches: Patch 1.1 on December 8, 2014 (adding level select, a pause menu, and a configuration tool) and Patch 1.1.1 on January 5, 2015 (expanding level select functionality and fixing bugs). The last developer communication of any kind was that January 5, 2015 patch post. There have been no announcements of upcoming content, no unreleased DLC listed on the store, and no roadmap or developer statement indicating further development. The store description presents the game as a finished product with no mention of planned additions. With over eleven years of silence since the last update, Borealis appears to have shipped as a complete product and received only minor post-launch polish before the developer moved on.
Evidence
Patch 1.1.1 released, the last developer communication on record, focused on bug fixes and minor feature improvements to level select
Patch 1.1 released with small quality-of-life features (level select, pause menu) and bug fixes, roughly three months after launch
Media
Details
Developer
Publisher
None
Achievements
17
Platform
Windows
Controller
—
Steam Deck
Not rated
Players
Single-player
About this game
Borealis is a Zen game focused on measured motion and planning, rather than swift action.
The goal is simple: don't get hit. You have no weapons to fight back though. That would be too easy. In fact, you can't even move very fast. Your only way through is to guide the incoming waves into each-other through subtle and careful shifts. Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, after all. Better to guide your opponent into destroying itself.
The game is composed of many environments, each of which has a unique style and set of missiles, as well as its own sound profile. Each will require a different strategy, and produces more interesting types of missiles as you advance. All of this is done to a procedurally-generated soundtrack that is completely driven by what happens in the game.
Features:
The goal is simple: don't get hit. You have no weapons to fight back though. That would be too easy. In fact, you can't even move very fast. Your only way through is to guide the incoming waves into each-other through subtle and careful shifts. Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent, after all. Better to guide your opponent into destroying itself.
The game is composed of many environments, each of which has a unique style and set of missiles, as well as its own sound profile. Each will require a different strategy, and produces more interesting types of missiles as you advance. All of this is done to a procedurally-generated soundtrack that is completely driven by what happens in the game.
Features:
- Three gameplay modes: Survival, Score run, and Endless
- Many different moods, which each represent a massive change in gameplay
- Completely procedurally generated, with incredible replay value
- Known to induce meditation-like trances in monkeys*
- *Not actually tested, results may vary.
Are these done yet?
Last evaluated Jun 28, 2026
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