oneshot

OneShot is an indie puzzle-adventure video game notable for its meta-narrative and fourth-wall-breaking elements. Players control Niko, a child wielding a lamp, who must navigate a ruined world in an attempt to restore a dying sun.

Gameplay combines exploration, puzzle-solving, and inventory-based interactions in a top-down, pixel-art presentation. The player guides Niko through various environments, solving environmental puzzles, collecting items, and making narrative choices that influence the direction and tone of the story. The game stands out for its minimal on-screen prompts and its reliance on the player’s imagination to fill in gaps.

A central feature is its awareness of the player as an outside observer. The in-game entity known as The Entity often addresses the player directly, and the story can react to real-world actions, creating moments in which the player feels compelled to consider their role as a participant in the fiction. The narrative has multiple endings influenced by choices and actions taken during the journey.

OneShot has been praised for its atmosphere, storytelling, and inventive design that integrates meta-narrative mechanics with traditional puzzle-adventure gameplay. It has influenced discussions of player agency and the breaking of fourth-wall conventions in indie games and remains a notable example in conversations about how video games can address and include their audience within the narrative.