The Archive

About The Archive

The Archive is a puzzle game from Wild Studios that drops you into a lonely office job with a twist. Released in 2026 for PC, it tasks you with sorting through a mountain of real-life inspired case files, each hiding cryptic clues. You play Nathan Reed, a nightshift worker at a government agency tasked with clearing a backlog of sealed reports. The game mixes document sifting with pattern recognition puzzles, slowly revealing a conspiracy buried in forgotten records. It’s a slow-burn experience where curiosity is the hook, not action. Think of it as a cerebral office sim that gradually turns sinister.

Gameplay

You spend most of your time scrolling through digital case files, cross-referencing documents, and highlighting connections between incidents. Each case feels like a mini-puzzle, requiring you to link disparate events, redact sensitive info, or decode buried text. The UI mimics a dimly lit office workspace, with flickering monitors and ambient keyboard taps. Puzzles escalate from simple data entry to decoding encrypted logs and untangling time loops. Breaks between cases let you explore a claustrophobic office environment, where eerie glitches and distorted audio hint at something wrong. The core loop is meditative but punctuated by tension, every solved puzzle peels back another layer of the mystery.

What Players Think

PlayPile users rate it 82%, with an average score of 4.5/5. Most players (78%) complete the base story in 12 hours, though 35% extend playtime to 20+ hours chasing side cases. Community moods lean curious (65%) and tense (58%), with 42% noting “eerie” vibes. Review snippets praise the “slow drip of paranoia” and “addictive file-hunting.” Critics highlight the 750 achievement points (85% completion rate), particularly for uncovering all 12 hidden case links. Some gripe about repetitive early puzzles, but 81% agree the payoff justifies the grind.

PlayPile's Take

The Archive works best for players who enjoy methodical problem-solving over fast-paced action. Priced at $29.99, it’s a mid-length ($20+ value) experience that thrives on its unsettling atmosphere and real-world mystery angle. The 85% achievement completion rate suggests most stick with it, but the first 4 hours are crucial, bored players may quit before the story peaks. If you’re into document-based puzzles and slow-building reveals, it’s a solid pick. Skip if you prefer instant gratification.

Storyline

You play as Nathan Reed, Who has been hired to work the night shift at the Bureau of Investigation – Case Processing Unit, tasked with clearing a classified backlog of highly sensitive reports that were never meant to resurface. Every case you open is inspired by real-world documented incidents and unsolved mysteries, drawn from genuine accounts that were quietly forgotten over the years. But as the nights pass, the cases grow more mysterious, the patterns more deliberate, and the archive begins revealing a truth that was never meant for you.