Players frequently experience frustration due to unintuitive controls, poor tutorials, and a general lack of guidance regarding objectives and progression. High resource costs, inefficient gathering, and limited storage also contribute to a perceived excessive grind. Technical issues like bugs, crashes, and unplayable multiplayer further exacerbate this emotion.
Disappointment primarily stems from the game's perceived unfinished state, lack of content, and failure to meet expectations set by trailers or the genre. Players feel the game lacks a compelling plot, meaningful progression, and essential features, leading to a sense of it being 'raw' or 'nothing special' compared to its potential or other games.
Satisfaction arises from enjoyable gameplay, a relaxing ambiance, and the unique pure survival crafting experience. Players appreciate smooth controls, good graphics, and the core loop, especially when the game is well-built and offers replayability. Continuous updates and the ability to build an ideal space station also contribute to positive feelings.
Hope is driven by the game's perceived potential for future development, content additions, and improvements. Players see a promising concept and world-building, anticipating future updates, story elements, and better translations. This emotion reflects a belief that the game will evolve into a more complete and polished experience.
Enjoyment is a direct result of the game's core mechanics, particularly space movement and collisions, and its overall fun factor. Players find the survival and space genre appealing, appreciating the game loop and its potential for addictiveness. Developer updates also contribute to a positive gaming experience.
Verdict
Mixed
Summary
Positive 57% · Negative 43%. Score: 43 / 100
Positives:
Players consistently highlight the game's significant potential, especially for an Early Access title. They find the current gameplay enjoyable and well-developed, expressing high hopes for future updates and growth.
The game provides an engaging and often relaxing experience, offering a good balance of challenge and fun. Players find it addictive and enjoyable for extended periods.
The game excels at creating an immersive space survival atmosphere, offering a unique take on the genre. Players appreciate the realistic space controls and the creative base-building options.
The development team is actively updating the game, which instills confidence in players that its full potential will be realized. Regular updates are seen as a positive sign for the game's longevity and continued improvement.
Reviewers praise the game's visual quality, noting its beautiful graphics and appealing art style, especially considering its Early Access status. The overall gameplay experience is also described as excellent.
Negatives:
Players consistently report that the game feels unfinished, lacking substantial content, polish, and core features. Many feel it was released too early, even for an Early Access title, and that the current price is not justified given its 'alpha' state. This leads to a general sense of boredom and a lack of long-term engagement.
The core gameplay loop is described as highly repetitive and grind-heavy, primarily involving scavenging for materials with minimal payoff. Resource management, particularly for oxygen tanks and storage, is tedious and inefficient, contributing to a feeling of chores rather than fun.
New players struggle to understand game mechanics and objectives due to a severe lack of tutorials and in-game guidance. This forces players to rely on external resources and learn through trial and error, leading to frustration and a poor initial experience.
Movement mechanics in space are criticized for being unintuitive and unrealistic, with players reporting issues like forced Cartesian movement, unexpected deceleration, and disorienting vertical controls. The physics model is seen as frustrating and not truly 'space-like'.
The cooperative mode is reported to be very limited, with players unable to interact effectively, share loot, or complete joint quests. Basic functions are often restricted to the host, severely hindering the multiplayer experience.
Gameplay:
The game is a space-themed survival game, heavily inspired by 'Raft'. Players must manage hunger, thirst, and oxygen while collecting resources and building a base or ship in a zero-gravity environment.
Core gameplay involves collecting scrap debris and other resources to construct and expand a space base or ship. Players can build various structures like platforms, walls, craft tables, and devices for food and water production.
Oxygen is a critical resource, used not only for breathing but also as propulsion for movement, especially when using thrusters. Players must constantly scavenge for oxygen tanks to survive and move their base.
Minor mechanics include a storage system, the ability to melt ice for water, blueprint discovery for new crafts, specific controls for vertical movement, and realistic inertia for objects. Health loss is primarily due to resource depletion, as there are no enemies.
The game world is divided into different biomes (e.g., Alpha, Beta, Unknown/Gamma) that change with distance from the starting point. These biomes may affect resource availability and environmental conditions.
Performance:
Player feedback on game stability is mixed, with some experiencing crashes while others report no issues. This suggests potential hardware or software conflicts for a subset of players.
Recommendations:
Many players are refunding the game or advising against purchase due to its current incomplete state. They suggest waiting for further development or a sale before buying.
Players express significant hope and excitement for the game's future development and content additions. They believe the game has strong potential, but acknowledge it needs more time and updates to reach its full potential.
Players specifically advise against buying the game if the primary intention is to play the co-op mode, indicating that the co-op experience is currently not recommended.
Players who enjoy survival games like Raft, Forest, or Ark are likely to find this game appealing, suggesting a similar gameplay loop or genre appeal.
Miscellaneous:
Players are highly optimistic about the game's future, acknowledging its early access state and anticipating significant content additions like new biomes, story, and gameplay mechanics. They appreciate the developer's commitment and are eager for updates.
Players have numerous suggestions for new features and quality-of-life improvements, including advanced thruster controls, pressurizable cabins, more diverse events, AI threats, a technology tree, and the ability to move placed items.
Community members are actively contributing to game localization, with Korean and Turkish translations being developed and anticipated for future patches.
Players emphasize the importance of resource management, particularly oxygen, and advise careful preparation before advancing to new game sections.
Some players turn off in-game music, especially for content creation, due to concerns about BGM redistribution rights.