Info about SYMMETRY:

Official game description:
A research spaceship reaches an abandoned planet. Nothing is what it seems here and the situation quickly slips out of control. Can the crew manage to survive and get back home?  
SYMMETRY is a survival management game set in a retro- futuristic, sci-fi universe. Your main goal is to manage the crash survivors and help them withstand the desolate, extremely cold environment in order to fix their spacecraft and escape. The non- obvious plot is accompanied by an atmospheric musical score and graphic design that sustains the harsh and mysterious ambience.  
Survivors’ life functions crucial to their existence, such as eating, resting and mental health need to be taken care of. Extreme circumstances may force crew members to develop new skills like botanics or power plant operations, that weren't necessary in their Earthly life. Gathering all the parts required to repair the spaceship becomes a race against time, as extreme weather conditions and life-threatening supernatural activities become more and more present.  
Vector graphics give the game a feeling of mystery and severity of the deserted world. Using dimmed and pastel colors throughout the scenery creates a sense of remoteness from reality and builds an unreal atmosphere of the landscape.  
*   Base micro-management in extremely hostile conditions  
*   Randomly assigned crew members with different skills and stories in each gameplay  
*   Different needs to satisfy: nutrition, physical condition and mental health  
*   Non-obvious sci-fi plot  
*   Ominous presence of the Symmetrical World  
*   Moral choices – collectivism vs individualism  
*   Unique vector graphics and ambient sound setting  
*   High replay-ability and various strategies to beat the game  
*   Survival game mode unlocked once the main mission is accomplished

Release date: Feb 20, 2018

Categories: Survival, Resource Management, Management Simulation, Base Building, Crew Management, Multiple Endings, Survival Horror, Sci-fi


- Hardware Profile: No data
Feature extractions:
- Community Price:
  - Community fair range: $3.00 - $5.00
  - Reasoning: Multiple reviewers explicitly state the game is worth only $3-$5 and should only be purchased on sale. The current full price is considered too high, and the community consensus is that a fair base price falls in this low-dollar range.
- Playtime Metrics:
  - Game completion: 3.0h
  - Story completion: 1.8h
  - Session length: 3.0h
  - Endgame: N/A
  - Reasoning: The story completion time of 1h45 is directly reported in the first evidence. Game completion (100% achievements) is reported as 3 hours in the second evidence. The third evidence describes a single play session of about 3 hours, which is consistent with a typical playthrough. No reliable hourly evidence for endgame (e.g., survival mode) was found; only in-game day counts were mentioned, so endgame is set to null.
- Time-to-fun:
  - Summary: Most players find the game tedious and repetitive from the start with no improvement, while one player enjoys the grindy loop, resulting in mixed stance.
  - Stance: Mixed
  - Anchor: N/A
  - Time to anchor: N/A
  - Friction: tedious micromanagement; repetitive tasks; unexplained systems; no margin for error in early game; constant resource struggle; manual crew health management
  - Unlock drivers: understanding game systems; establishing routine; mid-game resource leeway
  - Conditions: if you didn't screw up early; if you figure out the systems; in story mode vs survival mode; if you tolerate repetitiveness; in late game when triggers stop; if you enjoy resource management; if you prefer forgiving systems
- Player Archetypes:
  - Sale Seeker (sale)
    - Motivation: Getting value for money
    - Playstyle: Waits for discounts, may refund if not satisfied
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: sale
    - Labels: N/A
    - Reference games: Punchclub
  - Achievement Hunter (deep sale)
    - Motivation: Completing all achievements
    - Playstyle: Uses guides, accepts grind for completion
    - Experience: veteran
    - Purchase stance: deep sale
    - Labels: achievement hunter buddies
    - Reference games: N/A
  - Management Survivalist (buy)
    - Motivation: Strategic challenge and resource management
    - Playstyle: Systematic, planning, optimizing crew actions
    - Experience: familiar
    - Purchase stance: buy
    - Labels: Hardcore Survivor
    - Reference games: N/A
  - Disenchanted Newcomer (no buy)
    - Motivation: Seeking fun and entertainment, but disappointed
    - Playstyle: Tried but gave up due to grind and lack of content
    - Experience: newcomer
    - Purchase stance: no buy
    - Labels: noob
    - Reference games: N/A


Below are summaries of things people say about the game per category.
Each point is assigned a weight that represents how often it is mentioned across all reviews.
What players like:
- Pleasant visual style (weight 0.54): Multiple reviews praise the game's visuals, mentioning pleasant, good, and appealing graphics. The art style is considered cool and the graphics are alive, gloomy and bright.
- Great game overall (weight 0.45): A few reviews describe the game as great and well-made overall. It is considered a neat little game that is cute and enjoyable for a couple of hours, offering good value for its price.
- Interesting concept and premise (weight 0.39): The game has an interesting idea and cool concept, with a solid story outline and cute space shipwreck theme. The premise is good and the story, while sometimes unclear, is intriguing.
- Enjoyable short survival experience (weight 0.37): Many reviews note the game is enjoyable for a few hours, offering a short but challenging survival management experience. It is recommendable as a good short game to spend time.
- Good replayability and achievements (weight 0.36): Reviews mention replayability driven by achievements and knowledge gain. Several players appreciate that achievements are easy to obtain, motivating them to replay on higher difficulties.
- Good atmosphere and immersion (weight 0.32): The atmosphere is praised as good, immersive, atmospheric, and unsettling. The minimalist art style and audio elements reinforce a feeling of alienation and tension.
- Simple and accessible gameplay (weight 0.3): Reviews emphasize the simple, easy-to-use mechanics that are accessible to survival game newcomers. The gameplay loop is functional and the controls are fine with mouse only.
- Good value for price (weight 0.3): Several mentions highlight the game as cheap and well worth its price, especially when bought on sale. It is considered a decent quality game for the cost.
- Challenging and rewarding gameplay (weight 0.26): The game is described as challenging, requiring concentration, with a rewarding learning curve. Players find the difficulty curve from resource depletion surprising but enjoyable.
- Memorable and engaging journey (weight 0.26): The survival journey is described as memorable and punishing, yet compelling to finish. Players find it engaging and addictive because they want to overcome challenges.
- Cute characters and dialogue (weight 0.21): The little people characters are considered endearing, and Kate is a likeable character. The dialogue is decent, with characters having different personalities.
- Pause mechanic is useful (weight 0.19): The pause button is highlighted as an important mechanic that helps with micromanagement and strategic decisions. It assists players in managing time, crewmate skills, and resources effectively.
- Good location and universe design (weight 0.15): The game's location design is appreciated, and the universe is described as nice. The art looks cool even from a distance and the color palette (pastel blue and pink) is noted.
- Good survival mode (weight 0.15): The survival mode is noted as fun, with players trying to survive as long as possible. It is a mode to continue playing after finishing the main game.
- Functional technical aspects (weight 0.15): The game is described as correct with no bugs, and it has cloud saving and achievements. The music is fine and ambient sounds fit the atmosphere.
- Great potential for expansion (weight 0.11): Some reviews see great potential for the game to be expanded with more content. The concept and mechanics could benefit from additional features or content updates.
- No stress monster attacks (weight 0.07): One review specifically notes the lack of monster attacks, making it a stress-free experience. This is considered a positive aspect for players who prefer a calmer survival game.

Common complaints:
- Uninteresting and boring story (weight 0.74): Players widely criticize the story as clichéd, shallow, and forgettable. The narrative fails to engage or impress, making it a major negative point.
- Repetitive and tedious gameplay (weight 0.56): Gameplay is frequently described as monotonous, boring, and extremely repetitive with limited actions. This lack of variety makes the game feel tedious.
- Frustrating micromanagement (weight 0.43): Excessive micromanagement for tasks like feeding and healing is a common complaint. It becomes tedious and grueling, detracting from fun.
- Not worth the price (weight 0.39): Many players feel the game is overpriced for the content offered. The value proposition is poor even at a low base price.
- Game is not fun (weight 0.39): A direct and common sentiment is that the game simply isn't fun to play. This overarching complaint ties together many specific issues.
- Too little content (weight 0.35): The game is considered very short (4-5 hours or less) and lacking in overall content. Players feel it is limited and unfinished.
- Low replay value (weight 0.33): After completing the game, there is very little incentive to replay it. The experience feels one-time and lacks variety.
- Poor AI and character behavior (weight 0.33): Characters are described as stupid, breaking things constantly and repeating tasks until death. This AI behavior is frustrating and unrealistic.
- Shallow resource management (weight 0.23): Resource management is overly simplified, with very few resource types and mechanical depth. It fails to provide engaging strategic choices.
- Unsatisfying similar endings (weight 0.22): The multiple endings are nearly identical with only a different achievement, making them feel unrewarding and pointless.
- Inferior to This War of Mine (weight 0.14): The game is seen as a simplified and inferior version of the similar title 'This War of Mine'. It does not live up to that comparison.
- Slow and mechanical movement (weight 0.14): Characters move mechanically and very slowly, adding to the feeling of tedious gameplay. This slow pace frustrates players.
- Game feels half-assed (weight 0.14): Players describe the game as feeling lazy, unfinished, and half-assed. Production quality and polish appear to be lacking.
- Loss of unit equals game over (weight 0.13): Losing even one character effectively makes the game unwinnable, punishing players severely. This creates a frustrating difficulty spike.
- Poor machine translation (weight 0.13): The Chinese localization is machine-translated and barely comprehensible. Non-English players feel the translation is unacceptable.
- Frustratingly hard survival mode (weight 0.13): The survival or hard mode is excessively difficult and frustrating, pushing away players who seek a challenge.

Gameplay feedback:
- Survival and resource management (weight 0.97): The core gameplay revolves around managing resources like wood, food, and electrowaste, while repairing equipment and a spaceship. Players must gather, craft, and maintain supplies to survive on the frozen planet.
- Simple gameplay mechanics (weight 0.52): The game is described as a simplified survival/management experience with a focus on time and task management. It's accessible but may lack depth for some players.
- Crew management and skills (weight 0.52): Players manage a crew, monitoring their health and training skills. This adds a strategic layer to resource and time allocation.
- Spaceship repair as objective (weight 0.31): The main goal is to collect materials to repair a spaceship and escape the planet. This provides a clear sense of progression and an end goal.
- Extreme cold weather system (weight 0.25): The game features a harsh weather system with extreme cold, down to -80 degrees. This creates a constant survival pressure and forces players to manage warmth.
- Multiple endings available (weight 0.25): The game includes multiple endings, including a secret one, which adds replayability. Players are encouraged to explore different outcomes.
- Similar to This War of Mine (weight 0.21): Multiple reviewers directly compare the game's mechanics, atmosphere, and structure to This War of Mine. It evokes a similar survival simulation feel.
- Game modes and difficulty (weight 0.2): The game includes a story mode, survival mode, and different difficulty settings (Normal, Hard). This provides variety and challenge.
- Short game length (weight 0.16): Reviews consistently state the game is short, often completable in a couple of hours or an evening. This is seen as appropriate for its price or scope.
- No enemy or monster combat (weight 0.15): The game lacks enemies, focusing purely on survival and resource management. This appeals to players seeking a non-combat, strategic challenge.
- Equipment degradation system (weight 0.14): Equipment breaks down over time and requires scrap for repairs and upgrades. This resource sink forces ongoing maintenance and planning.
- Task-driven gameplay loop (weight 0.13): Players cycle through specific tasks like chopping wood, preparing food, gathering electrowaste, and working in the power plant. This creates a structured daily routine.

Performance notes:
- Frequent visual glitches (weight 0.15): Players report frequent visual distortions and glitches such as trucks partially appearing, flickering air vents, and flickering crew members. These issues disrupt immersion and indicate graphics instability.
- Poor optimization (weight 0.15): Multiple reviews highlight poor optimization, with one user reporting frame rates as low as 15-20 FPS on a laptop. This suggests performance issues across various hardware configurations.

Recommendations:
- Not worth full price (weight 0.69): Many players advise against buying the game at full price, suggesting it either has too little content or is overpriced. Discounts of 50% or more are often recommended.
- Buy only on sale (weight 0.52): The game is frequently recommended only when discounted, with many suggesting to wait for a sale or put it on a wishlist. Sale prices as low as $1 or under 2 euros are mentioned.
- Low content for price (weight 0.41): Critics point out that the game has too little content to justify its price tag, with some saying it is not worth more than a few euros or dollars. A mobile game price of ~$4.99 is suggested.
- Waste of time or flawed (weight 0.37): Several players label the game a waste of time unless fixed, citing issues like monotony, repetition, or unbalanced mechanics. It is not recommended in its current state.
- General do not recommend (weight 0.36): A significant number of reviewers simply advise against purchasing the game at all, citing poor value or general dissatisfaction. Some have even requested refunds.
- Better games recommended instead (weight 0.2): Some reviews recommend alternative games like This War of Mine, Sheltered, Gods Will Be Watching, Tharsis, or Oxygen Not Included instead of this game, suggesting it fails to compete.
- Refund strategy suggested (weight 0.12): Some players suggest buying the game to complete it and then refunding within Steam's refund window, or requesting a refund if unsatisfied.
- Compare to free mobile games (weight 0.07): A reviewer notes that a comparable free mobile game offers a better experience, undermining the value proposition of this paid title.

Other player notes:
No miscpoints

Emotions:
- Frustration (weight 0.47): Players are frustrated by punishing micromanagement and unrewarding gameplay, with tedious resource gathering and no efficiency upgrades. Constant breakdowns, poor AI behavior, and extreme difficulty from harsh weather and random damage make progress feel unfair. Interface issues, slow movement, and the need to constantly babysit crew members to prevent death compound the frustration.
- Disappointment (weight 0.4): Disappointment stems from an unsatisfying ending, shallow story, and lack of depth despite good graphics. The gameplay is very short and repetitive, with limited interactions and no replayability. Players feel the initial fun fades quickly, and the game does not break new ground, offering less than free flash games from decades ago.
- Boredom (weight 0.27): Boredom arises from a lack of content and repetitive gameplay, with only five actions and a tedious resource collection loop. The story is uninteresting, and the ending is not surprising. After two hours, the gameplay becomes endlessly repetitive with no plot twists.}