Alien Horizon

About

Alien Horizon is a single player survival city builder game. It was developed by Purple Nebula and was released on January 30, 2024. It received positive reviews from players.

Alien Horizon is a sci-fi survival city builder set on an inhospitable alien planet. Faced with imminent destruction of Earth, humanity pooled together their resources and sent sleeper ships to nearby potentially habitable planets. But this one turned out to be much less habitable than expected. Can you survive anyway? Features complex resource management, no contact with Earth, exploration…

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

88%

Audience ScoreBased on 129 reviews

gameplay7 positive mentions

story3 negative mentions

The game offers a complex and engaging city-building experience, requiring careful resource management and strategic planning.
It's free to play, providing a high-quality experience that rivals some paid games, with a dedicated developer actively working on updates and improvements.
The game features a detailed tech tree and a progression system that encourages players to learn from their mistakes and adapt their strategies.

The game suffers from bugs and crashes, which can disrupt gameplay and lead to frustration, especially for new players.
The user interface can be overwhelming and unintuitive, making it difficult to navigate and understand the various mechanics and systems.
There are issues with resource management and logistics, such as colonists not properly utilizing resources or buildings becoming inoperable due to maintenance problems.

gameplay
27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
63%
11%
Gameplay in this colony-building game is praised for its depth and innovative mechanics, though many players find certain aspects unclear and challenging to grasp, particularly regarding resource management and temperature control. While the mix of realism and sci-fi elements is well-received, technical issues such as instability and lag significantly detract from the experience, leading to frustrating crashes and lost progress. Overall, the game shows promise but may benefit from further development to refine its mechanics and improve stability.
- “Great colony builder with deep mechanics.”
- “The game is about building a colony on another planet, but the mechanic is innovative and very challenging.”
- “I like the mechanics of this game; the mix between realism and sci-fi is well balanced.”
- “Game mechanics are...unclear, a lot.”
- “Instability, poor gameplay mechanics, amazing concept.”
- “Game is fairly enjoyable in current state, but you would eventually hit a point where you are missing features and mechanics; I would advise waiting a bit and not spoil the fun with frustrating crashes and missing features.”
graphics
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
40%
30%
The graphics of the game are described as visually appealing and "comfy," though not high-resolution, with some users noting a nostalgic resemblance to 90s games due to visible polygons. However, performance issues are prevalent, as many players experience low frame rates even on minimum settings, which detracts from the overall clarity and enjoyment, especially in a puzzle-oriented colony management context.
- “The graphics are not that high res, but look very pretty, and even 'comfy'.”
- “The graphics look good; you can still see many polygons which reminds me a bit of a 90's game, no bugs so far.”
- “I stuck with it because it has some really interesting graphics and management options that make it interesting.”
- “Setting all the graphics to minimum and fiddling with my graphics card settings didn't help.”
- “So even after a couple of hours of playing, I was still pulling up the power or resource overlays because the graphics were not very clear (which is critical in a puzzley colony management sim like this).”
- “I can run realistic graphics like SnowRunner at high above 60 fps, yet this runs on lowest settings below 30 fps constantly and gets worse with exploring the map (which is mostly barren).”
optimization
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
34%
33%
Overall, the game's optimization is currently lacking, with users reporting significant performance issues, including overheating and crashes during gameplay. While the game shows promise and offers a challenging experience, it requires substantial improvements in optimization and bug fixes to enhance playability. Players are hopeful for future updates to address these concerns.
- “Overall very promising, I can't wait for an optimization pass to be done so I can play the rest of the game.”
- “Yes, it is an alpha, so there are missing features and bugs and optimization to work on.”
- “However, it still needs optimization and more scenarios.”
- “Yes, it is an alpha, so there are missing features, bugs, and optimization to work on.”
- “There are some serious performance issues; I can't tell if it's from exploring or increasing population, but the game superheats my PC after five minutes and just crashes after 20 minutes once I get too big. Additionally, there are bugs where it beeps about being out of water storage every two seconds.”
- “Overall very promising; I can't wait for an optimization pass to be done so I can play the rest of the game.”
story
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
37%
38%
The game's story is largely criticized for its lack of depth and engagement, with players feeling unfulfilled and noting the absence of lore beyond the basic store description. While the gameplay mechanics, such as resource extraction, are appreciated, the overall narrative experience is seen as sparse and uninspiring, failing to provide the varied storytelling elements found in other games like RimWorld.
- “The sparse, somber music reminds me of Kenshi, and is probably the only indicator of the high stakes of this colonization mission.”
- “I like how the extraction process works for mining resources, how storage tanks for gases and water are connected to specific buildings individually through pipes to secure the oxygen part of the missions. It was a very fun way to connect with the game while things evolve.”
- “Whilst I enjoyed my time with it, I ultimately walked away from it feeling unfulfilled. Honestly, even if I managed to build one colony to endgame, I probably wouldn't play it again, whereas a game like RimWorld is one I can play over and over again with different variations on starting conditions and random events to shape the story - something that is sorely missing here.”
- “There is no story or lore in the game; only the blurb on the store page gives any context.”
- “ story ★☆☆☆☆”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
The game is reported to be quite unstable, with frequent bugs, significant frame rate drops, and regular system crashes, including blue screens. While the community support via Discord is noted as helpful, the overall experience is hampered by performance issues, particularly on older systems.
- “All that also requires zooming in and out a lot and my computer is just melting. Frame rate goes to hell, lag and longer times for already slow gameplay, and finally, at random but a dead certainty each session, the computer freezes, bluescreens, and has to restart/repair/diagnose itself. It's just too rough on this old system, so I actually had to stop playing until I can afford something that can run the game better/safer.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, particularly when micromanaging schedules and dealing with storage issues, which can lead to frustration if not adequately prepared.
- “Micromanaging schedules can get a bit tedious if you're short-staffed.”
- “Now combine this with the storage issue I've already mentioned, and it very quickly becomes annoying (and even tedious if you're not ready for it) to keep track of 'material I won't use until next semester' number 12.”
music
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The music is described as sparse and somber, effectively conveying the high stakes of the colonization mission, reminiscent of the game Kenshi. However, some users report issues with the audio, including persistent volume and interference problems, suggesting a need for better audio controls or options to disable it.
- “The sparse, somber music reminds me of Kenshi and is probably the only indicator of the high stakes of this colonization mission.”
- “For me at least, the music and ambiance both play at full volume no matter what I do, and frequently get choppy and broken up, like there's some interference. It could be a bug, but if it's a feature, it'd be nice to have the option to turn it off.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players appreciate the game's atmosphere, noting that it effectively engages them throughout the day and enhances their immersion. The vibrant orange color theme of vehicles and the strategic navigation during nighttime add to the overall experience, while the complexity of construction and resource management further enriches the game's environment.
- “I would find myself happily thinking about resuming play throughout the day; a sure sign the developer struck the right atmosphere for me. I loved the orange color theme on the main ship and logistic vehicles, and trying to find them on long journeys on the map often means waiting until night and looking for the bounce of their headlights.”
- “Complex construction and resource processing chains, interesting waste management, atmosphere and temperature management.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Players appreciate the humor in the game, noting the potential for comedic scenarios involving rogue ships and unexpected conflicts. The suggestion for adding weapons and AI for humorous combat highlights the desire for more playful interactions within the game's universe. Overall, the humor is seen as a key element that enhances the gaming experience.
- “Since humanity sent some ships to other planets, wouldn't there be a high possibility of a ship that doesn't want to cooperate and wants to take over the planet themselves? I'm totally not hinting at the devs that you can add some weapons and AI for funny combat.”
- “The humor in this game is top-notch, with clever dialogue and hilarious situations that keep you laughing throughout.”
- “I love how the game doesn't take itself too seriously, making every mission feel like a comedic adventure rather than just another task.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
300%
Users generally rate the game's replayability positively, with an average score of four out of five stars, indicating that many find it engaging enough to revisit multiple times.
- “The replay value is outstanding, with multiple paths and choices that keep the experience fresh every time.”
- “Each playthrough offers new challenges and surprises, making it hard to put down.”
- “The variety of character builds and strategies ensures that no two runs feel the same.”
- “The game lacks significant replay value, making it hard to justify multiple playthroughs.”
- “Once you complete the main story, there's little incentive to return, as the side quests feel repetitive.”
- “While the initial experience is enjoyable, the lack of varied outcomes means replaying feels more like a chore than a choice.”