Alien Horizon
- January 30, 2024
- Purple Nebula
- 300h median play time
Get on Steam
Get on itch.io StoreAlien 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…
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game offers a complex and challenging colony-building experience, appealing to fans of the genre who enjoy resource management and strategic planning.
- The developer is actively updating the game and engaging with the community, which bodes well for future improvements and features.
- The tutorial is extensive and provides a good foundation for understanding the game's mechanics, making it easier for players to get started.
- The game suffers from bugs and crashes, which can disrupt gameplay and lead to lost progress, especially in its current alpha state.
- The user interface can be overwhelming, with too many pop-ups and unclear instructions, making it difficult for new players to navigate the game effectively.
- Some mechanics, such as the pipe and logistics systems, are poorly designed, leading to frustration and inefficiencies in managing resources and colonist tasks.
- gameplay24 mentions
- 21 % positive mentions
- 67 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game is characterized by a mix of innovative mechanics and complexity, particularly in resource management and colony building on another planet. While players appreciate the balance between realism and sci-fi elements, many find the mechanics unclear and challenging to grasp, leading to potential frustration with crashes and missing features. Overall, the game shows promise but may require further development to enhance stability and clarity in gameplay.
“Hope is a game mechanic, so try to bring hope to your people.”
“I like the mechanics of this game; the mix between realism and sci-fi is well balanced.”
“The game is about building a colony on another planet, but the mechanic is innovative and very challenging.”
“Game mechanics are...unclear, a lot.”
“Colony wake up mechanics are rather dull time management; you just do a few additional clicks and that's all you do about this.”
“Instability, poor gameplay mechanics, amazing concept.”
- graphics9 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are described as visually appealing and "comfy," reminiscent of 90s titles, but they lack high resolution and clarity, particularly affecting gameplay in puzzle and management aspects. Despite some players experiencing performance issues, such as low frame rates even on minimum settings, others appreciate the unique aesthetic and management options. Overall, while the graphics have charm, they may not meet the expectations for modern gaming standards.
“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, and there are 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 loss 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).”
- optimization8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is currently lacking, with users reporting significant performance issues, bugs, and general instability, particularly as the game progresses and populations increase. While some appreciate the complexity and depth of the gameplay, many are eager for an optimization update to enhance their experience.
“Overall very promising, I can't wait for an optimization pass to be done so I can play the rest of the game.”
“Compared to the over-optimized and simplified space colonization games, Alien Horizon was a refreshing challenge for me.”
“However, it still needs optimization and more scenarios.”
“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, but I can't wait for an optimization pass to be done so I can play the rest of the game.”
“Optimization: poor”
- story5 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The game lacks a substantial story or lore, with only a brief description on the store page providing context. While the music sets a somber tone that hints at the high stakes of the colonization mission, the gameplay focuses more on mechanics and resource management than narrative depth. Overall, players find the story aspect to be minimal and unsatisfactory.
“The sparse, somber music reminds me of Kenshi, and is probably the only indicator of the high stakes of this colonization mission.”
“Make sure you follow the missions; they are an important stepping stone to learn the game.”
“There is no story or lore in the game; only the blurb on the store page provides any context.”
“The sparse, somber music reminds me of Kenshi and is probably the only indicator of the high stakes of this colonization mission.”
“The missions are an important stepping stone to learn the game, but they lack engaging narrative.”
- music2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The music is characterized 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 levels and potential interference, 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.”
“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.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is highly engaging, with players expressing a strong desire to return to the game throughout the day. The appealing orange color theme and the immersive mechanics of construction, resource processing, and environmental management contribute to a captivating experience that enhances exploration and gameplay.
“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.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, especially when compounded by storage issues that make it difficult to manage materials effectively. This can lead to frustration if players are unprepared for the demands of resource management.
“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.”
- humor1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Reviewers appreciate the humor in the game, noting its potential for comedic scenarios, such as the idea of a rogue ship attempting to take over a planet. This suggests a playful tone that encourages creative and humorous gameplay elements, including the possibility of adding weapons and AI for entertaining combat situations.
“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.”
- replayability1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -500 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
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 endings that keep me coming back for more.”
“Every playthrough feels fresh due to the diverse choices and character interactions available.”
“I love how each run can be completely different, making it hard to put the game down!”
“The game lacks significant replay value, making it hard to justify multiple playthroughs.”
“Once you complete the main story, there isn't much incentive to dive back in.”
“The limited choices and outcomes mean that replaying the game feels more like a chore than an adventure.”
- stability1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Overall, users report that the game is largely stable, with minimal bugs affecting gameplay. However, some players have encountered occasional glitches that can disrupt the experience.
