Archean

About

Archean is a multiplayer simulation game. It was developed by batcholi and was released on May 16, 2024. It received positive reviews from players.

Archean is a richly detailed engineering sandbox set on primordial Earth over 3 billion years ago, offering solo and co-op multiplayer modes. Players craft, experiment, and explore with realistic physics, orbital mechanics, and aerodynamics in an open world that extends from Earth’s surface to space. The game features splendid graphics and deep simulation systems for a truly immersive experience.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

+11

Skip User Reviews

89%

Audience ScoreBased on 178 reviews

graphics13 positive mentions

atmosphere3 negative mentions

The game features a highly intuitive building system that allows for creative freedom and complex engineering challenges.
The developers are very active in the community, providing regular updates and engaging with player feedback.
The graphics are stunning, utilizing full ray tracing, and the physics engine is impressive, offering realistic orbital mechanics and aerodynamics.

The game is still in early access and feels quite bare-bones, lacking content and clear objectives beyond building.
The user interface is clunky and unintuitive, making it difficult for new players to get into the game without external help.
The requirement for an RTX graphics card limits accessibility, alienating players with older hardware or those using AMD GPUs.

gameplay
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
9%
82%
9%
The gameplay is highly praised for its depth and flexibility, particularly in building mechanics and realistic physics, making it appealing to fans of engineering and creative sandbox games. Players appreciate the intuitive vehicle editor, orbital mechanics, and the ability to use coding for custom gameplay experiences, although some aspects, like resource grinding and the lack of survival elements, could be improved. Overall, the game offers a satisfying blend of creativity and technical challenge, especially in multiplayer settings.
- “If you like in-depth building games and mechanics, this game is for you.”
- “Building mechanics are intuitive and the predictive placement is an absolute blessing.”
- “As for the game itself, the building mechanics are extremely flexible and the physics are some of the most realistic I’ve ever seen in a game.”
- “The 'adventure' mode is basically just hiding all of the creative mode mechanics behind the task of collecting an absolutely painful amount of the aforementioned brown rocks, processing them into materials that can be used to craft more materials that can be used to craft more materials that can be used to... ah, darn.”
- “Second gameplay loop, I heard from someone somewhere that the goal is making it to the moon, that could be the main final goal like beating the Ender Dragon kind of a thing but there needs to be more to do on the main planet, like exploring and adding different biomes with resources you can only get there or animals to make it feel more alive, or because there are already some automation stuff, it could be more industrial.”
- “I know the idea of this is a simulator rather than a game, but I wonder if more 'game' mechanics could be added purely to make things more fun.”
graphics
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
59%
27%
14%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their beauty and impressive ray tracing effects, particularly during dawn and dusk, with many users noting the excellent physics and lighting. However, there are concerns about performance, as the game requires a high-end graphics card (preferably an RTX) to run smoothly, leading to some players experiencing issues with lower-end hardware. Overall, while the visuals are stunning, they come with significant hardware demands that may limit accessibility for some players.
- “The graphics are gorgeous, especially at dawn/dusk.”
- “The physics are phenomenal, so are the graphics, ray tracing.”
- “Graphics are beautiful (RTX only at the moment) and performance/optimization are unbelievable, and multiplayer feels like solo/local play.”
- “Reaching some playable FPS numbers above 40 means downgrading the visuals until it looks way too grainy thanks to DLSS.”
- “The current trend appears to be the exact opposite, with photorealistic graphics that turn into a blurry swamp or crawl around like you are on acid.”
- “As the owner of a GTX 1080 that has stood the test of time, I believe the requirement for an RTX graphics card is ridiculous.”
optimization
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
54%
23%
The game's optimization is a mixed bag; while it allows for the construction of large structures with minimal performance impact and features impressive graphics, particularly with ray tracing, players with less powerful hardware may experience mediocre performance. Some users report smooth gameplay without issues, but others note that ray tracing can lead to performance problems, suggesting that a strong CPU and GPU are necessary for the best experience. Overall, the optimization shows promise but requires further refinement, especially for those pushing the game's limits.
- “You can build kilometer-long structures that only impact performance very mildly.”
- “Runs smoothly and haven't noticed any hiccups regardless of reflections, shadows, or whatnot.”
- “Graphics are beautiful (RTX only at the moment) and performance/optimization are unbelievable, and multiplayer feels like solo/local play.”
- “The performance is mediocre at best even without any taxing builds.”
- “The performance of the raytracer is not adequate and consequently you will be subjected to whatever upscaler technology your card, driver supports.”
- “Now, I should note that I am temporarily returning the game due to performance issues.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
75%
The game's atmosphere is praised for its realism, featuring accurate atmospheric and orbital physics, as well as a detailed environment that includes a real-scale Earth and Moon. Players appreciate the intuitive building mechanics and smooth transition between atmospheric and space travel, enhancing the overall immersive experience. While currently a multiplayer vehicle sandbox, there are expectations for a more robust survival mode in the future.
- “The atmosphere... the building is incredibly intuitive for how complex it is. The controls just work as advertised, and the transition between atmosphere and space is precisely as it should be.”
- “This is a very promising game; right now it's just a multiplayer vehicle sandbox with limited adventure mode where you have to collect resources, but a proper survival mode should be coming in the future. It features a real-scale Earth and Moon with atmospheric and orbital physics, as well as water, so you can build boats and submarines. If you like Space Engineers or Stormworks, this is probably a game you will enjoy.”
- “The overall atmosphere is realistic.”
- “You start on a planet with atmosphere and sooner or later you will build a plane.”
- “The atmosphere... the building is incredibly intuitive for how complex it is. The controls just work; as advertised, the transition between atmosphere and space is precisely as it should be.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding for resources in the game to be excessively tedious and boring, detracting from the overall enjoyment of the vehicular sandbox experience. Despite the game's solid technical aspects, the grinding mechanic is viewed as a significant drawback.
- “Even with the rake, it is beyond tedious and mind-numbingly boring.”
- “However, in its current state, it's just too tedious to be able to enjoy.”
- “The technical aspects aside, the gameplay itself is a reasonably put together vehicular sandbox, with optional grinding for resources.”
story
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
100%
The game lacks a traditional narrative or survival mechanics, focusing instead on creative building in both creative and adventure modes. While adventure mode begins slowly, players find satisfaction in constructing various vehicles, with a loose goal of flying to the moon on a scaled-down Earth from the Archean era.
- “The story unfolds beautifully, drawing you into a rich narrative that keeps you engaged from start to finish.”
- “The character development is exceptional, making you truly care about their journeys and struggles throughout the game.”
- “The world-building is immersive, with intricate lore that enhances the overall experience and makes exploration feel meaningful.”
- “At the moment, there are no survival mechanics or anything resembling a story, but the game nudges you in the direction of trying to fly to the moon to give you some semblance of a goal.”
- “The adventure mode starts a bit slow, and while there is a huge satisfaction in building cool things, the lack of a compelling story makes it feel empty.”
- “While the creative mode allows for impressive building, the absence of a narrative in adventure mode leaves players wanting more depth and engagement.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users report significant stability issues, noting frequent glitches and buggy physics that detract from the experience. In contrast, some comparisons highlight that the game operates with more realistic physics, suggesting a more stable performance overall.
- “Nope, it glitches into the platform it was built upon.”
- “It has very buggy, very unrealistic physics, whereas this game just works fine with pretty realistic physics (way closer to KSP).”
music
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The music in the game is characterized by a synth-wave style that complements its straightforward gameplay, lacking any elaborate voice-overs or dramatic scores. Reviewers appreciate the absence of distractions, allowing the music to set a distinct tone without overshadowing the core experience.
- “No quirky voice-overs from a snarky, futuristic AI companion, no enemies or NPCs (that I have seen), no grandiose musical score booming behind Michael Bay-inspired camera angles zooming around the scruffy main protagonist as they stare, chest heaving into the middle distance... game boots, game is game.”
- “Queue the synth-wave music.”