Ark of Charon

About

In "Ark of Charon," players nurture a World Tree sapling and defend it from monsters during its journey to the nursery. Gather resources, instruct golems to mine and harvest, and build defenses atop the sapling to protect it. Players also construct weapons to fend off relentless monster attacks. This unique game blends colony simulation and tower defense gameplay for a captivating experience.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

76%

Audience ScoreBased on 178 reviews

gameplay10 positive mentions

stability6 negative mentions

Genius design with a fun and addictive gameplay loop that combines resource management, building, and tower defense elements.
The game offers a unique aesthetic and engaging mechanics that keep players entertained for long periods.
Despite some bugs, the game has a solid foundation and shows promise for future updates and improvements.

The game is plagued by bugs, including pathing issues and a frustrating hunger mechanic that can lead to unplayable situations.
The user interface is poorly designed, making it difficult to manage golems and resources effectively.
Many players feel that the game lacks proper guidance and balance, leading to confusion and frustration during gameplay.

gameplay
54 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
76%
6%
The gameplay of "Ark of Charon" features a unique blend of roguelike colony management and tower defense mechanics, offering an enjoyable progression once players overcome its learning curve. While the game presents fun mechanics and a compelling art style, it suffers from bugs, unclear instructions, and a repetitive gameplay loop that can detract from the overall experience. Players appreciate the depth of the tech tree and resource management, but many note the need for improvements in control and quality of life features.
- “I really like the mechanics of the game; just take the time to learn how everything works, and it has a really enjoyable progression.”
- “It can be a bit brutal on the non-easy difficulty or rogue-like mode, but once you figure out what you should be aiming for technology-wise and in terms of defense, the gameplay really starts to shine.”
- “Fun gameplay loop of having minions dig/build during the day, then tower defense at night with the option of taking over a turret and using it without ammo.”
- “However, the gameplay loop is a lather, rinse, and repeat affair and can get stale.”
- “Some of the mechanics aren't explained well at all, like when should you leave to the next location.”
- “The biggest problem is the lack of control over the minions, the trickle in resources, the forced tech tree which means you can research something and not be able to use it, the generally boring gameplay loop of waiting to see what's below/behind some hard dirt, janky building and storage mechanics and other small issues.”
stability
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
60%
The stability of the game is mixed, with some players reporting significant bugs and twitchiness that detracts from the experience, while others have found it to be mostly bug-free and running smoothly at default settings. Overall, opinions vary, with some enjoying the game without issues and others citing its instability as a major drawback.
- “The game runs great at default settings (which was set to max for me) and I experienced no crashes.”
- “What's there, overall, is competent, well designed, and mostly bug free.”
- “The real reason I wouldn't recommend this game would be with how buggy it is.”
- “Good concept and some fun mechanics but buggy, twitchy.”
- “Really fun game similar to Oxygen Not Included but not as in-depth or refined; still really fun and I haven't had any glitches or issues like other reviews.”
graphics
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
40%
20%
The game's graphics are praised for their charming art style, reminiscent of titles like Terraria, Minecraft, and Stardew Valley, creating an appealing aesthetic. However, some users express concerns over the lack of graphics settings and optimization, which detracts from the overall experience. Despite these issues, the visuals are generally considered adorable and enjoyable to watch in action.
- “I love the aesthetic and design of the game; it feels like Terraria, Minecraft, Stardew Valley, and something else all at once!”
- “The art style is absolutely adorable, and it's nice to just watch your golems run around and do stuff at 3x speed!”
- “The art style is nice, contributing to the overall enjoyment of the roguelike colony management mechanics and gameplay loop.”
- “Looks like an interesting and promising game, but I can't recommend it in good conscience due to a complete lack of graphics settings coupled with non-existent optimization.”
replayability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
38%
38%
The game is praised for its high replayability, offering a unique blend of colony-sim, tower defense, and rogue-lite elements that encourage experimentation with different tactics through its rogue-like mode and tech tree. However, players express a desire for quality of life improvements and a more integrated leveling system to enhance long-term engagement and allow for a fuller exploration of the game's mechanics.
- “The game is very replayable and is an interesting take on colony sims, tower defense, and rogue-likes like FTL.”
- “The rogue-like mode and tech tree make it replayable, allowing you to try different tactics.”
- “Dev team, please roll over the leveling system into the base game; it will make the game more replayable as most players will not be able to experience the full tech tree before losing interest in the game as it currently stands.”
- “There are a bunch of minor things I'd love as quality of life upgrades just to make the game more playable.”
- “The rogue-like mode and tech tree makes it replayable, just so you can try different tactics.”
story
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
The story revolves around a world tree on a quest to restore life to Earth, navigating perilous regions with the aid of golems, which are animated beings fueled by the souls of defeated foes. Additionally, the game offers a casual difficulty setting, catering to players who prefer a more narrative-driven experience.
- “The world tree is on a mission to bring back life to Earth, traveling across several dangerous areas with the help of its golems, living automatons powered by gathered souls of its enemies.”
- “The game also features a casual difficulty, allowing newer players to enjoy a more story-focused experience.”
grinding
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
Players have noted that the grinding aspect of the game can become overwhelming, as it often devolves into a relentless farming simulator where the primary focus is on resource management to prevent golems from starving. This leaves little room for other activities like crafting or building, leading to a repetitive experience that may require excessive time investment.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “The main issue I am seeing with this feature is that the game turns into a farm simulator where nothing else can be accomplished except for farming and harvesting, or else all of the golems starve to death at progressively faster rates.”
- “You cannot mine for materials, build weapons or rooms, repair, or even spend the time trying to produce ammo, because every bit of time now needs to be spent farming.”
music
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
38%
38%
The music in "Ark of Charon" features a western-influenced Japanese orchestral score that, while beautiful, has been criticized for being overly stereotypical and repetitive. Some reviewers feel it resembles the soundtracks of first-party 3DS titles, which may detract from its uniqueness. Overall, the soundtrack is considered decent but lacks originality.
- “Ark of Charon's soundtrack is a western-influenced Japanese orchestra.”
- “Ark of Charon feels like a first-party 3DS official release with a beautiful music score and character models.”
- “Special disappointment with Ark of Charon: the soundtrack.”
- “Ark of Charon's soundtrack is western-influenced Japanese orchestra.”
- “It's not bad, but Japan overdoes this kind of music to the point it's stereotyped and it all sounds the same to me, in my humble opinion.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game's optimization has been criticized for causing significant lag, especially in larger fortresses, and users have noted a complete lack of graphics settings, which further exacerbates performance issues. As a result, many reviewers are unable to recommend the game due to these shortcomings.
- “Looks like an interesting and promising game, but I can't recommend it in good conscience due to a complete lack of graphics settings coupled with non-existent optimization.”
- “I'm currently about 12 or so hours into my run with a larger fortress and the lag is getting pretty bad.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the game evokes a somber emotional tone, particularly during resource gathering, which adds depth to the experience. The need for active engagement in base defense and resource management enhances the emotional stakes of survival.