Ark of Charon

About

Ark of Charon is a single player strategy game. It was developed by SUNSOFT and was released on November 6, 2024. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

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

Skip User Reviews

74%

Audience ScoreBased on 122 reviews

gameplay9 positive mentions

grinding5 negative mentions

The game features an enjoyable overall playstyle, combining base management and tower defense mechanics that keep players engaged.
The graphics and art style are appealing, creating a charming atmosphere that enhances the gameplay experience.
The game offers a good amount of challenge, requiring players to strategize and adapt their approach to survive against escalating threats.

The game suffers from significant quality of life issues, including a lack of UI scaling, inability to rebind controls, and a cumbersome tutorial that cannot be minimized.
There are numerous bugs and performance issues, such as golems getting stuck or failing to perform tasks, which can lead to frustrating gameplay experiences.
The tech tree and progression system are poorly designed, often leading to confusion about resource requirements and making it difficult to plan effectively.

gameplay
39 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
69%
8%
The gameplay of the game draws clear inspiration from "Oxygen Not Included," featuring a base-building mechanic that can be both rewarding and punishing. While players appreciate the addictive gameplay loop and unique mechanics, many express frustration over the lack of clear guidance, rigid mechanics, and a steep learning curve that can hinder enjoyment. Overall, the game shows potential but requires further refinement and better communication of its systems to enhance the player experience.
- “It's a great game with solid mechanics and an addictive gameplay loop.”
- “I really like the mechanics of the game; just take the time to learn how everything works and it has a really enjoyable progression.”
- “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.”
- “This game lacks the information and doesn't allow you the flexibility (very rigid bearing strength mechanics, no heads-up about the specific stockpiles that you need to prepare, unequal house sizes as you progress making the entire base layout obsolete unless you know from the start your end-game layout...etc).”
- “However, the gameplay loop is a lather, rinse, and repeat affair and can get stale.”
- “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.”
graphics
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
34%
33%
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their charming art style and readability, drawing comparisons to popular titles like Terraria and Stardew Valley. However, some users express concerns about the lack of graphics settings and optimization, which detracts from the overall experience. Despite these issues, the animation and aesthetic appeal remain highlights for many players.
- “The art style is what caught my eye; but if it wasn't for the demo, I would've missed out on this game.”
- “The art style is absolutely adorable, and it's nice to just watch your golems run around and do stuff at 3x speed!”
- “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.”
- “The UI is poor, but the main game graphics and animation are top-notch.”
- “The graphics are very easy to read.”
story
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
14%
43%
The game's main survival story offers an extensive experience, with players spending over 65 hours exploring a world where a tree seeks to restore life using golems powered by enemy souls. However, some players feel the story mode lacks depth and recommend switching to "rogue-like" mode for a more engaging experience. Additionally, a casual difficulty setting is available for those who prefer a more narrative-driven gameplay.
- “The world tree is on a mission to bring back life to earth, travelling 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.”
- “Don't play the main 'story'; change the game mode to 'rogue-like'; this is where the game shines.”
- “After playing only the 'main' survival story for over 65 hours, completing the tech tree at day 165, moving into the last threat levels, and still seeing new islands come up with no end in sight, I think I'm done with this game.”
- “Don't play the main 'story'; change the game mode to 'rogue-like.' This is where the game shines.”
- “☐ no story”
grinding
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
83%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game initially enjoyable but increasingly tedious as it shifts focus to resource management and farming, often leading to frustration with mechanics like load-bearing and cooldowns. While the game offers a robust management system for various tasks, many reviewers feel it devolves into a farm simulator where essential activities are overshadowed by the need to constantly farm, leaving little room for other gameplay elements. Overall, the grinding can feel overwhelming and time-consuming, detracting from the overall experience.
- “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, and 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.”
stability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
60%
The stability of the game is mixed; while some players report a buggy and twitchy experience, others have found it to run smoothly without any glitches or crashes. Overall, opinions vary, with some praising its competent design and stability at default settings, while others highlight significant issues that detract from the experience.
- “What's there, overall, is competent, well designed, and mostly bug-free.”
- “The game runs great at default settings (which were defaulted to max for me), and I experienced no crashes.”
- “Good concept and some fun mechanics, but buggy and twitchy.”
- “The real reason I wouldn't recommend this game is how buggy it is.”
- “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.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
75%
Players find the game highly replayable due to its unique blend of colony-sim, tower defense, and rogue-lite elements, particularly appreciating the rogue-like mode and tech tree that encourage experimentation with different strategies. However, some users suggest that quality of life improvements and a more integrated leveling system could enhance long-term engagement and allow players to fully explore the tech tree before losing interest.
- “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.”
- “The rogue-like mode and tech tree makes it replayable, just so you can 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.”
music
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
75%
The music in "Ark of Charon" features a western-influenced Japanese orchestral soundtrack that, while beautifully composed, has been criticized for its stereotypical sound, leading some to feel it lacks originality. Overall, it is seen as fitting for a first-party 3DS title, with high-quality character models complementing the score.
- “Ark of Charon's soundtrack is influenced by Western and Japanese orchestral styles.”
- “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.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the emotional experience of the game to be a mix of satisfaction and somberness, particularly when unlocking significant achievements like the world tree extractor. The challenge of resource management and base defense adds a layer of intensity, while the act of gathering resources can evoke a sense of isolation and urgency. Overall, the game elicits a complex emotional response that balances achievement with the weight of survival.
- “I have recently unlocked the world tree extractor, and by its design, description, and its difficulty to obtain, it made me feel that it was a high-end energy production building.”
- “If you like managing resources and having to defend your base from enemies, you'll like this game. It can be a bit somber after touching down while gathering resources, but you do need to stay active to dig into the ground to find them.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's optimization has been criticized for significant lag issues, especially in larger fortresses, and the absence of graphics settings exacerbates the problem. Users find it difficult to recommend the game due to these performance shortcomings.
- “Performance: I'm currently about 12 or so hours into my run with a larger fortress, and the lag is getting pretty bad.”
- “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.”