Badiya: Desert Survival
- November 11, 2016
- Semaphore
- 2h median play time
Get on Steam"Immerse yourself in the procedurally generated infinite desert landscape of Badiya: Desert Survival, where the time of day and weather systems create a dynamic environment. Customize your character and wardrobe, interact with bedouins and ancient civilizations, and navigate the clash of horse and tank in the backdrop of World War I. Each playthrough offers new terrain, events, and loot."
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Badiya offers a unique and immersive open world set in early 20th century Arabia, providing players with a fresh survival experience.
- The game has potential for growth, with developers showing willingness to listen to community feedback and implement improvements.
- The cultural representation and setting are appreciated, with elements like crafting, exploration, and interaction with NPCs adding depth to the gameplay.
- The game is plagued by numerous bugs, crashes, and performance issues, making it nearly unplayable for many users.
- There is a significant lack of content and objectives, leading to a repetitive and uninspiring gameplay experience.
- The developers appear to have abandoned the game, with little to no updates or improvements since its early access release.
- optimization37 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 57 % neutral mentions
- 24 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is widely criticized, with many players reporting severe performance issues, including low frame rates, lag spikes, and crashes, even on lower settings. While some users note improvements in optimization over time, the consensus is that the game remains poorly optimized and requires significant updates to enhance performance. Overall, players recommend waiting for further optimization before purchasing.
“Nice game, but needs optimization.”
“Promising game that so far has been keeping up with steady and good updates in optimization and content alike.”
“With the recent optimization and with the next upcoming patch, now I can play decently and can write my review.”
“This game is a badly optimized mess.”
“Optimization is probably the biggest downside to the game; you have to have quite a beefy computer to reliably play it.”
“The performance is terrible even on the lowest settings.”
- graphics30 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 60 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players praising the beautiful desert visuals and overall polish, while others criticize the performance issues, including low frame rates and graphical glitches. Many users report that the graphics settings are difficult to adjust and often reset, leading to frustration. Overall, while there are signs of improvement and potential, significant bugs and optimization issues hinder the graphical experience.
“The desert visuals are beautiful.”
“Badiya is a game where you are put in the Arabian desert to survive, scavenge, craft, and discover new locations in the desert. The graphics of the game are really good, from textures to lighting to overall polish.”
“The game also has pretty okay graphics and with many different settings to tweak for the preferred performance.”
“The performance is very bad compared to the graphics; specifically, when I go to a village, the frame rate drops to 16 fps!”
“Graphics are beyond horrible!”
“The UI is clunky, changing the graphics settings is nearly impossible (even after patch 1.1), the FPS is bad and somewhat unstable.”
- gameplay16 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game shows promise with fun exploration elements and solid mechanics, but it currently suffers from performance issues, limited content, and a lack of engaging challenges. While players appreciate the potential for future updates and community engagement, many feel that the game is not yet polished enough to recommend, citing dull mechanics and poor AI as significant drawbacks. Overall, the game is seen as a work in progress that requires substantial improvements to reach its full potential.
“Gameplay is limited, but the exploration is a lot of fun, especially the first few times you discover a bandit camp or oil field.”
“I personally think that adding factions instead of just completing quests for the nomads would make things more interesting and add many more hours to gameplay.”
“The mechanics are all there for a really cool desert survival game, but it's just too easy to survive.”
“This game has a long way to go in content and gameplay mechanics.”
“The game mechanics are bad and even with 80 fps the game gives you the feel of low fps because the animations are bad.”
“It's not optimized well, plus the gameplay is dull; it has huge potential but I wouldn't recommend getting it right now.”
- story13 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 23 % negative mentions
The game's story aspect is currently underdeveloped, with players expressing a desire for a more immersive narrative, including character backstories and dynamic quests. While the open world offers exploration opportunities, many reviewers feel that the lack of a structured storyline and meaningful interactions with NPCs detracts from the overall experience. However, there is optimism for future updates that may introduce a more engaging narrative and unique quests, enhancing the game's charm and replayability.
“The quests and open world provide ample opportunity to immerse and explore.”
“This game will eventually feature a dynamic narrative that plays differently every time, so the players basically create their own story as they go.”
“They should add a background story to the character to make the game much more immersive (maybe a cutscene at the beginning of the game).”
“At this time, slow updates and no storyline hurt gameplay.”
“I would only like the dev to add real quests, maybe make it less sandboxy, like a small storyline or something; it could really add so much charm to the game!”
- stability9 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Overall, players report mixed experiences with stability, noting that while some do not encounter significant glitches, many others experience frequent freezing and lag, particularly in crowded areas. The game is described as buggy and in need of substantial improvements to enhance playability.
“The game also freezes quite often, which I hope you guys could fix.”
“Every time you go into an area with people in it, the game mysteriously bogs down and then freezes.”
“Together with all the other glitches, it seems unplayable.”
- music3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game is highly praised for its groovy soundtrack, contributing positively to the overall environment and player experience. Many users express a strong appreciation for the game's musical elements and hope for continued development.
“I really hope they continue developing this game because I really love the game's environment and music.”
“The music is groovy.”
“Good soundtrack.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
Reviewers indicate that the game's replayability may improve over time, particularly as it is still in early access and expected updates could address current issues. However, some express concern that significant improvements may take a long time, potentially hindering immediate replay value.
“The game lacks variety, making it hard to find motivation to replay.”
“Once you complete the main story, there's little incentive to dive back in.”
“The limited choices and outcomes mean that replaying feels more like a chore than an adventure.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere is immersive and effectively transports players to a different world, despite the game being in early access with some features locked. Players enjoy exploring the environment and experiencing dynamic elements like sandstorms, which enhance the overall ambiance.
“The atmosphere is cool and transports you into a different world.”
“While it is still indeed in early access and has many features locked (like story mode, map editor, etc.), it's fun to look around and absorb the atmosphere and inhale the occasional sandstorms that blast through.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players find the game to be deeply emotional, highlighting moments that resonate on a personal level, such as a poignant interaction that evokes feelings of warmth and connection. The experience is described as wholesome and beautiful, leaving a lasting impact on the player.
“Wholesome and beautiful: when the man there beckoned me in Arabic to drink with him; that honestly clicked with me on a deep emotional level.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Reviews indicate that the open-world grinding aspect of the game has not garnered much enthusiasm from fans, suggesting that players may find the repetitive nature of grinding less engaging in this context.
“The open world feels empty, and the grinding becomes tedious without any real rewards.”
“Grinding in this game is a chore; it feels like a never-ending cycle with no sense of progress.”
“I found the grinding mechanics to be overly repetitive, making the game feel more like a job than a fun experience.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy has been criticized as a cash grab, leading to disappointment among users who had hoped for a more balanced approach.
“It's not going anywhere; I was hopeful, but now I've realized it's a cash grab.”
“The monetization system feels exploitative and takes away from the overall experience.”
“I can't enjoy the game when it constantly pushes me to spend more money.”
