Children of a Dead Earth

About

Children of a Dead Earth is a single player real-time strategy game with warfare and science fiction themes. It was developed by Q Switched Productions, LLC and was released on September 23, 2016. It received positive reviews from players.

Children of a Dead Earth is a hard-science-fiction space strategy game. It is meant to show what space warfare could be like with the limitations of real science and current technology.

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Play Modes

Single-Player

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89%

Audience ScoreBased on 668 reviews

story27 positive mentions

optimization9 negative mentions

Extremely realistic simulation of space combat including detailed orbital mechanics, nuclear reactors, propulsion, and weapons based on real physics and material science.
Deep customization with the ability to design ships and every component down to materials and specifications, allowing for a diverse array of tactics and strategies.
Engaging and informative campaign that serves as a tutorial with interesting lore, combined with sandbox mode that offers extensive tactical experimentation.

Steep learning curve and complex user interface which can be frustrating, especially for players without prior experience in orbital mechanics or engineering.
Optimization issues cause lag and crashes during complex battles involving many projectiles and drones; no mid-mission save feature causing progress loss on failure or crash.
Combat can feel limited with AI shortcomings, lack of control during engagements, and occasionally too much micromanagement required in plotting maneuvers and intercepts.

story
234 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
83%
5%
The game's story is more of a framework consisting of briefings and after-action reports, enriched with faction lore and political intrigue, providing an immersive but somewhat basic and linear narrative. While the campaign offers challenging, puzzle-like missions rooted in realistic orbital mechanics and hard sci-fi themes, players often find the pacing tedious and difficulty spikes frustrating due to frequent crashes, lack of mid-mission saves, and buggy AI behaviors. Despite these issues, the detailed world-building and unique setting are praised, though many recommend focusing on the sandbox and ship design features unlocked through campaign progression for the fuller experience.
- “The setting is great if a bit stereotypical at times, but the author has a clear understanding of how armed conflict actually works and why it is fought (no gung-ho save our civilization crap here, as an admiral you are informed about reasons, necessities and predictions, not fed propaganda), which makes the campaign story quite enjoyable.”
- “Story is in quotes because it's really more of a series of briefings and after-action reports than a story, but thanks to copious amounts of flavor text for factions, their motivation, and all the politics going on while you're doing the fighting, I found it quite immersive.”
- “Overall the story is great, political intrigues are believable and the whole setting is quite cool if somewhat scary.”
- “The story does need work, especially where the faction you play as says things like 'don't worry, we are not experiencing mass mutiny and this is not endemic to our military.' Things like this could be revealed via enemy or allied transmissions during gameplay.”
- “Got to the mission 'retaking ceres' - it's a giant middle finger to the player and not one I've beaten without knowledge of game bugs and exploiting the AI.”
- “The campaign's story isn't too imaginative, but it does the job of creating a basic setting reasonably well.”
gameplay
209 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
79%
3%
The gameplay of "Children of a Dead Earth" is a highly detailed and realistic space combat simulator centered on accurate n-body orbital mechanics, physics, and engineering. It offers a challenging, puzzle-like experience that requires a solid understanding of orbital mechanics and aerospace concepts, making it extremely rewarding for enthusiasts but steep and potentially frustrating for newcomers. While the game excels in simulation depth and customization, its complex mechanics, somewhat clunky UI, and steep learning curve may hinder accessibility and enjoyment for some players.
- “The idea of an ultra-realistic space combat simulator, based on real orbital mechanics, physics, and engineering, is thrilling in itself.”
- “This game achieves a lot of things; it is the most accurate space combat game I know of, with complex simulation of orbital mechanics and spaceship components.”
- “It is a great way to learn how orbital mechanics work, along with a demo into what space combat will be like in the future.”
- “The physics and gameplay is discussed in the blogs and trailers, but the actual reality of the game—an ugly UI and tedious mechanics—is left for the player to discover.”
- “The gameplay would be vastly improved by some manner of automation in planning courses and intercepts, as these get tiring after forty to fifty course changes in a battle, but the player is left to do everything on their own.”
- “This is even more a pain due to the unnecessary highly manual orbit dragging mechanic which is sometimes really slow and laggy due to the complex physics calculations.”
graphics
76 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
73%
13%
The graphics in "Children of a Dead Earth" are consistently described as basic, barebones, and functional rather than visually impressive, focusing on realism over aesthetic appeal. While not cutting-edge or polished, they effectively support the simulation and gameplay, though some users note performance issues and a desire for more customization and visual refinement. Overall, the game's strength lies in its scientific realism rather than graphical presentation, appealing to players who prioritize depth over visual flair.
- “Graphics look basic but the hit effects and tracers really make it pop, I just wish there was a way to decorate the ships and turn down the nuke flash.”
- “Marvel at the Excel-level graphics of the design page.”
- “Graphics are simple but for me are appealing and can run on low-end PC like mine with GeForce 210.”
- “The graphics are bad or middling at best for its time, especially compared to other indie games of its time.”
- “It's glitchy, has a poor user interface, no help for noobs, and graphics that would be low quality for an Android game.”
- “This game screams programmer graphics everywhere, and while I'm a programmer myself, this isn't excusable on a $25 title.”
optimization
31 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
61%
29%
The game's optimization is widely criticized for poor performance, frequent crashes, and framerate issues, even on high-end hardware, largely due to its complex physics and simulation demands. Despite this, players appreciate the niche content and customization depth, acknowledging ongoing updates aimed at improving stability and optimization. However, the technical limitations significantly impact playability and require tolerance for bugs and inefficiencies.
- “Yes, this game is still being actively updated to squash bugs, improve gameplay, and make optimizations!”
- “Desiging your own modules, projectiles and ships is a big plus if you're into it, but even if you're not the workshop is rapidly filling up with highly optimized modules for you to download.”
- “And the level of customization available is incredible, with the performance of the custom weapon, reactor, missile, thrusters, etc. determined by equations based on real world performance of the components and materials.”
- “Crappy bug-ridden performance oven; it's supposed to be a hard sci-fi near-future game, but it's more of a technical demonstration of how to make the buggiest and least optimized software on earth.”
- “The game is not optimized much and you will be having problems - the n-body simulator is CPU bound - even with a good computer.”
- “Moreover, the game is poorly optimized, freezing for no apparent reason.”
music
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
54%
33%
13%
The music, primarily composed by Nigel Stanford, is widely praised for perfectly complementing the game's atmosphere and sci-fi theme, providing an immersive and engaging soundtrack. While generally regarded as exciting and well-crafted, some users find it limited in variety and occasionally repetitive, with a few preferring to mute it. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a strong and fitting aspect that enhances the gameplay experience.
- “The music by Nigel Stanford is an absolutely perfect choice for this game's atmosphere and theme, juxtaposing high-energy orbital combat with the slow dancing of celestial motion.”
- “Killer soundtrack; it perfectly scratches that hard-sci-fi itch.”
- “The soundtrack is nice, relaxing enough not to distract you, and exciting enough to keep it engaging.”
- “- Music (2-3 tracks in total?) is headache-inducing at times and repetitive.”
- “Not even on par with Pokemon games from 2004, better to just mute the music altogether.”
- “- Limited soundtrack.”
grinding
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
9%
91%
Grinding in the game is widely regarded as tedious and frustrating, with repetitive manual operations like missile and drone launches, complex maneuvering, and slow mission progress contributing to player fatigue. While some find aspects like ship piloting engaging, the overall grind, especially locked content and awkward UI, diminishes the enjoyment and often leads to players putting the game down.
- “That became incredibly tedious and frustrating, leading me to put the game down for a week multiple times.”
- “90% of content is locked behind playing through very tedious missions.”
- “Especially tedious are missiles and drones: click the launch button, press back to return to main map, choose your fleet again, choose appropriate ship, click the launch button, rinse and repeat several times.”
atmosphere
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
22%
22%
The game's atmosphere is praised for its immersive space commander feel, enhanced significantly by Nigel Stanford's fitting soundtrack that complements the contrast between high-energy combat and the slow, celestial motions. The realistic portrayal of a dry, silent space environment, including the absence of sound in the vacuum and subtle structural noises, further deepens the immersive experience. Overall, the atmosphere is both authentic and engaging, effectively supporting the game's combat-focused narrative.
- “The music by Nigel Stanford is an absolutely perfect choice for this game's atmosphere and theme, juxtaposing high-energy orbital combat with the slow dancing of celestial motion.”
- “The fact that there is no sound in space adds to the atmosphere, with only sounds heard being what the crew would hear—the groans of the structure stressing from repeated impacts and decompression of the crew module by a puncture.”
- “It creates a nice atmosphere in terms of 'space commander feeling,' and its campaign does a good job of explaining the concepts and possibilities.”
- “Dry atmosphere and storyline.”
- “Imagine Kerbel but entirely outside the atmosphere, less cutesy and focused on combat, and you have a good idea of what is happening in this game.”
stability
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from frequent freezing, numerous bugs, and overall poor stability, making it frustrating and often reliant on luck during combat. Despite running well on low-end hardware and showing potential, its persistent glitches and lack of updates have left it largely unplayable.
- “The game regularly freezes even though it could run on a Pentium II.”
- “Surprisingly though, it fails at some very basic stuff and is just very buggy in general.”
- “Unfortunately it's just too buggy to play as a game, many years after release.”
humor
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is a mix of clever, tongue-in-cheek writing and amusing in-game scenarios, especially involving over-the-top ship designs that often backfire hilariously. While the complex mechanics can be frustrating, they also lead to funny moments and a cynical wit woven throughout the story and gameplay. Overall, the humor adds a unique and entertaining layer to the deep and challenging experience.
- “The writing for the missions is great and very tongue-in-cheek funny.”
- “Making a ship with a 20,000mm cannon and watching it get blown up by a single shot is funny.”
- “These 'sandblasters' are some of the most fun you can have in the game – there's quite a bit of tweaking that can be done and they're hilarious to see in action... if you keep your guys from firing them till they're within 100km or so.”
replayability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
20%
60%
The game offers near-infinite replayability, especially for players who enjoy varied approaches and increasing challenges. Its mission difficulty scales, and extensive customization of modules and components further enhances the game's long-term engagement.
- “It furthermore offers customization of the modules and components themselves, allowing for an extreme amount of replayability.”
- “This means that its replay value is essentially equal to the value you have the first time playing it.”
- “The missions become more difficult the more you progress, but they also have replay value because you can approach missions in different ways.”
- “Near-infinite replay value if you're a certain type of player.”

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29h Median play time

23h Average play time

9-36h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs

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Frequently Asked Questions

Children of a Dead Earth is a real-time strategy game with warfare and science fiction themes.

Children of a Dead Earth is available on PC, Mac OS and Windows.

On average players spend around 23 hours playing Children of a Dead Earth.

Children of a Dead Earth was released on September 23, 2016.

Children of a Dead Earth was developed by Q Switched Productions, LLC.

Children of a Dead Earth has received positive reviews from players. Most players liked Children of a Dead Earth for its story but disliked it for its optimization.

Children of a Dead Earth is a single player game.

Similar games include NEBULOUS: Fleet Command, Nexus: The Jupiter Incident, HighFleet, Void Destroyer, Sea Power : Naval Combat in the Missile Age and others.

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