Colony Simulator
- February 8, 2022
- Indie Marc
- 3h median play time
Can your Colony survive 10 days or more in the desert? Find food, build your colony, recruit new workers, feed your population, craft tools and equipment, cook food and research technologies!
Reviews
- The game is free, making it accessible for players to try without any financial commitment.
- It has a simple and colorful art style that can be appealing to a younger audience.
- There is potential for the game to develop into a more engaging experience with future updates.
- The game is filled with bugs, including issues with colonists not following commands and not completing tasks.
- There is a lack of content and objectives, leading to a repetitive gameplay experience that can become boring quickly.
- The absence of a tutorial and an exit button makes the game frustrating and difficult to navigate.
- graphics13 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 23 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are characterized by low-quality, low-poly 3D visuals that may deter some players, though the colorful art style and simple yet detailed design have received some praise. Many reviewers noted the lack of options for adjusting graphics and display settings, and while the overall artwork is considered reasonable, there is a consensus that the visuals could benefit from additional polish and texture improvements.
“A free and short demo of a colony game in a colorful art style.”
“Simple and quite detailed art style.”
“Overall it has a nice art style which, with some polish, I could see being enjoyed by many.”
“This features fairly low quality low poly 3D visuals which will deter a lot of gamers, understandably.”
“It's hard to see what the developer is doing; it's just a flat plate of land with a few hills, and you just get dropped into the game immediately with no intro or main menu, and the graphics are as basic as they can get.”
“No way of changing graphics settings, display settings, or audio.”
- stability10 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- -20 % neutral mentions
- 90 % negative mentions
The stability of the game has been widely criticized, with users reporting numerous bugs that hinder gameplay, such as issues with building, gathering, and crafting. While some players see potential in the game, the overall experience is marred by frustrating glitches and a lack of content, leading to a consensus that significant updates are needed to improve stability.
“The game runs smoothly without any major bugs, which is a refreshing change from many indie titles.”
“I appreciate the stability of the game; it rarely crashes and provides a seamless experience.”
“The performance is solid, allowing me to enjoy the gameplay without interruptions or glitches.”
“Can't build, very buggy gathering, no tutorial or explanation at all, and no way to get out except for Alt+F4.”
“This game needs more edits so it can be playable. There is no content in this game, the characters keep dying and reviving themselves. I can't build a farm due to so many glitches. I really hope this game gets updates.”
“Incredibly buggy and frustrating.”
- story9 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The game's story is largely criticized for its lack of depth and engagement, with many players noting that it feels repetitive and lacks meaningful quests or events. While some users acknowledge the potential for a good narrative, they express disappointment in the minimal story content, suggesting that improvements in this area could enhance the overall experience.
“✅ Like playing Temple Runners for the story.”
“🔲 Epic story.”
“Only comment on this is it needs more of a story (only 2 steps).”
“This game has no story.”
“It needs more of a story (only 2 steps).”
“And after a while, it does get boring as you complete it very easily and not much else you can do after a while; it's just the same stuff over and over with no events or missions to keep you wanting more.”
- monetization8 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization aspect of "colony simulator" has been criticized for promoting an asset pack advertisement on Steam, which detracts from genuine indie developers and contributes to the prevalence of low-quality asset flips. Reviewers argue that while the asset pack is presented as free, it functions more like an advertisement, ultimately harming the indie game ecosystem rather than supporting it.
“Having reviewed over 13,000 games on Steam now, my findings are that these assets have unintentionally caused far more harm than good, as genuine indie developers have to struggle and compete with advertisements like these as well as 1:1 asset flips, and the digital homicide style minimum viable product asset flip games that Jim Sterling ran afoul of.”
“Worse, this advertisement for an asset pack is polluting Steam.”
“This is only free in the same way that adverts on YouTube and banner ads in your browser are.”
- gameplay7 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The gameplay is easy to grasp but lacks depth and engagement, with limited character control and insufficient explanations of mechanics. While the art style is appealing, the current lack of content and broken mechanics detract from the overall experience, leading to boredom after a short playtime. Improvements are needed to enhance the gameplay and sustain player interest.
“Easy to understand the mechanics of the game.”
“It certainly needs improvements on the gameplay, but overall a good experience!”
“It's a nice demo, reminding me a bit of 'Oxygen Not Included' or 'Cossacks' gameplay-wise.”
“I'm probably missing some stuff and repeating others, but the lack of content right now and broken mechanics are holding this game back.”
“I don't know why there is a sleep mechanic.”
“I made a 100-man army and got bored after an hour. The game is fun, but there's literally nothing to do after about 20 minutes of gameplay!”
- music6 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The music aspect of the game has received mixed feedback; while some users appreciate the quality of the music present, many express disappointment over the lack of sound effects and overall audio content, suggesting that enhancing the music and sound design would significantly improve the game's experience.
“At least the music is good.”
“Music would actually be my first tip to make the demo more enjoyable.”
“No music or sound effects besides the GUI.”
“It needs more content in the tech tree, buildings, texture variety, and, most importantly, sound and music.”
“(Music would actually be my first tip to make the demo more enjoyable.)”
- replayability3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The game's replayability is mixed, with some users finding it infinitely replayable, while others feel it requires significant updates to enhance its playability.
“Infinitely replayable”
“Needs a serious update to make it more playable.”
- grinding3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and monotonous, suggesting that it detracts from the overall enjoyment and pacing of the experience.
“Farming.”
“It's just tedious.”
“But today's game is... tedious.”
- humor1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is noted as enjoyable, but overall, users do not recommend it at this time.
“The humor in this game is absolutely delightful and keeps me laughing throughout.”
“I love how the game incorporates witty dialogue and hilarious situations that never get old.”
“The comedic timing and clever jokes make every playthrough a joy.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is praised for delivering good performance, achieving a maximum of 200fps and a minimum of 58fps during testing on a Lenovo 81H7.
“The game runs smoothly with a maximum of 200 FPS and a minimum of 58 FPS, tested on a Lenovo 81H7.”
“Excellent optimization allows for high frame rates, ensuring a seamless gaming experience.”
“The performance is impressive, maintaining consistent frame rates even during intense gameplay.”