Cosmonautica

About

Cosmonautica is a single player simulation game with a science fiction theme. It was developed by Chasing Carrots and was released on July 31, 2015. It received neutral reviews from players.

Cosmonautica is a single-player Science Fiction Simulation game with great gameplay, exceptional graphics, and a fantastic soundtrack. The game offers a humorous space trading and crew simulation experience in a procedurally generated galaxy, with diverse quests, pirate attacks, and unique crew members. However, it has issues with bugs that can affect gameplay.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

45%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,184 reviews

story48 positive mentions

stability78 negative mentions

Charming graphics and humorous writing that adds a fun atmosphere to the game.
Engaging ship and crew management mechanics that allow for customization and strategic planning.
Offers a variety of gameplay styles, including trading, smuggling, and combat.

Frequent crashes and bugs that disrupt gameplay and lead to frustration.
Repetitive missions and lack of depth in trading and combat mechanics.
The game feels unfinished and lacks sufficient content to keep players engaged long-term.

story
342 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
74%
12%
The story in the game is described as lighthearted and quirky, featuring a mix of space trading and combat missions, but it suffers from a lack of depth and variety. Many players find the missions repetitive and often feel disconnected from the narrative, as they primarily consist of fetch quests with minimal engagement. While some appreciate the humor and character design, the overall consensus is that the story feels unfinished and could benefit from more diverse missions and clearer objectives.
- “This game is exactly my niche: space game with management and tactics, trading, fighting, doing missions, etc. It's all in there in Cosmonautica...but sadly, it's not to be.”
- “The art style and characters are quirky and fun, the main story and characters are cool, and I do like the overall feel of the game.”
- “A lighthearted space trading game with a story that is really not bad.”
- “Unfortunately, that's pretty much the end of the story.”
- “Seriously, there is no story beyond that.”
- “There is no storyline to speak of.”
gameplay
262 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
66%
10%
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players noting its repetitive nature and lack of depth after initial exploration. While some appreciate the simple mechanics and potential for fun in crew management and trading, others criticize the game for being buggy, unbalanced, and lacking meaningful content, leading to a frustrating experience. Overall, the game shows promise but requires significant improvements in gameplay mechanics and content to fully realize its potential.
- “The core gameplay loop is pretty satisfying if you like watching numbers go up once you've figured out a trade route.”
- “It's a great 'sandbox' with never-ending gameplay and is great at motivating you.”
- “A brilliant trading game with a gameplay system that is easy to grasp but with enough nuance to be interesting.”
- “The graphics and humor are fine, but the gameplay seemed to get stagnant quickly.”
- “The gameplay mechanics are just overly simplistic and broken.”
- “However, after playing the game for 12 hours, I must say that the gameplay mechanics are huge disappointments because they seriously lack tactical depth and variety.”
graphics
160 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
53%
2%
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their charming, cartoonish art style and vibrant visuals, which contribute to a lighthearted atmosphere. While many players appreciate the aesthetic appeal and low system requirements, some note that the graphics can feel simplistic or occasionally glitchy, and there are mixed opinions on the overall depth of the gameplay in relation to the visuals. Overall, the graphics are considered a strong point, enhancing the quirky and humorous elements of the game.
- “The graphics and animation quality is very impressive, and I like the design work very much.”
- “The art style is wonderful and lured me into buying the game, but the gameplay loop is very boring.”
- “The graphics suit the style and add to the zany crew feel of the game.”
- “At first glance, I was disappointed with the graphics.”
- “The graphics are straight from a mobile port, so they'll appear extremely fuzzy.”
- “Low graphic quality, tutorials stop halfway through.”
humor
96 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is widely appreciated for its quirky, whimsical style and clever pop culture references, providing a lighthearted atmosphere that enhances gameplay. While many players find the comedic elements engaging and entertaining, some criticize the humor as juvenile or repetitive, which can detract from the overall experience. Overall, the game successfully incorporates humor throughout, making it enjoyable for casual gamers who appreciate a fun and relaxed approach to space simulation.
- “The underlying humor in this game is downright hilarious; if you like sly humor, this game is for you.”
- “You see the humor that is built into this game at every inch, and this game's learning curve is perfect for something that is meant to be relaxing and enjoyable.”
- “While at first I was kind of taken back by it, I quickly loved it, especially as you start finding all the underlying humor and quips at famous movies, punch lines, and even the devs add in their own humor with the writing in-game.”
stability
80 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
3%
98%
The game's stability is widely criticized, with numerous reports of bugs, crashes, and unfinished features, leading many players to deem it unplayable or abandoned by the developers. While some users found moments of enjoyment despite the issues, the overall consensus is that the game is poorly optimized and riddled with problems, making it best avoided. A few players noted minor bugs that did not significantly hinder gameplay, but these instances are overshadowed by the prevalent complaints of instability.
- “Wasn't really buggy for me at all, and I had fun with the game.”
- “I had such high hopes, but this is unplayably buggy and has been abandoned by the developer.”
- “Unfinished, buggy junk that should not still be sold on Steam (or anywhere else for that matter).”
- “It's extremely poorly optimized, misses a lot of features, and is buggy as hell.”
music
48 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
58%
36%
6%
The music in the game is generally praised for its catchy and enjoyable qualities, with many reviewers highlighting the "spacy" soundtrack that enhances the atmosphere. However, some players noted that the music can be repetitive and lacks variety, which may detract from the overall experience. Despite this, the soundtrack is often described as spectacular and a significant reason to recommend the game.
- “The game's soundtrack is amazing!”
- “I'm still going to recommend the game, maybe on sale only, because the game's soundtrack is spectacular, and worth the price alone.”
- “The music is groovy, carrying a melody and flow to it that's likely nearly unknown to most of this generation's avid gamers, while the graphics are soft enough to run smoothly on even most low-end graphic specs, without looking remotely distasteful.”
- “Once you get past the art style and futuristic pop music, it goes downhill real quick from there.”
- “The music is like that elevator sound you get, or some sort of old arcade game.”
- “The music is groovy, carrying a melody and flow to it that's likely nearly unknown to most of this generation's avid gamers.”
grinding
42 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
90%
The grinding aspect of the game has received significant criticism, with players noting that it often feels tedious and repetitive, particularly in trading and combat preparation. Many reviewers expressed frustration over the lack of meaningful progression and variety, leading to a sense of burnout after extended play. While some players may enjoy the grind, the overall sentiment suggests that it detracts from the game's potential enjoyment and depth.
- “Once you get some of the science lab upgrades, things get easier, but I really found the cargo hauling to be the most reliable, if not tedious, way to make money.”
- “Fun interactions between crew, balancing their traits and needs to keep them happy, but not tedious as in some games.”
- “I hit a wall in the game; I'm grinding cash to go forward at a pace I can't justify spending. I could finish it, but I had a computer breakdown that took me away from playing for an extended amount of time. I just haven't found the desire to finish the grind.”
- “There's very little variety in the content; the trading is grindy but there's nothing you're really grinding towards, and the combat is flat.”
- “It is tediously boring, incredibly shallow, the game's progression is absolutely broken, and the campaign is almost indistinguishable from the sandbox mode.”
optimization
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
50%
17%
The game's optimization is widely criticized, with many users reporting significant bugs and performance issues, particularly after extended playtime. While some players experience smooth performance on low-end systems, others note that the game is poorly optimized overall, lacking essential features and requiring further polish. Despite improvements in performance, the game still suffers from crashes and a general lack of stability.
- “The art, music, atmosphere are all great and I had no problems with performance.”
- “Performance is improved.”
- “The music is groovy, carrying a melody and flow to it that's likely nearly unknown to most of this generation's avid gamers, while the graphics are soft enough to run smoothly on even most low-end graphic specs, without looking remotely distasteful.”
- “It's extremely poorly optimized, misses a lot of features, and is buggy as hell.”
- “Totally un-optimized and has bugs galore.”
- “Performance will gradually decrease until the game crashes after about 2 hours.”
atmosphere
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
71%
29%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its fun, unique charm, and relaxing, casual vibe, enhanced by well-executed art and stunning music. Players appreciate the cartoony graphics and the overall enjoyable experience, despite some noting a slightly monotonous gameplay. Overall, the atmosphere contributes significantly to the game's appeal.
- “The art, music, and atmosphere are all great, and I had no problems with performance.”
- “The atmosphere is relaxing and casual.”
- “This game has a great atmosphere.”
replayability
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
58%
21%
Overall, the game's replayability is mixed; while the large, procedurally generated map offers some replay value, the limited number of ships and repetitive gameplay detract from the experience. Players express a desire for more variety in combat and ship options to enhance replayability, as the current setup leads to a lack of challenge once the best ship is acquired. Additionally, the inability to save in campaign mode forces players to repeat tedious quests, further complicating the replayability aspect.
- “The map is large and unless you're playing in story mode, it is procedurally generated for that extra replay value.”
- “They added some more missions and made the game a bit more stable, which is nice, but it could really use some variety in combat/ship items to add variety to a playthrough and give it some more replay value.”
- “It's repetitive and has a ton of replay value since you can't save your game in campaign mode and have to do the tedious quests over and over.”
- “It's repetitive, overly simplistic, and dull with little to no replay value.”
- “They added some more missions and made the game a bit more stable, which is nice, but it could really use some variety in combat/ship items etc. to add variety to a playthrough and give it some more replay value.”
- “I don't think it has a lot of replay value.”
monetization
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization of the game is widely criticized as a blatant cash grab, with many users feeling that it prioritizes profit over quality and player experience. Reviewers express disappointment in the game's early access model, suggesting it lacks proper development and support.
- “Your basic low-level early access cash grab and abandon job.”
- “Cash grab/rip off.”
- “I believe this PC port is more than a blatant cash grab and I want to change my review.”