Creatura
- November 8, 2019
- Koksny
Get on Steam
Get on itch.io Store"Creatura is a simulation game in early access, available on STEAM, which allows players to design and manage ecosystems with scientifically accurate natural and artificial selection. Create and evolve your own fauna and flora using DNA editing tools like CRISPR and GMO, and sell plant cuttings to buy decorations and consumables. The game features one open-ended 'sandbox-like' mode with beautiful bonsai-style vivariums and a goal to fulfill a unique almanac of species."
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Reviews
- The game offers a fascinating concept that allows players to explore genetics and evolution in a hands-on way.
- Once players get past the learning curve, the game can be very engaging and rewarding, providing a unique sandbox experience.
- The developer is actively updating the game, showing commitment to improving the experience and adding new features.
- The tutorial is lengthy and poorly structured, often filled with unhelpful dialogue, making it difficult for players to grasp the mechanics.
- The game suffers from numerous bugs and crashes, which can lead to lost progress and frustration.
- Controls are clunky and unintuitive, making navigation and interaction with the game environment challenging.
- gameplay24 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 71 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
Gameplay is characterized by a mix of clunky mechanics and engaging genetic manipulation elements, which some players find satisfying despite the lengthy and somewhat humorous tutorials. While the game offers interesting concepts reminiscent of "Spore," it suffers from execution issues, such as reliance on online features and autosave functionality. Overall, players appreciate the depth of the biology mechanics but express frustration with the initial learning curve and technical limitations.
“Clearly a lot of care was put into the biology side of it; it actually gets technical enough to be interesting without swamping you with info or mechanics.”
“Honestly though, this is a lot like how Spore should have been. Sequencing and finding the random mutations and effects is interesting and a pretty catchy game mechanic.”
“I have been unable to put this game down for long since I bought it; the genetics and tank arranging mechanics both have me utterly hooked.”
“I will have to refund this for now since I don't even get to experience any gameplay before potentially damaging my machine.”
“Looks like an interesting concept, but poorly executed basic features demand fully online gameplay and only capable of doing autosave, instead of actually saving the game settings after you change them.”
“The tutorials spend more time with the writers cracking jokes on each other than any actual teaching of basic mechanics.”
- graphics22 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 59 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed feedback, with some players praising the aesthetics and realism, particularly in animal designs, while others criticize the need for optimization, especially on lower-end systems. The user interface and camera controls are noted as finicky, and while the graphics serve their purpose, there is a desire for more polished visuals. Overall, the game shows potential but requires improvements to enhance the visual experience.
“The aesthetics are very pleasing, especially with the animals; one of my friends called the flatworms 'muppets', and I like the game's sense of humor with the descriptions of store items.”
“Beautiful graphics, intriguing premise - figuring out which codons do what is incredibly fun, especially if you have any background in biology.”
“I like the amount of customizability within the game, and it has good graphics.”
“You need to optimize your graphics.”
“At the start of the scenario, foliage with all the graphics on absolute minimum makes my computer incredibly unhappy.”
“I enjoyed Megaquarium, but it is an aquarium tycoon sim with polygon-like graphics that leave a lot to be desired visually.”
- humor10 mentions
- 80 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The game's humor is a mixed bag; while some players appreciate the sardonic and wry jokes, particularly in item descriptions and character interactions, others criticize the tutorial for its poorly written and unfunny dialogue. The distinct personalities of the scientists and amusing references provide some comedic relief, but the overall execution of humor varies significantly among players.
“The aesthetics are very pleasing, especially with the animals; one of my friends called the flatworms 'muppets'. I like the game's sense of humor with the descriptions of store items.”
“The personalities of the two scientists that teach you things in the tutorial were actually pretty distinct, and the references had me chuckling.”
“This game is legitimately funny in a sardonic, wry sort of way, with some referential humor and a lot of 'scientists, why are you like this?' humor.”
“The tutorial had terrible, terrible dialogue with relentlessly unfunny jokes rather than any focus on being a tutorial.”
“The tutorial had terrible, terrible dialogue with relentlessly unfunny jokes rather than any focus on being a tutorial.”
- story8 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The story aspect of the game has received mixed feedback, with players expressing a desire for more detailed missions and explanations rather than a reliance on cliched narratives and basic tutorials. Many found the initial training engaging but felt abandoned afterward, leading to frustration in navigating the game's mechanics without sufficient guidance. Overall, the narrative elements seem to detract from the gameplay experience rather than enhance it.
“Instead of wasting players' time with inane garbage of a 'story line' which is little more than a half dozen clichés stuck around 'click this flashing button' lockdown style tutorial, the basics could have been explained with a couple fullscreen graphics.”
“The first time, it just got rid of the story guy and I couldn't get it back to continue.”
“Moral of the story, in the beginning of the game it seems nearly impossible to tinker with the DNA, which is slightly frustrating.”
- grinding6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, particularly due to the cumbersome genome annotation process and the inability to edit names, which complicates tracking animal details. Overall, while the concept is appreciated, the execution leads to a monotonous experience.
“Good idea, but just generally a pretty tedious game.”
“Genome annotation is painfully tedious.”
“The names of individuals and families (to my knowledge) cannot be edited and the species name does not show outside of the almanac's tree, making it unnecessarily tedious to know the details of the animal you have selected.”
- music6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The music in the game has been criticized for being repetitive and overly upbeat, which contrasts with the relaxing vibe many players expect from the genre. While some users find the sound effects jarring, the option to turn off the music and adjust sound settings is available. Overall, the audio experience seems to detract from the intended ambiance of the game.
“My only peeves so far is the music is kind of repetitive and a bit too upbeat for a hobby I associate with much more relaxing, zen vibes, and the UI sound effects are also rather jarring.”
“There's no music, the ameboas are bugged to the point where you can only make one sponge, there's too few decorations with no hints as to what creature needs what home and everything's overpriced with chest keys being one of the most expensive.”
“There's no music, the ameboas are bugged to the point where you can only make one sponge, there's too few decorations with no hints as to what creature needs what home and everything's overpriced with chest keys being one of the most expensive.”
- emotional6 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players find the game emotionally engaging, particularly appreciating the sense of accomplishment that comes from solving logic puzzles and piecing together elements. The experience is enhanced by a feeling of significance and importance, despite some quirky physics that can detract from immersion. Overall, it resonates well with those who enjoy thoughtful challenges.
“It made me feel very special and important.”
“It made me feel very special and important.”
- stability4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game suffers from significant stability issues, including frequent lags, freezes, and crashes, which users attribute to its early access status. The poorly designed interface exacerbates these problems, leading to a frustrating experience.
“The interface is poorly made - so much so that it lags and freezes.”
“Also very buggy and crashes a lot, but I guess it's early access.”
- optimization4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is currently lacking, with users reporting that it is not ready for real-time play. While some players can run it smoothly on low-end hardware, they still experience occasional stuttering and slowdowns, particularly during intense moments. Overall, the game is still in beta and requires further optimization to improve performance.
“Your optimization is just blatantly not real-time ready yet.”
“- At the moment I'm using an integrated graphics chipset and I can run this game smoothly; there's a bit of stuttering and slowness here and there when I have a lot going on in my tank at once, but it's a game in beta, unoptimized, and I'm running it on a computer that could probably be overpowered by an old potato.”
- monetization2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game's monetization model is praised for its lack of traditional microtransactions, as all in-game purchases can only be made with currency provided by the developers, who even share codes to generate this currency. This approach allows players to access content without spending real money, enhancing the overall experience.
“The game dabs on microtransactions, as the ones offered in-game can only be purchased with literal in-game currency. The developer even provides codes in the comments section to generate that currency immediately.”
“The game heavily relies on microtransactions, and the items offered in-game can only be purchased with in-game currency. The developer even provides codes in the comments section to generate that currency instantly.”
