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Darwinia

Darwinia Game Cover
84%Game Brain Score
story, gameplay
grinding, stability
83% User Score Based on 854 reviews
Critic Score 75%Based on 3 reviews

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Darwinia Game Cover

About

Darwinia is a single player and multiplayer tactical real-time strategy game with a science fiction theme. It was developed by Introversion Software and was released on July 4, 2010. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and positive reviews from players.

"Darwinia" is a single-player and multiplayer real-time strategy game with co-op mode and an intriguing Science Fiction story. The game, updated in 2022, features fast-paced action, strategic battle planning, and a unique control mechanism. With 80's retro-inspired graphics, it's a critically acclaimed indie classic, perfect for those seeking a fresh and relevant gaming experience. For more indie games, check out the latest from Introversion Software.

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83%
Audience ScoreBased on 854 reviews
story102 positive mentions
grinding20 negative mentions
  • Unique and charming retro aesthetic that evokes nostalgia.
  • Engaging gameplay that combines strategy with emotional investment in the Darwinians.
  • Simple mechanics that allow for creative problem-solving and multiple strategies.
  • Poor pathfinding and unit control can lead to frustrating gameplay experiences.
  • Lack of clear tutorials and explanations for mechanics can leave players confused.
  • The game can feel slow-paced and repetitive, especially in the early levels.
  • story
    226 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story of Darwinia is described as engaging and minimalist, effectively conveyed through environmental storytelling rather than extensive cutscenes or text. Players find themselves emotionally invested in the fate of the darwinians, with the narrative exploring themes of artificial life and evolution within a digital world. While some reviews note that the story is light on content and can feel simplistic, many appreciate its depth and the unique way it enhances the gameplay experience.

    • “The story unfolds within a massive virtual theme park known as Darwinia—a digital world created to simulate the evolution of artificial life.”
    • “As the story unfolds, we uncover the sad truth behind the fall of Darwinia, which makes our fight to reconquer the digital world that much more heroic and rewarding.”
    • “The story is deep enough and heart-touching in some ways.”
    • “The story is primarily delivered via short messages before starting each area, and given the small number of different areas and the amount of time it takes to get through one of them, the game ends up feeling a bit light on narrative.”
    • “The plot is threadbare, featuring you as a mysterious stranger, helping an AI researcher save the green darwinians from a virus and the evil red darwinians.”
    • “The story is hit and miss - by which I mean in my playtime most of the blurbs about the story didn't fire.”
  • gameplay
    180 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of Darwinia is characterized by its unique blend of real-time strategy and direct control mechanics, offering a simple yet engaging experience that can be both rewarding and frustrating. While many players appreciate the retro aesthetics and innovative concepts, criticisms often focus on slow pacing, awkward controls, and a lack of clear tutorials for essential mechanics. Overall, the game provides a nostalgic charm and strategic depth, though it may not appeal to everyone due to its quirks and occasional tedium.

    • “The gameplay is a fascinating combination of storytelling and gameplay mechanics that created an unexpected sense of emotion for me while playing.”
    • “Gameplay is part strategy, part action, part 'wait... what am I doing?' but somehow, it all clicks.”
    • “The retro graphics look great, and the gameplay is fun and unique.”
    • “The gameplay is where my main concern is.”
    • “Unfortunately, I found the gameplay to be worse.”
    • “The gameplay is tedious, the controls are barebones, and there is a severe lack of quality of life features that leaves you as a player feeling starved the entire time.”
  • graphics
    176 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game are characterized by a charming retro aesthetic, featuring low-poly designs and vibrant colors that evoke nostalgia for classic computer visuals. While some players appreciate the unique art style and its ability to enhance immersion, others find the simplicity and lack of complexity in the graphics to be a drawback. Overall, the visuals are seen as a creative and effective choice that complements the gameplay and story, making it a standout experience despite not being technically advanced.

    • “You can really tell that the developers put a lot of attention into aesthetics and immersion, and that should probably be the biggest draw if you're interested in buying it.”
    • “Everything is presented in a stylized, low-poly visual design reminiscent of classic vector graphics, but with a vibrant color palette and dynamic lighting that breathe energy into its simplicity.”
    • “The retro, polygonal graphics, (tasteful) chiptune soundtrack, and overall atmosphere are really interesting to experience.”
    • “The graphics are just meh.”
    • “What I got was poor graphics, little help or tutorials, and a game that got dry and boring very quickly.”
    • “Ruined by the shitty engine and graphics.”
  • music
    69 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is widely praised for its atmospheric and engaging qualities, featuring a mix of chiptune and synth-heavy tracks that enhance the overall experience. Many reviewers highlight the soundtrack as a standout element, describing it as both nostalgic and immersive, although some note that the absence of music during gameplay can feel odd. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a significant strength, contributing to the game's unique charm and emotional depth.

    • “Combined with a subtle, ambient soundtrack that hums like a machine at work, the atmosphere is hypnotic and strangely serene even amid chaos.”
    • “The soundtrack deserves special mention: synth-heavy, hypnotic and quietly melancholic, it makes the virtual world feel oddly sacred, like you’re walking through the ruins of a forgotten utopia.”
    • “The music is just fantastic.”
    • “Most of the game doesn't have music though, which is a bit of an odd choice, and really didn't help during those long, drawn out battles.”
    • “There's no background music either, just silence and occasional sound effects while you shoot red lines.”
    • “The music is the lowest facet I can mention, so I'll start there.”
  • emotional
    22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players find the emotional aspect of the game surprisingly impactful, often forming deep attachments to the simple stick figures and their digital world. The blend of nostalgic aesthetics, engaging mechanics, and a heartfelt narrative creates a powerful emotional experience, leading many to feel genuine sorrow for the characters' misfortunes. Overall, the game demonstrates that profound emotional connections can be achieved without complex graphics or gameplay, resonating deeply with players.

    • “What makes the experience special is how it blends nostalgic computer aesthetics with an emotional sense of discovery and preservation, turning what could have been an abstract idea into something surprisingly moving.”
    • “It establishes an emotional connection to the little green darwinians so well that I felt sick to my stomach any time a misfortune would befall a densely packed cluster.”
    • “This game is a great example of how you don't need complex graphics, gameplay, or story to make a powerful emotional impact.”
  • grinding
    21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The reviews highlight a pervasive sense of tedium associated with the grinding mechanics in the game, with many players finding the gameplay slow, repetitive, and frustrating. While some appreciate the innovative design and aesthetic, the overwhelming sentiment is that the micromanagement and lack of quality-of-life features contribute to a tedious experience that detracts from overall enjoyment.

    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “Honestly, one of the most tedious games I have ever played in my life.”
    • “The gameplay is tedious, the controls are barebones, and there is a severe lack of quality of life features that leaves you as a player feeling starved the entire time.”
    • “The biggest problem with this game is that the micromanagement required can feel very tedious, and the game doesn't offer much to make it easier to handle.”
  • atmosphere
    14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its hypnotic and serene quality, enhanced by a chiptune soundtrack and retro-futuristic visuals that evoke a sense of nostalgia. Players appreciate the seamless integration of sound effects and music, which complement the low-res graphics and contribute to a compelling and immersive experience. Overall, the game's atmosphere is described as captivating, with a strong sense of worldbuilding that enriches the storytelling.

    • “Combined with a subtle, ambient soundtrack that hums like a machine at work, the atmosphere is hypnotic and strangely serene even amid chaos.”
    • “A timeless favorite with spectacular atmosphere, magical sounds, and low-res 3D graphics which is actually 100% justified by the story.”
    • “The setting and atmosphere are perfect, the difficulty is perfect, and the story manages to be interesting and compelling despite being given almost no time for exposition of any kind.”
    • “None of the music is intended to work when you play the game, as it fails to capture the atmosphere of the 1980s technology setting.”
    • “It oozes digital atmosphere, like a song from Daft Punk, The Buggles' 'The Age of Plastic' or Neil Young's 'Trans' come to life.”
    • “Great retro-futuristic style, gameplay, and atmosphere... if it only had more missions!”
  • replayability
    10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, the game's replayability is mixed; while some players find it enjoyable enough to revisit multiple times, others note a lack of inherent replay value and suggest that external mods or campaigns are necessary to enhance the experience. Despite its simplicity and relatively short length, certain aspects like the score and aesthetic contribute positively to its replayability for some users.

    • “Unchanging, but endlessly replayable.”
    • “Great replay value.”
    • “The excellent score and sound effects coupled with the game's relaxingly retro aesthetic have proven great for replayability, making Darwinia a world I'm happy to revisit often.”
    • “The gameplay itself is quite simple; there isn't much of a replay value, but fortunately there are a few mods (including full singleplayer campaigns) found on the internet to extend the fun.”
    • “I'm not sure how to get the replay value out of it once you complete the game (you know, to go back through and replay anything).”
    • “I do recommend this game, but I should warn you that its replay value is pretty low in modern days.”
  • stability
    9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, the game's stability is a mixed bag; while it runs smoothly on modern PCs and Linux, users report several annoying glitches and bugs that can disrupt gameplay, such as issues with unit selection and placement. Despite these flaws, many find the game well-polished with minimal major issues, though some players experience persistent bugs that detract from the overall experience.

    • “People often talk about timeless design, and this is definitely a game with one; the graphics were simple and blocky even almost 20 years ago, but the retro visuals still look great. The game itself runs smoothly even on modern PCs thanks to developer support.”
    • “Runs great on Linux, and has a pretty good premise.”
    • “Even though Introversion's other games are good, they are still really buggy.”
    • “There are a few little annoying glitches and bugs, like when selecting a unit to build, I often would not always get the one I chose, and so had to dismiss the unit just built and give the build order again. It's annoying the first time, but by the tenth time I was actually getting into the habit of automatically holding down the unit menu [tab] in order to cancel what it was going to build... that's not a good thing.”
    • “There are also some placement glitches that mysteriously do not allow you to deploy units.”
  • humor
    7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is characterized by its quirky moments and amusing sound effects, often leading to self-deprecating laughter from players. Users find the blend of challenging gameplay and humorous situations, such as characters comically interacting with each other, to enhance the overall fun experience. Despite some frustrations, the lighthearted elements contribute positively to the game's enjoyment.

    • “That is my only 'bad' experience with the game, and even then it's not really that bad; it was more funny realizing my stupidity, to be honest lol.”
    • “There are challenging moments, frustrating events, hilarious little quirks, and of course, beautiful digital environments, but all in all, the game is really genuinely fun to play.”
    • “I thought the sound effects were funny.”
  • optimization
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game features impressive tron-like graphics and delivers exceptionally smooth performance, with users expressing satisfaction over its optimization for modern systems.

    • “Great Tron-like graphics and buttery smooth performance.”
    • “Genuinely happy to see it updated to run smoothly on modern systems.”
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75%Critics’ scoreBased on 3 critic reviews
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21h Median play time
17h Average play time
10-24h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

Darwinia is a tactical real-time strategy game with science fiction theme.

Darwinia is available on Xbox Series X|S, PC, Mac OS, Xbox One and others.

On average players spend around 17 hours playing Darwinia.

Darwinia was released on July 4, 2010.

Darwinia was developed by Introversion Software.

Darwinia has received mostly positive reviews from players and mostly positive reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its grinding.

Darwinia is a single player game with multiplayer and local co-op support.

Similar games include Creeper World 4, Homeworld Remastered Collection, Iron Harvest, Crush Your Enemies, Valkyria Chronicles and others.