Dead In Antares

About

Dead In Antares is a single player survival role playing game with a science fiction theme. It was developed by Ishtar Games and was released on February 19, 2026. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Dead in Antares is a turn-based survival management game with RPG elements, set on an alien planet. Lead a crew of survivors sent on a mission to save humanity. Manage their needs, strengthen their teamwork, and explore this mysterious world to find a way back home.

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79%

Audience ScoreBased on 107 reviews

story10 positive mentions

stability2 negative mentions

Deep and addictive resource management and survival gameplay with a well-implemented worker placement system and clear mechanics.
Improved combat system over previous series entries, removing RNG from hit chance and adding strategic depth.
Rich character interactions with unique personalities and relationship development, adding emotional investment.
High polish with quality-of-life improvements compared to predecessors, including transparent resource gains and refined leveling.
Engaging sci-fi setting with atmospheric music and appealing art style to many players, though some find it divisive.
Well-balanced difficulty with multiple settings suitable for both newcomers and veterans of the series.

Late game grind becomes tedious with long stretches of repetitive tasks and lack of engaging content.
Story is linear and often feels railroaded with minimal meaningful player choices and limited replayability.
UI and UX are clunky, unintuitive, and require excessive micromanagement, negatively impacting pacing.
Character designs and writing suffer from stereotypical or forced portrayals, reducing immersion and connection.
Combat can be slow and frustrating, with balance issues like mandatory healer inclusion and tedious battles.
Resource and crew management restrictions lead to player frustration, including forced unlocking of characters and limited active workers.
Certain bugs and technical issues affect gameplay, including broken achievements and soft-locks.
Criticized for excessive ideological themes that some players find off-putting.

story
62 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
79%
5%
The story in this game is generally viewed as more detailed and engaging than its predecessor, with a strong focus on character interactions and a sci-fi setting. However, many find it linear, somewhat railroaded, and lacking meaningful player choice, with occasional plot inconsistencies and pacing issues that detract from immersion. While praised for creativity and writing, the story is often seen as secondary to gameplay and survival mechanics.
- “It's very similar to the previous one "Dead in Vinland" but the change of universe from Viking to sci-fi planet with the focus on telling a story through characters and plot makes it unique and very engaging.”
- “Great story, solid characters, 20 hours in and I actually care what happens to all 10 of them, good writing, all 10 folks seem different and not clichéd.”
- “So much story and creativity went into this.”
- “The story is far more railroaded.”
- “Yet the game doesn't let you make any choices nor affect the story in any way.”
- “Another big issue for me is how scripted the story feels.”
gameplay
52 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
61%
6%
The gameplay builds on its predecessor with polished, strategic mechanics centered around resource management, balancing ailments, and a compelling "one more turn" loop that keeps players engaged. While some find the UI repetitive and the story linear, the core mechanics are well-integrated, addictive, and improved, especially in managing characters and base survival. Overall, it's a satisfying sequel for fans of the genre, offering a refined and enjoyable gameplay experience.
- “Balancing the different ailments and stats and the "one more turn" style gameplay really kept me hooked.”
- “The gameplay is a lot of fun, strategic but not overwhelming, and the difficulty is very well balanced.”
- “Gameplay-wise, Dead in Antares is a big step forward compared to its predecessors.”
- “But the gameplay was made for the early game, the UI makes you painfully repeat things and requires you to have perfect recall, and the story, while a good setting, doesn't actually branch anywhere, so it is very tame with nothing for the player to take charge of outside of game mechanics.”
- “Like the gameplay, it seems half-baked, like this is either in early access, the people in charge didn't care that people would be trying to play this, or maybe they meant this game to be a pretty challenging effort to improve people's eidetic memories because of how much there is to recall and address, which, after initially being revealed, is never available to the player unless they make an effort.”
- “Once you’ve established the right upgrades for your camp and team, the gameplay starts to feel pretty linear.”
graphics
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
50%
25%
The graphics are generally described as stylistic and good, with a beautiful art style that enhances the atmosphere, though some find it unmemorable or lacking in aesthetic appeal. Performance issues on older machines and a somewhat anti-climactic visual ending were noted by some users. Overall, visuals support the gameplay well but might not stand out for all players.
- “Better UI, better graphics, etc., and the final third must be completely new features.”
- “The art style and planet details remind me so much of 'I Was a Teenage Exocolonist' that they feel like they're almost made by the same team.”
- “The art style is beautiful and the soundtrack is a good combination of relaxing and unobtrusive while still enhancing the setting's atmosphere.”
- “The art style and characters' personalities are very bad.”
- “The graphics are stylistic but not memorable.”
- “The graphics also make the game really sluggish on my machine even though it is only 10 years old.”
music
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
24%
38%
The music is generally well-received for fitting the game's mood with a relaxing and unobtrusive style, though some find it repetitive. Overall, it complements the atmosphere but isn't particularly standout or memorable.
- “Like most of these types of games, they spent a fair bit on the visuals and have usually subdued but somewhat catchy background music.”
- “The art style is beautiful and the soundtrack is a good combination of relaxing and unobtrusive while still enhancing the setting's atmosphere.”
- “Also, really dig the music.”
- “The soundtrack completely fits the mood but is repetitive.”
- “Tldr; Dead in Vinland has better characters, music, and story.”
- “Music: fair.”
replayability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game offers limited replayability compared to similar titles, with fewer player choices and less openness. However, trying higher difficulties or exploring alternate endings provides some incentive to replay, though its longer length may reduce the importance of replay value.
- “Dead in Vinland felt more open and replayable.”
- “There is replay value if you want to try higher difficulties or explore possible alternate endings.”
- “Maybe replayability is less important when the game is three times as long.”
- “It just kills replayability.”
- “The game at the moment has no replayability.”
- “It's just less player choice and less replayability.”
character development
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Character development is praised for its intimacy and unique approach, though some find the character designs unconventional, resembling vtubers rather than typical humans. The narrative includes surreal moments that add depth but may feel inconsistent at times. Overall, the character progression is engaging and thoughtfully crafted.
- “Art direction is great, love the world and character designs.”
- “Character development is so intimate.”
- “The character design is a little out there as well; everyone looks like a VTuber instead of a normal human.”
- “Once Captain Rosebud's relations with the Good Doctor progress for the first time, she hallucinates about having to fetch wood (which is not a resource in this game). You can't blame that on head trauma, unless it's the character designer's doing.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
34%
33%
Reviewers find the atmosphere visually appealing and enhanced by a fitting soundtrack, but note that the intended "alien" ambiance feels overused and less immersive, with elements like rain coming across as artificial.
- “The art style is beautiful and the soundtrack is a good combination of relaxing and unobtrusive while still enhancing the setting's atmosphere.”
- “I understand it’s meant to give the game an 'alien' atmosphere, but it feels heavily overused.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's humor is appreciated for its decent, funny, and light-hearted conversations, though it leans more toward thoughtful and meaningful content compared to the more overt humor found in Dead in Vinland.
- “So where I think this game is great - decent, funny, and light-hearted conversations.”
- “I would say this one has deeper thinking and meaning, while Dead in Vinland has more sense of humor.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is generally stable and well-polished compared to many recent releases, but the camp activity interface has some buggy and incomplete warnings, leading to increased micromanagement and potential for critical mistakes early on.
- “The camp activity interface shows where crew are assigned, including a couple of warnings, but even those warnings are buggy. Some more important warnings aren't included in that overview, making it fiddly and requiring more micromanagement than necessary to review everything and avoid mistakes—sometimes big ones, as many things are critical early in the game.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in the game is considered tedious, especially in the endgame, with resource management like hunger and water becoming repetitive and monotonous.
- “Hunger is easily solved, as well as water, and the management becomes tedious.”
- “Update: the game has become more tedious in its end game now.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is well-optimized for players who enjoy worker placement, with mechanics and story thoughtfully tailored to enhance the experience for groups of around ten. Its design ensures smooth and engaging gameplay after a few hours of play.
- “This game should be enjoyable for those that love worker placement optimization.”
- “Once you're a few hours into gameplay, you can see that the mechanics and story are both well-optimized for this particular party of ten.”