Desktopia: A Desktop Village Simulator
- August 5, 2022
- The Evergloom Team
- 1h median play time
Get on Steam"Desktopia: A Desktop Village Simulator" is a game where you build and manage a village on your desktop. Place and upgrade buildings, manage resources, and meet the needs of your villagers. Customize your village with various themes and decorations to create a unique desktop experience. Watch as your village comes to life and evolves over time.
PC
Windows
Linux
Reviews
- The game has a unique concept that allows players to engage with it while multitasking, making it a fun background activity.
- The pixel art and overall aesthetic are charming, creating a pleasant atmosphere for casual gameplay.
- Despite its simplicity, the game offers a degree of strategy and planning, especially in managing resources and village needs.
- The game suffers from significant performance issues, including lag and crashes, which detract from the overall experience.
- It is not a true idle game, as it requires frequent player interaction and attention, making it less relaxing than expected.
- The gameplay can become repetitive and lacks depth, with limited options for customization and progression.
- gameplay36 mentions
- 22 % positive mentions
- 69 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The gameplay is a mixed bag, described as a semi-idler and city-builder that lacks depth and progression, leaving players feeling unsatisfied with its simplistic mechanics and linearity. While some appreciate the charming pixel art and fluid management systems, many criticize the game for its slow pacing, lack of customization, and repetitive nature, making it feel more like a demo than a fully developed experience. Overall, the game has potential but currently falls short in providing engaging and varied gameplay.
“Semi-idler, semi city-builder with cute pixel peeps and it's all kept very simple in gameplay to keep it accessible.”
“The gameplay itself is fun and you progress pretty quickly at the start.”
“The game is well built, with very consistent construction and management mechanics, its pixel art is charismatic and its gameplay is dynamic and very fluid.”
“Gameplay is bare bones, coming up short even against mobile game dregs.”
“The third issue to me anyway is the gameplay, it's in a weird state between being an idle game and also needing your attention.”
“This game has potential if there were some activities, fun stats management, and proper scaling with offline capabilities and true progression, but right now, it just feels like a demo or showcase of some sort with a gameplay idea that has not been developed at all.”
- graphics13 mentions
- 46 % positive mentions
- 31 % neutral mentions
- 23 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally well-received, with many praising the charming pixel art and unique design that occupies only the bottom of the screen. While some players appreciate the simplistic aesthetic and find it beautiful for a small indie project, others express frustration with the tiny size of the graphics and the lack of detailed tooltips for gameplay elements. Overall, the art style is considered cute and fitting, contributing positively to the game's nostalgic feel.
“The graphics are great with a very simplistic design.”
“Graphics/design: 10/10”
“Loved the art style.”
“This game shouldn't be lagging my processor or graphics card.”
“In fact, there are a lot of opportunities in this game, despite the simplicity of design, but there are no cool graphics. However, as for a game that three people created, it is beautiful.”
“The pixel artwork is charming, though incredibly tiny to see. I hate the size of the screen and wish it could be made bigger, though I realize that's part of the design.”
- optimization6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is widely criticized, with many players experiencing significant performance issues, including stuttering, lag, and crashes, even on high-end PCs. Users report major bugs affecting gameplay, such as unresponsive troops, and overall, the game's performance is deemed poor and in need of substantial improvement.
“Most of the top discussions for this game are about how to improve performance, even seeing other reviews here of top-of-the-line PCs struggling to run this game after a few hours.”
“You might encounter some problems like crashing, but it is optimized and works well.”
“I'd suggest adding animations of the trees being felled, but that might cause performance issues as it has infamous optimization challenges.”
“Most of the top discussions for this game are how to improve performance (marginally), even seeing other reviews here of top-of-the-line PCs struggling to run this game after a few hours.”
“The reason I ultimately give it a not recommend though is that the game's performance is staggeringly poor, the UI is not implemented well, and there are a significant amount of major bugs, for example, your troops/heroes standing still doing nothing while the enemy attacks and kills them all.”
“A lot of stuttering and unacceptable lag.”
- music5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 40 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally described as charming and fitting, serving well as background ambiance without being distracting. However, some users note that the soundtrack feels mediocre and is overshadowed by issues like poor sound mixing and an unfinished overall experience.
“Even the graphics and soundtrack are pretty decent.”
“Nice music too.”
“The music is good background music and doesn't distract from anything else going on on your desktop.”
“There's a little charm in the art and the relaxing music, but everything is so limited and the unfinished feel of the game detracts from it, like the sound mixing that has gunners firing at 400% volume.”
“A simple short game with good pixel art and a mediocre soundtrack.”
- grinding4 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious and unenjoyable, particularly due to the dullness of manual farming and the limited town building options. Many feel that idling is counterproductive, and the resource gathering process is seen as a waste of time, leading to frustration with the overall experience.
“The only real consideration is if you want to idle longer; manually farming bushes is so dull that I consider it an active negative against your time on this planet.”
“The limited town building makes starting from scratch at each level tedious, and I'm pretty sure the past level income doesn't work.”
“I can't imagine trying to play this any longer than I have, given the tedium of resource gathering for such little enjoyment.”
- story3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -67 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The game's story is minimal and primarily serves as a backdrop for gameplay, lacking significant narrative depth or quests. Players express disappointment over the inability to romance certain characters, hinting at potential for future expansions that could enhance the story experience. Overall, it functions more as a casual time killer than a story-driven adventure.
“The story is not the main focus, but it serves as a light backdrop to the gameplay.”
“While the game lacks deep quests, it offers a unique journey that keeps players engaged.”
“The characters have potential for development, hinting at future story expansions.”
“Bear in mind it's not a proper story-driven game; it's just a time killer.”
“There are no quests, only the eternal drive to move right, much like arguments because no one wants to be left behind.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is noted for its uniqueness, with several designs eliciting laughter. Players find it genuinely funny and express hope for more comedic elements as the game progresses.
“It feels unique in a way, and some designs are pretty funny too.”
“It is pretty funny so far, and I hope to see more of the game!”
- stability2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Overall, the game demonstrates solid stability, allowing for smooth multitasking with other applications like Discord. However, players have noted significant bugs that affect idle game progression, indicating that while it runs well, there are still stability issues to address.
“It's a good game to play when you're relaxing and watching something; it runs great, so you can play another game and have Discord or whatever else going on and generally be just fine.”
“In terms of idle game progression, there's really not a lot, and it's very buggy at this point.”
- atmosphere2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's pixel art is crafted with a unique style and color palette, contributing to a rich atmosphere that reflects the developers' dedication and passion for creating an immersive city environment.
“The pixel art is crafted in a unique style and color palette, which creates a captivating atmosphere.”
“The pixel art is made in a unique style and color, which creates a distinct atmosphere.”
“You can tell that a lot of effort and love from the developers went into the art and atmosphere of the city.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players find the emotional aspect of the game heartwarming, as the little characters exhibit their own needs and desires, creating a sense of connection and empathy.
“The little people running about and having their own needs to thrive is actually slightly heartwarming.”
