Desktopia: A Desktop Village Simulator

About

"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.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Desktopia: A Desktop Village Simulator screenshot

+12

73%

Audience ScoreBased on 314 reviews

gameplay16 positive mentions

optimization6 negative mentions

The game has a unique concept that allows players to manage a village while multitasking, making it a fun background activity.
The pixel art and overall aesthetic of the game are charming, contributing to a relaxing gameplay experience.
Despite some performance issues, the game can be entertaining and engaging, especially for those who enjoy casual gameplay.

The game requires more active input than expected for an idle game, leading to frustration for players looking for a true idle experience.
Performance issues, including lag and crashes, significantly detract from the overall enjoyment and can lead to lost progress.
The gameplay can become repetitive and lacks depth, with limited options for customization and strategy.

gameplay
72 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
74%
4%
The gameplay is a mixed bag, described as a semi-idler and semi-city builder that lacks depth and progression, often feeling too slow for active play and too fast for idle enjoyment. While some players appreciate the charming pixel art and simple mechanics, many criticize the linearity, lack of customization, and repetitive nature, leading to a sense of disappointment. Overall, the game shows potential but currently feels underdeveloped, with some fun micro gameplay elements that may not be enough to sustain long-term interest.
- “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.”
- “This game is extremely interesting, I really enjoyed the gameplay, the art, and the challenge it provides.”
- “Gameplay is bare bones, coming up short even against mobile game dregs.”
- “There's no leveling mechanic of any kind for the player character and gameplay is reduced to acting as a distraction for your troops which are severely outmatched in nearly every way.”
- “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.”
graphics
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
46%
42%
12%
The graphics of the game are generally well-received, with many praising the charming pixel art and simplistic design that evokes an old-school indie feel. However, some players find the screen size too small, making it difficult to appreciate the details. Overall, the art style is considered cute and aesthetically pleasing, contributing positively to the gameplay experience.
- “The graphics are great with a very simplistic design.”
- “Graphics/design: 10/10”
- “The pixel artwork is charming, though incredibly tiny to see.”
- “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. 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.”
optimization
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
25%
50%
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.
- “You might encounter some problems like crashing, but it is optimized and works well.”
- “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.”
- “I'd suggest adding animations of the trees being felled, but that might cause performance issues as it has infamous optimization problems (on a 2D pixel idler?).”
- “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.”
music
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
40%
20%
The music in the game is generally described as charming and relaxing, serving well as background ambiance without being distracting. However, some users note that the overall sound mixing is inconsistent, with certain effects overpowering the music. While the soundtrack is considered decent, it is also described as mediocre in some instances, reflecting a mixed reception.
- “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.”
grinding
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and unenjoyable, with manual resource gathering described as dull and a waste of time. The limited town building and the need to start from scratch at each level contribute to a frustrating experience, leading many to feel that idling is often counterproductive. Overall, the grinding mechanics detract significantly from the enjoyment of the game.
- “Idling is just detrimental in most cases, and farming gratitude at the end of a level just seems like a waste of time.”
- “I can't imagine trying to play this any longer than I have with the tedious resource gathering for such little enjoyment.”
- “The limited town building makes starting from scratch each level tedious, and I'm pretty sure the past level income doesn't work.”
story
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
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 a character, suggesting potential for future expansions that could introduce more story elements, such as a dating-sim quest chain. Overall, it is viewed as a casual time-killer rather than a story-driven experience.
- “Bear in mind it's not a proper big story-driven game; it's just a time killer.”
- “There are no quests, only the eternal drive to move right, just like with arguments because no one wants to be left.”
- “The sexy priestess at the end of the first level can't be romanced, which is a disappointing negative.”
humor
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is noted for its uniqueness, with several designs eliciting laughter. Players find it consistently 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!”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game generally runs smoothly, allowing players to multitask with other applications like Discord without issues. However, it suffers from significant bugs, particularly affecting idle game progression, which detracts from the overall stability experience.
- “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.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
50%
25%
The game's atmosphere is significantly enhanced by its unique pixel art style and color palette, reflecting the developers' dedication and passion. This attention to detail contributes to a vibrant and immersive city environment that resonates with players.
- “The pixel art is crafted in a unique style and color palette, which creates a captivating atmosphere.”
- “You can tell that a lot of effort and love from the developers went into the art and atmosphere of the city.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
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.”