Destination Ares

41%
Game Brain Score Based on 20 reviews
  • graphics
  • gameplay
  • replayability
Destination Ares Game Cover
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"Destination Ares" is a challenging spaceship simulation game where you play as the ship's AI, tasked with keeping the crew alive on a journey to Mars. With deep mechanics and simple controls, you'll need to make strategic decisions and react to emergencies to ensure the crew's survival. However, the world is uncaring and you'll face the internal struggle of losing power over time. Each run takes less than 30 minutes, but success requires hours of mastery.

  • PC
  • Windows
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

41%
Audience ScoreBased on 20 reviews
humor2 positive mentions
gameplay3 negative mentions
  • The main game offers solid and engaging resource management gameplay that keeps players invested.
  • The ship-building mechanic allows for creativity and customization, enhancing replayability.
  • The game has a unique concept and atmosphere, with humorous character dialogue and a challenging yet rewarding experience.
  • The mini-game associated with random events is frustrating and feels disconnected from the main gameplay, often leading to failure.
  • The user interface is clunky and poorly designed, making it difficult to control crew actions and manage systems effectively.
  • Many mechanics are poorly explained, leading to confusion and a lack of player agency, which can detract from the overall experience.
  • graphics9 mentions

    The graphics of the game are characterized by a minimalistic and simplistic art style that some players find functional and fitting for a chill gaming experience, while others criticize it for being overly grey and lacking vibrancy. The visuals have been described as challenging to appreciate, with a high gamma haze that detracts from the overall aesthetic, leading to mixed feelings among players regarding its artistic execution.

    • “The graphics are minimalistic but work well in the game's setting.”
    • “Semi-simple in its graphics, and a great chill game to hang out and play, but also extremely challenging at times.”
    • “The art style is simplistic yet functional.”
    • “My main disappointment is the art style.”
    • “There was no explanation in-game and it just looks weird and brings the visuals down more.”
    • “There is this sort of white-wash high gamma haze to the pixel graphics that makes it a tough game to look at.”
  • gameplay7 mentions

    Gameplay has received mixed reviews, with criticism focused on poorly explained mechanics and repetitive mini-games that feel disconnected from the overall experience. While some players appreciate the ship gameplay and decision-making elements, many express frustration over the lack of engaging mechanics and the reliance on future rewards for compelling gameplay. Overall, the current state of gameplay is seen as needing significant improvement.

    • “Ship gameplay is interesting, and the decision-making aspect has promise.”
    • “Until those mini-games are fixed or replaced with a better mechanic, I can't recommend this game.”
    • “Very poorly explained mechanics, with no clear telegraphing of what causes what, or what certain traits or attributes mean.”
    • “The minigame that the player must play for each decision event is repetitive, bland, and seems arbitrary and unrelated to the higher-level gameplay.”
  • replayability3 mentions

    Players find the game surprisingly deep, with significant replayability stemming from engaging character dialogue and ship crafting mechanics. Many liken its replay value to that of FTL, suggesting that even after completing the game, there are ample reasons to return for more experiences.

    • “From the hilarious character dialogue, to the ship crafting, to the great replayability - Destination Ares has it all.”
    • “I played it for a few hours and completed it; replayability will be a thing, similar to FTL.”
    • “Overall though, what seems to be a relatively simple game turns out to possess a considerable amount of depth and replayability.”
  • humor2 mentions

    The humor in "Destination Ares" is highlighted by its witty character dialogue and entertaining ship crafting mechanics, contributing to an overall fun and engaging gameplay experience. Players appreciate the game's lighthearted tone and replayability, making it a standout in its genre.

    • “From the hilarious character dialogue to the ship crafting, Destination Ares has it all.”
    • “The game has a good sense of humor and is genuinely fun to play.”
  • stability1 mentions

    The game's stability is criticized due to a user interface that is both unattractive and prone to bugs, indicating significant issues that affect the overall experience.

    • “The user interface is both ugly and buggy.”
    • “The game crashes frequently, making it nearly unplayable.”
    • “I experienced constant lag and glitches that ruined the experience.”
  • optimization1 mentions

    The optimization aspect of the game has been criticized for relying on a luck-based die roll to determine success, rather than rewarding players based on their performance in the minigame. This design choice detracts from the sense of achievement and skill development.

    • “Even if you succeed in the minigame, it just enables you to roll a die to see if your choice succeeded instead of success being based on your performance in the game.”
    • “The optimization in this game feels completely random and disconnected from actual gameplay, making it frustrating to engage with.”
    • “I expected a more strategic approach to optimization, but instead, it feels like a luck-based system that undermines player skill.”
  • atmosphere1 mentions

    Reviewers appreciate the game's atmosphere, noting that certain elements enhance the overall experience and contribute positively to the immersive environment.

    • “A nice touch that I found adds to the overall atmosphere.”
  • story1 mentions

    The game's story is praised for its originality and engaging sci-fi elements, making it a strong recommendation for fans of resource management and the genre.

    • “I would definitely recommend this game to anyone who likes resource management or sci-fi in general, especially for its original idea and compelling story.”
  • music1 mentions

    The music in the game is praised for its artistic styling, contributing positively to the overall experience.

    • “I particularly like the art and music styling.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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