Destination Ares

About

Destination Ares is a single player management game. It was developed by Pat Scott and was released on September 22, 2017. It received neutral reviews from players.

"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.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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50%

Audience ScoreBased on 32 reviews

graphics4 positive mentions

replayability2 negative mentions

The main game offers solid and engaging resource management gameplay, reminiscent of FTL.
The ship-building system allows for customization and strategic planning, enhancing replayability.
The game has a unique concept and interesting presentation, with a good sense of humor and atmosphere.

The mini-game mechanics for decision-making are frustrating and often feel arbitrary, detracting from the overall experience.
The user interface is clunky and poorly designed, making it difficult to control crew actions and manage resources effectively.
There is a lack of variety in random events and crew interactions, leading to repetitive gameplay.

graphics
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
56%
19%
The graphics of the game are described as minimalistic and simplistic, which some players find functional within the game's context. However, many reviewers express disappointment with the overall aesthetic, criticizing its grey palette and high gamma haze that detracts from the visual experience, leading to a low appreciation for the art style. Overall, the visuals seem to struggle in a competitive landscape where vibrant graphics are the norm.
- “The graphics are minimalistic but work well in the game's setting.”
- “The art style is simplistic yet functional.”
- “I hope the game can be conceptually appreciated, and I wonder what others will think of the aesthetics.”
- “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.”
gameplay
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
50%
21%
Gameplay has received mixed reviews, with players criticizing poorly explained mechanics and repetitive mini-games that feel disconnected from the overall experience. While the ship gameplay and decision-making elements show potential, many users are reluctant to continue playing due to the lack of immediate engaging content and the promise of better mechanics later on. Overall, significant improvements are needed to enhance the gameplay experience.
- “Ship gameplay is interesting, and the decision-making aspect has promise.”
- “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.”
- “It's an extremely odd mechanic that doesn't make much sense, and the mini-game itself frankly sucks.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Players find the game surprisingly deep, offering significant replayability despite its seemingly simple mechanics, drawing comparisons to the replay value of FTL. Many users report enjoying multiple playthroughs, indicating that the game encourages exploration of different strategies and outcomes.
- “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.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The optimization aspect of the game has been criticized for relying on random chance rather than player performance, as success in minigames merely leads to a die roll to determine outcomes. This design choice detracts from the sense of achievement and skill-based progression.
- “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, as it relies on luck rather than skill.”
- “The mechanics are poorly optimized, leading to frustrating experiences where effort doesn't translate to success.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The stability of the game is criticized due to a user interface that is both unattractive and prone to bugs, leading to a frustrating experience for players.
- “The user interface is both ugly and buggy.”
- “The user interface is both ugly and buggy.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Reviewers consistently highlight that certain elements in the game significantly enhance its overall atmosphere, contributing to an immersive experience.
- “A nice touch that I found adds to the overall atmosphere.”
story
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game's story is praised for its originality, making it a strong recommendation for fans of resource management and sci-fi genres.
- “I would definitely recommend this game to anyone who likes resource management or sci-fi in general, and for the original idea and story.”
music
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Reviewers consistently praise the music for its artistic styling, highlighting its strong contribution to the overall aesthetic of the game.
- “I particularly like the art and music styling.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is praised for its strong sense of humor, contributing to an enjoyable and fun gameplay experience.
- “The game has a great sense of humor and is genuinely fun to play.”
- “The game has a great sense of humor and is genuinely fun to play.”