Desynced (PC) - Steam - GLOBAL
- August 15, 2023
- Stage Games Inc.
- 65h median play time
Get on Steam"Desynced" is a PC game on Steam that puts you in charge of repairing your damaged spaceship by building facilities on an unknown planet. As the onboard AI, ELAINE, guides you, you'll manage resource management, production chains, and automation while expanding your logistics network. Customize facility behavior and scripting for more complex solutions. The game features intricate resource management and emphasizes automation and survival.
Cloud
NVIDIA GeForce NOW
Reviews
- Innovative gameplay that combines factory building with RTS elements, allowing for deep customization of units and buildings.
- The visual programming interface for behaviors offers a unique and engaging way to automate tasks, appealing to both casual and more experienced players.
- The game runs smoothly for an early access title, with a solid amount of content and a responsive development team actively addressing community feedback.
- The onboarding process is tedious and lacks sufficient documentation, making it difficult for new players to grasp the mechanics and programming aspects.
- Bots often behave inefficiently, leading to frustrating micromanagement and logistical issues that detract from the overall experience.
- The game can feel slow-paced, especially in the early stages, with resource gathering and production scaling becoming a chore rather than an engaging challenge.
- gameplay102 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 72 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The gameplay of this game is characterized by innovative mechanics and a unique blend of factory-building and RTS elements, offering deep automation possibilities and modular unit behaviors. However, many players find the experience hampered by a steep learning curve, confusing mechanics, and a lack of effective tutorials, leading to frustration and a need for significant user interface improvements. While the core gameplay is engaging and has potential, it requires polishing and better documentation to enhance the overall user experience.
“Gameplay is great and innovative.”
“The customizable unit behaviors add an insane amount of variety to the gameplay.”
“A great game of automation and construction of bases mixing RTS mechanics and exploration, although it is still in development, it is a very good game where if you have basic programming knowledge you can do a lot.”
“Not worth spending more time figuring out why mechanics don't work correctly than playing the game.”
“Lack of standard RTS grouping mechanics leads to frustrating exploration and task designation.”
“I will not be returning to this game until they update the in-game help for players that don't have lots of time to learn incredibly complicated mechanics.”
- graphics45 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 53 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed feedback, with many praising the detailed visuals and aesthetic appeal, particularly in the context of a high-tech futuristic setting. However, some users report performance issues, including high GPU usage and crashes, suggesting that while the graphics are polished and visually impressive, they may require optimization for smoother gameplay. Overall, the graphics are considered a strong point, but technical challenges detract from the experience for some players.
“Very nice setup, eye-candy graphics and so far quite balanced game flow.”
“Graphics is quite advanced, made in 3D with a fixed isometric projection, beautifully made, along with nice effects.”
“As a big fan of automation/factory games, I can say that Desynced is a refreshing take on the genre with really beautiful visuals and potential for hours of playtime!”
“It runs poorly for a game that is not exactly pushing the envelope in graphics.”
“Graphics/design feel average and very GPU demanding.”
“My 3080 shouldn't be melting on a game with these kinds of graphics (not even running ultra and I have frames capped).”
- story43 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 70 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The story in "Desynced" is described as engaging and well-thought-out, with a developing sci-fi plot that promises meaningful quests and a rich lore, although it is still incomplete due to the game's early access status. Players appreciate the integration of missions that guide progression and unlock items, but some express a desire for more depth and clarity in the narrative. Overall, there is optimism for future updates to enhance the story and gameplay experience.
“Awesome game, can't wait for the story to continue.”
“The story has a good premise; I can't wait to see what the game brings as it evolves!”
“It's very engrossing, and the story is actually well thought out too.”
“I'm personally looking forward to some of the story jank being fixed, as right now it's a mess.”
“The story is not complete.”
“Their main focus seems to be on story/puzzle elements which takes you out of the automation.”
- optimization30 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is a mixed bag; while it performs well on high-end systems and offers impressive modding capabilities, players report significant slowdowns in late-game scenarios with numerous bots and production buildings. Many users note that while the game is playable and stable for an early access title, there are still areas needing improvement, particularly in AI behaviors and resource management, which can lead to performance issues. Despite these concerns, the game is praised for its potential and engaging optimization mechanics, with hopes for future enhancements.
“There's very few bugs, no crashes to desktop, very good performance, great modding capabilities, the ability to load mods on the fly (the only thing you need to do is subscribe, save, and load to apply new mods, no need to restart), incredibly fast saving and loading time (for a procedurally generated game that's a major feat), replay feature that will not falter if you mod your game in the middle of gameplay, and stores tens of hours of gameplay data in under a megabyte (along with the current state), which is next to impossible from my knowledge.”
“Curious approach to base building/resource management game, allowing you to go into very low level and complex optimizations, while not 'forcing' you to do that.”
“I find myself in an optimization spiral where I keep fine-tuning behavior programs.”
“As with early access games, the game does get slow and needs more optimization in the late game where you have hundreds of bots and production buildings.”
“Any optimization you can achieve with it doesn't seem to be worth the large amount of time needed to decipher the strange system.”
“When the bots decide to deliver stuff, they do it in a wildly unoptimized fashion.”
- stability15 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- -13 % neutral mentions
- 93 % negative mentions
The game's stability is a mixed bag, with many users reporting significant bugs and glitches, particularly in programmed behaviors and workflows, which can disrupt gameplay. While some players have experienced no major issues and appreciate the active development and regular updates, the overall consensus is that the game is still in early access and requires further refinement to address its numerous stability concerns.
“Runs great on Proton Experimental.”
“The game maintains a steady frame rate, even during intense action sequences.”
“I haven't experienced any crashes or major bugs, which is impressive.”
“But for now it has too many bugs, glitches, looks really unfinished.”
“But - it is early access (writing this 3 months after release), meaning buggy and incomplete, which can unexpectedly ruin your plans when things don't work the way you'd expect.”
“I feel it's still a bit buggy and this aspect of the game to be the least reliable and needs the most work.”
- grinding13 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious and boring, often describing it as a long-winded chore that detracts from the enjoyment of the gameplay. Many reviewers express frustration with the slow pace and management of bots, as well as the cumbersome programming elements, which contribute to a sense of monotony and grindiness, especially in the early stages. While some appreciate the potential for automation, they feel that the journey to reach it is overly tedious.
“It's way too tedious, long-winded, and boring.”
“It all feels very tedious and I am constantly facepalming.”
“I love the idea of an automation RTS game, but if I had one word for Desynced it would be 'tedious'.”
- music8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews; while some players appreciate the relaxing and enjoyable soundtrack, others criticize it for being repetitive and lacking variety. Sound design is generally viewed as poor, with minimal sound effects and a lifeless atmosphere. Overall, the music can enhance the experience for some, but it may not be enough to compensate for the game's other shortcomings.
“The soundtrack is so good, I tend to turn music off on games, but not this one.”
“Nice vibe, music is great; automations take some time to learn, but it's fun and powerful.”
“Simply kind of unique, with light relaxing music; I simply enjoy.”
“Also yet another factory game with a poor sound design. The music is low-key bad and not nearly long enough; you'll hear the same song like 2-3 times in 10 minutes, and none of the robots or buildings even make sounds, it's just lifeless.”
“You know lo-fi songs are compared to other songs; this game is like that, a lo-fi game.”
“There is music I've long disabled, and decent sound effects.”
- emotional3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players express a mix of frustration and appreciation regarding the emotional aspect of the game. While some feel let down by the inadequate tutorial that hinders their connection to the game, others commend the developers for creating an environment that allows for personal expression and enjoyment, regardless of adherence to the game's prescribed systems.
“The developers have done an amazing job of letting the player play their way and not strictly to the game's way.”
- replayability3 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- -67 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game offers excellent replayability, featuring a diverse research tree, an engaging story, and extensive content that can provide 40-80 hours to complete the early access milestones. Players can continue to enjoy the game for hundreds of hours by expanding and optimizing their factory builds, making it a strong candidate for long-term engagement.
“It has great replayability, a research tree with some different branches, somewhat interesting story, and lots of drones.”
“It has so much depth and replayability, and is very likely to become one of my 1000+ hour games.”
“There is easily 40-80 hours of content to 'finish' the final milestone of early access, but as with any factory game, building bigger and better is always an option for hundreds of hours of replayability.”
“The game lacks significant changes in gameplay mechanics, making it feel repetitive after a few playthroughs.”
“Once you've experienced the main storyline, there's little incentive to replay, as the side quests offer minimal variation.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Many users express skepticism about the monetization practices in early access games, often viewing them as potential cash grabs that lack substantial content or effort.
“I was rather hesitant to buy, since a lot of early access games are just lazy cash grabs these days.”
“The monetization model feels exploitative, making it hard to enjoy the game without spending extra money.”
“It's frustrating that essential features are locked behind paywalls, which ruins the overall experience.”
