Dual Universe

There's a decent space sim buried within Dual Universe, but you'll need to do a lot of digging to find it.

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Dual Universe is a sandbox MMO set in a continuous, single-shard universe, allowing for a seamless player-driven economy and massive cooperative or PvP battles. Players can gather resources, craft and trade items, construct stations and spaceships, and explore or colonize the infinite procedurally generated universe. The game features a unique in-game programming language, allowing for customization and automation of ships, stations, and more.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Reviews

51%

Audience ScoreBased on 314 reviews

gameplay11 positive mentions

story4 negative mentions

The voxel building system is incredibly detailed, allowing players to create unique ships and structures.
The game offers a vast sandbox experience with a player-driven economy and endless possibilities for creativity.
The community is generally friendly and helpful, providing support for new players.

The game suffers from performance issues, including lag and rendering problems, especially in crowded areas.
Many players find the subscription model to be too expensive for the current state of the game, which lacks sufficient content.
The game has a steep learning curve, and new players may feel overwhelmed by the complexity and lack of guidance.

gameplay
60 mentions
18 % positive mentions
77 % neutral mentions
5 % negative mentions
The gameplay in this title features strong ship building and flight mechanics, offering a high level of freedom and depth, particularly for players who enjoy crafting and design. However, many users express frustration with the lack of engaging gameplay loops, server issues, and a steep learning curve that can deter new players. While the game has potential, it suffers from unfinished systems and a need for more intuitive mechanics to enhance the overall experience.
- “I enjoy the game mechanic where skills are trained in real-time.”
- “Gameplay - unmatched level of freedom in design and creation.”
- “The physics engine adds a layer of realism to the gameplay, making it feel like you're truly in a weightless environment.”
- “A simple game mechanic like this shouldn't be having issues like this in a 'released' game.”
- “I can't wholeheartedly recommend this game in its current state to everyone, as there's just not enough of a gameplay loop for most folks yet.”
- “Many of the systems and gameplay loops feel unfinished or rushed, especially everything not directly related to gather->craft->repeat.”
story
41 mentions
7 % positive mentions
83 % neutral mentions
10 % negative mentions
The game's story aspect is largely criticized for its lack of depth and engaging narrative, with many players finding the scripted missions to be repetitive and poorly implemented. While there are some PvE missions, they often feel like mere delivery tasks and do not provide a compelling storyline or content to keep players invested. Overall, the game leans heavily on sandbox mechanics and player-driven creativity, but those seeking a structured narrative experience may be disappointed.
- “PVE was just added along with the reintroduction of two planets, totally redesigned, complete with story arc tie-ins to the PVE.”
- “This is a short story about how I played DU – a game with so much wonderful potential, that is destroyed by its own developers (NQ team).”
- “The early missions are simple and the advanced missions pay well.”
- “There are loads of things you can build in the game and your creativity is really the limit; however, there is no good storyline, hardly any content unless you just want to mine and build all day, and then go lose it to PvP where only two large organizations exist for PvP and those two organizations control all of the resources that are available to be retrieved for the high-end game materials known as plasma.”
- “The only scripted missions in the entire game have been bugged or not working since launch.”
- “Boring missions, PvP never got implemented the way they promised... There are a few PvE missions, but these feel like they are just shoehorned into the game for the sake of it in order to give people who aren't into PvP something to do (aside from building).”
optimization
29 mentions
10 % positive mentions
55 % neutral mentions
34 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game has received largely negative feedback, with many players reporting significant performance issues, including crashes, lag, and poor framerates, even on high-end hardware. While some users noted improvements with specific settings like DLSS, the overall consensus is that the game is poorly optimized and buggy, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences. Despite some players expressing hope for future improvements, the current state of optimization is seen as a major drawback.
- “But when I put DLSS on the ultra performance mode, it made it pretty smooth.”
- “Flight in this game is surprisingly deep, given you can design your ships, referred to as constructs in-game, and configure most aspects of their flight performance.”
- “All in all, the performance side of things really isn't bad at all, despite what a lot of reviews might have you believe.”
- “In beta we had more planets and things we could do, and at launch they removed most of the planets. The server performance has worsened to the point of crashing while flying, which ends up crashing your ship into the ground because the game itself is unstable. This uses up a life on your elements and is very time-consuming and costly to repair.”
- “I don't think this game is worth $15 a month; it's terribly optimized and you will lose ships just because something is not loading correctly.”
- “This game is extremely buggy and unoptimized.”
graphics
24 mentions
29 % positive mentions
54 % neutral mentions
17 % negative mentions
The game's graphics receive mixed reviews, with some praising the stunning visuals and recent improvements, while others criticize them as outdated and plagued by lag and bugs. Players note that while the graphics can be visually appealing, performance issues, especially on lower settings, detract from the overall experience. Additionally, the voxel-based design limits the graphical fidelity compared to AAA titles, leading to a varied perception of quality among users.
- “The graphics are stunning with the latest run of planetary improvements, lighting, and visuals.”
- “You can't expect 'AAA' graphics in a voxel-based game, so while it might not look like some of the other titles out there visually, in my opinion, it holds its own with its own visual style.”
- “There used to be a lot of graphical bugs and lag back in alpha and beta days, but it seems they worked out the vast majority of those issues.”
- “Graphics look like what would come off the bottom of your shoe after a long walk through the cow pasture, and to be frank, the gameplay is boring.”
- “It will disappoint with its embarrassingly dated graphics, its lack of content, PvE, and PvP.”
- “The graphics are bad; it's like there is a permanent fog upon everything.”
atmosphere
16 mentions
38 % positive mentions
44 % neutral mentions
19 % negative mentions
The atmosphere in the game is described as immersive and challenging, with realistic physics that impact flight dynamics and player experience. Players appreciate the thrill of atmospheric entry and the consequences of speed, though some note that the current planetary environments feel somewhat barren. Overall, the atmosphere is engaging, offering a mix of excitement and difficulty, particularly for those who understand the mechanics involved.
- “Gliding through the atmosphere with thrusters off to save fuel while almost maintaining speed and altitude is pretty chilling for me.”
- “What a player that understands the mechanics will tell you is that they were traveling too fast when they hit the atmosphere and the ship started taking massive damage and burnt up with little to no warning (it can be instant if you're going fast enough). The same thing can be said for newer players when they go to fly their newly constructed ship with shiny new parts and it handles weird and/or crashes.”
- “Flying, although it is certainly no flight simulator, can be quite fun at times; equally, it can be quite unforgiving too if you enter a planet's atmosphere at too high a speed.”
- “I like that it feels like I'm entering the atmosphere and going to burn up or crash if I do it wrong.”
grinding
16 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious and frustrating, with many feeling that resource management and industry mechanics are designed to be a chore rather than enjoyable. While some appreciate the building and farming elements, the overall experience is marred by a lack of engaging content beyond repetitive tasks, leading to concerns that the increasing grind will alienate players. Many hope for future updates to address these issues and introduce more varied gameplay.
- “Some of their changes were needed and have worked out well, while others cause nothing but frustration and increase how grindy the game is.”
- “A grindy game is fine, but if you just keep increasing how much you have to grind, you are going to turn off a larger audience.”
- “From day 1 of playing this game, I have felt nothing but being choked off from resources and the game is designed around just being an all-around tedious chore.”
stability
12 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is frequently criticized for being extremely buggy and unoptimized, with issues such as ground spawn glitches, freezing during critical moments, and significant lag, especially when adjusting graphic settings. Players report frustrating experiences, including lost ships and unresponsive mechanics, which detract from the overall enjoyment despite the game's potential. Overall, the stability remains a major concern, with many users feeling that the game is not yet polished enough for a full release.
- “The game mechanics are fun, until you realize that to get anything decent you need to travel to a different planet and that without a steady income the costs will cause you to lose your plot. The game also freezes and jerks at the most awkward moments. I've just had an issue of bringing my ship back into orbit, and then the game freezing for a couple of seconds. When it unfroze, my ship had crashed on the other side of the planet from where I had actually entered. I spent the best part of 3 hours getting there to find the ship is missing and lost in the planet. There are no in-game DM for support; it's a big loss for someone who is just starting out.”
- “Thought I would try again with the release; it is basically just as buggy. Upkeep, ore gathering, etc., are all much worse off with the new systems in place.”
- “The game is extremely buggy, and any minor increase in graphic settings causes awkward lag.”
humor
6 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is derived from its absurdities, such as the ridiculous reasons for account bans and the developers' overreactions to player feedback. Players find the game's execution and technical issues amusing, highlighting a blend of frustration and comedy in their experiences. Overall, the humor is characterized by a satirical take on the game's shortcomings and the community's interactions with the developers.
- “So funny! Apparently, leaving negative reviews can get your account locked to the point where you can't even submit a support ticket under your account.”
- “People get banned for hilarious reasons, even if it's just a disagreement on a forum post where the devs get upset about things that their player base doesn't like.”
- “Hilariously enough, despite such a low player base, you'll be hit with 'pending operation' quite a lot, unable to do anything at seemingly random.”
music
2 mentions
0 % positive mentions
50 % neutral mentions
50 % negative mentions
Users express a strong desire for the ability to play their own music during gameplay, indicating that the current in-game music is lacking and does not meet their expectations.
- “It would be nice to use the screens/monitors and allow us to play our own music; the current music is dire.”
emotional
1 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Reviews highlight that many players find the game emotionally impactful, with genuine sentiments expressed by those who have engaged with it over time. This suggests a strong connection to the game's narrative and characters, resonating deeply with its audience.
- “Some of the reviews here are legitimate, so give them a look yourself and you'll be able to discern the emotionally charged reviews from people who have actually played this version for a while.”