Earth 2140

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Earth 2140 is a single player and multiplayer real-time strategy game with a science fiction theme. It was developed by Reality Pump Studios and was released on November 15, 2013. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

REAL TIME STRATEGY - HI TECH WARFARE! After numerous wars and several environmental disasters, only two world powers remain; The United Civilized States (»UCS«)and the Eurasian Dynasty (»ED«). The damage caused by the long wars forced both world powers to evacuate the population to recently built underground cities. Natural resources are becoming scarce and have to be extracted above ground. Ther…

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70%

Audience ScoreBased on 297 reviews

story11 positive mentions

stability4 negative mentions

Classic RTS with deep gameplay, unit variety, and strategic challenges that appeal to fans of old-school strategy games.
Low system requirements and instant loading times make it accessible on modern hardware, including laptops and Steam Deck.
Engaging campaign offering over 50 missions with varied objectives and a gritty post-apocalyptic atmosphere supported by a nostalgic soundtrack.

The AI is widely reported as broken or passive in the HD/Steam version, leading to unchallenging gameplay and mission stagnation.
User interface and controls are clunky and unintuitive, lacking tutorials and modern RTS quality-of-life features, making the learning curve steep and frustrating.
Visuals and presentation feel outdated with very small sprites, poor pathfinding, absence of zoom, and repetitive voice acting and music that may annoy some players.

story
89 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
12%
84%
4%
The story in this classic real-time strategy game is a minimalistic, bleak sci-fi war narrative centered on two factions battling over Earth's dwindling resources, providing a gritty but straightforward backdrop for the missions. While some find the setting and campaign scope engaging, many criticize the lack of meaningful plot development, shallow storytelling, scarce cutscenes, and poor mission briefing clarity, leading to a sense of repetitiveness and minimal narrative depth. Overall, the story serves mainly to frame gameplay rather than offer a compelling or memorable narrative experience.
- “A classic real-time strategy game with deep gameplay, compelling storylines, and well-designed units that still hold up and offer strategic challenges.”
- “What you get is a classic, hard-edged sci-fi war story where two massive factions—the United Civilized States (UCS) and the Eurasian Dynasty (ED)—battle over dwindling Earth resources after ecological collapse. It’s a bleak but compelling scenario, one that frames the constant conflict and gives context to dozens of missions.”
- “The game offers engaging gameplay with numerous tactical possibilities and a deep storyline that captivates from the very first moments.”
- “Let's start with how the game has next to no story.”
- “The story: okay, I was not expecting some deep story but there really isn't one because your faction is taking over countries and that is it.”
- “When you conquer a country (via 5 missions each country), it just takes you back to the world map so you can enter another country and there is no cutscene at the end of each campaign and it just makes me feel so empty and made me feel like I achieved nothing and I wasted my time and I really did because 40 hours on this damn game is overkill!”
music
41 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
61%
10%
The game's music is often described as catchy and nostalgic but tends to become repetitive due to a limited number of tracks. While some find the soundtrack relaxing or fitting for grinding, many criticize it for being odd, sometimes mismatched with the RTS genre, and of generally low quality or inappropriate style. Overall, opinions on the music are mixed, with notable complaints about poor fit and repetition.
- “Soundtrack is super nostalgic.”
- “It also has a chill soundtrack to grind to as you play.”
- “Very cool game, the music is very good for a 90's game.”
- “Well, unfortunately there are only 9 songs in the whole game, making the music monotonous very quickly after the first loop.”
- “Unlike in Command and Conquer where you can loop a certain song over and over and the quality of the music is much better, here you cannot loop individual tracks; instead, the whole soundtrack loops repeatedly, which is not impressive.”
- “The quality of the music is bad because the songs are either too boring, too uninspired, or do not fit the game at all.”
graphics
31 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
52%
19%
The game's graphics are nostalgically praised for their crisp 2D sprites and late-1990s aesthetic, offering a unique charm and solid presentation for its era. While outdated by modern standards and occasionally criticized for small visuals and poor CG scenes, the artwork maintains a distinctive atmosphere that fans of classic RTS games appreciate. Overall, the graphics are seen as appropriate for the time, blending solid design with a strong retro appeal.
- “Outstanding animations, a creative, yet surprisingly grounded story and great graphics - you're seriously missing out if you don't play this.”
- “The presentation, while updated for HD, remains firmly rooted in late-1990s aesthetics.”
- “This RTS has a very Terminator-like feel which is probably the reason why I always liked it so much :) also for its time very nice graphics.”
- “Visuals are ramped a bit from the original DOS version but still can't see too much as everything appears to be super small (no zooming in).”
- “The graphics have aged… badly.”
- “Terrible... the graphics are quite bad even for the time when this came out.”
gameplay
27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
63%
11%
The gameplay is generally recognized as classic, deep, and strategic RTS with well-designed units and tactical variety, though some find it tedious, outdated, and frustratingly slow or unbalanced due to AI exploits. While it offers an engaging challenge for fans of old-school strategy, issues with pacing, map design, and hardware stability detract from the experience. Overall, gameplay quality opinions vary, often reflecting nostalgia or frustration with dated mechanics.
- “A classic real-time strategy game with deep gameplay, compelling storylines, and well-designed units that still hold up and offer strategic challenges.”
- “An exciting world, deep gameplay, and a variety of tactical solutions.”
- “The combat mechanics, friendly AI 'generals', resource/production nuances, and other features were well polished and supported a variety of strategic play styles.”
- “And by adding the fact how obsolete the gameplay of 'real-time strategy' games ('wargames' is a better term for this genre, since they don't really require strategic skills) became ever since, this game as of today is a complete disaster.”
- “The mine laying truck, for example, can ruin the gameplay on some occasions, since the AI can really abuse its mine laying capability, basically spawning the entire map full of landmines.”
- “The gameplay is an absolute mess and there have been missions where it took me 4 hours alone to pass because of how poor the maps are, meaning that the levels are longer for no reason.”
atmosphere
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
20%
20%
The game's atmosphere is characterized by a gritty, dark sci-fi setting that offers a unique and charming vibe despite outdated graphics. While the visuals are clear and functional, they often lack deeper immersion beyond their practical design. Overall, the atmosphere is strong and engaging, though somewhat reminiscent of classic Command & Conquer flaws.
- “I like the dark atmosphere.”
- “The large campaigns and mission count provide hours of content, and the setting offers a gritty sci-fi atmosphere without unnecessary narrative padding.”
- “The graphics, although outdated, retain their uniqueness and atmosphere, giving the game a special charm.”
- “A highly atmospheric but flawed Command & Conquer-like experience.”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game suffers from significant stability issues, including frequent bugs, crashes, and freezes, especially when running on Windows 10. Additionally, it has persistent sound effect glitches affecting weapons, vehicles, and explosions during gameplay.
- “Good for nostalgia, but the game is a buggy mess.”
- “Buggy and missing sound effects for weapons and explosions, especially in battles.”
- “The original version is buggy and doesn't run properly under Windows 10, with crashes and freezes upon launching the game.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is minimal and largely based on its quirky music choices, but overall it lacks memorable comedic moments, funny cutscenes, or engaging content to make a lasting humorous impact.
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Grinding in the game becomes tedious after the initial levels, as repetitive base building and army creation make the gameplay feel monotonous and boring.
- “The gameplay starts off like a traditional RTS game with base building and attacking, but after the first few levels, it becomes very boring very quickly because building a base and building an army is tedious.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users express a lack of emotional engagement, feeling empty and unrewarded after conquering countries due to the absence of meaningful cutscenes or satisfying conclusions, making the lengthy gameplay feel like a wasted effort.
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users indicate that the game lacks replayability due to insufficient challenge and limited strategic depth.
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's monetization includes prominent Red Bull advertisements, which some users find intrusive and detract from the experience.