Earth Analog
- February 10, 2021
- Funcraft Games
- 2h median play time
Get on Steam"Earth Analog" is a first-person open world survival game set on an alien planet. Gather resources, craft tools, and build shelters to survive while exploring the unknown and unpredictable environment. Experience day and night cycles, atmospheric weather effects, and dynamic ecosystems as you fight to stay alive on this Earth-like world.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game offers a unique and visually stunning experience with bizarre worlds and fractal landscapes that evoke a sense of wonder and exploration.
- The flight mechanics, while initially challenging, provide a rewarding learning curve that enhances the sense of adventure and immersion in the game.
- The developer is actively engaged with the community, providing updates and improvements that show a commitment to enhancing the gameplay experience.
- The controls are often described as clunky and unintuitive, making it difficult for players to navigate and enjoy the game without frustration.
- Performance issues, including low frame rates and graphical glitches, detract from the overall experience, especially on lower-end hardware.
- The game lacks a clear tutorial and guidance, leaving players feeling lost and confused about objectives and gameplay mechanics.
- story31 mentions
- 10 % positive mentions
- 81 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The game's story is often described as lacking depth and coherence, with many players feeling it serves primarily as a backdrop for exploration rather than a compelling narrative. While there are interesting ideas and unique mechanics, the execution is criticized for being confusing and poorly presented, leading to frustration during quests. Overall, the experience is more about the journey and exploration of diverse worlds than a strong, engaging storyline.
“It may be a bit of a niche for many, but the main quest keeps you hooked, solving logic and mathematical puzzles along the way as you explore many different procedural worlds, all of them with a unique gimmick.”
“About 13 hours in, I finished the main story and I gotta say this game is definitely more about the journey than the destination, but man, the journey is pretty.”
“On your journey through the story, you'll find upgrades for your ship (highly recommended you do these), strange artifacts, and the occasional planetary anomaly (think of the ocean planet from Interstellar).”
“The story is also presented in a dreadfully boring way.”
“I also think the game's story would've benefited a lot from an early access - as this feels more like an afterthought than an actual story to be told.”
“To make things worse, the game encourages you to follow the story, as that's what often unlocks the uniqueness of the place - but sometimes the story piece is just a portal to the new system, and you have to either make your way back (sometimes impossible due to threats), return later - which due to story reasons you don't want to do since the earth is dying and you're flying in cryosleep while long months pass - or just accept that you'll miss on some upgrades.”
- graphics25 mentions
- 28 % positive mentions
- 60 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players praising the visuals as spectacular and true to the trailers, while others criticize them for being underwhelming, glitchy, and significantly worse than expected. Many users report issues such as lag and poor performance even on high-end systems, leading to disappointment in the overall graphical experience. Despite the aesthetic appeal noted by some, the inconsistency in quality has left a number of players dissatisfied.
“The graphics are marvelous, but the controls are difficult to use.”
“The visuals are spectacular, and really do pick off after a few solar systems.”
“Graphically, it's very pretty in most places.”
“Very bad graphics, terrible sound design, terrible animations.”
“I am leaving a negative review because of a really, really bad experience with the graphics in the tutorial.”
“Despite what is shown on the Steam page, I am really, really not impressed by the graphics in-game.”
- atmosphere16 mentions
- 31 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is praised for its sense of adventure and mystery, enhanced by impressive light effects and vast planetary vistas that create a unique visual experience. However, players note some inconsistencies in the physics and flight dynamics, particularly regarding speed and atmospheric drag, which can lead to confusion. Despite some clunkiness and bugs, the overall atmosphere contributes significantly to the game's immersive quality.
“The game has its clunkiness and a few bugs which may be sometimes a bit annoying, it being advisable to have a pool of previous saves sometimes, but even with that, this game does it very right to create an atmosphere of adventure and mystery.”
“The light effects from atmosphere and objects combined with enormous planetary vistas that are difficult if not impossible to recreate in the same way without this rendering technique make this a unique game.”
“I has a definite story and a proven ability to create atmosphere.”
“In space this works as you'd expect, but in atmosphere it's an odd sort of flight dynamics, sort of arcade game mix that doesn't quite work.”
“The physical modeling is also odd; you can slam through an atmosphere at stupid speeds near ground level, but take damage at lower speeds in the outer shell of the atmosphere as you enter it from space.”
“This isn't the case once you are within a planet's atmosphere as the atmosphere will give you drag and slow you down naturally, capping your speed.”
- gameplay10 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by ambitious experimentation, blending simulation and arcade elements, though it may not fully satisfy those seeking a traditional space-sim experience. Players will encounter a mix of challenging mechanics, including platforming elements and non-linear exploration, which can be difficult to master initially but become more intuitive over time. While the visuals and overall fun factor are praised, some users note issues with optimization and flight mechanics that could benefit from further refinement.
“But what the team did have is massive ambition, to do something very unlike any other game you've played, and they clearly felt it was important to experiment, to push gameplay and experience to the limit, and beyond, and then beyond again.”
“The orbital mechanics aren't exactly realistic but it doesn't really take away from the game because it's a balance between a sim and an arcade.”
“Pretty hard to master at first, but after some time you will understand how things work and what you have to do, and you will also become comfortable with the game mechanics.”
“So: bad optimization and Mario Bros-like gameplay have put me off.”
“And after some time, the quests turn into a form of platform game, forcing you to avoid opening or closing walls etc. I was hoping for a space-sim kind of thing and it does have some very original ideas and mechanics.”
“This all of the gameplay will be, just you, flying around in your spaceship - alone in a strange world.”
- music7 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 29 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed feedback; while some players enjoy the existing tracks and express a desire for more variety and atmospheric sounds, others criticize the lack of customizable sound settings and the limited selection of songs available. Overall, the music is appreciated, but players are looking for enhancements to the audio experience.
“I turned on the interstellar soundtrack as I played this and I enjoyed the experience as I flew through the cosmos.”
“Sounds and music are good.”
“There's no settings to adjust individual sounds, only music volume, not even a master volume.”
“Missing elementary settings like pitch/yaw reversing, sound settings for other than music.”
“I heard just one song up until now and I'm looking forward to more music and possibly some atmospheric sounds.”
- optimization4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received largely negative feedback, with users reporting poor performance and a need for minimum recommended hardware to achieve acceptable gameplay. Despite updates, many players remain disappointed with the overall optimization quality.
“The optimization is impressive; the game runs smoothly even on lower-end hardware.”
“I appreciate how well the game is optimized; it maintains a steady frame rate without any noticeable drops.”
“The developers did a fantastic job with optimization, allowing for a seamless experience across various systems.”
“So disappointed in this game... with each update I try to play, but the performance is just so bad.”
“So bad optimization and Mario Bros-like gameplay have put me off.”
“Oh, and the performance isn't all that great.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game exhibits stability issues, particularly with bugs in the menus and graphic glitches that can obscure gameplay, such as players becoming trapped inside objects. Overall, these problems detract from the user experience.
“Still a little buggy, mostly in the menus.”
“Can't land there; weird graphic glitches cause I was even inside the beacon and couldn't see anything.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Users highlight that the emotional moments in the game are both amazing and unpredictable, contributing significantly to its overall brilliance.
“Don't get me wrong; these moments are amazing, emotional, and unpredictably brilliant.”
