Earth Analog

About

Earth Analog is a single player simulation game. It was developed by Funcraft Games and was released on February 10, 2021. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

"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.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

+13

Skip User Reviews

68%

Audience ScoreBased on 88 reviews

graphics7 positive mentions

story4 negative mentions

The game features stunning and unique fractal environments that provide a mesmerizing exploration experience.
The developer is highly responsive to community feedback, leading to constant updates and improvements that enhance gameplay.
The game offers a relaxing atmosphere with a nostalgic sci-fi ambiance, complemented by a great soundtrack.

The flight controls are clunky and difficult to master, leading to frustration for many players, especially during the tutorial.
Performance issues are prevalent, with significant frame rate drops on lower-end hardware, making the game unplayable for some.
The quest system can be confusing and lacks clear guidance, often leaving players unsure of their objectives.

story
42 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
7%
83%
10%
The game's story is a mixed bag, with some players appreciating the handcrafted linear experience and the intriguing puzzles, while others find the narrative presentation dull and the quest structure confusing. Exploration is emphasized, often at the expense of a cohesive storyline, leading to frustration when story elements act as mere gateways rather than meaningful progression. Overall, while the game offers unique worlds and interesting mechanics, many feel the story feels like an afterthought, lacking depth and clarity.
- “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.”
- “Tracing back the footsteps of their predecessors, players will pass through unfathomably alien worlds, read mission logs, solve puzzles, and avoid unknown dangers - with the ultimate goal of finding the Earth analog.”
- “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.”
graphics
29 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
66%
10%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many players praising the visuals as "nice looking" and "marvelous," particularly in certain locations, while others express disappointment, citing issues like lag, graphical glitches, and a disparity between in-game graphics and promotional materials. Some users appreciate the unique aesthetic and options for graphical settings, but others report significant dissatisfaction, particularly with the quality of textures and animations. Overall, while the visuals can be striking, technical issues detract from the experience for a portion of the player base.
- “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.”
- “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.”
- “In any case, the graphics in-game look significantly worse than the graphics in the trailer and images on the Steam page.”
atmosphere
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
57%
13%
The game's atmosphere is praised for its ability to evoke a sense of adventure and mystery, enhanced by impressive light effects and vast planetary vistas that create an immersive experience. While the gameplay can feel simplistic and occasionally clunky, the atmospheric elements, including music and visual design, effectively contribute to a unique and engaging environment reminiscent of classic space narratives. However, players should be mindful of the game's physics, as navigating through different atmospheric conditions can be challenging and impact flight dynamics.
- “The game has its clunkiness and a few bugs which may be sometimes a bit annoying, but even with that, this game does it very right to create an atmosphere of adventure and mystery.”
- “The light effects from the 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.”
- “The reference to '2001: A Space Odyssey' on this game's store page isn't there for nothing; the music, atmosphere, and visuals make some of the game's events, entities, and locations feel alien, in the most literal sense of the word.”
- “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.”
- “It must be noted though, that while [i]ean's[/i] atmosphere improves considerably, to the point where it can carry the experience, the gameplay remains relatively simplistic throughout, and the game feels almost like a tech-demo or showcase with basic gameplay attached.”
- “When it does get there, the experience is carried in large part by the narrative and atmosphere, as the gameplay cannot stand on its own.”
gameplay
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
72%
14%
The gameplay is characterized by a mix of exploration, resource harvesting, and unique mechanics, offering a blend of simulation and arcade elements. While the ambitious design introduces original ideas, it suffers from simplistic mechanics and poor optimization, leading to a mixed reception. Players appreciate the atmospheric experience but find the gameplay can feel like a tech demo, with a steep learning curve and a need for further refinement.
- “It's very fun popping from planet to planet, harvesting resources, exploring the planet's texture and unique mechanics.”
- “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.”
- “Pretty hard to master at the start, but after some time you will understand how things work and what you have to do, and you will also be comfortable with the game mechanics.”
- “So: bad optimization and Mario Bros-like gameplay have put me off.”
- “It must be noted though, that while the atmosphere improves considerably, to the point where it can carry the experience, the gameplay remains relatively simplistic throughout, and the game feels almost like a tech-demo or showcase with basic gameplay attached.”
- “The tutorial doesn't provide enough information about certain mechanics, while the punishing flight model will be hell to handle for any player not already experienced with space/flight sims.”
music
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
37%
27%
The music in the game is praised for its relaxing, ambient quality that evokes a classic sci-fi atmosphere, reminiscent of iconic soundtracks like that of *2001: A Space Odyssey*. While the soundtrack enhances the gameplay experience, players have noted the lack of comprehensive audio settings, limiting adjustments to just a music volume slider. Overall, the music is well-received, but there is a desire for more variety and additional atmospheric sounds.
- “Great game, relaxing, with an old sci-fi feeling ambient, great music, and best of all, a great active developer who listens to players.”
- “The reference to '2001: A Space Odyssey' on this game's store page isn't there for nothing; the music, atmosphere, and visuals make some of [ean]'s events, entities, and locations feel alien, in the most literal sense of the word.”
- “[ean] has a nice soundtrack that accompanies the events of the game well.”
- “This is not helped by the game's lack of proper volume options; it has only a music slider.”
- “- 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.”
optimization
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
37%
36%
The game's optimization has received largely negative feedback, with many players reporting poor performance and inconsistent frame rates that can range from acceptable to unplayable. While some updates have introduced minor improvements, the overall experience remains heavily reliant on meeting minimum hardware requirements, leading to frustration among users.
- “The controls are more accessible than ever, there's a greater variety of activities to engage in, and challenging tasks like landing and piloting are far less frustrating to master. Additionally, there are significant performance improvements, especially when on the ground.”
- “Performance: okay - just make sure you have the minimum recommended hardware.”
- “Using the specs listed above, the game's performance is mixed.”
- “So disappointed in this game... with each update I try to play but the performance is just so bad.”
- “This is one of the heaviest titles I have ever played; optimization is nowhere to be seen and the minimum requirements are barely enough to make it playable.”
- “Extremely inconsistent performance, ranging from acceptable to unplayable depending on the situation.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users report that the game exhibits stability issues, particularly with bugs in the menus and graphic glitches that can obscure gameplay, such as being unable to land or seeing through objects.
- “Still a little buggy, mostly in the menus.”
- “Can't land there; weird graphic glitches caused me to be inside the beacon and I can't see anything.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users highlight that the emotional moments in the game are both amazing and unpredictable, contributing significantly to the overall experience.
- “Don't get me wrong; these moments are amazing, emotional, and unpredictably brilliant.”