Earth Space Colonies

About

"Earth Space Colonies" is a space-themed strategy and management game. Assemble and lead a team to colonize Mars, dealing with various challenges such as building infrastructure, managing resources, and protecting colonists from threats. Your decisions and actions will determine the success or failure of the mission.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

50%

Audience ScoreBased on 105 reviews

gameplay5 positive mentions

stability7 negative mentions

The game has a fun and engaging premise of building and managing colonies on multiple planets.
Graphics are decent and the game runs smoothly, providing a visually appealing experience.
The tutorial is helpful for beginners, guiding players through the initial stages of gameplay.

The user interface is clunky and unintuitive, making it difficult to manage resources and buildings effectively.
The game lacks depth and long-term objectives, leading to repetitive gameplay and a lack of challenge.
Many players report that the game feels unfinished, with numerous bugs and design flaws that hinder the overall experience.

gameplay
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
75%
9%
The gameplay of Earth Space Colonies (ESC) is characterized by a mix of easy mechanics and frustrating pathing issues, particularly with the repair system for structures, which can lead to delays and inefficiencies. While the game offers a solid foundation for colony management and has potential for replayability, many players find the mechanics unintuitive and the crafting system lacking in depth. Overall, the game is enjoyable for casual play, especially with its helpful tutorial, but it requires further refinement to enhance the overall experience.
- “The gameplay, as it stands in early access, is what you would expect for a colony management game, but I have to say that aside from a resource crunch now and then, I never really felt that my colony was on the brink of disaster or that a wrong choice could spell ruin for my colonists.”
- “Easy and fun gameplay with a lot of resource-personnel management and building maintenance.”
- “Gameplay is great and fun for casual playing; NPCs can bring mixed thoughts on players. I don't know about you, but I like that I cannot control them and pull them for sleeves; they are totally automated and will do their job without needing you to oversee them.”
- “The mechanics kept getting stuck, so my structures didn't get repaired and were destroyed.”
- “Having to have 2 mechanics per structure is ridiculous; they're slow and take forever to get anywhere (providing you don't have a traffic jam somewhere).”
- “Until at least the pathing is fixed, I highly recommend you stay away from this game unless you want a lesson in frustration and a lot of wasted gameplay.”
story
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
70%
13%
The game's story is generally perceived as simplistic and unfinished, with players noting that while the Mars storyline is the most developed, it still feels rushed and lacks depth. Although there are three campaigns with specific goals, many players found the overall narrative lacking and the dialogue unnatural, leading to a sense of repetitiveness after completing the main story. Despite these criticisms, some players appreciate the potential for future updates and the engaging mechanics that accompany the narrative.
- “There are three campaigns that have specific goals, and you have a rich story to follow as you play.”
- “Each colony had a different storyline.”
- “The fact that it has characters and a narrative-driven story, which I assume is still being worked on.”
- “It feels unfinished, with buildings that have no use, several references to 'trading with Earth' which you never can do, and a way too quick roundup of the Mars storyline.”
- “The storyline campaign is canned and once you've completed it, all you can do is repeat the same process.”
- “The story per se, is fairly simple.”
graphics
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
60%
20%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the graphical diversity and well-imagined environments, while others criticize them as mediocre and reminiscent of mobile games. Although there are minor glitches and a need for further polishing, many users find the visuals decent and capable of enhancing the overall experience. Overall, the graphics are seen as a work in progress that could benefit from additional refinement.
- “I still like the graphical diversity on most of the structures you shall build, and the fact that you may rotate before placing them improves the visual variety of the prospering colony.”
- “The graphics are well imagined, and the environments aid in the suspension of disbelief.”
- “Graphics and gameplay are good; the game is not short and has many levels.”
- “The graphics are mediocre, user interface is weird and clunky, pathfinding is bad.”
- “Oh, please use more sensible graphics that fit with the elements they represent.”
- “At current state it only needs more graphic polishing.”
replayability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
25%
38%
Overall, "Earth Space Colonies" offers limited replayability compared to titles like "Banished," with players estimating they could play through it two to three times. While the sandbox mode presents some potential for replayability, it mirrors the story mode without additional objectives, leading to a desire for more varied gameplay options in the future. Despite its entertainment value for a few sessions, many reviewers feel it lacks the depth needed for long-term engagement.
- “Personally, these games are all about replayability and gameplay, and that's just what the game has to offer.”
- “For the future, I hope some more modes of gameplay would be introduced to the game to add extra replayability and hours in the game.”
- “There is more than enough content to satisfy your gameplay needs for at least several hours, and I’d suggest that there would be a lot of room for replayability.”
- “I would not pay $15 for this game because it lacks long-term replayability that you can find in games like Banished.”
- “We love Banished and while I can say that this does not have the replayability of Banished (in my opinion, I could see maybe playing it through two or three times, whereas Banished has much more replayability), it did entertain me for an evening or two.”
- “The sandbox mode has possible replayability; however, I never ended up playing the sandbox mode since it is exactly the same as story mode, except there are no objectives or story.”
stability
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability has been criticized for frequent minor graphical and audio glitches, including occasional freezes at the start screen and audio cutouts. Additionally, players report frustrating AI issues, such as technicians getting stuck, which can hinder gameplay progression. Overall, while there are no major crashes, the presence of these bugs contributes to a clunky experience.
- “Has glitches that make the game frustrating and unable to progress.”
- “Several texture glitches.”
- “No crashes; audio cuts out from time to time, minor graphical glitches.”
music
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
60%
The music in the game is generally well-received, with many players appreciating its quality and how it complements the gameplay. However, some note that it can become repetitive over time, yet still find it enjoyable and soothing, reminiscent of works like "The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." Overall, the soundtrack enhances the gaming experience despite its repetitiveness.
- “The music fits the game perfectly, reminding me of 'The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy' for some reason, and soothes you while the game becomes progressively more of a mindless micromanagement experience.”
- “I really enjoy the nice music, and even though it gets repetitive, I still find myself enjoying it.”
- “I love the music and the overall feel of this game.”
- “The soundtrack is decent, albeit repetitive.”
- “The music lacks variety and quickly becomes monotonous.”
- “The audio quality is subpar, making it hard to enjoy the music.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be overly tedious, with many expressing that it quickly becomes a chore. While some acknowledge the developer's effort to balance this element, the general sentiment leans towards frustration with the repetitive nature of grinding.
- “It's just too tedious.”
- “That grew tedious fast.”
- “If you think all that sounds pretty tedious, you'd be right.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised, with effective voice acting that enhances the experience and evokes a nostalgic feel reminiscent of classic romantic novels, particularly those by Ray Bradbury.
- “The voice acting that I've heard so far works really well, giving the game a great atmosphere.”
- “What I liked was the overall atmosphere, which takes us back to the romantic novels, like those written by Ray Bradbury.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The humor in the game primarily stems from the interactions between the AI assistant, Sinclair, and various subordinates, who provide advice in a lighthearted manner during the campaign mode. These moments add a touch of levity to the gameplay experience.
- “The interactions between your AI assistant, Sinclair, and the subordinates provide some hilarious moments that lighten the mood during the campaign.”
- “The game is filled with witty dialogue and clever jokes that keep you chuckling as you progress through the story.”
- “I love how the humor is woven into the gameplay, making even the most serious moments feel light-hearted and fun.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The optimization of the game has received mixed feedback, with some users reporting smooth performance and efficient resource usage, while others experience significant lag and technical issues. Overall, the game's optimization appears to vary widely depending on individual system configurations.