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Ecosystem

Ecosystem Game Cover
78%Game Brain Score
Most mentioned positive aspects:gameplay, graphics
Most mentioned negative aspects:optimization, stability
78% User Score Based on 522 reviews

Platforms

PCWindows
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Ecosystem Game Cover

About Ecosystem

Ecosystem is a single player casual management game with a science fiction theme. It was developed by Slug Disco and was released on November 8, 2024. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

Grow and modify an ecosystem, with simulated evolution by natural selection creating the lifeforms that inhabit it. All the creatures in the trailer evolved on their own in the game. None were hand-edited!

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Reviews

78%Audience ScoreBased on 522 reviews
gameplay8 positive mentions
optimization13 negative mentions
  • Unique and ambitious underwater ecosystem simulator with detailed evolutionary mechanics based on genetics and neural networks.
  • Highly engaging sandbox gameplay allowing creation and customization of terrain, plant life, and creatures, providing relaxing and mesmerizing observation of evolving ecosystems.
  • Strong educational value with insights into evolution, natural selection, and ecological interactions, complemented by appealing visuals and serene ambient music.
  • Severe optimization and performance issues causing lag, crashes, and extremely long loading times especially when ecosystems become complex or large.
  • Creature design and editor are clunky and limited, often producing bizarre, awkward, or dysfunctional evolutions with poor swimming behavior.
  • Lack of traditional gameplay structure, goals, and meaningful interaction leading to repetitiveness and limited long-term engagement for many players.

  • optimization

    44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    9% positive mentions, 61% neutral mentions, 30% negative mentions

    The game suffers from significant optimization issues, causing frequent FPS drops, stuttering, and lag, especially as ecosystems grow larger, even on high-end systems. While the concept and gameplay are praised, poor performance and heavy system demands hinder the experience, with users hoping for future optimization improvements.

    • “It now runs smoothly.”
    • “The dev interacts with his community a lot, so I cannot see this optimization stuff being left alone for long.”
    • “- improved performance”
    • “This game is not optimized well; you will notice FPS drops after long-term play no matter how good your computer is.”
    • “The optimization for it all, while running well in the first bits, if you remotely have an actual fully fledged ecosystem, it starts running like trash unless you adjust your settings to make the game look even worse than it actually looks.”
    • “The gameplay is fun but it becomes impossible to enjoy once your ecosystem gets up and running due to poor optimization and lag.”

  • gameplay

    39 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    21% positive mentions, 66% neutral mentions, 13% negative mentions

    The gameplay of Ecosystem delivers a unique, slow-paced evolution and environmental simulation that appeals to players who enjoy complex, emergent systems without traditional objectives or fast action. However, it suffers from poor optimization causing lag and crashes, steep learning curves, and a lack of clear gameplay structure or meaningful progression, making it frustrating or unengaging for some users. While the mechanics are praised for depth and originality, issues like buggy controls, insufficient guidance, and technical problems significantly hinder the overall experience.

    • “Ecosystem offers a refreshing interpretation of the life simulation genre by focusing on evolution, biology, and environmental interaction rather than traditional resource management or survival mechanics.”
    • “A creature can evolve a new part, change the dimensions, rotation, and/or location of a part, body size/color, behaviors and mechanics (schooling, venom, thick skull), and change brain node configuration.”
    • “Ecosystem perfectly meshes gameplay fun with evolutionary freedom.”
    • “It needs countless useless ghost mechanics stripped out and pointless calculations that don't add to the game in any way.”
    • “They need to let go of stupid pointless mechanics and accept they were a bad idea that tank optimization and massively downscale everything.”
    • “The most glaring issue is more than 2 hours of gameplay on a 3090 causes so much lag, with everything lowered to minimum, and an inevitable crash that it almost feels like it's not worth trying to play a game focused on long term simulation when the long term is always a freeze and crash, occasionally losing the save data.”

  • graphics

    27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    22% positive mentions, 67% neutral mentions, 11% negative mentions

    The graphics are generally praised for their charming, minimalist underwater visuals that effectively evoke a serene oceanic atmosphere, though some find the aesthetic somewhat dated or raw. Performance issues like lag and frame rate drops become noticeable as the ecosystem grows large, often requiring players to lower graphics settings to maintain playability. Overall, while the visuals are appealing and fitting for the simulation, technical limitations impact smoothness during extended gameplay.

    • “The graphics are quite breathtaking and the way the plants sway and the rays from the sun peer in is just so intriguing!”
    • “Graphically, it is one of the best looking games I've played in a while.”
    • “Graphics are well done, you do get the feeling of being under the sea.”
    • “Amazing idea, addictive gameplay, has serious loading and graphics issues when the simulation gets too big.”
    • “The visuals look ten years old.”
    • “I'm getting around 20 fps running a 1050 ti; I turned the graphics down to minimum and it helped a bit but performance worsens as my ecosystem grows.”

  • music

    18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    39% positive mentions, 44% neutral mentions, 17% negative mentions

    The music in this game is widely praised for its serene, calming, and fitting ambiance that complements the relaxing gameplay and visuals. While some users note a lack of diversity and occasional repetitiveness, the soundtrack overall enhances the immersive experience and serves well as ambient background music.

    • “Plus points for the beautiful music that fits perfectly!”
    • “The music and ambience is extremely relaxing.”
    • “It's also just a good nightlight and ambient music and sound to sleep to; the music is absolutely chill and relaxing.”
    • “I really only have 2 gripes with this game: you can't add boulders/rocks and the music diversity is severely lacking.”
    • “Tl;dr music is very peaceful, it looks like Spore but fish, but done poorly.”
    • “Cons: the music ends up being harassing (my taste), and after I played 10 hours, I finished 3 regions in that time.”

  • humor

    13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The humor in the game largely stems from the amusing and often grotesque appearances and behaviors of the fish, with players finding the quirky, flailing creatures funny and entertaining. While the novelty of the funny-looking fish can wear off for some, many appreciate the laugh-out-loud moments and the engaging, lighthearted tone throughout the gameplay.

    • “Some become efficient hunters, while others develop unique survival tactics or grotesquely hilarious body shapes.”
    • “Detailed, logical, and laugh out loud funny, especially if you play madgod.”
    • “The randomly generated creatures are so funny looking.”

  • stability

    10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions

    The game suffers from frequent bugs, random freezes, and poor optimization, significantly impacting the overall experience. Many users find the gameplay unstable and frustrating, with problematic creature editing and missing critical information, though some acknowledge its early access status. Overall, stability issues hinder enjoyment despite the game's promising concept.

    • “It's an interesting concept but the buggy, unfinished user experience severely harms enjoyment.”
    • “The game randomly freezes about every 15 minutes, forcing you to avoid clicking anything and just wait it out.”
    • “Critical bugs stop gameplay, important information is missing, mechanics lack explanation, and the creature editor is buggy and uncontrollable.”

  • replayability

    4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    50% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 50% negative mentions

    The game offers strong replayability through its dynamic evolution engine and variety of outcomes, making it a sophisticated sandbox experience. However, some users note that creature and landscape design could be expanded, and the novelty may wear off over time due to repetitive elements. Overall, it's highly recommended for those invested in exploring its evolving systems.

    • “Those willing to invest the time will discover one of the most sophisticated evolutionary sandboxes currently available, offering remarkable replay value thanks to its highly dynamic systems and endless variety of outcomes.”
    • “But I can see the replay value of this game being insane later, definitely worth grabbing it.”
    • “The replayability is high here due to the evolution engine, but even that may wear out after a moderate amount of time due to the 'sameness' that a lot of the outcomes have.”
    • “There is a lot of replay value to be had; but when it comes to designing creatures and landscapes, it feels like it could be expanded in small but impactful ways.”

  • story

    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    67% positive mentions, 33% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The story emerges organically through dynamic environmental pressures and player interactions, resulting in unique, evolving narratives each playthrough without scripted events or forced missions.

    • “Since evolution is driven by environmental pressures instead of scripted events, every new world tells a unique story that unfolds differently with each playthrough.”
    • “Instead of forcing conflict through missions or objectives, the game allows competition to emerge organically through its underlying systems.”

  • grinding

    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions

    The grinding in the game is currently seen as potentially tedious and boring, with some users criticizing it as a typical, uninspired grindy progression system common in many games. However, it is noted that improvements are still being made.

    • “I can see just by the little I've played that it would very quickly become tedious and boring, but it is still being worked on.”
    • “Many games are plagued by appealing to the lowest common denominator of cookie-cutter game design – loot boxes, grindy progression system, etc., as opposed to producing actually fulfilling experiences, rewards aside.”

  • atmosphere

    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
    100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions

    The game’s atmosphere is calming and meditative, enhanced by relaxing ambient audio, creating a peaceful experience despite underlying survival challenges.

    • “Combined with relaxing ambient audio and a peaceful atmosphere, the game often feels meditative despite the constant struggle for survival occurring beneath the surface.”
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Play Times

23h Median play time
69h Average play time
5-27h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 6 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

Ecosystem is a casual management game with science fiction theme. Common tags for Ecosystem include indie, colony sim, surreal, life sim, relaxing and others.

Ecosystem is available on PC and Windows.

On average players spend around 69 hours playing Ecosystem.

Ecosystem was released on November 8, 2024.

Ecosystem was developed by Slug Disco.

Ecosystem has received mostly positive reviews from players. Most players liked Ecosystem for its gameplay but disliked it for its optimization.

Ecosystem is a single player game.

Similar games include The Sapling, Planetary Life, Species: Artificial Life, Real Evolution, Equilinox, Intelligent Design: An Evolutionary Sandbox and others.