Eterium

About

Eterium is a single player shooter game with a science fiction theme. It was developed by Rogue Earth LLC and was released on April 15, 2014. It received neutral reviews from players.

Eterium is a single-player Science Fiction Shooter game, reminiscent of 90's classics like Wing Commander and X-Wing. As a pilot in the United Earth Alliance, battle against the vicious Revi alien race in over 50 story-driven missions with advanced AI, customizable joystick support, and 3D cockpits. Experience intense space combat with dynamic difficulty, ship damage system, and asteroid fields in this modern take on space flight sims.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

48%

Audience ScoreBased on 79 reviews

story11 positive mentions

grinding3 negative mentions

Eterium successfully captures the nostalgic feel of classic space combat games like Wing Commander, providing enjoyable and fast-paced gameplay.
The game offers solid joystick and controller support, making it accessible for players who prefer those input methods.
Despite its low budget, Eterium features a variety of missions and a decent combat model that keeps players engaged.

The controls are clunky and poorly designed for keyboard and mouse, leading to a frustrating experience for many players.
The story and character development are weak, with forgettable dialogue and a lack of engaging narrative elements.
Many missions feel repetitive and lack variety, often requiring players to fly to empty waypoints or engage in similar combat scenarios.

story
75 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
78%
7%
The story in the game is generally considered weak and generic, serving primarily as a backdrop for the fast-paced space combat rather than a compelling narrative. Many reviewers noted that character development and dialogue are forgettable, with a lack of backstory and context for the missions, leading to a disjointed experience. While some found moments of interest, the overall consensus is that the story fails to enhance the gameplay, which is more focused on combat mechanics than narrative depth.
- “The story overall is certainly not unique in that it has been told countless times before, in many different forms, but I still think the story is passable and has some very interesting moments - this despite the bland and generic conversations between characters.”
- “I'm pleased to say Eterium is not one of those and is a fun game which holds your interest long enough to get through the campaign, which would probably take up at least 8 hours of your time if you go through all the pilot dialogues in between missions.”
- “Before and in between missions, you can go around the ship (between the bar and flight deck) where you can talk to some of the other pilots and crew which play out the story.”
- “The story and dialogues obviously suffer from the budget constraints, but the focus is on the fast-paced space combat simulation anyway.”
- “Eterium more or less nails the space fighter sim, but drops the ball completely when it comes to tying the missions together and providing context; thus, it feels like playing one meaningless but fun simulator mission after another.”
- “I also do not like that you are given virtually zero backstory before being thrown into the main story.”
graphics
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
70%
13%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some praising the cockpit and ship designs as visually appealing, while others criticize the low-resolution textures and outdated character art. Although the game offers 4K graphics and a decent atmosphere, many players find the overall visual quality lacking, particularly in explosions and character models. Despite these shortcomings, some appreciate the unique art style and the game's performance on various hardware setups.
- “Great cockpit and exterior ship graphics, along with the outer space atmosphere with planets in the background have great graphics also.”
- “Graphically, the game is decent with a slight cartoonish feel, yet this lends itself to the vibe of the game.”
- “It has a certain charming nature about it, and is graphically superior to a lot of indie games out there.”
- “The character art is atrocious, the graphics are horribly outdated, everything looks low res.”
- “The negatives are the visuals; everything has this low resolution texture feel, with explosions looking particularly poor, which is contrasted with the amazing cockpit designs.”
- “The graphics are pretty basic; you could argue that Starlancer/Freelancer have better graphics than this game, and the ship designs are hardly inspiring.”
gameplay
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
37%
47%
16%
The gameplay of Eterium receives mixed reviews, with some players finding it smooth and reminiscent of classic titles like Wing Commander, while others criticize it for being slow-paced and lacking depth. Although the controls and space combat are praised, issues such as ineffective missile mechanics and repetitive actions detract from the overall experience. While some enjoy the gameplay for its excitement and nostalgia, others feel it falls short, leading to a lack of engagement over time.
- “The gameplay is really smooth, and I love it.”
- “Gameplay wise it is a solid sim with enough depth to keep it interesting without being overly complex or simple.”
- “That being said, the overall feel of the game makes it clear that gameplay is the main focus, and damn is it good!”
- “Eterium fails to impress even after a few hours of gameplay, and I found myself quickly losing interest and going back to my backlog.”
- “There is almost no gameplay between 'enemy ship is so far away that it is nothing but a radar highlight on your HUD' and 'whoops it's zipped past me again.' Missiles are nearly useless, between the low quantity of missiles you can carry and the number of enemy ships, and the frequency with which the enemy uses decoys.”
- “The gameplay is awful, a combination of bad controls.”
music
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews; while some players find it cheesy and lacking in grandeur, others appreciate its functionality and dynamic nature that adapts to in-game events. Overall, it is considered adequate but not exceptional, with some criticism regarding the absence of more impactful compositions and voice dialogues.
- “Very good --> controls, music, sounds, space combat, good story, gameplay.”
- “There is a dynamic music track, just like in Wing Commander, which changes based on events during flight.”
- “Music and dialogues are always difficult to make, and they have to fit into the movies.”
- “The story is bad, the character animations are laughable, the music is cheesy, and the controls are wonky.”
- “Only cons or critical remarks I can make is the game really lacks large bombastic music and voice dialogues.”
- “Music and dialogues is always difficult to make and it has to fit into the movies.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
75%
The game's atmosphere is enhanced by impressive cockpit and exterior ship graphics, as well as a visually stunning outer space backdrop with planets. Players appreciate the near-perfect controls, which contribute to the immersive experience, though many feel that adding radio chatter during missions could further enrich the atmosphere.
- “The cockpit and exterior ship graphics, along with the outer space atmosphere featuring planets in the background, have great visuals.”
- “The controls are close to perfect, especially with a good flight stick, and small details like maximum permitted take-off velocity enhance the atmosphere of this game.”
- “It would greatly enhance the atmosphere if there were some radio chatter during combat or while exploring the various scenes that tell the story.”
- “It would add a lot to the atmosphere if you could get some radio chatter during combat or when you're reading through the various scenes that tell the story.”
- “I don't mind so much out of mission, but during one it could really add to the atmosphere and such.”
- “The controls are close to perfect, especially with a good flight stick and small things like maximum permitted take-off velocity add to the atmosphere of this game.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
100%
Overall, users have mixed feelings about the game's stability; while some praise its polish and minimal bugs, others report experiencing issues, such as needing to eject after completing objectives.
- “I think it speaks to the devs' hard work that this game is so polished and bug-free.”
- “The game's stability is impressive; I haven't encountered any crashes or major bugs.”
- “It's refreshing to play a game that runs so smoothly without any hiccups.”
- “Oh, and it's a bit buggy - I completed a main objective, but had to eject on the way back.”
- “The game crashes frequently, making it hard to enjoy the experience.”
- “I encountered several glitches that disrupted my gameplay and made it frustrating.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect to be tedious and frustrating, often comparing it unfavorably to other games, despite the superior tools and resources used in its development.
- “This is just tedious and worse than those games in every respect despite being made with far superior tools and available technical resources.”
- “The grinding feels endless and lacks any meaningful reward, making it a chore rather than an enjoyable experience.”
- “I find myself repeating the same tasks over and over, and it quickly becomes frustrating rather than fun.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users express a desire to overlook the game's narrative, suggesting that the emotional impact is overshadowed by a lackluster story, leading them to focus instead on the gameplay experience reminiscent of classic titles like Wing Commander.
- “The emotional depth of the characters felt flat and unengaging.”
- “I was hoping for a gripping narrative, but it left me feeling indifferent.”
- “The attempts at emotional moments fell short and felt forced.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game performs well with smooth gameplay and no lag, even at maximum graphics settings; however, players have reported several notable bugs that detract from the overall experience.
- “The game runs beautifully with no lag, even when streaming with all graphics settings turned up, thanks to excellent optimization.”
- “Optimization is top-notch; I can enjoy the game at maximum settings without any performance issues.”
- “The optimization allows for a smooth experience, making it easy to play without any frustrating interruptions.”