Evopollution
- April 23, 2014
- Atapki
- 5h median play time
Get on SteamEvopollution is a single-player strategy game where you build and manage oil drills, solar farms, and other structures to earn profits and reach a $1,000,000 goal. Be cautious of pollution created by your buildings, as it can lead to natural disasters that damage your progress. The game features randomly generated maps, pixel art graphics, and an original soundtrack to play on various terrains, including the option to terraform Mars.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Evopollution has an interesting concept that challenges players to balance energy production with environmental impact.
- The retro pixel art style is charming and adds a unique aesthetic to the game.
- Some players found the game to be a relaxing experience, allowing them to engage with its mechanics at their own pace.
- The gameplay is overly simplistic and often feels like a waiting simulator with little to no challenge.
- There is a lack of clear instructions or tutorials, making it difficult for players to understand the mechanics and objectives.
- Technical issues, such as poor graphics options and repetitive gameplay, detract from the overall experience and make it feel unfinished.
- gameplay30 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The gameplay has been widely criticized for being dull, repetitive, and poorly designed, with many players noting a lack of engaging mechanics and confusing controls. Players often find themselves waiting for resources to accumulate without meaningful interaction or strategy, leading to a frustrating experience. Despite some interesting concepts, the execution falls short, leaving the game feeling incomplete and unbalanced.
“The mechanics are simple.”
“It's an overall great buy for a similar gameplay experience for the cost.”
“Mechanics are interesting albeit shallow, also trees cost money over time to own, which is not intuitive and not obviously explained.”
“The gameplay is clunky, controls are confusing, game's mechanics are not properly explained, and the list goes on.”
“There's not much content or gameplay; it mostly involves just sitting and waiting for your money to pile up enough to advance, with very little planning or strategy involved.”
“Still, there is no real gameplay here besides waiting it out while you are either being shelled by the dark energies of the pollution planet, with meteors and space worms destroying your buildings, or choosing not to produce any pollution and then waiting it out while nothing whatsoever happens.”
- graphics18 mentions
- 22 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game feature a nostalgic retro pixel art style reminiscent of 16-bit era consoles, which many players find charming and well-executed. However, there are limitations, such as a lack of resolution options and graphics tweaks, which detracts from the overall experience. While some appreciate the cute and simplistic visuals, others express a desire for more graphical enhancements and variety in gameplay.
“The graphics are cute.”
“Evopollution has a simple pixelated art style, somewhat similar to that of the 16-bit era of consoles. The way the game looks actually reminds me of the typical SNES action/adventure game.”
“Graphics itself are really nice; I like this retro Pokémon look.”
“A choice was made to use obsolete, decades-old retro pixel art as a substitute for contemporary PC graphics.”
“There's no option to change the resolution and no useful graphics tweaks.”
“Wish there were at least some more graphics options.”
- music16 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 44 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally perceived as repetitive and annoying, with players noting that the single looping track quickly becomes grating during extended play sessions. While some find it attempts to create an ambient atmosphere, the lack of variety and options for adjusting sound settings detracts from the overall experience. Many users ultimately express frustration, leading them to turn off the music entirely.
“I relaxed for 5 minutes listening to this music, long enough to realize that I would be okay.”
“The sound/music is attempting to create a sense of ambience.”
“Moreover, the whole game (featuring music, menu, interface) needs more love.”
“It also seems to bug me that the music is the same throughout, which gets annoying, especially from all the painful waiting.”
“After 6 minutes, I got annoyed with the music and turned off the game. I looked up if there was any chance of me losing if I had kept playing, and then knew that this game was a waste of time.”
“The music is chirpy and annoying for a game that requires long and considerate attention in a gaming session.”
- story4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The story aspect of the game is perceived as lacking depth, with a moral about perseverance overshadowed by a vague mission to earn money without causing destruction. Reviewers find the narrative underdeveloped and the overall experience reminiscent of a simplistic mobile game, leaving it feeling incomplete.
“Moral of the story: you never know what life has in store for you, and if I had given up when all odds were against me, I wouldn't be where I am today.”
“Your mission, should you choose to accept it, is to earn $1,000,000, while not destroying the world in the process.”
“- no storyline”
“In either case, this seemingly cute strategy game features almost as much gameplay as your typical mobile progress bar quest time-eater game, and largely feels incomplete with little hope for update.”
- replayability2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -150 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's replayability is limited, with many players feeling that it lacks engaging goals and becomes tedious after a short playtime. However, the inclusion of random generation in the five available maps offers some variability, primarily affecting resource placement, which may provide a slight incentive for repeated play.
“The random generation in the five maps you can choose from significantly enhances the replayability, especially in terms of the number and location of oil nodes.”
“Each playthrough feels fresh due to the diverse strategies you can employ, making you want to come back for more.”
“The variety of character builds and choices available ensures that no two runs are ever the same, greatly increasing the game's replay value.”
“There are no fun goals to aim for, no replay value, and after 30 minutes you are already sick of the game.”
“The fact that there is random generation in the 5 maps you can choose from adds to the replayability, although the only thing I really noticed this having an impact on is the number and location of oil nodes.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by its absurd and exaggerated consequences of player actions, such as the comical side effects of polluting power plants and the over-the-top reactions to attempts at demolition, like a nuclear power station exploding. This heavy-handed approach to messaging adds a layer of hilarity, making the gameplay experience both entertaining and satirical.
“All polluting power plants have hilarious side effects that make the game harder and kill everything around them with immediacy.”
“Not really a game at all, and the heavy-handed messaging is just hilarious (a nuclear power station explodes if you try demolishing it!?).”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, particularly when it comes to managing resources like pollution and trees, especially after reaching a point where there are limited building options left.
“It's pretty neat having to balance pollution with trees, but it becomes very tedious to AFK once you've built everything you can.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -300 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players have noted that the game's optimization mechanics can lead to a lack of engaging content after maximizing profits, leaving little to do until reaching the financial goal of $1,000,000.
“The optimization mechanics in the game are incredibly satisfying, allowing players to fine-tune their strategies for maximum efficiency.”
“I love how the game encourages you to optimize your resources, making every decision feel impactful and rewarding.”
“The depth of optimization available keeps me engaged, as I constantly find new ways to improve my setup and achieve my goals.”
“Another problem with the game is that once you have optimized everything to make the most profit possible, there is absolutely nothing left to do until you reach your goal of $1,000,000.”
