Exodus Borealis

Exodus Borealis is a good mix of genres. It creates tensions by asking gamers to constantly balance priorities and work with limited resources. It introduces quite a bit of complexity with its gems and challenges the player to create a solid tower system that will take down enemies and can be easily expanded. I, personally, didn’t love the choice to make monsters only attack targets in the village, rather than the actual towers. But I understand how it helps balance the experience while increasing the danger level. The main ideas of Exodus Borealis are good and it will be interesting to see whether Smug Marmot Studios will expand on them using the Vupfox or if they plan to use new protagonists for their next project. Review code provided by the developer.

91%Game Brain Score

gameplay, graphics

replayability, stability

93% User Score Based on 384 reviews

Critic Score 80%Based on 1 reviews

Platforms

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About

Exodus Borealis is a single player strategy game with a fantasy theme. It was developed by Smug Marmot Studios and was released on November 18, 2021. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and very positive reviews from players.

In this city builder and tower defense game, you will command a small band of ship wrecked colonists. Go from struggling to survive the elements to a thriving kingdom that will smash the demon hordes that dare attack your settlement.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

93%

Audience ScoreBased on 384 reviews

gameplay16 positive mentions

stability4 negative mentions

The game successfully blends colony building and tower defense mechanics, providing a unique and engaging experience.
The elemental gem system adds depth to tower upgrades and strategies, allowing for creative gameplay.
The developer is responsive to community feedback and actively works on updates, enhancing the overall experience.

The game can become repetitive after a few maps, as strategies may become predictable and less engaging.
Some players experience issues with resource management and AI prioritization, leading to frustrating gameplay moments.
The game has a steep learning curve, and the reliance on RNG for gem drops can lead to inconsistent progress.

gameplay
58 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
67%
5%
The gameplay is a unique blend of tower defense and city-building mechanics, requiring players to balance resource management and strategic planning while facing progressively challenging waves of enemies. While the game introduces innovative features, such as the risk-reward system of allowing leaks, it can become repetitive as players master the mechanics. Overall, it offers engaging content with solid depth, though some areas could benefit from further polish and additional features.
- “It has many of the same gameplay elements but throws in a strong tower defense mechanism, in which you must balance growing your town and managing your resources, educating your children, and operating a successful society with creating towers, walls, and corridors for a never-ending swarm of monsters that want to ruin you.”
- “Extremely polished with sweet animations and a killer tower defense / colony survival gameplay loop.”
- “Really unique tower defense game with city building and resource management mechanics!”
- “The gameplay is as follows: it has many of the same gameplay elements but throws in a strong tower defense mechanism, in which you must balance growing your town and managing your resources, educating your children, and operating a successful society with creating towers, walls, and corridors for a never-ending swarm of monsters that want to ruin you.”
- “Just like all tower defense games, at some point you get a feel for mechanics and strategies which leads to the gameplay becoming a little repetitive.”
- “It could use some polish in some areas, or more in-depth mechanics, but what it's on it already offers some fun quality content for hours.”
graphics
34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
59%
32%
9%
The graphics of the game are generally described as pleasant and unique, effectively conveying the game's atmosphere, though they do not stand out as exceptional. While the art style and aesthetic are appreciated, some players noted performance issues, particularly on lower-end systems, leading to a recommendation to adjust settings for smoother gameplay. Overall, the visuals are considered decent but could benefit from updates and improvements in future iterations.
- “Graphically, the game is pleasant to look at, and the varieties of structures and towers are sufficient to play with.”
- “The graphics are very unique and do an excellent job of conveying the feel of the world you are creating.”
- “The music is epic and the graphics are stellar; great job dev; this game is a gem.”
- “Great complexity, but wins no awards for graphics.”
- “The graphics are a pain point, since I've barely noticed a difference between everything at max and everything at min, but it could just be my old PC to blame.”
- “Hopefully next time they could update the UI, textures, and graphics (definitely needs improvement, but as the game progresses it started to get heavy too, so probably won't be seeing this for now).”
music
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
73%
27%
The music in the game is widely praised for its quality and ability to enhance the overall experience, with many players noting that the limited soundtrack remains enjoyable even after repeated play. The combination of ambiance, visuals, and music creates a cohesive and immersive atmosphere, making it a standout feature that contributes to the game's charm and appeal. Overall, the soundtrack is described as epic and chill, perfectly complementing the gameplay and aesthetic.
- “The music is epic and the graphics are stellar, great job dev; this game is a *gem*.”
- “Well worth just playing and chilling to the awesome music.”
- “Pleasing music, good balance, good aesthetic, pleasant level of detail.”
replayability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
34%
33%
The game offers a solid 20-30 hours of content with a complete game loop and various strategies, contributing to its replayability. However, once players master the core mechanics, the replay value may diminish unless additional content or deeper strategic elements are introduced. Overall, while there are opportunities for replay through maze design and gem combinations, the current offering may not sustain long-term engagement without further updates.
- “On the plus side, high replayability (from maze design to gem combos) makes it worth playing.”
- “The game offers a unique experience that encourages players to explore different strategies and approaches, enhancing its replay value.”
- “Since there's nothing really like this out there, I'd say the $30 is a fine asking price, but at that price and once you figure out the magical formula, I don't see a lot of replay value unless more is added to the game or deeper requirements of strategies such as gem fusions and so on or dealing with air attacks as well. You'll spend a good 20-30 hours with the current content.”
- “The game loop is complete, the elements are complete, the progression is complete, there is a win condition, and there are higher difficulties and a variety of strategies if you want replayability.”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, the game's stability is generally solid, though players have reported occasional glitches, particularly on the 4th map where bosses may become stuck or warp unexpectedly.
- “I've only experienced a handful of glitches on the 4th map where the boss gets stuck and eventually warps around.”
- “It can, however, get a little bit buggy at that point.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game's optimization is criticized for its performance issues, which detract from the overall experience, yet players still express a willingness to purchase it again. Additionally, there is a notable content gap that limits player engagement and progression, rather than it feeling outright unfinished.
- “Performance leaves something to be desired right now, but I'd still buy it again.”
- “Not unfinished like 'it needs optimization,' but more like there's a major content gap that prevents the player from pursuing anything further for lack of reward or conquest.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mixed experience; while the map design and overall gameplay are well-crafted, the necessity for extensive resource gathering and planning—such as farming for healing items and crafting materials—can become tedious and time-consuming.
- “These are affected by various things like needing to research a healer and farm healing mushrooms, or farming plant fiber to create cloth in order to make warm clothing so your villagers are more productive in the winter.”
- “Well made tower defense, but the map design can be tedious at times; a lot of planning is needed.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the city-builder aspect is light and entertaining, providing enough amusement to keep players engaged, despite its lack of depth.
- “The city-builder part is not too deep but funny enough to keep you occupied.”
story
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The reviews emphasize a strong narrative presence, suggesting that the story is engaging and well-crafted, drawing players into its world. However, the repetition in the feedback indicates a need for more varied perspectives on the storyline.