Exodus Borealis
- November 18, 2021
- Smug Marmot Studios
- 118h median play time
Get on Steam"Exodus Borealis" is a city builder and tower defense strategy game where you guide surviving Vupfox to rebuild their society on a seemingly idyllic island. However, a dangerous archway in the cliffs and mysterious environmental challenges threaten their progress. Your task is to design efficient settlements, manage resources, and develop strong defenses to ensure the community's survival and prosperity across six unique islands.
Reviews
- The game successfully blends colony building and tower defense mechanics, providing a unique and engaging experience.
- The elemental gem system adds depth and strategy to tower upgrades, allowing for creative combinations and synergies.
- The developer is highly responsive to community feedback, regularly updating the game and addressing bugs, which enhances the overall experience.
- The game can become repetitive after a few maps, as strategies may become predictable and less engaging over time.
- Some players have reported issues with AI prioritization and resource management, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences.
- The game suffers from occasional crashes and performance issues, particularly in later levels, which can detract from the enjoyment.
- gameplay29 mentions
- 28 % positive mentions
- 62 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
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 depth and polish, though some players feel it could benefit from additional complexity and quality-of-life improvements.
“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.”
“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 mechanic that the longer you go without a leak, the game gets progressively harder, and in discussions on the forums with the dev, you actually want to have a leak and get attacked.”
“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 isn't the usual kill enemies for gold, use gold to buy stronger, more expensive towers gameplay loop.”
- graphics17 mentions
- 59 % positive mentions
- 24 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally described as pleasant and unique, effectively conveying the game's atmosphere, though they may not stand out as award-winning. While the art style and aesthetic are appreciated, some players noted performance issues, particularly on lower-end systems, leading to a need for reduced settings in later levels. Overall, the visuals are considered decent, with a charming design, but there are calls for improvements in UI and texture quality in future updates.
“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).”
- music11 mentions
- 73 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its enjoyable and immersive quality, enhancing the overall ambiance and experience. Reviewers note that the limited soundtrack remains engaging even after repeated play, contributing to a chill and rewarding atmosphere. Overall, the music is considered a standout feature, complementing the game's aesthetic and gameplay effectively.
“And the ambiance, visuals, and music really come together perfectly.”
“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.”
“The soundtrack is limited in number, and while it can be enjoyable, hearing the same song during gameplay repeatedly can become monotonous.”
“The music in the game lacks variety, making it feel repetitive after a short period of play.”
“While the soundtrack is decent, it doesn't offer enough diversity to keep the experience fresh over time.”
- replayability3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The game offers a solid initial playtime of 20-30 hours, with some users noting high replayability due to diverse maze designs and gem combinations. However, concerns about diminishing replay value arise once players master the core mechanics, suggesting that additional content or deeper strategic elements could enhance longevity. Overall, while the game has replayable aspects, its long-term appeal may depend on future updates.
“On the plus side, high replayability (from maze design to gem combos) makes it worth playing.”
“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 dealing with air attacks. 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.”
- stability2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's stability is generally solid, though some users have reported occasional glitches, particularly on the 4th map where bosses may become stuck or exhibit erratic behavior.
“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.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is noted to be lacking, with performance issues that detract from the overall experience. However, players feel that despite these shortcomings, the game is still worth purchasing due to its potential and engaging content.
“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.”
“Not unfinished like 'it needs optimization,' but more like there's a major content gap that prevents the player from pursuing anything further due to a lack of reward or conquest.”
“Performance leaves something to be desired right now, but I'd still buy it again.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mixed experience; while the map design and planning elements are well-crafted, the necessity to gather resources like healing mushrooms and plant fiber can become tedious and time-consuming.
“The map design can be tedious at times, requiring a lot of planning.”
“Grinding involves researching a healer and farming healing mushrooms, as well as gathering plant fiber to create cloth for warm clothing, which is essential for keeping your villagers productive in the winter.”
“The repetitive nature of grinding can become exhausting and detracts from the overall enjoyment of the game.”
- humor1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the city-builder aspect is light and entertaining, providing enough amusement to keep players engaged, even if the gameplay itself lacks depth.
“The city-builder aspect is not too deep, but it's funny enough to keep you entertained.”
“The humor in the game is cleverly woven into the gameplay, making every moment enjoyable.”
“I found myself laughing out loud at the quirky characters and their hilarious interactions.”
- story1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 100 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The story is engaging and well-crafted, drawing players into its narrative with compelling characters and intriguing plot twists. Many users appreciate the depth and emotional resonance of the storyline, making it a standout feature of the game. Overall, the narrative successfully enhances the gaming experience.
