Gaia

About

"Gaia" is a single-player Role Playing game offering approximately 3 hours of playtime. As a treasure hunter seeking the ancient planet of Gaia, you must navigate a crashed ship, harvest alien resources, and build modular bases, while encountering three distinct AI storytellers providing varied gameplay experiences. Crafting items, vehicles, and blueprints adds depth to this immersive quest for ancient technology.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

57%

Audience ScoreBased on 68 reviews

gameplay4 positive mentions

stability5 negative mentions

The game has a lot of potential with interesting gameplay concepts like natural disasters and character customization.
The developer is responsive to community feedback and has shown dedication to improving the game.
Despite its flaws, the game can be addictive and offers a unique survival experience with a mix of crafting and exploration.

The game suffers from serious optimization issues, including lag, poor graphics, and a clunky user interface.
Many gameplay mechanics are poorly designed, leading to frustrating experiences with resource management and building.
The game feels incomplete and lacks sufficient content, making it feel more like an early alpha than a finished product.

graphics
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
58%
21%
The graphics of the game have received overwhelmingly negative feedback, with many users describing them as outdated, reminiscent of 90s titles, and poorly optimized, leading to lag and a lack of polish. While some players acknowledge the charm and potential of the visuals for an early access title, the consensus is that significant improvements are needed in textures, effects, and overall presentation to meet modern gaming standards. Despite these criticisms, a few players find the graphics acceptable for a budget game, highlighting that gameplay can still be enjoyable despite the visual shortcomings.
- “The graphics are decent enough for a budget game and it has a unique charm I must say!”
- “Ok so here is what I like about it, the graphics are okay, the buildings are stellarly nice.”
- “+ World and creature graphics are good.”
- “Worthless game that looks even worse than the trailer... extremely limited to what you can build, terrible optimization and constantly lags, graphics that would make the 90s want to stop gaming, horrible UI.... seriously a 9 year old could make a better game than this.... it's not even a real survival game.. straight garbage.”
- “It is a basic sandbox planet explorer game with abominable storage and inventory problems, minimal inventory stacking, and still jerky graphics with enough fogginess to everything that playing feels like running around with minor nearsightedness at all times.”
- “The graphics feel like I am playing a game from 10 years ago with the graphics setting maxed out.”
gameplay
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
59%
18%
The gameplay of the game is a mixed bag, featuring interesting concepts like natural disasters and unique trading mechanics, but marred by serious design flaws and a lack of engaging secondary activities. While some players find it enjoyable and relaxing after understanding the mechanics, others criticize it for clumsy execution and reliance on tedious tasks. Overall, the game shows potential but suffers from significant oversights and a need for polish.
- “Wow, I have to say... most of the bad comments have minimal hours spent on the game. I've had at least 5 hours and I'm definitely going to spend more. It's everything to expect from an early access game, and I've had a few now. There will be bugs, there will be glitchy graphics, but the gameplay is great and keeps making me want to go back for more.”
- “Some gameplay concepts like random natural disasters and base raids keep players alert, while trading is done in a unique way, which is interesting.”
- “Gameplay is divided into session preparation, exploration, management, trading, and combat.”
- “Serious design flaws regarding several gameplay aspects.”
- “Absence of secondary activities to break the main gameplay loop: no quests, locations, or NPCs.”
- “Overall, Gaia is a sandbox with some good ideas and concepts, but for the most part fails to execute them properly and is overwhelmed by design oversights, lack of polishing, and flawed gameplay mechanics.”
story
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
25%
38%
The game features three distinct narrators that offer varied storytelling experiences, adding depth to the gameplay. However, some players find significant plot holes, such as the lack of merchant intervention in critical situations, and note that the story remains underdeveloped, lacking cut-scenes and a cohesive narrative. Overall, while the concept is intriguing, the execution leaves much to be desired.
- “Three different story narrators make the gameplay feel unique and add an interesting concept to the experience.”
- “There are three separate storytellers that create a very different game experience.”
- “Something where you gather resources, struggle to survive, build up a base, and have to deal with increasing challenges - fending off raids on your base, traveling to increasingly more dangerous areas, contending with weather and mother nature, all while working towards a goal and uncovering the story of the world.”
- “Why the merchants don't just save you from your situation is beyond my comprehension and a huge plot hole.”
- “No cut-scenes or story to speak of at this stage of the game.”
- “There are three separate 'storytellers' that create a very different game experience.”
optimization
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
60%
The game suffers from severe optimization issues, including significant lag, excessive RAM consumption (up to 18 GB), and long loading times, leading to a frustrating user experience. Many players criticize the graphics and overall performance, suggesting that substantial improvements are necessary for it to be considered acceptable.
- “It needs serious optimization to bring its performance to an acceptable level.”
- “There are optimization problems with loading times and RAM consumption.”
- “The game has significant optimization issues, managing to constantly consume an outrageous 16 to 18 GB of RAM while running.”
- “It needs serious optimizations to bring its performance to acceptable levels.”
- “Optimization problems with loading times and RAM consumption.”
- “Significant optimization problems: the game managed to constantly consume an outrageous 16 to 18 GBs of RAM while running.”
stability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The stability of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players experiencing significant issues such as game-breaking bugs, unresponsive saves, and a problematic tutorial that requires restarting the game. Conversely, others report minimal problems, noting only minor glitches like FPS drops and stuttering. Overall, the game appears to be in a rough state, particularly for those who are sensitive to bugs and glitches.
- “The game is buggy and game-breaking, where saves won't save and I have to quit out. It gets better, but the save won't load, which is game-breaking. I'm not happy with the limited building options.”
- “I could also live with the buggy tutorial, but I had to restart several times as it got stuck. Each time, I had to quit the entire game to try again.”
- “The tutorial is buggy.”
music
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
40%
The music in the game has received high praise, with users describing it as lovely and amazing, highlighting the soundtrack as a standout feature that scores a perfect 10/10.
- “The music is really amazing, to be honest.”
- “We scored a real home run with the soundtrack.”
- “10/10 for the soundtrack.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviewers appreciate the game's dynamic weather system, which enhances the overall atmosphere and ambience, creating a nostalgic feeling reminiscent of classic Bristol sound influences like Massive Attack and Tricky. The combination of these elements contributes to a compelling and immersive experience.
- “I really enjoy games that have a very dynamic weather system; this adds a lot of atmosphere and ambience that is the icing on the cake for me.”
- “There is a good atmosphere, and the game gives me a good feeling when I play it, kind of nostalgic in a way.”
- “The initial tracks remind me of the old Bristol sound—Massive Attack and Tricky—and there is also a very slick atmospheric sound.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
The monetization aspect of the game is generally positive, as it features no ads, allowing for a more immersive experience. However, some players feel that the gameplay mechanics, particularly aiming, are floaty and inaccurate, which may detract from overall enjoyment.
- “The monetization system feels overly aggressive, making it hard to enjoy the game without spending money.”
- “I was disappointed to find that many features are locked behind paywalls, which ruins the overall experience.”
- “The constant push for in-game purchases detracts from the gameplay and makes it feel more like a cash grab.”
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Reviews indicate that while the grinding aspect of the game can feel excessive to some players, others appreciate it as a rewarding challenge.
- “The game can be a bit grindy, but at the same time, some people enjoy that aspect.”
- “Grinding feels repetitive and tedious, making it hard to stay engaged.”
- “The amount of grinding required to progress is overwhelming and detracts from the overall experience.”