Ice Caves of Europa
- July 9, 2018
- Io Normal
Get on SteamIce Caves of Europa will challenge your reflexes and your mind, blending free-flowing precision flight with confronting science fiction ideas about the nature of humanity. An inquisitive flying robot exploring the hazardous caves beneath Europa stumbles upon a sinister interplanetary conspiracy.
Mac OS
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game offers a surprisingly fun experience, with some players enjoying it enough to replay multiple times.
- The atmosphere and graphics are praised, creating a spooky and immersive environment in the ice caves of Europa.
- The gameplay provides a challenging simulation experience, particularly in controlling the drone, which some players found rewarding.
- The story is underwhelming and filled with poor dialogue, leading to a lack of engagement and immersion.
- Drone control is difficult, especially without a dedicated controller, making gameplay frustrating for some players.
- The game lacks sound effects and ambient audio, contributing to a feeling of emptiness and reducing overall immersion.
- story16 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The game's story is criticized for being short and underwhelming, with players noting that it can be completed in just over two hours. Many reviews highlight the excessive reliance on dialogue, which detracts from gameplay, and the introduction of new mechanics through tedious simulations. Overall, while some players hope for future content, the narrative experience is generally seen as uninspired and lacking depth.
“Took me 8 hours to complete the game story.”
“Hope there will be some future DLC or follow-on story.”
“It's short (just over 2 hours for me for the story mode).”
“The negative review is due to an underwhelming story and difficult/borderline impossible drone control if you don't use a dedicated controller.”
“Try not to tell 100% of your story through dialogue, otherwise I'll just go read a book.”
“Every few seconds the game wrenches control from the player to give them more boring, uninspired dialogue about some random thing, and every mission or two when a new mechanic needs to be introduced (don't get your hopes up, there's only about three), the game breaks from the actual events to run the player through a no-risk 'simulation' filled with, yep, you guessed it.”
- gameplay12 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 58 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The gameplay involves controlling a drone in the ice caves of Europa, focusing on tasks like gathering mineral samples and melting ice barriers, but it is frequently interrupted by cutscenes and uninspired dialogue. Players have noted a lack of engaging mechanics, with only a few introduced throughout the game, leading to a repetitive experience that detracts from the overall enjoyment.
“I saw this game at PAX AUS 2018 and wanted to give it a try since I like fine-control vehicular gameplay and aircraft.”
“Good games will show the player what to do through the gameplay.”
“Every few seconds the game wrenches control from the player to give them more boring, uninspired dialogue about some random thing, and every mission or two when a new mechanic needs to be introduced (don't get your hopes up, there's only about three), the game breaks from the actual events to run the player through a no-risk 'simulation' filled with, yep, you guessed it.”
“That is the entirety of the gameplay.”
“The gameplay is you controlling a drone flying through narrow passages (specifically, the ice caves of Europa) gathering mineral samples, melting ice barriers, and watching cutscenes.”
- music4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The game's soundtrack is generally considered decent, but it often fails to match the intensity of the gameplay, with serene and spacey music playing during high-stakes moments, which detracts from the overall experience.
“You're flying for your life to get out of the caves and there's just some serene spacey music playing.”
“You're flying for your life to get out of the caves and there's just some serene, spacey music playing.”
- graphics2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The graphics are consistently praised for their high quality, contributing to an engaging visual experience. Additionally, the game's dry sense of humor complements the overall aesthetic, enhancing the enjoyment of the graphics.
“Great graphics and a dry sense of humor.”
