Idle Lumber Empire

About

"Idle Lumber Empire" is a simulation game where players manage a logging factory to build an idle lumber empire. The game boasts enjoyable gameplay, enhanced by its pretty visuals and humorous moments. However, it features heavy grinding and extensive advertisements, and some players have reported bugs. The goal is to expand and optimize your lumber production for maximum profit and efficiency.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

37%

Audience ScoreBased on 10,000 reviews

gameplay59 positive mentions

monetization4k negative mentions

Fun and engaging gameplay with a charming aesthetic.
Offers a variety of events to keep players interested.
The ad system is mostly optional, allowing players to choose when to watch ads for bonuses.

Progress resets after upgrading factories, forcing players to start from scratch.
Excessive reliance on ads for progression, with many ads being long and unskippable.
Game mechanics can lead to bottlenecks, making it difficult to progress without spending money.

monetization
4,260 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
4%
2%
95%
The monetization aspect of the game has received overwhelmingly negative feedback, with users expressing frustration over the excessive number of ads required to progress. Many players report that they spend more time watching ads than actually playing the game, with some ads lasting up to a minute or more. While some users appreciate the option to watch ads for bonuses, the overall sentiment is that the game feels like a cash grab, with significant pressure to either watch numerous ads or make in-app purchases to advance.
- “Buying the no ads was totally worth it as I haven't watched ads on this game in years and the benefits are just amazing.”
- “The no-ads in-game purchase is true to its word, one-off payment that lasts forever.”
- “No ads means the game can't go forward.”
- “The game is nothing like the advertisements; it's a total cash grab that forces you to watch ads to progress.”
- “You will spend more time watching ads than actually playing the game, which is incredibly frustrating.”
- “The ads are misleading and the gameplay is repetitive; it feels like a never-ending cycle of watching ads to achieve minimal progress.”
gameplay
399 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
76%
9%
Gameplay in this game is heavily criticized for being slow, repetitive, and largely dependent on watching ads to progress, which detracts from the overall experience. Many players feel misled by advertisements that showcase a vastly different and more engaging gameplay than what is actually offered, leading to frustration over the lack of meaningful mechanics and the overwhelming presence of in-app purchases. While some users appreciate the graphics and initial fun, the consensus is that the gameplay quickly becomes tedious and unbalanced, often requiring real money to enjoy a smoother experience.
- “The gameplay is great, and has all the mechanics an idle game needs.”
- “Good game, visuals are good, mechanics are well structured.”
- “Gameplay is reasonably addictive without having to pay (though upsells are quite intrusive.)”
- “The gameplay is completely different from the advertisement; a lot of ads, the gameplay goes in this order: see an advertisement, get money, now update the buildings and machines.”
- “Gameplay is non-existent, unless you consider watching ads for predatory gambling games gameplay.”
- “The gameplay shown in ads is totally fake compared to actual gameplay; do not download, wasting your data.”
graphics
140 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
39%
11%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many players praising the art style and visual appeal, describing it as charming and well-designed. However, several users express disappointment over the lack of graphical progression and the disparity between the advertised visuals and the actual in-game graphics. Overall, while the graphics are generally considered good, they are often overshadowed by gameplay issues and repetitive mechanics.
- “The graphics are wonderfully fitting.”
- “Beautiful graphics and animation, very stunning detail.”
- “Super fun, great graphics, and overall a great game.”
- “However, when I downloaded and played the game, I was met with subpar graphics, repetitive gameplay, and none of the advertised features.”
- “The cost of this game and all additional features are way too expensive for a mobile game with Commodore 64 graphics.”
- “Graphics are bad, gameplay is good.”
stability
135 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
3%
97%
The game's stability is a significant concern among users, with frequent reports of glitches, crashes, and freezing, particularly during or after watching ads. Many players have experienced lost progress and rewards due to these issues, leading to frustration and a reliance on reinstalling the game. Overall, while the game has potential, its current state is marred by persistent technical problems that detract from the overall experience.
- “The graphics are great, the little side jobs are enjoyable, and the game is amazing. Everything about it is good; there are no bugs or glitches, and you can play it without data or Wi-Fi, which is another amazing feature. Love the game, thank you to the creators!”
- “Pretty cool game, but it takes forever to progress unless you spend money. Overall, it's a pretty cool game with no glitches yet.”
- “A really great game with no glitches—just business.”
- “So many glitches and issues the last year and it's annoying as hell.”
- “The game is good, but if you play for more than a few days you become heavily reliant on ads if you don't pay for the 'VIP club', and they have some really buggy ads; some open to a black screen, then you have to tap the screen to get your 'back' button to appear, but that then opens the Google Store app, and when you click 'back' to try to return to the game, the buttons disappear again so you get stuck between the broken ad and the app store.”
- “Game constantly freezes and force closes on Galaxy S24 Ultra.”
story
91 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
5%
88%
7%
The game's story is criticized for being repetitive and lacking depth, with many players feeling constrained by a predetermined narrative that limits their gameplay options. Users express frustration over the slow progression and the reliance on watching ads or spending money to advance, leading to a monotonous experience where missions become tedious and unengaging. Overall, while some appreciate the concept, the execution leaves many feeling bored and dissatisfied with the lack of meaningful story development and mission variety.
- “Everything required to play the game can be earned by completing missions, which is the number one reason I like this game.”
- “Game has a good story but gets slow quickly unless you buy stuff.”
- “Great game but need to get rid of the pay-to-play to get the good reward; might as well make a quest like (build 3 canter ascertain level to get premium rewards) good feel to the game.”
- “The progression of the story is a bit confusing.”
- “This game doesn't have a story, no skills or any kind of thinking required.”
- “Full of bugs and hate games that force you to follow an order vs just let you free play without being forced to follow some stupid story arc.”
grinding
89 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for being excessively tedious and unengaging, with many players expressing frustration over the repetitive nature of tasks and the reliance on ads for progress. While some enjoy the initial gameplay, they quickly find that advancing requires significant time investment or monetary spending, leading to a sense of monotony and dissatisfaction. Overall, the grinding experience is seen as a major drawback, detracting from the game's potential enjoyment.
- “The game is fun for about 4-6 hours, and then gameplay ends with boring grinding.”
- “It's boring and tedious.”
- “Progress has become such a tedious challenge, you keep amounts as high as 'ah' and the rate at which the user can collect that money is super slow.”
music
43 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
7%
74%
19%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many players finding it repetitive, loud, and irritating, often unable to mute or skip it. While some appreciate the relaxing quality of certain tracks, others express frustration over the music interfering with their own audio and the inability to turn it off easily. Additionally, there are complaints about inappropriate content in ads that disrupt the gaming experience.
- “I did like the music though.”
- “New update, the new music makes me laugh, love it.”
- “Still love this game, but devs, please...can we get some new music.”
- “However, besides not looking like the ads at all (what else is new with phone games though), every time I try to play it, it turns off my music even after turning off the game music and sound.”
- “Long, repetitive, irrelevant, loud music, can't mute, can't skip after 5 seconds... it's horrible.”
- “My latest issue with this game is no matter what I do to mute the music and sounds they will play anyway which is super annoying.”
optimization
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
54%
27%
Overall, the game's optimization is widely criticized, with users reporting significant performance issues, including lag, slow loading times, and poor ad integration. Many players express frustration over the game's mechanics, which lead to inefficiencies in resource management and upgrades, further exacerbating the performance problems. Additionally, the game requires a constant online connection, which complicates gameplay and contributes to a sense of dissatisfaction regarding its optimization.
- “Fun game with a focus on some sense of optimization.”
- “I know it triples your income but it still gives me a sense of accomplishment to have an optimized factory.”
- “My criticism is this game needs more optimization again.”
- “Don't know if it just needed more than 15 minutes to verify its data, but it needs to be more optimized for sure.”
- “The events take forever to load and are not optimized well.”
- “Data consumption is very high, but game performance is very poor.”
humor
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
90%
10%
The humor in the game is generally well-received, with players enjoying the quirky characters, amusing physics, and comedic situations, such as exaggerated pricing and absurd gameplay mechanics. However, many users express frustration with the game's progression and technical issues, which detract from the overall fun. While the humor provides an entertaining experience initially, it can become overshadowed by gameplay problems and a lack of updates.
- “The progression is so top heavy it's humorous; you fly through the early levels and then stop.”
- “Not being able to fire my driver and two forklift drivers for sleeping on the job is funny to me and helps me enjoy the game.”
- “This game is very funny and a great way to pass the time; it is different from other games.”
- “Fun, but lost progress - not funny.”
- “It's bad; you get to a certain point in the game and it slows down so much that it's not funny. The reason I even gave it a 1 star is because I wanted people to know not to get this.”
replayability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
60%
Players express that the game's replayability is hindered by intrusive advertisements and bugs that disrupt progression, leading to frustration. Many suggest that reducing ads and enhancing game content, such as adding more stages and fixing glitches, would significantly improve the overall experience and encourage players to return.
- “This game has incredible replayability due to its diverse mechanics and multiple strategies to explore.”
- “Each playthrough feels unique, with different outcomes and challenges that keep me coming back for more.”
- “The variety of choices and paths available ensures that no two games are ever the same, making it highly replayable.”
- “Kinda buggy, the last two limited events told me I was 2 ranks away from unlocking the super manager and didn't give me either of the rewards even though I very much had passed them. It kind of makes the game lose some of its replayability when something like that doesn't function.”
- “After updating everything, the game reached a plain point with no more factories, events, etc. They need to add more stages like multiple factories to make it more playable.”
- “While I understand every game needs to make money, I think they should focus on making the game more playable, which will automatically increase revenues through loyal customers.”
emotional
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users find the emotional aspect of the game to be overwhelming, with some describing the commercials as excessively draining and heartbreaking. There is a desire for a more balanced emotional experience, where players can gradually engage with the content rather than being bombarded by ads. Overall, the emotional engagement is seen as a double-edged sword, eliciting strong feelings but also frustration.
- “Truly heartbreaking”
- “Emotional break always”
- “The commercials were too much emotionally draining.”