Idling Gears

About

"Idling Gears" is a clicker idler game where you make money to buy gear, which in turn makes you more money. The game features basic mechanics such as clicking on the golden gear to earn money, purchasing upgrades and gears, and ascension for permanent boosts. With hidden surprises, achievements, and a simple design, "Idling Gears" offers countless hours of gameplay.

Genres & Tags

Casual

Play Modes

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

71%

Audience ScoreBased on 229 reviews

gameplay12 positive mentions

grinding7 negative mentions

The game has a unique and engaging concept that allows for creative gear setups and optimization.
Once the mechanics click, the game becomes enjoyable and offers a satisfying idle experience.
The developer is responsive and actively working on updates, improving the game based on community feedback.

The game has a steep learning curve and can feel slow and tedious at the start, requiring a lot of clicking.
Many mechanics are poorly explained, leading to confusion about how to effectively progress.
The UI is clunky and can hinder gameplay, making it difficult to manage gear placements and upgrades.

gameplay
45 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
58%
16%
Gameplay reviews highlight a mix of innovative mechanics and significant shortcomings. While some players appreciate the unique approach to gear mechanics and the potential for educational value, many criticize the poorly explained systems, lack of engaging endgame content, and clunky gameplay loops that detract from the overall experience. The game shows promise but requires better polish, clearer instructions, and more intuitive mechanics to fully realize its potential.
- “This game is a solid, enjoyable idle game that has strong core mechanics and an active dev; what more could you ask for.”
- “If you’re mechanically minded, this game is incredibly intuitive and cathartic.”
- “It is interesting, unique in the market, and a fantastic explanation on the basics of gearing and mechanical engineering.”
- “The game is missing an actual fulfilling endgame; getting all the upgrades is relatively easy, and the core gameplay loop is actually short.”
- “Interesting premise but sadly underdeveloped, buggy, and with extremely poorly explained mechanics that turn out to provide little by way of meaningful choice within the gameplay.”
- “The gameplay is clunky; there are no residual compounding effects of ascending.”
grinding
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and time-consuming, often requiring extensive effort to unlock new features or progress. The user interface and controls are criticized for being janky and cumbersome, which further detracts from the overall enjoyment of the grinding experience. While some players still find the game fun, the grind is perceived as excessive and frustrating.
- “It just seems out of reach without a month of grinding.”
- “I seem to have hit all the gameplay elements thus far, so a month of grinding to unlock a new unknown feature is too much.”
- “You have to completely remove everything and start from scratch, which is tedious.”
optimization
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game's optimization is a central aspect, particularly for players who enjoy resource management and efficient setups, such as gear trains. However, some reviewers note that once optimal configurations are achieved, the game feels somewhat lacking in features, which may limit long-term engagement. Overall, it is recommended for fans of idle games who appreciate the optimization challenge.
- “I want to recommend the game for purchase; it scratches all my gear-ratio itches and optimization problems.”
- “When it comes to idlers, the player's optimization of resources is always the key to progression.”
- “In this game, optimization is closely tied to the player's ability to set up gear trains that are efficient in both speed and torque delivery.”
- “There are too few features to suggest that it might be for performance reasons.”
- “That being said, I mirror some of the complaints I've seen in other reviews, that once an optimized setup is figured out, the game is a little feature bare.”
- “And in this game, optimization is closely tied to the player's ability to set up gear trains that are efficient in both speed and torque delivery.”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability has received mixed reviews, with some players reporting significant bugs that hinder gameplay, while others note a lack of clarity in mechanics rather than outright technical issues. Overall, the consensus suggests that the game is underdeveloped and may feel unstable, impacting the overall experience.
- “However, unfortunately, the game is buggy to the extent that it's close to unplayable.”
- “Interesting premise but sadly underdeveloped, buggy, and with extremely poorly explained mechanics that turn out to provide little by way of meaningful choice within the gameplay.”
- “This game feels weirdly buggy, which is odd as I've not encountered any actual bugs.”
graphics
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The graphics in the game are criticized for feeling forced and lacking genuine integration into the gameplay, leading to a disjointed aesthetic experience. Players express frustration over the use of achievements that do not reflect meaningful accomplishments, detracting from the overall visual appeal and engagement.
- “Several of these terms feature in the game but are just shoehorned in to pander to the aesthetic.”
- “Considering the game is in a complete, non-early access state, I have to unfortunately leave a thumbs down, until the dev can learn to communicate with their demographic better.”
- “This isn't even including special gear types which include their own benefits and visuals.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is highlighted by its playful absurdity, such as the amusingly low cost of the plantera idling gears bundle compared to the gears alone, and the exaggerated claims of income from upgraded minigames, which players find comically misleading. Overall, the game's humor adds to its charm and keeps players engaged.
- “Also, funny, the Plantera idling gears bundle costs less than idling gears alone, lol.”
- “Overall, I’m in love with this and needed to play it from the second I saw DangerouslyFunny poking gears.”
- “The minigame block that I spent like $20,000 upgrading claims that it now gives 4 and a half minutes of income, but this is a hilarious lie.”
music
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The music in the game is generally praised as pleasant and enjoyable, enhancing the overall experience for players. However, some users feel that while the music is a highlight, it is overshadowed by issues with controls and user interface, suggesting that improvements are needed in those areas.
- “The music is absolutely lovely, making it a delightful game to spend your time exploring. I swear it's chef's kiss.”
- “The pleasant music enhances the overall experience, creating an immersive atmosphere.”
- “Definitely, but the tedious controls of placing gears and the UI/music aren't great. It leaves much to be desired and doesn't seem like there's much to it at the moment (considering I didn't progress too far).”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Players note that frequent updates have significantly improved the game's playability and addressed initial issues, enhancing its overall replayability.
- “Since I got it, there have been many updates that made the game more playable and solved some of the few issues I could find at first.”
- “It would help with replayability.”