Iron Sky: Invasion

About

"Iron Sky: Invasion" is a single-player Historic Real Time Strategy game with excellent game mechanics and stunning visuals, set during the movie's main conflict. As a pilot of a prototype spaceship, defend Earth from the Nazis' space armada in thrilling dogfights, with good music and humor to boot. The ultimate goal is to protect humanity from falling under the Nazi yoke.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

64%

Audience ScoreBased on 399 reviews

gameplay19 positive mentions

stability7 negative mentions

The game captures the campy humor and charm of the Iron Sky movie, making it enjoyable for fans.
The space combat is chaotic and fun, with a variety of ships and upgrade options that keep gameplay engaging.
The graphics and FMV cutscenes are surprisingly well done for a game based on a B-movie, adding to the overall experience.

The controls are clunky and can be frustrating, especially when using a mouse and keyboard.
The dialogue and voice acting are often cringe-worthy, detracting from the overall enjoyment of the game.
The gameplay can become repetitive quickly, with missions feeling similar and lacking depth.

story
108 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
70%
15%
The game's story is often described as shallow and repetitive, with many players noting its campy and absurd nature, reminiscent of the source material. While some appreciate the humor and live-action cutscenes, others criticize the plot for being poorly executed and lacking depth, leading to a sense of monotony in missions. Overall, the narrative serves more as a backdrop for gameplay rather than a compelling driving force.
- “The story is great and it has everything needed for a great space shooter.”
- “This game is simply outstanding for its size, as the missions are huge, with Nazi UFOs zipping about while getting hit by multi-national teams of satellites-turned-gunships, whilst guarding a much larger (space) zeppelin which is in turn towing a gigantic asteroid.”
- “The tone of black comedy and 'just run with it' silliness from the movie is preserved, from the mission briefings with madame president totally-not-sarah-palin, to the political shenanigans of the various national representatives, to the over-the-top voice acting from the various pilots in the fleet.”
- “The 'story line' is as terrible and has more holes in it than Swiss cheese.”
- “The acted cut scenes are terribly acted, the plot makes no coherent sense, and the main character you play as is so annoying I just hope he dies in agonizing pain in the end.”
- “I couldn't find any tutorials or controls, I didn't know what my missions were, the story line (if you could call it that) was obviously written by a two and a half year old blind child eating glue while he's doing it.”
gameplay
57 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
51%
16%
The gameplay is generally described as average, featuring simplistic mechanics typical of space combat sims, with a campaign length of around 5 to 8 hours. While some players appreciate the fun and chaotic dogfighting elements, many criticize the repetitive nature, lack of enemy variety, and clunky controls, leading to a mixed reception overall. Despite its shortcomings, the game is considered one of the better options in a sparse genre, especially if approached with low expectations.
- “The mechanics of the gameplay have a solid basis, and the concept of 'energy' is present, allowing you to boost your shields, engine, or weapons at the cost of the other two.”
- “This is a really neat space simulator, I really enjoyed it; solid gameplay, nice graphics, and expands on the story of the Iron Sky universe.”
- “Gameplay overall: fun, hectic, and full of accentuated international battle-chatter, with intense dogfighting.”
- “But there is no plot, boring game design, too repetitive gameplay.”
- “Gameplay becomes repetitive fairly quickly, though sometimes you have to defend or capture something, but most of the time you have to blast enemies.”
- “The gameplay is not fun or 'intense', it's just really boring.”
graphics
43 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
53%
35%
12%
The graphics of "Iron Sky: Invasion" receive mixed reviews, with many players noting that while they are decent and occasionally impressive, they often feel dated, reminiscent of titles from 2012-2013. Some users appreciate the visuals and design, highlighting the game's ability to run well even on lower-spec systems, while others criticize the lack of adjustable performance settings and the overall emptiness of the environments. Overall, the graphics are considered good for a lower-budget title, but not groundbreaking.
- “The graphics are beautiful, the controls are extremely easy to master, and the cutscenes have a definite Command & Conquer: Red Alert sort of overacting.”
- “The graphics are surprisingly good, the voice acting is horribly bad in a hilarious way, and the game is just plain fun.”
- “This is a really neat space simulator, I really enjoyed it, solid gameplay, nice graphics, and expands on the story of the Iron Sky universe.”
- “Gameplay is tolerable and there's support for 4K graphics and a few performance/visual tweaks to bring the game up to minimum standard for PC.”
- “Funny how one of the negative reviews cites how the graphics are subpar 2012/2013 graphics.”
- “The gameplay is fine and so are the graphics but everything else is just unbearable.”
humor
38 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
92%
8%
The humor in the game is a mixed bag, with many players finding it entertaining and reminiscent of the original movie's wacky charm, featuring professional actors delivering both hilarious and cringeworthy moments. While some appreciate the over-the-top satire and comedic cutscenes, others criticize the inconsistent quality of the jokes and voice acting, leading to a perception of the game as "hilariously bad." Overall, it offers a fun, albeit flawed, comedic experience that may appeal to fans of absurd humor.
- “There is a ton of wacky humor from the original movie actors that adds atmosphere to the game.”
- “The gameplay and humor had me gripped from the get-go, and the reasons behind some of the side missions had me laughing and asking myself 'why me?'”
- “It's not elite dangerous, it's not deep, but it is hilarious, over the top, and pure fun.”
- “What you have here is an expensive game engine with only passable gameplay interrupted by professional actors telling not funny jokes.”
- “It's dull and unfunny, and the game's plot is lifeless as well.”
- “The acting is horrible, and they are not funny.”
music
25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
48%
12%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some praising its intriguing soundtrack and its connection to the movie, while others find it repetitive and cringy. Many players appreciate the incorporation of real actors and cinematic elements, enhancing the overall atmosphere, but some criticize the gameplay music as annoying. Overall, the soundtrack is seen as a highlight for some, but a drawback for others, reflecting a divide in player experience.
- “Great game and beautiful music.”
- “This game also includes that juicy soundtrack from the movie.”
- “All in all, I was pleased with the recreation of the atmosphere of the movie (music, characters, space combats).”
- “The music is so unbelievably cringy and unbearably annoying.”
- “The most annoying gameplay music and controls are screwed up.”
- “Terrible game with terrible acting and the worst music I've heard in a game in a long time.”
stability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
88%
The game's stability is notably inconsistent, with users reporting frequent bugs, crashes, and issues with achievements, particularly during critical missions and when exiting the game. While some players experience smooth performance, others face significant technical problems, including installation glitches and lag during mission briefings. Overall, the game may provide enjoyment despite its stability issues, but players should be prepared for potential frustrations.
- “Runs great on my machine; I just wish they would install joystick controls. It would make it a little easier to control the ship. Other than that, check out the demo and see for yourself.”
- “The biggest problems include crashes while trying to quit, leaderboard options that don't stop looking for a non-existent leaderboard and seemingly crash the game that way, and buggy achievements.”
- “Took a lot of troubleshooting to get past the glitches on installation.”
- “Some set pieces are very buggy and clunky, especially the last mission.”
atmosphere
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game's atmosphere is a mixed bag; it successfully captures the wacky humor and essence of the original movie, enhanced by familiar characters and music. However, the space environment is criticized for its lack of variety and dullness, while some elements, like cheesy webcam conversations, detract from the overall immersion. Despite these flaws, the solid space combat sim aspect contributes positively to the open-world feel.
- “There is a ton of wacky humor from the original movie actors that adds atmosphere to the game.”
- “It captures the atmosphere and the humor of the movie.”
- “All in all, I was pleased with the recreation of the atmosphere of the movie (music, characters, space combats).”
- “The atmosphere in space really has no variety at all and feels really dull and empty.”
- “The storyline is... there aren't any words for it really... the webcam conversations you have with the president and so forth are extremely cheesy and don't fit the atmosphere of the game at all.”
- “Well made solid space combat sim with a bit of an open world atmosphere.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
100%
The game's optimization is generally acceptable, supporting 4K graphics and offering some visual tweaks, but lacks adjustable performance settings, which may hinder players with lower-end rigs or mobile devices. Additionally, the control setup is well-optimized for Xinput-compatible controllers, enhancing the gameplay experience for those users.
- “The game's control setup is optimized for a 360 controller, or any controller that is XInput-compatible such as the Logitech F310.”
- “Gameplay is tolerable and there's support for 4K graphics and a few performance/visual tweaks to bring the game up to minimum standard for PC.”
- “No adjustable performance settings - not a big deal if you have an average rig, but there is no way to lower the graphics in order to play the game on your Haswell tablet - ironic considering this game is also a mobile game.”
- “The game's control setup is optimized for a 360 controller, or any controller that is XInput-compatible, such as the Logitech F310.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players report a profound emotional impact from the game, particularly highlighted by the overwhelming scale of an asteroid that evokes feelings of insignificance. Additionally, the hauntingly beautiful rendition of the American anthem at the home base adds a layer of poignancy, enhancing the overall emotional experience.
- “When a mission told me there was a 3-mile-wide asteroid, I expected it to be just a slightly larger version of the normal ones, but instead, they genuinely made me feel tiny next to the thing.”
- “I've been playing this game for a few hours now, and I'm finding it an oddly emotional experience.”
- “The emotional part comes in with the strikingly beautiful and sad rendition of the American anthem that plays when you visit your home base.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, the game's replayability is viewed as limited, with some players feeling that it relies on broken achievements to encourage multiple playthroughs. While it offers a short experience with some replay value, the simplicity of its resource management and AI fails to provide a compelling reason to revisit the game extensively.
- “For a short game, it has a good amount of replayability.”
grinding
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious due to repetitive combat and uninteresting side missions, although the humorous dialogue provides some relief. Additionally, skipping videos is advised to avoid frustrating loops that can force players to restart chapters.
- “The combat can become tedious as it involves a lot of rinse-and-repeat style sorties, and the side missions aren't particularly interesting. However, the dialogue and the pilots' comments are amusing enough that you can classify this game as more of a comedy than a space flight sim.”
- “Remember to skip every video in the game; watching them may put you in a loop where you have no choice but to go back to the start of a chapter to avoid losing the objective, which is tedious at best.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
300%
Character development is enhanced through ship upgrades and the ability to change vessel types, allowing players to personalize their experience and progress in the game.
- “There's even a bit of character development in the form of ship upgrades and the option to change the type of vessel.”
- “The character development feels shallow and lacks meaningful progression throughout the game.”
- “I was disappointed by the lack of depth in the characters; they felt one-dimensional and unrelatable.”
- “The choices you make don't seem to impact character growth, making the development feel pointless.”