Mechanic Miner
- February 19, 2020
- Hello John
- 8h median play time
Get on Steam"Mechanic Miner is a construction and survival game that lets you build mechanical machines with a variety of parts in a physics-based sandbox. Gather resources, kill monsters, and acquire new technologies to conquer challenges. Your creations can be shared through the Steam Workshop, and you can improve your skills to build more advanced contraptions. You're stranded on a strange planet and must use your mechanical skills to survive and thrive."
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features a unique and creative vehicle-building mechanic that allows for a lot of experimentation and fun.
- The concept of combining survival elements with a sandbox environment is engaging, providing players with opportunities to innovate and solve problems.
- Despite its issues, the game has a charming aesthetic and potential for enjoyable gameplay, especially for fans of building and crafting.
- The game has been largely abandoned by its developers, resulting in a lack of content and updates, leaving players feeling unsatisfied after completing the short story mode.
- Many players have reported significant bugs and crashes, which detract from the overall experience and make gameplay frustrating.
- The game suffers from tedious resource gathering and a linear progression that can feel restrictive, limiting the player's creativity and enjoyment.
- story48 mentions
- 10 % positive mentions
- 83 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The game's story is criticized for being underdeveloped and feeling rushed, with many players noting that it only spans 4-10 hours and lacks depth after the first act. While some appreciate the initial concept and the way the storyline unfolds, others find it difficult to engage with due to unclear objectives and a lack of polish. Overall, the story mode is seen as insufficient to justify the game's price, with many players suggesting that the additional modes offer more engaging content.
“The execution of this game, I feel like was done pretty well; I enjoyed the story and playing the game.”
“I like the way the storyline unfolds (mostly through chasing a cat!) and through it all discovering new materials and parts, which allow you to delve deeper into the new land.”
“All of those lore-seeking enthusiasts have story mode for you to see how John came to this mysterious Martian wilderness and how he got all of those incredible inventions at his disposal. More acts to come!”
“Great chance for a good game, but it was abandoned almost immediately after launch by the development team, leaving it with only a 4-8 hour storyline, depending on how much you wanted to engage with it.”
“There is next to no story.”
“After playing the first act of the story mode for a few hours, what we have is a game that has some potential, but needs some serious tweaking of pretty much every system other than how the vehicles work themselves.”
- gameplay48 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 48 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Mechanic Miner" offers a mix of exploration, building, quests, and combat, appealing to fans of sandbox games with its creative mechanics and variety of parts for constructing vehicles. However, players have noted issues with tedious gameplay, insufficient tutorials, and bugs that detract from the overall experience. While the game shows potential and features enjoyable mechanics, it may feel lacking in content and polish for some users.
“Complete freedom of approach to all obstacles, with player creativity put at the center of gameplay.”
“First of all, Mechanic Miner’s parts variety used in building your own custom machines is very good: servo-motors, pressure tanks, machine guns, bombs, tesla coils... you name it and probably at some point you'll find it or think of a way to jury-rig it.”
“Improvising and making the most of what tech you have at the moment is a crucial part of gameplay, that combined with scavenging material deposits, fighting enemies and bosses, creates enough variety to prevent the game from getting stale.”
“The game was very promising, but actual gameplay feels not fun and somewhat broken.”
“Tedious gameplay, and it seems that the devs have abandoned it.”
“On the bad side, the most evident issue is that tutorials are insufficient, and while they explain some mechanics and basics decently, they also leave players blind to many others that are not at all intuitive to figure out.”
- stability12 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game is currently experiencing significant stability issues, with numerous bugs, glitches, and crashes reported by users. While many acknowledge these problems are expected in an early access title, the overall consensus is that the game's stability needs improvement before it can be fully recommended.
“This game has been abandoned in quite a buggy state.”
“A number of glitches and crashes just make it irritating to play, so I wouldn't recommend it right now.”
“This game is buggy and not optimized at the moment, so be warned...”
- grinding10 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players consistently describe the grinding aspect of the game as tedious and frustrating, with many feeling that it detracts significantly from the overall enjoyment. The linear progression and requirement to grind for equipment often lead to roadblocks, making the gameplay feel unfun and unnecessarily drawn out. Overall, the grinding mechanics are viewed as a major flaw, overshadowing the potential for a more engaging experience.
“Tedious gameplay, and it seems that the devs have abandoned it.”
“When I played it, it felt really tedious to get anything done, and other games about building machines are a lot more fun.”
“The game simply is very grindy and unfun.”
- music6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players finding it terrible and suggesting alternatives, while others praise the soundtrack as amazing, albeit noting that it can be slow and boring at times. Overall, the music seems to be a polarizing aspect, significantly impacting players' enjoyment of the game.
“This game has amazing music!”
“The edgy music is one of the best, and trying to survive the demons during the event is really challenging.”
“Awesome soundtrack.”
“The music is horrible, and likely a reason why people dislike the game. Mute it and play some steampunk background score, and it should be fine.”
“The music sucks and needs work.”
“It's kind of a personal preference, but the soundtrack is a little too slow and boring for me.”
- graphics4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -25 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The game's graphics feature a pleasing and nostalgic art style, which is appreciated by players, though some note that the visuals are relatively simple. This simplicity allows the game to run smoothly on older or low-spec machines, but there are calls for further optimization from the developers. Overall, the graphics contribute positively to the game's appeal, despite some minor concerns.
“Pleasing, nostalgic graphics.”
“I quite like the game; its mechanics are cool, and its art style is cool.”
“Given the simple graphics, the game should run well even on older or low-spec machines.”
“I hope the dev can optimize the graphics as well.”
“The graphics feel outdated and lack detail.”
- optimization4 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is a mixed bag; while it generally runs smoothly with good stability, players report occasional stuttering and significant frame rate drops during loading sequences. Many users note that the game is currently buggy and in need of further optimization and patching, which detracts from the overall experience.
“The game requires some patching and optimization, but other than that, it's an amazing experience that I recommend to anyone looking for a fresh take on the survival sandbox genre.”
“This game is buggy and not optimized at the moment, so be warned.”
“This game lacks so much content and is not optimized at all.”
“A mild stuttering happens sometimes while traversing areas, and a large dip in frame rate when loading after death or returning to checkpoints - but for the majority, the game runs smoothly with good stability.”
- replayability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
The game offers some replayability through its survival mode; however, players note that it can quickly turn into a grind, diminishing the overall enjoyment of replaying.
“There's some replayability with survival mode, but it quickly becomes a grind.”
“Once you've completed the main story, there's little incentive to play again.”
“The lack of meaningful choices makes replaying the game feel pointless.”
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for fostering creativity and problem-solving, despite some bugs present during early access.
“When early access came around, I immediately bought it. Even though it had some bugs, it has a great atmosphere for both creativity and problem-solving.”
