Novus Inceptio
- October 4, 2015
- McMagic Productions
- 9h median play time
Get on Steam"Novus Inceptio" is a sandbox survival game set in a procedurally generated world. Players must gather resources, craft tools, and build shelters to survive against harsh environments and hostile creatures. With a focus on player freedom, the game offers various activities such as farming, hunting, and building, providing an immersive experience in a persistent world.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game has beautiful graphics and a stunning environment that enhances the exploration experience.
- The crafting system is deep and complex, allowing for a variety of materials and crafting options that add depth to gameplay.
- The developers are active and responsive to community feedback, showing a commitment to improving the game over time.
- The game has been criticized for being buggy and lacking polish, with many players experiencing crashes and performance issues.
- Combat mechanics are clunky and unresponsive, making encounters with wildlife frustrating rather than engaging.
- The game lacks a compelling storyline or objectives, leading to a sense of aimlessness after initial exploration.
- graphics136 mentions
- 56 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive a mixed but generally positive reception, with many players praising the beautiful visuals, detailed environments, and artistic design. While some users note that the graphics are not cutting-edge and can be demanding on hardware, they still appreciate the overall aesthetic quality and immersive world. However, there are mentions of glitches and performance issues that detract from the experience, indicating that further optimization and updates are needed.
“The graphics are stunning and very detailed.”
“The game has beautifully graphics with such detail to everything you look at.”
“It's a beautiful game, stunning in overall aesthetic quality.”
“The graphics look like absolute sh*t, even on the highest graphical settings. The framerate is even worse than Arkham Knight and AC Unity were at the time of their release, and the so-called 'in-game help' is an absolute joke!”
“While the graphics are not massively up to date, it still doesn't look terrible as far as games go.”
“The graphics are acceptable, but need more atmosphere and depth.”
- gameplay102 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players noting its potential but criticizing its execution. Common complaints include clunky mechanics, a confusing user interface, and a lack of depth or engaging content, leading to a repetitive experience. While some players appreciate the crafting system and unique mechanics, the overall consensus is that the game feels unfinished and lacks the polish needed to provide a satisfying experience.
“Even so, the gameplay is great and addictive.”
“If you enjoy crafting/survival/sandbox gameplay with a unique crafting system and level system, and want to help influence a potentially great game, then please support the developers.”
“The gameplay is engaging and fun.”
“The game has basically nothing to offer gameplay-wise right now, and the developer specifically stated that development will not continue for the foreseeable future.”
“Overall, it's an unfinished 'game' (more like a tech demo) that's far from polished, and lacks direction in terms of game mechanics.”
“I kept waiting for something interesting to happen, but this is a slow grind game... it has no depth, no story, no meaning... overall it's easy to waste time and run around being a gatherer, the hunting part is lame with no special combat skills.”
- story70 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 69 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The game's story is largely absent, with players primarily focused on survival and resource gathering rather than engaging narratives or quests. While there are hints of a compelling backstory involving cloning and a fallen civilization, much of the lore remains unexplored and underdeveloped, leading to a sense of emptiness in gameplay. Many reviewers express hope that future updates will introduce a more substantial storyline and quest system to enhance the overall experience.
“Incredible atmosphere, very complex system of crafting and gathering, different materials that allow you to make stuff the way and with the attributes you want. The story makes you feel curious about what happened and how things ended up like that, and what waits for you in the future.”
“I really like the idea and lore behind the game as I think that there are many possibilities for the devs to weave into the storyline.”
“Novus Inceptio is a very good early access sandbox survival MMO RPG with an awesome story behind it.”
“Other than waking up in a cloning facility in some strange valley with ruins of a fallen civilization, there is no story.”
“There isn't any story line, but they truly do need some ridiculous reasoning to explain why there is a bunch of clones inside a spacebase, inside a cave, inside a castle, inside a waterfall, inside a forest, inside a valley...etc.”
“I kept waiting for something interesting to happen, but this is a slow grind game... it has no depth, no story, no meaning.”
- grinding50 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The reviews indicate that the game features a significant amount of grinding, particularly in crafting and resource gathering, which many players find tedious and repetitive. While some enjoy the grind for the sake of skill and gear progression, others feel it detracts from the overall experience, making the game feel unfinished and lacking in variety. Overall, the game appeals to those who appreciate a grind-heavy survival and crafting experience, but it may frustrate players seeking a more dynamic gameplay loop.
“There is not much to do in the game and it feels very grindy, unfinished, and a bit like a scam.”
“Much, much too grindy without enough payoff.”
“Points of interest on the map are too far apart, plec (the in-game currency) is too scarce to buy any meaningful blueprints, and skills and stats go up so slowly that you'd have to slog through lots of gameplay grinding mindlessly to get anywhere.”
- stability47 mentions
- 4 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 96 % negative mentions
The game's stability is widely criticized, with many users reporting numerous bugs, glitches, and performance issues that detract from the overall experience. While some players acknowledge that minor glitches are expected in early access titles, the consensus is that the game remains unfinished and overly buggy, leading to frustration and a lack of enjoyment for many. Overall, the game's current state is deemed too unstable for a satisfying experience, with calls for further development and bug fixes before it can be recommended.
“It's pretty much bug-free, though the detailed buildings and landscape tend to overwhelm my system, and I can get minor graphics glitches.”
“If you want a perfect, bug-free, content-rich game with an amazing story and phenomenal graphics and audio, then you shouldn’t be looking at any early access game.”
“I bought this buggy mess back 8 years ago when it went into early access and it's still in early access and still a buggy mess!”
“The current state of Novus Inceptio is buggy to say the least.”
“I really want to play this game but in its current state it's super buggy and just kind of a headache to play.”
- music33 mentions
- 61 % positive mentions
- 30 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received widespread praise for its beautiful and immersive quality, often compared to the iconic soundtracks of titles like Skyrim. Players appreciate the relaxing background music during exploration and the exciting themes during combat, with many expressing a desire to purchase the soundtrack separately. Overall, the musical score significantly enhances the game's atmosphere, contributing to a captivating and engaging experience.
“The musical accompaniment to the game is amazing.”
“The music is nice and mellow while exploring and exciting while fighting, truly inspiring one to continue over the next hill.”
“At first sight, the game attracts with beautiful graphics, amazing music, and a very engrossing and surprisingly relaxing atmosphere.”
“I completed the tutorial and have bought the version which included the soundtrack... I've yet to hear a sound other than the effects.”
“The music is relaxing, but the gameplay is extremely boring unless you're high, which is the only way I'd recommend this now.”
“Title screen music is decent, and the in-game music will remind you of something in Elder Scrolls.”
- optimization29 mentions
- 10 % positive mentions
- 66 % neutral mentions
- 24 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is widely criticized, with players reporting frequent stuttering, frame rate drops, and overall poor performance, even on high-end systems. While some improvements have been noted, particularly in recent updates, many users feel that significant work is still needed to enhance performance and user interface, especially given its early access status. Overall, the game shows promise but requires substantial optimization to meet player expectations.
“Some performance issues and obvious room for lots of polishing, but this is a really impressive early access game.”
“Constant optimizations, updates, and bug fixing, sometimes in a matter of hours from being reported.”
“While the smoothness of game performance has improved, there are still very noticeable constant staggerings, like when interacting with containers.”
“Runs like trash. I surpass recommended specs and barely get 45 fps on all lowest settings. It is very, very unoptimized Unity engine junk.”
“The performance is critically bad.”
“Optimization could also use some work because I encounter some stuttering and frame rate drops every now and then.”
- atmosphere14 mentions
- 71 % positive mentions
- 7 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is often described as beautifully designed and tranquil, with a mix of engaging graphics and soothing sound effects that enhance the experience. While some players note a sense of nostalgia and potential, others feel the game lacks depth and polish. Overall, it offers a relaxing environment that encourages exploration and crafting, appealing to those who appreciate immersive atmospheres.
“Honestly, at first sight, all the flora and that calming atmosphere; the game gave me what the developers promised.”
“Edit: the developer of this amazing little gem went on a hiatus for a little while, with no definite return date which was very sad to hear, but I held out hope for this game. I loved every minute playing this; it's a beautifully designed tranquil atmosphere, and despite what was an uncertain future for the game, I feel that I more than got my money's worth playing as is.”
“At first sight, the game attracts with beautiful graphics, amazing music, and a very engrossing and surprisingly relaxing atmosphere.”
“The graphics are acceptable, but need more atmosphere and depth.”
“There are some elements here, but they are not stingy; they just create the atmosphere - though the fight with the creatures is sometimes very heavy.”
“At first sight, the game attracts with beautiful graphics, amazing music, and a surprisingly relaxing atmosphere.”
- monetization5 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 80 % negative mentions
The monetization aspect of the game has been criticized as a blatant cash grab, with users expressing concerns about its prolonged early access status and lack of meaningful updates. Many reviewers fear that the developers are using the game to fund other projects without delivering substantial gameplay, and there are strong objections to the potential introduction of microtransactions or pay-to-win mechanics.
“Well done, mcmagic! Can't wait to see where this game goes. Just please don't implement microtransaction systems or make the game pay-to-win.”
“It was one of the more blatant cash grabs I've seen on Steam.”
“Pretty much a cash grab to fund other projects that will probably fund the next one and the next one while all of them stay in early access forever.”
“Edit: 6 years and still early access; it's an abandoned cash grab, nothing has been updated in years, and multiplayer will never be a thing.”
- humor5 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is largely derived from its poor English translation and low-quality sound design, which users find amusing despite the overall buggy experience. While some players appreciate the unintentional comedy from spelling errors and performance issues, others feel it detracts from the game's quality. Overall, the humor is seen as a mixed bag, appealing to those who enjoy quirky flaws but not enough to recommend the game.
“Yes, it's a bit buggy (runs stable without crashes, but occasional performance issues or just weird stuff that shouldn't happen, happens, and the English translation is humorously bad... but you should expect that from an early access game.”
“Sound design is low effort, and honestly so bad it's funny.”
“Spelling is hilariously abominable.”
- replayability3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The game currently lacks significant replayability, with users noting minimal incentives to revisit it beyond the initial experience. While the potential for PvP could enhance replay value, the addition of engaging PvE content, such as unique bosses, is suggested to improve this aspect.
“I realize you probably envision PvP to cause replayability, but some bosses for PvE might be nice... a dragon or something.”
“Yes, there is no replay value for now, at least not much, but it is nice as it is.”
