Odd Realm

About

"Odd Realm" is a procgen settlement building game in Early Access, where you lead a group of settlers from different races to build and manage a settlement through various seasons and challenges. The game offers 5 biomes, over 24 creatures, 100+ items, and 9+ settler professions, with unique scenarios and encounters determined by player choices. Settlement locations provide different resources and challenges, with thousands of generated landscapes to choose from.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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85%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,532 reviews

graphics92 positive mentions

grinding50 negative mentions

Charming pixel art and engaging soundtrack create a relaxing atmosphere.
Offers a unique take on colony management with different playable races and z-level mechanics.
Developer is very active and responsive to community feedback, regularly updating the game.

UI can be confusing and difficult to navigate, especially on higher resolution screens.
Lacks depth and content in the late game, leading to a repetitive experience.
Some mechanics, such as pathfinding and job assignments, can be frustrating and lead to settlers idling or dying.

graphics
258 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
59%
5%
The graphics of the game are characterized by a charming pixel art style that evokes nostalgia, appealing to fans of retro aesthetics. While many players appreciate the cute and inviting visuals, some criticize the low resolution for making it difficult to distinguish between objects and manage gameplay effectively. Overall, the graphics are seen as a strong point, enhancing the game's unique atmosphere, though they may not suit everyone's taste.
- “The lovely pixel art style is both nostalgic and inviting, while the soundtrack perfectly complements the relaxing yet engaging gameplay.”
- “Odd Realm is a wonderfully unique colony builder with beautifully minimal graphics.”
- “The graphics are impressive; everything is eye candy.”
- “And, since the graphics suck, you can't extract much joy from staring at what you have built because you can barely tell a kitchen, a foundry, and a smithy apart.”
- “My main problem is that the graphics are even below DF tileset level in legibility if you want some actual info (terrain/trees do look nice though).”
- “There are lots of great things but for some constructive criticism, I don't like the heavily pixelized graphics and fonts - Dwarf Fortress using any tileset looks much better.”
gameplay
214 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
72%
4%
The gameplay of "Odd Realm" is characterized by a mix of engaging mechanics and significant bugs, leading to a frustrating experience for some players. While the core loop of building, farming, and surviving is enjoyable, many mechanics are either underdeveloped or non-functional, and the lack of clear tutorials can make the game daunting for newcomers. However, those familiar with similar titles like "Dwarf Fortress" may find the game rewarding, as it offers a unique blend of colony management and exploration, with potential for future growth as the developer actively engages with the community.
- “The lovely pixel art style is both nostalgic and inviting, while the soundtrack perfectly complements the relaxing yet engaging gameplay.”
- “Once I got the basics down, I found the gameplay loop to be as equally engaging as it is relaxing.”
- “The core gameplay is relatively relaxed and satisfying, and the devs have included the 'bones' of a truly unique colony/empire management system.”
- “Many mechanics do not work (entire race that does not even work), entire race not in the game, items with no use (that one fish scale you can get).”
- “But the several big gameplay bugs, unclear menu/lack of instructions, and lack of overall gameplay goals makes it hard to recommend Odd Realm unless you're both familiar with similar titles (Dwarf Fortress, etc.) and can tolerate bugs/unclear UI/less overall 'game' to play.”
- “There doesn't seem to be a focus on any particular gameplay or theme, just a mix of half-implemented systems that don't really come together to make something interesting.”
music
124 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
52%
46%
2%
The music in *Odd Realm* has received widespread praise for its soothing and immersive qualities, often compared to nostalgic soundtracks from classic SNES games like *Secret of Mana*. While some players noted that the music can be repetitive and limited in variety, many found it to perfectly complement the game's charming pixel art and engaging gameplay, enhancing the overall atmosphere. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's appeal as a relaxing colony sim.
- “The lovely pixel art style is both nostalgic and inviting, while the soundtrack perfectly complements the relaxing yet engaging gameplay.”
- “Great music, lovely atmospheres, and the thrill of discovering what's around the next metaphorical corner make this game endlessly replayable.”
- “On top of this is the amazing soundtrack, which uses instrument samples from various SNES games to achieve a beautiful and compelling background accompaniment to your settler's daily struggles.”
- “I have 5 citizens from the 'warden' start and they are quickly overwhelmed when attacked (I often have no idea I am being attacked other than the music changing).”
- “The music is a bit repetitive but tolerable; it has an option to deactivate it for most of the time.”
- “Currently, the only option is no music or the standard music.”
grinding
52 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
4%
96%
Reviews highlight that the grinding aspect of the game is often tedious and cumbersome, particularly in managing tasks like equipping settlers, assigning jobs, and navigating the user interface. While some players appreciate the depth of systems like farming and crafting, many express frustration over the lack of automation and the repetitive nature of tasks, suggesting that improvements in resource management and task prioritization could enhance the experience. Overall, the game presents a mix of engaging mechanics and frustrating grind, with a call for more streamlined processes.
- “Currently the game is a bit too opaque for me, and managing the colony is unnecessarily tedious.”
- “The only thing you're doing in this game is the most tedious and boring aspect that is automated in every other game.”
- “Can't set auto-equip templates for settlers of given professions, making equipping everyone extremely tedious as new colonists are constantly being born in midgame.”
stability
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability has received mixed reviews, with many users reporting significant bugs, glitches, and AI issues, particularly in the tutorial and pathfinding. While some players note improvements with updates and appreciate the developer's engagement, others feel the game is unpolished and lacking content for its full price. Overall, while it shows potential, it remains buggy and unfinished, leading to a cautious recommendation.
- “The game is marked as '1.0' but is very buggy/unpolished.”
- “It's buggy and lacking content from when I bought the game years ago - but now charging full price.”
- “Designating storage containers inside rooms is at best obfuscated and at worst downright buggy and inconsistent.”
humor
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game receives mixed reviews; while many players appreciate its quirky and absurd elements, finding the NPC dialogue and events amusing, others feel that the repetitive nature of certain phrases can become grating. Overall, the game is noted for its charming art style and well-written humor, contributing to an enjoyable experience, though some players wish for a deeper narrative focus.
- “The humans have very funny faces.”
- “It's beautiful, it's fun, it has a silly sense of humor.”
- “The art style is charming, the NPC dialogue is funny, and I often find myself caring about my settlers.”
story
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
78%
11%
The game's story aspect is criticized for lacking depth and clear objectives, with players feeling that it primarily revolves around survival rather than a larger narrative. While there are moments that create distinct experiences, the characters are underdeveloped, and the humor can detract from immersion. Overall, the game offers a fun experience but requires more guidance and world-building to enhance its storytelling potential.
- “Each time you play, a new story unfolds.”
- “There's story moments - events that define your playthrough and ultimately end up giving you distinct and memorable experiences.”
- “Like most of these types of games, your imagination plays a big part in making a story.”
- “I've seen people say you can 'fight gods' in the review - cool, but there is not a hint of this or anything resembling a larger objective or quest other than survive.”
- “It is still in early access so it currently doesn't have much in the way of balancing, late game content or general polish, and the characters are not as developed or differentiated as Dwarf Fortress dwarfs and RimWorld colonists, so you won't see the kind of Sims-like emergent soap-opera story generation you might be expecting - it can feel more like running an ant farm than a society of sentient beings.”
- “So the game steals my controls to drive some sort of storyline but when I actually need to know where something is happening... I'm on my own.”
replayability
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
35%
15%
The game offers good replayability primarily due to its different playable races, each providing unique play styles that significantly alter gameplay. While currently in early access with only two of four races available, ongoing updates and the promise of additional content are expected to enhance replayability further. Overall, players appreciate the engaging atmosphere and music, which contribute to a compelling experience that encourages multiple playthroughs.
- “A fairly standard colony sim, though the different playable races make for good replayability due to their widely different play styles.”
- “Great music, lovely atmospheres, and the thrill of discovering what's around the next metaphorical corner make this game endlessly replayable.”
- “Each race makes the gameplay entirely different, which only adds to the replayability of this game.”
- “2 of 4 races are playable right now.”
- “I bought it with my eyes wide open knowing this is early development with limited replayability, but I'm actually quite surprised.”
- “While only two races are playable so far, multiple player races are going to make this game really stand out.”
atmosphere
20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
80%
15%
5%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its cozy and immersive qualities, enhanced by a fantastic soundtrack, polished art, and charming animations. Players appreciate the delightful pixel art and the engaging details that contribute to a tranquil and inviting environment, reminiscent of titles like Dwarf Fortress and RimWorld. However, some find the repetitive humor detracts from the overall atmosphere, suggesting a desire for more narrative depth.
- “Cosy colony builder with a fantastic soundtrack and atmosphere.”
- “It has a delightful atmosphere and if you've played anything akin to Dwarf Fortress or RimWorld, you'll feel right at home with the overall gameplay loop.”
- “The pixel art is gorgeous and there are so many fun little details - like how atmosphere fills in the map the higher you go, the cute animations and portraits of your colonists, and I gotta say I love the color palette of the taiga biome!”
- “This is just me but the humor is kind of grating - it’s pretty funny the first time but hearing traders say 'feast your face-orbs on this' or whatever every single time really takes me out of it, especially when they could be telling me about the world or creating an atmosphere instead, given that (to me at least) these kinds of games are about participating in a story as much as they’re about making one.”
optimization
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
58%
25%
Overall, the game's optimization is a mixed bag; while it runs decently on older hardware and features some polished elements, users report small performance issues and specific areas, such as the trading system and settlers, that lack optimization. Manual speed control is a positive aspect, but there are concerns about processing and memory efficiency that could be improved.
- “It's fairly polished, only a few bugs, decently optimized (even for a 2013 prebuilt PC) and has a lot of neat content in the base game already.”
- “- manual speed control and fairly well optimized instead of Dwarf Fortress' legendary jank that goes hyperspeed at the start but dies after a few hours.”
- “I believe optimization could help both processing and memory concerns.”
- “- settlers seem not very optimized.”
- “- trading system is pretty bad because item pricing is very much non-optimized.”
emotional
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players report a strong emotional connection to the game's characters, often feeling sadness when they die, which enhances the overall experience. The game's mechanics foster a sense of attachment, making the loss of characters feel significant and impactful. Developers are addressing character vulnerability to allow for more meaningful decision-making and survival.
- “My longest lived colony was the most heartfelt and loneliest.”
- “All this really helps build an emotional connection with the game's 'people' - it makes me really sad when one dies (and as of right now, they die fairly easily, but that's being worked on, to allow them to make life-saving decisions and take action)!”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game is praised for its indie status, which eliminates the presence of an in-game store and avoids cash grab tactics, contributing to a more authentic gaming experience.
- “It's an indie game, which means no in-game store and no cash grab.”