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Planet Explorers is an open-world sandbox adventure game set on a distant planet. Players can build and customize their own tools, vehicles, and structures, while also gathering resources, completing missions, and fighting alien creatures. The game features a dynamic story generation system, allowing for a unique experience with each playthrough.

Planet Explorers screenshot
Planet Explorers screenshot
Planet Explorers screenshot
Planet Explorers screenshot
Planet Explorers screenshot
Planet Explorers screenshot
Planet Explorers screenshot
Planet Explorers screenshot
Planet Explorers screenshot
Planet Explorers screenshot
Planet Explorers screenshot
+26

60%
Audience ScoreBased on 7,698 reviews
story744 positive mentions
stability520 negative mentions

  • The game offers a unique voxel-based building and crafting system that allows for extensive customization of vehicles, weapons, and structures.
  • The expansive world is filled with diverse biomes, interesting flora and fauna, and provides a sense of exploration and adventure.
  • Despite its flaws, the game has a compelling story mode that engages players and offers a variety of quests.
  • The game has been abandoned by the developers, leading to a lack of updates and unresolved bugs, particularly with multiplayer functionality.
  • Many players feel misled as the game transitioned to free-to-play after they had paid for it, resulting in feelings of being scammed.
  • The controls and user interface are clunky and unintuitive, making gameplay frustrating at times.
  • story
    3,470 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story in "Planet Explorers" is a mixed bag, with many players appreciating its engaging premise and potential for depth, but also noting significant bugs and incomplete quests that hinder the experience. While the narrative offers a compelling backdrop for exploration and crafting, it often feels disjointed and unfinished, leading to frustration during escort missions and quest progression. Overall, the game has a solid foundation for storytelling, but it requires further polish and completion to fully realize its potential.

    • “The story is really interesting and intriguing, and it is brought to an end, so there is a defined 'completion', but it ends in a cliffhanger and feels like it would have been the first chapter of at least four.”
    • “The story mode is long - I finished it in 86 hours. The story is enjoyable and the world is quite nice, that said, I can understand why people who like me bought this game years ago are angry that it never really got a finishing polish and is rough around the edges.”
    • “The story mode is fully voice acted, and the plot is pretty interesting. The story itself was really amazing.. didn't expect so many plot changes and twists and it was a pleasant surprise.”
    • “As it is, the quests feel like placeholders.”
    • “The main story is a buggy mess and things will often go wrong or just not really make sense.”
    • “The story mode is nothing like the trailer movies here on steam, you can't really explore without getting your followers or escort npcs stuck all the time, and in story mode 90% of the missions are just that escort missions, run here and pickup that npc and run there to pickup that other npc and then back here, getting really boring after a while.”
  • graphics
    956 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many players noting that they feel dated and unpolished, reminiscent of earlier gaming eras. While some appreciate the vibrant colors and artistic design, others criticize the performance issues, including lag and low frame rates, especially on lower-end systems. Overall, the visuals are seen as a step above games like Minecraft, but still fall short of modern standards, leaving room for improvement in optimization and graphical fidelity.

    • “Luckily the graphics are gorgeous, and a lot of care has gone into the design of different flora and fauna to fill the various biomes, because this is the only thing that actually kept me exploring.”
    • “The graphics are breathtaking; the crafting system is quite interesting as well; and I really like the music - it's rare to see a game having its own unique theme song.”
    • “I really enjoy this game; it has great atmosphere and the graphics on ultra are very pretty, and you will find yourself taking screenshots on a regular basis.”
    • “The interface and graphics are from another era.”
    • “The graphics are just so terrible that it hurts, it's so badly optimized I had to put everything to the lowest setting available to get 30fps (and I have a Xeon 6 core with a 750ti and 24gb of ram).”
    • “It has a huge learning curve, runs at an abysmal framerate, every movement is delayed, graphics are ugly, combat isn't fun, and the story mode doesn't work.”
  • gameplay
    832 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of this title is characterized by a mix of intriguing mechanics and significant flaws, leading to a divided reception among players. While many appreciate the creative building and crafting systems, they often criticize the clunky controls, awkward combat, and numerous bugs that detract from the overall experience. Despite its potential and some enjoyable elements, the game feels unfinished and lacks polish, leaving players with a sense of frustration and disappointment.

    • “The gameplay is just plain fun and there's so much to explore.”
    • “The unique voxel-based design system is extremely fun, despite the mechanics of it being not quite realistic.”
    • “The gameplay is enticing with a great work to reward ratio.”
    • “Unfortunately, I bought this game, got stuck within minutes and had to deal with the worst music and gameplay I have ever seen to date. Just go mod Minecraft; you'll have more fun and have more updates than this game will.”
    • “A survival game with the gameplay of the worst MMO, PS1 graphics, and a 3D creation system mixed between Roblox and Minecraft, without the fun and with terrible controls.”
    • “The gameplay is clunky and crafting/building is very time-consuming.”
  • stability
    540 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's stability is widely criticized, with numerous users reporting it as a "buggy mess" filled with glitches that hinder gameplay. Many players describe it as unfinished and abandoned, with some bugs being game-breaking, while others note that minor glitches can be managed with regular saves. Overall, the consensus is that the game lacks polish and optimization, making it difficult to recommend for those seeking a stable experience.

    • “Runs great, immersive, great quality, and entertaining.”
    • “With that said, the one 'campaign' that ships with the game, while not 100% bug free (and how many games are 100% bug free these days?), is pretty well done. The terrain is well made, the progression is steady, and it doesn't take long to learn how to play and to reach your goals.”
    • “Unlike a lot of Steam early access games, this isn't too buggy.”
    • “This game is an unfinished buggy mess and abandoned; I do feel I was ripped off by this company now since they made it free to play.”
    • “Game was never finished; no self-respecting developer should release an unfinished, buggy, unpolished mess like this.”
    • “Devs left this game as abandonware and still don't care that their game is buggy, unoptimized, broken garbage.”
  • music
    450 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many players praising its beauty and ability to create a soothing atmosphere, particularly during exploration and character creation. However, several users noted that the soundtrack can become repetitive and lacks variety, leading some to disable it entirely or opt for their own music. Overall, while the soundtrack is often described as lovely and fitting, its limited range and occasional loudness detract from the experience for some players.

    • “The soundtrack really blew me away during the tutorial and the character creation, and the ambient music during the game itself is really pleasant to listen to.”
    • “The music is beautifully amazing, full orchestra.”
    • “The world is beautiful, the music and audio is top tier, the monsters are creative looking and challenging.”
    • “Unfortunately, I bought this game, got stuck within minutes, and had to deal with the worst music and gameplay I have ever seen to date. Just go mod Minecraft; you'll have more fun and have more updates than this game will.”
    • “The music is extremely loud and drowns out everything else, even if you turn it down.”
    • “The music is repetitive, and I hope it's a placeholder - but the choice of music, even if it's sparse, at least was a good one.”
  • optimization
    282 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's optimization has been widely criticized, with many users reporting significant performance issues such as lag, stuttering, and low frame rates, particularly when building bases or interacting with NPCs. Despite some improvements over time, the overall consensus is that the game remains poorly optimized, often requiring high-end hardware to run smoothly, and many players feel it lacks the necessary polish to elevate it to a more polished AAA standard. Overall, while the game shows potential, its current state is marred by optimization problems that detract from the gameplay experience.

    • “With a fair bit more polish, optimization, content and general improvements, this game really shows a lot of promise, rocketing past its slow period.”
    • “The only complaint that I have about this game is that it isn't entirely optimized, but that's something that I can look past because this game allows me to express my full creativity.”
    • “It's great that it's optimized and looks pretty but if the functionality is abysmal it doesn't matter how nice it looks.”
    • “The game was left in a janky state, with performance problems, lack of final polish, easily broken quests (though they are also in turn easy to fix, no game breakers here), a story that's left forever in a cliffhanger and so on and so forth.”
    • “This game seems horribly optimized.”
    • “If there is one criticism I can make of this game, it is hideously unoptimized.”
  • grinding
    208 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed feedback, with many players finding it tedious and time-consuming, particularly in resource gathering, crafting, and base building. While some appreciate the balance of grinding for resources, others feel it detracts from the overall enjoyment, leading to frustration with repetitive tasks and long missions. Despite these criticisms, a few players enjoy the grind as part of the survival experience, highlighting the potential for creativity and exploration within the game.

    • “The resources are balanced and getting them is not grindy.”
    • “It made even the tutorial so tedious I quit less than half an hour in, having reached only the wall building stage.”
    • “The grinding is annoyingly long and boring but somewhat fun at the same time.”
    • “There is way too much grinding, too far distance between objectives, and way too much micromanaging.”
  • atmosphere
    82 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's atmosphere is frequently praised for its enchanting and immersive qualities, with many players highlighting the vivid graphics and engaging music that contribute to a sense of exploration and wonder. However, some critiques point to inconsistencies in sound and ambient effects, which can detract from the overall experience, leading to moments of dullness. Overall, while the atmosphere is a standout feature, it is noted that further polish and attention to detail could enhance its impact.

    • “The atmosphere is amazing.”
    • “With gorgeous visuals, solid gameplay and an eerie, engrossing atmosphere, Planet Explorers is an adventure I urge you to undertake!”
    • “More than anything, I love the atmosphere of this game, kind of like the equivalent of a 'feel good' movie without getting overly sappy.”
    • “Sadly, the game atmosphere feels dull because of that.”
    • “World has no atmosphere, as in no life, nothing happening.”
    • “Nothing really happening in the atmosphere.”
  • humor
    56 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is a mixed bag, with some players finding it genuinely hilarious due to its cheesy voice acting, absurd character animations, and quirky bugs, while others criticize it as poorly executed and reminiscent of outdated games. Many moments, such as ridiculous NPC behaviors and the absurdity of using meat as currency, elicit laughter, making the game enjoyable for those who appreciate its unique brand of humor. However, the overall execution can feel clunky and unpolished, leading to a blend of frustration and amusement.

    • “I watched one of the cutscenes and it was so unbelievably funny I had to change my rating.”
    • “After laughing to the point that I nearly died, I had to end the stream.”
    • “My favorite thing about this game so far, in terms of laughing, was watching the doctor guy carrying the lady on his back, and running like a madman! Seriously! He took off like he had a rocket shoved up his ass despite the fact that he was carrying a person, and told me to protect him. I couldn't even keep up with him, but it was pretty funny.”
    • “The game has some funny bugs that can be amusing at times.”
    • “There are moments of humor, but they often come from glitches rather than intentional design.”
    • “While the game tries to be funny, the humor mostly stems from unexpected bugs.”
  • replayability
    52 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game offers significant replayability through its world generator and adventure mode, which create unique experiences each time. While some players find the solitary gameplay and quest structure limiting, many appreciate the potential for varied play styles, especially with the inclusion of multiplayer modes and mod support. Overall, despite some flaws, the game is seen as having strong replay value, particularly as it continues to evolve through updates.

    • “It's just an extension of the main story mechanism, without the constraints of the story beats, and infinitely replayable thanks to the world generator.”
    • “The creatures are amazing and story mode actually provides a good story while adventure mode generates unique maps for replayability.”
    • “15 hours and I've only scratched the surface of this game... I see a lot of replay value here, especially with mods... I'm very excited to see the finished product!”
    • “The replay value, however, still needs quite a bit of work.”
    • “Poor progression, poor replayability, non-existent survival mechanics.”
    • “The quests are typical 'do my laundry then find 800 copper,' which actually isn't so bad at the start but clearly it's not a sustainable model of replayability.”
  • monetization
    34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The monetization aspect of the game has been heavily criticized by users, who label it as a "cash grab" and express frustration over its abandonment in favor of sequels. Many feel that the game was released prematurely and worry about the potential introduction of microtransactions, especially after the developers announced a shift to free-to-play as a marketing strategy for the next installment. Overall, players are disillusioned by the perceived exploitation and lack of support for the current game.

    • “No wrap-around, and no microtransactions needed; anyone can quite literally build (or download) for themselves anything they can imagine while in game.”
    • “Another game that had potential but was abandoned by the devs and is just a cash grab.”
    • “To add insult to injury, in their statement about the lack of interest in fixing the lobby-based multiplayer, they even announced they will soon start work on PE 2... ('Hey, we killed multiplayer for this game... but make sure to buy the next part!') and as 'compensation' for their previous players, they switched the game to free-to-play, which sounds more like an advertisement to newer players to play PE 1 so they buy PE 2 when it comes out rather than anything else.”
    • “Steam really needs to be held responsible for allowing all these early access cash grabs, then jumping to a new game and leaving the one we paid for unfinished.”
  • emotional
    20 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players express a mixed emotional response to the game, highlighting both heartwarming and heartbreaking moments. While some appreciate the vibrant visuals and the emotional connection fostered by the game's aesthetics, others find the gameplay clunky and disappointing, leading to feelings of frustration. Overall, the emotional aspect is noted as a redeeming quality amidst various gameplay shortcomings.

    • “Points given back because of the emotional connection I have with the game, with its vibrant colors and beautiful sights.”
    • “This left my character emotionally and physically unbalanced, which forced me to build him a hospital to recover in.”
    • “Heartbreaking experience.”
  • character development
    12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, the game features strong character development and design, with engaging voice acting and a storyline that some players find superior to other titles. However, there are calls for more depth in the story mode, as the dialogue can feel bland and detracts from immersion. The character customization options are praised, but the narrative needs further enhancement to fully realize its potential.

    • “Great story and character development not normally found in a sandbox... the storyline in many ways is even better than Firefall's.”
    • “There is a character designer with lots of options.”
    • “+ great character design and graphics.”
    • “Story mode needs more story and character development; I cannot stress enough that there needs to be more story in story mode.”
    • “Story mode needs more story and character development; I cannot stress enough that there needs to be more story in story mode.”

Buy Planet Explorers

25h Median play time
67h Average play time
13-65h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 80 analyzed playthroughs

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