Plasma
- September 13, 2023
- Licorice ehf
- 45h median play time
Get on Steam"Plasma" is a single-player Simulation game that allows players to build and control their own devices using a visual programming tool. With a focus on creativity and engineering, players can construct robots, factories, game worlds, and more, and share their creations with the community through the Steam Workshop. However, the game's gameplay has received poor reviews, with completion taking around 30 hours.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game offers a vast sandbox experience with endless creativity, allowing players to build and program a wide variety of devices and vehicles.
- The visual programming system is intuitive and accessible, making it easy for both beginners and experienced programmers to create complex projects.
- The graphics are appealing, and the game has a strong community that shares creations, enhancing the overall experience.
- The game has been abandoned by the developers, leaving it unfinished and with many bugs that are unlikely to be fixed.
- There is a lack of clear objectives or challenges, which can make the gameplay feel aimless and boring for some players.
- The initial price point was considered too high for the content provided, leading to disappointment among early buyers when the game was later made free.
- gameplay56 mentions
- 18 % positive mentions
- 52 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The gameplay of this game is often compared to "Scrap Mechanic," with many users noting its superior building mechanics, customization options, and programming capabilities. While it offers a rich sandbox experience, some players find it daunting due to its complexity and lack of guided content, which can make it less accessible for newcomers. Overall, it appeals to those who enjoy creative engineering and programming, but it may require a steeper learning curve than similar titles.
“An amazing game, it misses some core mechanics that games like this usually have, but the game experience is amazing nonetheless.”
“The building mechanics are intuitive and have a lot of freedom, the Lua and Sketch programming is great, and the articulation bodies instead of rigid bodies (no joint wobble) are awesome!”
“Amazing game, it's like Scrap Mechanic, but with far more depth and a much better logic system; no multiplayer yet, but a node lets you send data through Steam so people have already made tanks and drones your friends can control.”
“There is no real purpose to the game, and it's not easy to get going like Scrap Mechanic.”
“You have a lack of documentation for some things; it's a very unguided game if you're not using the internet, which makes a lot of knowledge and things to learn based on how many hours you have. Like, I have 50 hours in the game, and I still haven't dug deep enough to be entirely efficient with certain things (like programming and certain mechanical features).”
“It's a literal sandbox with no other gameplay loop that I can find in my first experience.”
- graphics20 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 35 % neutral mentions
- 15 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their appealing aesthetic, featuring a cute and polished sci-fi style that enhances the overall experience. However, players have noted issues with optimization, leading to performance problems even on lower settings, which detracts from the enjoyment. While the visuals are impressive, the game struggles to balance graphics with gameplay performance, leaving some users frustrated.
“The graphics in this game are really quite good, which at least makes the game look more appealing.”
“I love the design aesthetic of this game - everything is cute, bright, and neat, so even when your own creations are kind of ugly, it is still an amazing experience to see them come to life within this world.”
“A game with very nice graphics that stimulates your creativity to an impressive degree.”
“Lastly, the bad optimization of the game doesn't help at all; none of these cute and simple looking graphics are easy on your computer.”
“Performance was quite poor in the tutorial level, with framerates struggling even on the lowest graphics settings.”
“I have a dual-core 2.52 gigahertz Intel CPU and an Intel GPU, and I have 4GB of RAM. My tablet is stronger, but my computer handles Google Chrome better. This computer can run the game, but slowly and laggy with delay. When I lowered the resolution down to 800 by 600 and turned the graphics to low, I was able to get a smooth FPS with delay.”
- story9 mentions
- 22 % positive mentions
- 44 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The game lacks a traditional story or campaign, which some users find disappointing, suggesting the addition of tutorials or missions to enhance player engagement and creativity. While it doesn't offer a lengthy narrative, players appreciate the freedom and gratification of creating within the game, often losing track of time in the process. Community-made content is available, but the absence of official missions leaves a gap for those seeking structured gameplay.
“Sure, it doesn't have an 80-hour long storyline with an absurd amount of fetch quests, but you also get the same feeling of playing for what feels like a few minutes only to realize it's already 4 AM. The gratification of making something in-game that finally works is probably better than any Steam achievement you ever unlocked.”
“I hope to see the developers look at games like Scrap Mechanic and give the player motivation by adding some sort of story or fun open-ended challenges in the future.”
“There are community-made games you can get off the Steam Workshop, but there's no campaign or official missions or that sort of thing.”
“Sure, it doesn't have an 80-hour long storyline with an absurd amount of fetch quests, but you also get the same feeling of playing for what feels like a few minutes only to realize it's already 4 AM.”
“Do you like linear, story-driven, or action-oriented games with clear objectives?”
- optimization6 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has been widely criticized, with users reporting poor GPU performance, long load times, and stability issues, particularly during complex tasks. Despite some decent performance in certain areas, the overall experience is marred by subpar optimization that struggles even with simple graphics, leading to inconsistent framerates.
“I can't believe how the game is supposed to run extremely complex machines with this kind of optimization.”
“Game performance is quite good.”
“As cool as this game is, due to the lack of funding, the developers have abandoned this game in an unfinished and poorly optimized state.”
“Only real downsides so far are: bad GPU performance compared to games like Space Engineers and Stormworks, long load times, questionable stability with joint stacking, and a lack of multiplayer.”
“Lastly, the bad optimization of the game doesn't help at all; none of these cute and simple-looking graphics are easy on your computer.”
- emotional3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by its ability to evoke deep feelings, with players expressing heartbreak and tears in response to its poignant messages and character interactions. Many reviewers found the experience profoundly moving, often leading to a strong emotional connection with the narrative.
“And it's almost heartbreaking to even think about how it is leaving.”
“With a beautiful message that made me cry.”
“Looked at the code in the spider thing that follows you and I cried... 5 stars!”
- stability3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Overall, users find the game enjoyable and feature-rich, but they report frequent bugs and crashes, indicating that stability is a significant issue, especially given its early development stage. Some players may require troubleshooting assistance, suggesting that the building workflow could be improved for a smoother experience.
“It is very feature complete, but the building workflow leaves a lot to be desired and is a bit buggy at times.”
“Good game, still a bit buggy and a lot of crashes, but it's early in development and has a lot of potential.”
- grinding2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 50 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Players express that the grinding in the game is excessively time-consuming, suggesting that it requires an unrealistic commitment akin to having a second life to fully engage with it.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- monetization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization of the game is criticized as a blatant cash grab, leading users to advise against spending money on it. However, the advertising accurately reflects the game's capabilities, showcasing a range of creative projects users have successfully created.
“The game is obviously just meant to be a cash grab, so don't waste your money.”
