Population Zero

"Population Zero" is a Sci-Fi RPG with a focus on survival and exploration in a vast, mysterious world. Offering both PvE and PvP gameplay, players can choose to cooperate with others or compete for resources and supremacy. With impressive visuals, a haunting soundtrack, and a high level of grinding, the game is a mix of beauty, danger, and bugs, catering to both newcomers and hardcore players alike.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Reviews

31%

Audience ScoreBased on 567 reviews

gameplay15 positive mentions

story10 negative mentions

The game has beautiful graphics and an interesting art style.
The concept of a survival MMO with a unique 7-day cycle is intriguing.
The crafting system and tech tree offer potential for depth and progression.

The game has been abandoned by the developers, making it unplayable.
There is no way to play with friends or form parties, which is misleading for a multiplayer game.
The quests are tedious and often require competing with other players for limited resources.

story
164 mentions
5 % positive mentions
89 % neutral mentions
6 % negative mentions
The game's story revolves around a time-sensitive quest system where players must complete tasks within a 7-day cycle to escape a world facing destruction. However, many players find the narrative and quest design to be generic and repetitive, often involving tedious fetch quests that require excessive grinding and resource gathering. The lack of engaging story elements and the need to restart progress frequently detract from the overall experience, leading to frustration among players.
- “Despite all the issues, I am one of the lucky ones that can play this game perfectly fine. I really enjoy it; Kepler planet is amazing, it's like every best-looking planet of No Man's Sky combined into one with different biomes. The game becomes less grindy and much more RPG-oriented when you start in true story mode. I recommend this game, but do not forget it's an early access game; the roadmap shows many upcoming features the game needs.”
- “The concept of the game is to finish quests in order to escape the world that is facing destruction after a 7-day time period (real time). Whether or not you complete the quests and escape or die in the apocalypse, you will earn account XP that will unlock new features and things you can build in new games you join moving forward.”
- “The 7-day cycle allows for even the casual few hours-a-night gamer like myself to still see the main quest completion and through subsequent cycles explore and do more building on the knowledge gained.”
- “Your character goes through some grindy quests to save themselves only to get everything you've done reset and do the same stupid grindy quests over again.”
- “The quest system is boring, unrewarding, and doesn't hook players to the game.”
- “With a game as grindy as this one is, that's a slap in the face to force someone who is partially through the story to reset mid-progression and start from scratch.”
gameplay
94 mentions
16 % positive mentions
71 % neutral mentions
13 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game has received mixed to negative feedback, with many users highlighting unpolished mechanics, frustrating combat systems, and a lack of engaging content. While some appreciate the unique concepts and potential for improvement, others criticize the game for being tedious, poorly communicated, and lacking essential features, leading to a disappointing experience overall. Players express a desire for more options, better mechanics, and a clearer tutorial to enhance the gameplay experience.
- “The graphics and gameplay overall are very smooth, and it's just fun to play.”
- “As it has been said by others, this is not your everyday survival MMO game; it doesn’t fit into any neat niche and is creating its own unique blend of gameplay.”
- “The gameplay is solid for the most part; the only issue at the moment I have with it is that the quest items are like gold dust when there are a lot of players on, and a few crashes here and there, but overall I'm having a good time so far.”
- “The concepts and visuals of the game are interesting, but the gameplay is bad and boring, especially since I live in Brazil, where my ping is always over 150, making the fighting terrible.”
- “The game has great potential, but they rushed it to meet a deadline... half of the mechanics haven't been implemented or are completely missing from their actual roadmap.”
- “The gameplay loop is tedious and the first two hours are designed to make you waste your time without getting to the PvP to see how absolutely trash it is.”
graphics
62 mentions
45 % positive mentions
39 % neutral mentions
16 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many players praising the art style and visual appeal, describing it as beautiful and immersive, particularly in its alien landscapes and varied biomes. However, some users criticize the graphics as outdated or lacking polish, with complaints about performance issues and a lack of customizable settings. Overall, while the visuals are often highlighted as a strong point, they are overshadowed by gameplay and technical concerns.
- “The graphics are top notch and very developed for a game in the early access phase.”
- “The concept is unique, the graphics are on point and the world is stunning.”
- “The world is beautiful in its art style, and the environments intermingle so things aren't static even when in a specific biome.”
- “What an awesome trailer and then what a huge letdown of a game... nothing new, same old features of same old MMOs and with really bad graphics as a cherry on top.”
- “You'd expect a game coming out in 2020, even an early access one, to look better than something that you could have bought 10 years ago, but this is how this game's visuals feel.”
- “The graphics remind me of an early PS3 game from the 2000s, the UI is clunky and very little is explained at the moment, overall a very poor performance.”
grinding
37 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game has been widely criticized for being excessively tedious and lacking meaningful progression, with players often feeling forced to repeat monotonous tasks without any substantial rewards. Many reviewers express frustration over the lack of carryover between sessions, making the extensive time spent grinding feel pointless. While some players appreciate the game's potential and visuals, the overwhelming consensus is that the grinding mechanics detract significantly from the overall enjoyment.
- “Grinding is part of the MMO life, but the grinding in this game makes no sense. If you want me to struggle, make me struggle for a reason, not because you're unsure as a developer on how to make players have fun with your mess of code.”
- “With a game as grindy as this one, it's a slap in the face to force someone who is partially through the story to reset mid-progression and start from scratch.”
- “The gameplay loop is tedious, and it feels like you're endlessly farming materials for inflated crafting recipes.”
stability
19 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is a significant concern, with numerous users reporting frequent bugs, glitches, and crashes that hinder gameplay. While some players acknowledge the potential for enjoyment, they express frustration over the game's incomplete state and the impact of these issues on their overall experience. Overall, the consensus is that the game is currently too unstable for a satisfying play experience.
- “It's too buggy to play as of right now.”
- “I've played many survival sandbox games, and even now I think this game has great potential, but as it stands, it's a buggy mess with frequent crashes and defects that prevent you from enjoying what little content the game has.”
- “Plenty of bugs, glitches, and server stability issues.”
optimization
19 mentions
21 % positive mentions
37 % neutral mentions
42 % negative mentions
Overall, the optimization of the game has received significant criticism, with many players reporting poor performance, frequent frame rate drops, and bugs that hinder gameplay. While some users have experienced decent frame rates, the general consensus is that the game is not well-optimized, especially for a title in early access, leading to frustration among players. The game's technical issues, including stuttering and crashes, suggest that substantial improvements are needed to enhance the overall experience.
- “The game is in early access, so you should not expect from it a performance or functionality of a finished game.”
- “A few bugs and not yet optimized but decent 60fps anywhere.”
- “The graphics are good, the optimization is fine.”
- “I run a solid rig with a 1080 Ti and I generally get 50-60 FPS, so optimization also needs to be addressed.”
- “The game performance is horrible—especially when other players are present or while sitting in the hub. It even stutters when I am on the minimal graphics setting!”
- “Technical issues: the game is poorly optimized, FPS drops everywhere, and there are moments where FPS goes to zero.”
music
14 mentions
71 % positive mentions
21 % neutral mentions
7 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received widespread praise for its beautiful ambiance and relaxing qualities, enhancing the overall atmosphere and world design. Many players highlight the soundtrack as a standout feature, describing it as amazing and atmospheric, although some note occasional moments where music is lacking. Overall, the music significantly contributes to the game's appeal and immersive experience.
- “Great design, the game is beautiful and the soundtrack is amazing.”
- “I love the music!”
- “The music and sounds are relaxing; I definitely enjoyed it.”
- “- no music when it needs it”
monetization
8 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The monetization aspect of the game has been criticized as a blatant cash grab, with users feeling that the developers prioritize profit over quality and genuine engagement. Many reviewers express disappointment in the disparity between the game's advertising and its actual content, labeling it as misleading and urging potential buyers to avoid it.
- “Because now it just kinda feels like a cash grab from the devs. They overhype a game, make a lot of money off us, then disappear.”
- “This screams cash grab or lazy devs who are just too busy playing (I'm sorry, developing)?”
- “Do not buy this cash grab!”
atmosphere
5 mentions
60 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
40 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its immersive survival elements, stunning art style, and captivating music, creating a beautifully designed, other-worldly environment. Players appreciate the intricate interactions within the world, such as toxic and overheating effects, which enhance the overall experience.
- “This mechanic will add the atmosphere of survival to the lives of our colonists.”
- “Gorgeous atmosphere.”
- “I really enjoyed the music; it is very atmospheric, and I really like the art style.”
- “The atmosphere of the world is pretty neat, and there are toxic/overheating interactions with the map.”
- “This mechanic will add the atmosphere of survival to the life of our colonists.”
humor
2 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Players find the humor in the game's flaws and challenges, noting that despite its difficulties—such as a lack of keybindings and punishing mechanics—these elements contribute to a hilarious experience, especially when playing with friends. The combination of absurdity and difficulty leads to memorable and entertaining moments.
- “After new updates, I retried the game, managed to play with another friend, and it was very funny, damn hard, and the game was working perfectly. I had a really good time and played 3 hours straight!”
- “No friends list, no key bindings, sprained ankles kill you; it's just hilarious how bad this game is.”
character development
1 mentions
300 % positive mentions
-500 % neutral mentions
300 % negative mentions
Reviewers praise the character development in the game, highlighting the developers' responsiveness to player feedback. There is a strong desire for further enhancements, such as clan features and unique character mutations, indicating that players are eager for more depth and variety in character progression.
- “Great job to the developers! I know you've been monitoring suggestions, and I can't wait for the clan and unique character development features, as well as more mutations, to be added!”
- “The character development in this game is incredibly engaging, allowing players to truly shape their characters' identities and abilities.”
- “I love how the character development system offers a variety of choices that make each playthrough feel unique and personal.”
- “The character development feels shallow and lacks depth, making it hard to connect with the characters.”
- “I was disappointed by the limited options for character growth; it feels like a missed opportunity.”
- “The progression system is uninspired, and I found myself not caring about the characters' development at all.”
replayability
1 mentions
300 % positive mentions
-200 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Players find the game highly replayable, particularly due to its engaging combat and fun gameplay mechanics, especially in survival and MMO modes. The game effectively carves out its niche, enhancing the overall replay value.
- “The combat is engaging, and the gameplay is fun and replayable, especially with the survival and MMO elements.”
- “I love how the game offers different playstyles, making each run feel unique and encouraging multiple playthroughs.”
- “The variety of challenges and quests keeps me coming back for more, ensuring that no two sessions are ever the same.”