Retreat To Enen

Retreat To Enen is a game set in the future where it integrates meditation while surviving peacefully in different worlds to create your dream sanctuary. While hunting for prey may not give you a realistic experience, it still does give you a great immersion with stunning audio and visuals. Retreat To Enen gives a soft introduction to the survival genre for new gamers.

64%Game Brain Score

gameplay, graphics

story, grinding

67% User Score Based on 428 reviews

Critic Score 58%Based on 3 reviews

Platforms

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About

Retreat To Enen is a single player and multiplayer open world simulation game with a science fiction theme. It was developed by Head West and was released on August 1, 2022. It received neutral reviews from critics and mostly positive reviews from players.

"Retreat to Enen" is a base building simulator and survival game that focuses on living in harmony with nature, rather than fighting. Explore three biomes, gather and craft over 160 unique items, and build your dream retreat using 50+ unlockable modules and various furniture pieces. Discover ancient ruins and meditation points to unlock the island's secrets.

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67%

Audience ScoreBased on 428 reviews

gameplay20 positive mentions

story6 negative mentions

The graphics and scenery are stunning, creating an immersive environment.
The meditation mechanics provide a unique and relaxing gameplay experience, promoting mindfulness.
The game offers a different take on the survival genre, focusing on exploration and crafting rather than combat.

The game suffers from numerous bugs and clunky mechanics, making navigation and combat frustrating.
There is a lack of a proper map or navigation system, making it easy to get lost.
The survival mechanics can feel unbalanced, with rapid depletion of hunger and thirst meters leading to frequent deaths.

gameplay
90 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
74%
4%
The gameplay is a mix of relaxing mechanics and basic survival elements, featuring unique meditation and spirit mechanics that aim to promote mindfulness. However, many players find the survival aspects shallow and frustrating, with navigation issues and a lack of depth in crafting and progression. While the game offers a visually stunning environment and a chill atmosphere, it requires more robust gameplay systems and clearer tutorials to enhance the overall experience.
- “The meditation mechanics of this game make it a unique survival experience that is set in beautiful locations to a very chill soundtrack.”
- “The environments are beautiful, gameplay is simple, and you can up the survival demands if you'd like.”
- “Very good and different game with a unique twist on gameplay.”
- “Gameplay is very shallow; you go find 9 gold domes, eat food, drink, and meditate. Beyond base building, that's pretty much it.”
- “It's a survival crafter with little to craft or reason to craft it; neither food nor water are hard to come by, but the mechanics just make it a chore.”
- “The lack of a map was an issue, as were some of the game mechanics, like placing things in baskets only for the items to fly out when the basket was full, making you go collect them again.”
graphics
72 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
81%
15%
4%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their stunning beauty and immersive landscapes, with many reviewers highlighting the pixelated visuals and detailed biomes. However, some users noted issues such as graphic glitches and cumbersome menu interfaces that detract from the overall experience. Despite these drawbacks, the visuals are generally considered a strong point, contributing to the game's appeal as a relaxing and aesthetically pleasing environment.
- “The graphics are stunning, all the biomes are beautiful, as is everything in it.”
- “The game graphics are simply outstanding for lack of a better word and moving through the environment is very smooth.”
- “The graphics and scenery are absolutely amazing.”
- “Limited items, tools & areas, graphic overlapping issues causing text to be unreadable in many cases and menus are cumbersome.”
- “The other half of your UI is handled behind a tab-menu on your holographic smartwatch, which is a 1990s style menu interface where you have to back in and out of 'inventory' and 'food', where 'food' means anything consumable, not just food, making it confusing.”
- “Graphic glitches, like you are in a bad matrix trip.”
story
54 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
7%
82%
11%
The game's story is largely criticized for being minimal and lacking depth, with many players finding it boring and unengaging. While there are elements of a light backstory and a post-apocalyptic theme, the narrative feels underdeveloped and disconnected from gameplay, leading to a focus on crafting and building rather than exploration or storytelling. Overall, the game may appeal to those seeking a relaxing experience rather than a rich narrative.
- “I like the 'post, post-apocalypse' storyline and lore.”
- “There is a light backstory that is fitting, and it has a bit of immersion with an overall goal to work towards.”
- “- mysterious story, solar punk vibes.”
- “Unfortunately, it turned out to be quite boring, particularly because there's no purpose, no deeper story, nothing to discover or uncover.”
- “There is basically no story.”
- “I was drawn to the story and the concept, but did not enjoy how it actually worked in the gameplay.”
grinding
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of "Retreat to Enen" to be tedious and repetitive, particularly if they are not invested in resource gathering and crafting. While the game offers a variety of activities, many reviewers express a desire for more engaging content beyond the grind, especially in terms of combat and exploration. Overall, the grind can detract from the enjoyment of building and farming, making it feel like a chore rather than a rewarding experience.
- “It's a pretty tedious and boring thing to have to keep doing if you're not into that sort of thing.”
- “This is a base building game, so it checks the box on that, but there is a lack of content if you're not into just grinding for materials.”
- “I love grindy games, but this grind combined with the worst hide-and-go-seek with elusive ruins is just no fun at all.”
music
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
71%
18%
11%
The music in the game is widely praised for its soothing and relaxing qualities, enhancing the overall atmosphere and allowing players to enjoy the environment without stress. While many appreciate the chill soundtrack and its integration with nature sounds, some players desire more variety in the music. Overall, the sound design contributes significantly to the game's unique and calming survival experience.
- “The meditation mechanics of this game make it a unique survival experience that is set in beautiful locations to a very chill soundtrack.”
- “The world is beautiful and lush and the soundtrack is very well done.”
- “Overall, it's a decently designed survival game, with incredible atmosphere, music, and sound design.”
- “- The music is barely noticeable and I would like to listen to more variety.”
- “This game can be challenging, but for the people who want a mostly calm environment with soothing music, this would be your piece of cake.”
- “I breathe in/out with it simultaneously altogether with relaxing music during the whole playtime.”
atmosphere
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
58%
29%
13%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its relaxing and zen qualities, enhanced by beautiful scenery, immersive sound design, and a focus on nature appreciation. Many players describe it as a chill survival experience that feels more like a walking simulator, with some noting the incredible detail in its biomes. However, a few users found the game lacking in atmosphere, suggesting a mixed reception overall.
- “The atmosphere is very zen and it is a really chill survival-based game.”
- “The scenery and music are great, which gives the game a relaxing atmosphere.”
- “Overall, it's a decently designed survival game, with incredible atmosphere, music, and sound design.”
- “Game is boring, there is no atmosphere.”
- “The atmosphere is very zen and it is a really chill survival based game.”
- “The atmosphere of the game is relaxed.”
stability
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
86%
The game has been criticized for its significant stability issues, with players reporting numerous glitches, including graphic errors and terrain-related bugs. Many reviewers feel that the game feels underdeveloped and lacks the polish expected from a new release, detracting from the overall experience.
- “I realize that new games can be a little buggy, but this level is ridiculous.”
- “The game is very buggy, and hardly a survival game at that.”
- “This game is super buggy and probably one of the worst undeveloped games I have seen released.”
replayability
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
50%
30%
Overall, the game is criticized for its lack of replayability, with many reviewers noting that resources and locations are fixed, leading to a predictable experience. While the graphics are praised, the consensus is that the game offers low to mid replay value, limiting the incentive for players to return after completing it.
- “This would make the game replayable.”
- “Low to mid replay value.”
- “The graphics are gorgeous and I don't mind the hunter-gatherer premise, but I don't think it has much replay value.”
- “No replay value, everything is in preset locations including the resources that respawn.”
- “Low-mid replay value.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is not directly addressed in the provided texts, which focus instead on gameplay mechanics related to fire effects. As such, there is no significant emotional feedback or impact highlighted by users in these comments.
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviewers suggest that the developer could benefit from leveraging free advertising through community showcases on platforms like Steam and Reddit, indicating a potential disconnect between monetization strategies and community engagement.
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the reviews appears to be mixed, with some users expressing frustration at negative comments while others attempt to inject levity into their critiques. Overall, the humor seems to stem from a blend of sarcasm and playful banter regarding the game's similarities to existing survival titles.
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is praised for its excellent optimization, with users reporting no performance issues and highlighting its stunning visuals.
- “I had no performance issues and the game is gorgeous.”