Retreat To Enen
- August 1, 2022
- Head West
- 15h median play time
Get on Steam"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.
PC
Playstation 5
Windows
Xbox Series X|S
PlayStation
Xbox
Reviews
- The graphics and scenery are stunning, creating an immersive environment.
- The meditation mechanics add a unique and relaxing aspect to the survival gameplay.
- The game offers a different take on survival, focusing on exploration and resource gathering without the typical combat stress.
- The navigation system is poor, lacking a map or compass, making it easy to get lost.
- The survival mechanics can feel unbalanced, with rapid depletion of hunger and thirst bars leading to frequent deaths.
- The crafting and building systems are clunky, with limited options and frustrating inventory management.
- gameplay51 mentions
- 22 % positive mentions
- 73 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The gameplay is a mix of relaxing mechanics and survival elements, featuring unique aspects like meditation and spirit management, which some players find refreshing while others see as shallow or frustrating. While the game offers beautiful environments and a chill atmosphere, it suffers from a lack of depth in crafting and survival mechanics, leading to a somewhat simplistic experience. Overall, it has potential but requires further updates to enhance gameplay variety and address existing bugs.
“It's fun to record gameplay, and I find myself losing track of time pretty easily while playing.”
“The meditation mechanics of this game make it a unique survival experience that is set in beautiful locations to a very chill soundtrack.”
“Overall, it really needs more fun gameplay systems beyond exploring and picking stuff up off the ground, a more in-depth crafting system and better progression, but what is there is a great foundation if they continue updating and improving it.”
“I constantly got lost, turned around, and blocked, which on the one hand is very realistic if you were ever to find yourself stranded on an unfamiliar island, but for gameplay, it’s really frustrating.”
“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.”
“Gameplay is very shallow; you go find 9 gold domes, eat food, drink, and meditate. Beyond base building, that's pretty much it.”
- graphics45 mentions
- 78 % positive mentions
- 16 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their stunning and beautiful visuals, with many reviewers highlighting the impressive scenery and ambient effects that enhance the overall experience. However, some users noted issues such as graphic glitches and a lack of variety in content, which detracted from the gameplay despite the appealing aesthetics. Overall, the game is recognized for its gorgeous graphics, making it visually engaging, though some players feel it lacks depth in other areas.
“The graphics are stunning, all the biomes are beautiful, as is everything in it.”
“The game has absolutely beautiful visuals.”
“The environment graphics are just stunning and look beautiful.”
“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.”
- story35 mentions
- 9 % positive mentions
- 74 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The game's story is criticized for being minimal and lacking depth, with many players finding it boring and unengaging. While some appreciate the post-apocalyptic and solar punk themes, they feel the narrative fails to enhance gameplay, often feeling disconnected from the crafting and survival elements. Overall, the story is seen as an underdeveloped aspect that detracts from the potential enjoyment of the game.
“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.”
“I wanted to relax and enjoy the visual stimulus of the game along with the general elements of the survival genre but without the heavy PvE elements or deep storyline to follow.”
“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.”
- grinding14 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players have mixed feelings about the grinding aspect of the game, with some enjoying the farming and crafting elements while others find the repetitive resource gathering tedious and boring. The lack of engaging content outside of grinding can detract from the overall experience, especially for those who prefer a more narrative-driven gameplay. Additionally, combat can feel frustratingly grindy, particularly when dealing with larger animals.
“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.”
- music14 mentions
- 71 % positive mentions
- 7 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
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. Many reviewers appreciate the combination of the soundtrack with natural sounds, creating a meditative experience, although some express a desire for more variety in the music. Overall, the sound design contributes significantly to the game's immersive and tranquil ambiance.
“The scenery and music are great, which gives the game a relaxing atmosphere.”
“The meditation mechanics of this game make it a unique survival experience that is set in beautiful locations to a very chill soundtrack.”
“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 those who want a mostly calm environment with soothing music, this would be your piece of cake.”
“I breathe in and out simultaneously with the relaxing music during the whole playtime.”
- atmosphere12 mentions
- 58 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its zen-like quality, featuring beautiful scenery, relaxing music, and immersive sound design that enhances the experience of exploring its diverse biomes. While some players find the gameplay lacking, many appreciate the focus on nature and meditation, describing it as a visually stunning and atmospheric walking simulator. However, a few users noted the absence of essential support resources, such as a website or manual, which detracts from the overall experience.
“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 of the game is relaxed.”
“The idea of a survival game with a focus on the atmosphere and philosophy of appreciating nature.”
- stability7 mentions
- 14 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 86 % negative mentions
The stability of the game has been widely criticized, with users reporting numerous glitches, including graphic issues and terrain-related bugs. Many players feel that the game is poorly developed and lacks the polish expected from a new release, significantly impacting the overall experience.
“However, ever since finding all 9 gold shrines, I've experienced tons of glitches.”
“I realize that new games can be a little buggy, but this level is ridiculous.”
“This game is super buggy and probably one of the worst undeveloped games I have seen released.”
- replayability5 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
Overall, the game is criticized for its low replayability, with many players noting that the fixed locations of resources and lack of varied gameplay elements limit the incentive to replay. While the graphics and premise are appreciated, they do not compensate for the absence of dynamic content that would enhance replay value.
“This would make the game replayable.”
“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.”
- humor2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is well-received, particularly by younger audiences, with players noting its comedic elements as a standout feature. However, some critics suggest that those seeking traditional survival game experiences may not appreciate the humor as much. Overall, the game's humor adds a lighthearted touch that resonates with many players.
“OMG, my daughter thinks it's hilarious.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is noted to be lacking, with players feeling disconnected from the experience, as the impact of environmental elements, like fire, fails to evoke a strong emotional response. The limited area of effect for fires diminishes the sense of danger and urgency, further detracting from the overall emotional engagement.
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
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.
“The monetization model feels overly aggressive, making it hard to enjoy the game without spending extra money.”
“I feel like the game is designed to push players towards microtransactions rather than rewarding them for their time and effort.”
“It's frustrating that essential features are locked behind paywalls, which detracts from the overall experience.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players report that the game runs smoothly without any performance issues, and they praise its stunning visuals.
“I had no performance issues, and the game is gorgeous.”
“The optimization is top-notch, allowing for smooth gameplay even on lower-end systems.”
“I appreciate how well the game runs; it really enhances the overall experience.”
