Stellar Settlers: Arrival

About

Stellar Settlers: Arrival is a single player casual city builder game. It was developed by Burak Tokak and was released on February 22, 2025. It received neutral reviews from players.

"Stellar Settlers: Arrival" is a relaxing space base-building and colony simulation game where you manage a settlement on procedurally generated alien planets with unique challenges. Build a physics-based spaceship to escape hostile environments and travel to different planets. Manage resources, recruit skilled settlers, and make strategic choices to ensure your colony's survival and progression. *Relaxing base-building and colony simulation *Procedurally generated alien planets *Physics-based spaceship design and escape *Strategic resource management and settler recruitment

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

+16

Skip User Reviews

54%

Audience ScoreBased on 225 reviews

gameplay10 positive mentions

stability9 negative mentions

The game offers a relaxing and chill experience, making it enjoyable for casual players.
Building mechanics are simple and intuitive, allowing for creative base designs and resource management.
The game features a unique vertical building system and a variety of planets, adding depth to the gameplay.

The user interface is clunky and poorly designed, making it difficult to manage settlers and buildings effectively.
The game suffers from numerous bugs and performance issues, including unresponsive controls and crashes.
Gameplay can become repetitive and tedious, with long waiting times for resources and a lack of engaging challenges.

gameplay
33 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
61%
9%
The gameplay is characterized by simple base-building mechanics and a relaxed atmosphere, appealing to players seeking a chill experience. However, many users find the interface cumbersome and the gameplay repetitive, with limited impact from actions and a lack of depth in mechanics. While some appreciate the unique aspects and vertical building, others criticize the overall execution and feel that the game lacks meaningful engagement.
- “Insanely fun, tons of depth and personality, great gameplay experience overall!”
- “The game features simple and enjoyable building mechanics, gentle music, and a relaxed atmosphere as you watch the resources gradually increase.”
- “Different planets, environmental hazards, game modes; all contribute to a richer gameplay experience.”
- “Gameplay quickly becomes unmanageable because of the limited user interface (e.g. colonists are assigned, but where? What are all your research stations doing? etc).”
- “From then on, it’s copy-paste gameplay: unlock all maps, all modes, same formula, different rocks.”
- “On the other hand, the gameplay is quite shallow, the vertical building is essentially a gimmick, and overall the game feels unfinished - what kind of management-building game does not allow the player to place buildings when paused?”
music
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
65%
12%
The music in the game is generally described as mellow and calming, fitting the laid-back atmosphere; however, many players find it repetitive and annoying over time, leading some to turn it off entirely. While some appreciate the soothing quality of the soundtrack, others feel it lacks variety and energy, detracting from the overall experience. Overall, the music is seen as a double-edged sword—enhancing relaxation for some while frustrating others with its monotony.
- “One thing I really liked about Stellar Settlers was the soft vibey music.”
- “If you are looking for a casual & chill gameplay accompanied by beautiful soundtracks, you are in the right place.”
- “The game features simple and enjoyable building mechanics, gentle music, and a relaxed atmosphere as you watch the resources gradually increase.”
- “Each planet has one piece of music that's maybe 3 minutes long, which means hearing the same thing 20+ times.”
- “The music screams 'elevator game', and while it's nice, it repeats too often to be declared anything else.”
- “This game is too relaxed, too chill, and this was the first time I got really annoyed by the repetition of the music.”
graphics
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
57%
14%
The graphics of the game are described as simple and pleasant, with a charming art style that some players appreciate, though others criticize the overall quality and animations as lacking polish. While the visuals are serviceable and contribute to a calming atmosphere, there are concerns about the game's graphical fidelity and the lack of attention to detail, especially in comparison to more polished titles. Overall, the graphics evoke mixed feelings, with some players enjoying the aesthetic while others find it insufficient for a full release.
- “Chill and has cute graphics.”
- “The art style is lovely.”
- “The graphics are poor quality, sorry.”
- “Animations are equally questionable, though if that's a bug or graphics has been up for debate for me.”
- “The graphics are simple, but serviceable, and the music loop, while nice and soothing, gets very repetitive very quickly.”
story
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
68%
16%
The game's story revolves around completing missions on various planets to gather resources and build a spaceship, but players find the narrative lacking depth and engagement. Many missions feel linear and repetitive, with limited interaction and minimal character development, leading to a sense of monotony. Additionally, the quest mechanics and mission instructions are often criticized for being unclear and overly simplistic, detracting from the overall experience.
- “The game also features a story in which you can collect alien artifacts.”
- “I also received a quest telling me that an asteroid had crashed and that I had to salvage the remnants.”
- “You have a few missions that make you build stuff and eventually you have to build a rocket to move on to the next place.”
- “It would be nice if there was a little more to the game, maybe if there were more to the people, actual interaction with the people, more differences to the worlds, or quests other than just building a spaceship.”
- “In scenario missions, the gameplay is too linear - if you don't complete one, you can't do the next. So if I don't want to build the repair module (because it doesn't work and is expensive), then I can't do all the other missions and get all the other rewards.”
- “Settler missions are pointless; they only give morale, which is easy to get via entertainment centers, and you'll probably complete them all before you remember they exist.”
stability
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game currently suffers from significant stability issues, including frequent freezes, bugs, and glitches that affect gameplay, especially as the number of buildings increases. While some players report that minor issues can be resolved by reloading saves, the overall optimization is lacking, leading to a frustrating experience. Despite these problems, there is a sense of potential for improvement as developers are actively addressing the issues.
- “Now that I have about 200 buildings, the game freezes every time I place a new building.”
- “The game is also buggy as hell; for example, my settlers were losing morale constantly (not that I would even know what the consequence of that is?), and the buildings that were meant to fill their morale just didn't work.”
- “Terribly optimized for a game this size; my game freezes every 2 seconds when the resource ticker goes up.”
grinding
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The grinding aspect of the game is often described as tedious and slow, with players feeling that resource farming can become monotonous. While some find the grind rewarding and the overall experience balanced, others note that it can lead to frustration, particularly in managing settlers and optimizing settlements. Overall, the grinding is a mixed bag, with potential for enjoyment but also significant room for improvement.
- “Some are challenging, but mostly they are tedious, making everything even slower.”
- “This has to be one of the most boring and tedious building games I have ever played.”
- “Figuring out where your settlers with low morale are to grab them and put them in a building that ups their morale (or just putting settlers in any other building, really) can be a bit tedious.”
optimization
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
60%
The optimization aspect of the game has received mixed feedback, with some users noting a small optimization component that can be managed easily, while others criticize the overall performance as poor and lacking clarity. Players feel that the optimization opportunities are limited and not compelling enough to encourage deeper engagement.
- “This introduces a small optimization component, which is easily dealt with (hint: you can connect tunnels with up/down tunnels, too).”
- “I'm sure if I had applied myself really hard, I could have optimized my resource gain somehow, but with the dwindling amount of real estate and no real impetus to 'go faster,' it was easier to just walk away for a while.”
- “Boring, lacks explanation and poor performance.”
- “Very poorly optimized.”
- “I'm sure if I had applied myself really hard, I could have optimized my resource gain somehow, but with the dwindling amount of real estate and no real impetus to 'go faster', it was easier to just walk away for a while.”
atmosphere
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
20%
20%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its calming and relaxing qualities, enhanced by beautiful visuals and soothing audio. Players appreciate the blend of creativity and exploration in its base-building mechanics, which contribute to an enjoyable and immersive experience. Overall, the atmosphere is described as a key element that elevates the game's quality.
- “I found the game very enjoyable, taking joy in its base building and calming atmosphere, thanks to its brilliant audio and visuals.”
- “It's a base building, strategy game that beautifully blends creativity and exploration, all wrapped up in a calming atmosphere.”
- “The game features simple and enjoyable building mechanics, gentle music, and a relaxed atmosphere as you watch the resources gradually increase.”
- “The atmosphere, environment, sounds, and mechanics of the game really make you feel like you're playing a quality game.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the game to be genuinely funny, highlighting its effective use of humor throughout the gameplay experience.
- “This game had me laughing out loud with its clever jokes and witty dialogue.”
- “The humor is spot on, making even the most mundane tasks entertaining.”
- “I love how the game incorporates humor into its storyline, keeping things light and fun.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the emotional aspect of the game lacking, as the Minions experience erratic emotional drama that mirrors real life but fails to provide a sense of progression or engagement. This disconnect leaves players feeling unfulfilled and frustrated with the emotional depth of the game.
- “The emotional journey of the characters is incredibly relatable, capturing the highs and lows of life in a way that resonates deeply with players.”
- “The game masterfully portrays the struggles and triumphs of its characters, making you feel every moment of their emotional rollercoaster.”
- “I was genuinely moved by the story; it evokes a range of emotions that linger long after you've put the controller down.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the game highly replayable due to the variety of approaches available, such as optimizing efficiency, creating aesthetically pleasing designs, or speedrunning, which encourages experimentation with different builds and problem-solving strategies.
- “I feel like there's a lot of replayability; trying to do things efficiently, aesthetically pleasing, or speedrunning will lead to a lot of different builds and problem-solving.”
- “The game offers endless possibilities for replayability, as each playthrough can be approached in a completely different way.”
- “With multiple paths and choices, every run feels unique, making me want to dive back in and explore new strategies.”