Terraformers

About

"Terraformers" is a single-player Science Fiction Turn Based Strategy game with fantastic mechanics, stellar visuals, and a phenomenal soundtrack. You terraform a procedurally generated planet, discovering resources, building cities, and engineering the environment through unique life forms and geological manipulations. With randomly proposed project cards and different growth strategies, each playthrough offers a very replayable and unique atmosphere, although it can be quite grinding.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

89%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,729 reviews

gameplay116 positive mentions

grinding21 negative mentions

Engaging and addictive gameplay with a satisfying 'one more turn' mechanic.
Well-designed mechanics that balance resource management and strategic decision-making.
High replayability due to different scenarios, victory conditions, and unlockable content.

Heavy reliance on RNG can lead to frustrating experiences, especially if the right cards are not drawn.
The happiness/expectation mechanic can feel punishing and may detract from the overall enjoyment.
Some players may find the game repetitive after a few runs, as scenarios can feel similar.

gameplay
382 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
65%
4%
The gameplay of "Terraformers" is characterized by a blend of strategic city-building and card-drafting mechanics, offering a relaxing yet engaging experience. While the core gameplay loop is enjoyable and addictive, some players find it can become repetitive over time, particularly due to the reliance on random elements and certain mechanics that feel unbalanced or poorly explained. Overall, the game provides a solid foundation with a variety of mechanics and scenarios that encourage replayability, though it may benefit from further depth and refinement in its systems.
- “The gameplay loop is very fun, the visuals are beautiful to look at, and seeing Mars and your cities transform over the course of a game is very rewarding.”
- “The mechanics are well-designed, and the strategic depth allows for endless replayability; each match feels rewarding, whether you're a novice or a veteran strategist.”
- “Terraformers is a great game: intellectually engaging, beautiful, fun, and fluid gameplay.”
- “The game itself gets a little repetitive, and the style of gameplay changes as the game progresses - as you can't pay the same level of attention to an individual city when you've covered the entire planet.”
- “The difficulty mechanic is also a bit lame (essentially just a time limit to complete your objective).”
- “However, this game has very little to offer and the gameplay is very, very shallow and repetitive.”
replayability
156 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
53%
2%
Overall, the game boasts high replayability due to its diverse scenarios, randomized elements, and various victory conditions, which encourage players to experiment with different strategies and approaches. Many reviewers highlight the engaging gameplay loop and the satisfaction of unlocking new content, although some express concerns about potential repetitiveness after extended play. Despite a few criticisms regarding long-term replay value, the consensus is that the game offers a rich and enjoyable experience that keeps players coming back for more.
- “Lots of replayability with deck building, different play modes, and map randomness.”
- “The different scenarios give it some great replay value.”
- “High replayability due to very well utilized RNG, which incentivizes you to try different things every time instead of just going for the same strategy over and over until you get bored.”
- “I really have no complaints about this game now except for relatively low replayability (for a semi card rogue-like).”
- “Although it is replayable, there does not seem to be anything to grab you for more than one or two times through.”
- “It's a mostly shallow city management game that loses all replayability after about 3 hours.”
graphics
124 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
49%
48%
3%
The graphics of the game are generally described as simple yet effective, with a clean art style that enhances the gameplay experience. While some players appreciate the aesthetic appeal and immersive visuals, others find them lacking in detail or overly simplistic. Overall, the graphics are considered polished and well-suited for the game's mechanics, contributing positively to the overall atmosphere.
- “The visuals are clean and fresh, the music is unobtrusive and fitting, and the gameplay is really good: there are a number of elements that you need to juggle, and it is certainly more complex than other types of 4Xs, such as the Civilization franchise.”
- “The graphics are great and have a hand-drawn or painted style to them, which is very nice.”
- “Beautiful graphics that run on my 10-year-old gaming laptop, beautiful music, well thought out and in my opinion well-balanced game mechanics.”
- “The graphics are bad and the gameplay is just click and drag.”
- “Graphics and audio look very cheap and unpolished.”
- “The visuals are outdated.”
story
103 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
7%
87%
6%
The game's story is often described as minimal and lacking depth, with many players expressing a desire for a more substantial narrative or campaign mode. While the gameplay features random events and unlockable content that provide some variation, the overarching storyline feels thin and repetitive, primarily serving as a backdrop for mission objectives rather than a compelling narrative experience. Overall, players appreciate the mechanics and visuals but feel that the story could be significantly enhanced to enrich the gameplay experience.
- “Game play is fun and intuitive, the story is interesting and changes a bit each playthrough with random events and the ability to unlock new content as you progress and improve.”
- “It's relaxing, engaging, and challenging but not impossible, accompanied by a wonderful soundtrack, breathtaking art, innovative mechanics, and a captivating story.”
- “I like how the story is well connected to the gameplay.”
- “My issue with the game, and why I consider it basic and boring, is that each single feature is incredibly shallow, the story is paper thin, each action listed above is its entire extent with no fine details, everything is bare bones simplistic.”
- “Notably, there is no 'story' - just lore as you play the game.”
- “Really the game needs a proper story mode which would really make the game interesting.”
music
91 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
38%
4%
The music in the game is widely praised for its relaxing and atmospheric qualities, enhancing the overall gameplay experience. Many players appreciate the soundtrack's ability to create an immersive environment, with some noting its emotional impact during key moments. However, a few reviews mention that the music can become repetitive over time, suggesting a desire for more variety. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a strong asset that complements the game's visuals and mechanics.
- “It's relaxing, engaging, and challenging but not impossible, accompanied by a wonderful soundtrack, breathtaking art, innovative mechanics, and a captivating story.”
- “The music is fitting, albeit at some points, it seems a bit unfitting, like when your positive music still plays in the background, when there's an event happening that is basically 'do this, or the Mars explodes!'”
- “The music sets a good mood, and the planet gets bluer and greener as you terraform.”
- “At this moment, the 'soft' music just seems passive-aggressive.”
- “One thing that bothers me is the lack of different ambient music; the same track going on and on for hours makes it too dull.”
- “Probably the weakest element at this point is the music soundtrack, which is understandable, but which is not on the development goal list - an omission which really needs to be addressed.”
atmosphere
44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
70%
7%
The atmosphere in *Terraformers* is richly developed, immersing players in a serene and engaging environment as they work to transform Mars into a habitable planet. The game's visuals and atmospheric music enhance the experience, creating a cozy and satisfying gameplay loop as players manipulate environmental conditions and introduce life forms. While the game effectively captures the essence of terraforming, some players feel that the interaction between different terraforming attributes could be improved for a more dynamic experience.
- “Terraformers plays true to the name, as a turn-based card game city-builder, your goal is not to simply strip Mars of resources, but to build a lasting home by developing sophisticated cities, rebuilding the atmosphere and oceans, and reintroducing flora and fauna, all while staying in power by ensuring the people are happy.”
- “The designers managed to create a dense atmosphere, with everything being easily recognized, and all core elements easily visible, which highly adds to the comfortable gameplay.”
- “For a sci-fi nerd like myself, the theme and atmosphere of the game is on point, and the musical score gradually changing as you perform different actions builds you up from a hopeful starting scenario to a victorious tune once you're nearing your goal.”
- “Terraformers is more of a solo board game played from a fully 'pulled-out' scale, where concepts like geothermal mining and atmosphere oxygenation are presented purely in terms of getting colorful resource tokens rather than anything more representative.”
- “Im merely spamming buildings that increase atmosphere and oxygen, but I don't really see or understand when I reach a new level or what my goal with that is.”
- “Honestly, the game is good but has too much emphasis on opinion - I spent about 2 hours on a world and had vast forests and species of both animals and bacteria, about 9 cities which were full, maxed atmosphere, temperature, and oxygen levels, but the fact ocean events take so long to come by ended my game.”
optimization
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
59%
14%
Overall, the game's optimization is a mixed bag; while it offers engaging strategic depth and resource management with opportunities for meaningful optimization, some players feel it could benefit from further refinement, particularly for touch controls. The gameplay is generally smooth with excellent performance and load times, but there are concerns about the initial setup and randomization affecting the overall experience. Players appreciate the balance of challenge and strategy, though some await improvements for specific platforms like the Steam Deck.
- “This game was designed around strategy, optimization, replayability, and mastery; game sessions are designed to be relatively short, with players expected to fail a lot before they develop winning strategies (which are dependent on random chance).”
- “The gameplay loop is simple to understand but is quite deep and has a lot of optimization potential.”
- “Great for those who like to optimize every action, but where multiple optimization strategies are viable.”
- “No one can say this game is optimized and provides a relishable experience.”
- “Overall, I can best compare it to Surviving Mars, which felt much more engaging with random events and an overall arc of a particular playthrough, while Terraformers felt more managerial and spreadsheet optimization.”
- “Unfortunately, the game is only optimized for mouse and trackpad, and I had a lot of difficulty trying to do even the most basic things with touch.”
grinding
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews indicate that grinding in the game can become tedious, especially towards the end of a run when resource management intensifies and repetitive tasks accumulate. While some players appreciate the strategic depth and variety in gameplay that mitigates grinding, others find the reliance on luck and the need for extensive micromanagement to be frustrating and monotonous. Overall, the experience of grinding varies significantly, with some enjoying the challenge while others feel it detracts from the overall enjoyment.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “In spite of desperately doing everything I could to prolong the game long enough to eke out the victory for over a dozen turns, it was just this slow grinding march to failure.”
- “It's quite fun early on when you are only managing a few cities, but it quickly becomes very tedious as you expand over the planet.”
stability
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
9%
64%
Overall, the game's stability has received mixed reviews. While some players report a smooth experience with minimal glitches, others have encountered significant issues such as crashes, bugs with cloud saves, and UI problems. Recent updates have improved stability, but lingering bugs still affect gameplay for some users.
- “Runs great on the Steam Deck too!”
- “The game runs smoothly with little to no glitches.”
- “It's gone through a few shaky development and balance sections and it's not yet bug free, but the current version of Terraformers is a rock solid turn-based strategy roguelike.”
- “The game is fun, and you think you are good with saves, but suddenly when you start progressing through the achievements/level, it glitches and tosses you back to the start page, forcing you to start everything over.”
- “It's been out too long for glitches like this.”
- “A fun game, but the cloud save function is extremely buggy: I played this game on two different devices, and every time I switch devices, it resets my level to 1, no matter how many games I played on each of the two devices!”
humor
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is described as both challenging and self-deprecating, often poking fun at the player's situation, such as starting with a less-than-ideal city. While some players find the humor amusing, others suggest approaching the game with low expectations to fully appreciate its comedic elements. Overall, the humor adds a layer of complexity and variety to the gameplay experience.
- “To potential players: proceed with caution, a sense of humor, and absolutely zero expectations.”
- “It feels like this game is pointing and laughing at you as it gives you no power cards for 10 turns.”
- “I'll just say: challenging but fair, high variety (and more things to come soon), has some humor.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the emotional aspect of the game heartwarming, particularly in the joy of introducing various species to Mars, which evokes a sense of happiness. However, some feel limited by the lack of interactive features, such as the inability to manipulate the planet, which could enhance their emotional connection to the experience.
- “There's something heartwarming about introducing penguins, whales, and colorful species to Mars and seeing the resulting happiness that will put a smile on your face.”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Players appreciate that the game does not pressure them into watching ads for rewards, creating a more enjoyable experience without aggressive monetization tactics.
- “I'm always expecting the game to ask me to watch ads to get more cards, but it never comes.”
- “The monetization system feels overly aggressive and detracts from the overall experience.”
- “I feel pressured to spend money to progress, which makes the game less enjoyable.”