The Fermi Paradox
- July 1, 2021
- The Fermi Paradox
- 4h median play time
Get on Steam
Get on itch.io Store"The Fermi Paradox" is a choice-driven galactic god game where players guide up to 10 alien civilizations through the ages, faced with decisions that can lead to thriving or survival. With 400 different civilization-development events, the game offers diverse stories and consequences that impact each civilization's history, from natural disasters to societal revolutions, even within starships and complex ecosystems. Meet unique alien species, including the enigmatic hairless mammals called Humans.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Unique and engaging concept that allows players to guide civilizations through various stages of development.
- Beautiful artwork and music that enhance the overall experience.
- Emergent storytelling that creates memorable narratives based on player choices.
- Gameplay can become repetitive and tedious, especially in the late game with limited interactivity.
- Many choices feel arbitrary and lack meaningful consequences, leading to a sense of randomness.
- The game currently lacks sufficient content and variety, making replayability low.
- gameplay180 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 73 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it overly simplistic and repetitive, primarily revolving around clicking on flares to manage resources and make choices that often lack significant impact. While the narrative and art are praised, the mechanics feel shallow, leading to a gameplay experience that can become tedious after a few hours. Despite its potential for interesting emergent stories, the current state of gameplay is seen as lacking depth and variety, with many players hoping for future updates to enhance the experience.
“Beautiful art, music, and relaxing gameplay make this a fun experience for anyone who wants to be a galactic gardener.”
“The gameplay itself is pretty simple, but shaping the story of each world's civilization and how they end up responding to alien life is a good time.”
“The choices you make in the game have significant consequences, which adds an extra layer of depth and strategy to the gameplay.”
“The gameplay is mostly limited to clicking flares and making choices with limited impact, other than the decision to build spaceships, which is huge.”
“Great concept ruined by overly simple and random mechanics.”
“The new flare system removes control and decision from the player almost entirely, and since this is the only mechanic that allows me to exert influence over how the game progresses, it essentially makes the game become 'press flare to continue.'”
- story142 mentions
- 32 % positive mentions
- 64 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The game's story is described as a compelling and immersive experience, often likened to a dynamic story generator where players can shape the narrative of various civilizations. While many appreciate the engaging storytelling and rich backstories, some criticize the lack of player agency and repetitive events, leading to a more passive experience. Overall, it is recommended for those who enjoy narrative-driven gameplay, though it may not satisfy players seeking traditional game mechanics or high interactivity.
“I love the storytelling and concept.”
“The storytelling potential is amazing and it's great to see the civilizations you helped craft rise from the ground up.”
“This game has fantastic artwork, writing, and immersive storytelling.”
“You have zero input over the story you are trying to tell in a game that is entirely about the story.”
“Very little player interaction to the point it's almost an animated storybook just telling you what is happening, with no explanation as to why completely peaceful civilizations will suddenly go full genocide without the actual stats changing.”
“The 'solar flare' system that drives the player's ability to engage in storytelling inputs feels very hollow and disconnected from the actual events of the game.”
- graphics88 mentions
- 55 % positive mentions
- 42 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally praised for their unique and beautiful art style, which enhances the overall atmosphere and storytelling. While the visuals are described as pleasant and fitting, some players note a lack of variety and detail, particularly in the representation of different civilizations and planetary conditions. Overall, the combination of engaging artwork and soothing music contributes to a relaxing gaming experience, though there is a desire for more diverse visuals and improvements in graphical representation as the game develops.
“The visuals and music are soothing, which makes the game very relaxing to play.”
“This game has a very unique art style and music; as the species advance, they appear with different clothes depending on their technological level.”
“The artwork is gorgeous, the music and atmosphere fitting, the dev team responsive, and so far updates have been regular and brought both a good amount of additional content and features requested by the community.”
“There's no real differences between civilizations, just flavor text and graphics.”
“Don't expect sophisticated graphics, as this is more along the lines of text-based with artwork in the background.”
“Yes, the graphics aren't much more than slide-show quality (though a really pretty one), and the gameplay is basically just menu-clicking.”
- music75 mentions
- 56 % positive mentions
- 39 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally praised for its relaxing and atmospheric qualities, enhancing the overall experience with a beautiful soundtrack that complements the stunning art style. While many players find the music soothing and fitting, some note that it can become repetitive over time, with occasional issues in dynamic sound levels. Overall, the combination of art and music is considered one of the game's strongest aspects, contributing significantly to its immersive gameplay.
“Beautiful art, music, and relaxing gameplay make this a fun experience for anyone who wants to be a galactic gardener.”
“The music is calm and pleasant, and the visuals are good for a text-based game.”
“The art and music of the game are awesome, and the events are also pretty cool with decent diversity.”
“Music: ear-grating chaotic ambient.”
“The soundtrack veers from ambient bliss to slightly annoying.”
“The music is...adequate?”
- replayability61 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 69 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's replayability is a mixed bag, with many players noting that while it offers some enjoyable experiences, it tends to diminish after a few playthroughs due to limited content and repetitive events. Some users express hope for future updates to enhance replay value, while others feel the current offering is insufficient for long-term engagement. In summary, the game has potential for replayability, but it currently falls short for many players, making it more suitable for short-term enjoyment rather than extensive replay.
“The replay value is high due to the vast amount of content available.”
“I absolutely loved it and I can see there is a ton of replayability.”
“It makes reaching the final tech all the more satisfying when you pull it off, and the multiple species and random galaxies do encourage replayability.”
“Honestly, it feels like they spent so much time making the game have interesting events and species, only to make it so players don't see most of it because there's no replay value.”
“The game was only 3.5 hours long, and there is zero replayability.”
“There's very limited replayability and the game itself just turns into a boring slog towards the end as you wait for your species to research the final tech.”
- grinding20 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players consistently describe the grinding aspect of the game as tedious and repetitive, often likening it to an idle clicker experience with minimal engagement. The core gameplay loop, centered around collecting resources and managing stats, quickly becomes monotonous, leading to frustration and a sense of wasted time. Despite its interesting concept and art style, the lack of meaningful decisions and the overwhelming grind detract significantly from the overall enjoyment.
“Events get very repetitive and the game became grindy towards the end.”
“The general idea is very good, but the main loop of collecting 'flares' is really tedious, aggravated by the fact that you don't know which flares are available at a given turn unless you cycle all the planets.”
“Boring and tedious gameplay that reminded me of an idle clicker flash game.”
- humor17 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is described as a mix of dark, ironic, and absurd elements, with players enjoying emergent storytelling that leads to hilarious and unexpected scenarios, such as dinosaurs inventing racism or dolphins creating naval fleets. While some find the humor refreshing and well-written, others feel it could benefit from more variety and depth. Overall, the game balances emotional intensity with comedic moments, making for a uniquely entertaining experience.
“Even though it's early, give this amazing game a chance (and don't fall in love with your species... they tend to die off hilariously and horribly).”
“The unique cultural events that shape and add flavor to the species is probably my favorite part, especially since you can have really funny or cursed combinations.”
“Hopefully one day there'll be gameplay differences for that sort of stuff, but until then, just be ready for some funny moments where the game enthuses over the idea of dolphins building entire naval fleets and growing crops on land.”
- stability16 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- -12 % neutral mentions
- 94 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's stability is a mixed bag, with users noting a range of bugs and glitches, particularly in the UI and graphical elements, which are expected in an early access title. While some players report a relatively stable experience with minimal issues over extended playtime, others highlight game-breaking glitches that hinder their enjoyment. The active development and community engagement offer hope for future improvements and polish.
“The game feels very stable and is fairly bug-free after around 20-25 hours of play. The only glitch I've encountered is some event selection graphical elements getting stuck occasionally, but it hasn't significantly impacted my gameplay.”
“I have experienced a high level of stability throughout my playtime, with minimal bugs affecting my experience.”
“Overall, the game runs smoothly with very few issues, making for a stable and enjoyable gaming experience.”
“The appearance of the resource icons is a bit buggy, with some overlapping.”
“There are two glitches that are game breaking and the only reason I cannot recommend this game until they get sorted out.”
“Early access is obvious in a few spots, especially the undercooked and buggy UI, but the Discord is plenty active and the devs are implementing community-submitted fixes and events, which gives me hope that this will be seeing a lot more polish.”
- atmosphere10 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 30 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its relaxing and immersive qualities, enhanced by gorgeous artwork and fitting music that create a captivating environment. Players appreciate the balance of engaging events and the depth of gameplay, which allows for complex narratives and interactions, contributing to a rich and dynamic experience. Overall, the atmosphere effectively supports the game's themes and enhances player enjoyment.
“The atmosphere of the game is relaxing with events popping along just enough to keep you interested.”
“The artwork is gorgeous, the music and atmosphere fitting, the dev team responsive, and so far updates have been regular and brought both a good amount of additional content and features requested by the community.”
“The engaging artwork and well-written storytelling make for a wonderful atmospheric, narrative-based god game.”
“If you like blankly staring into space and having exciting events like 'the atmosphere on planet whothefukcares got a bit thicker', you'll love this one!”
“Shortly after, a gas mining accident released huge quantities of toxic gas into the atmosphere.”
“My species of plant elves developed an AI so advanced that they began worshiping it as a god for a few thousand years until it decided they were obsolete and annihilated 99% of them with a memetic kill agent before it could be stopped, while on the other side of the galaxy my vulture people destroyed the atmosphere with their 6th coal war and wiped out all life on the planet, including themselves.”
- emotional5 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game elicits strong emotional responses, with players experiencing a range of feelings from heartbreak to hope and humor, driven by impactful decision-making and deeper storytelling. Many users appreciate the emotional intensity and the ability to form attachments to the game's civilizations.
“A game has not made me feel this emotional without nostalgia in a very long time.”
“The stories are a touch deeper and certainly more heartfelt.”
“The game is extremely emotionally intense, in dark, hopeful, and funny ways - all depending on the situation.”
- monetization4 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 75 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy of the game has been criticized as exploitative, with some users likening it to an expensive mobile clicker devoid of ads, suggesting it feels like a cash grab rather than a genuine gaming experience. While there is potential for improvement during early access, concerns remain about the developers' intentions and the overall enjoyment of the game.
“I don't normally say this (because I hate the monetization strategies used in most games), but I kind of think it would make a cool mobile game to play around with when you're on the bus or the train.”
“However, this game is completely unenjoyable to play (which I cannot excuse) and on a good day, basically boils down to an expensive mobile clicker without ads.”
“This can be fixed over early access if this isn't a flash cash grab.”
“All evidence is that this is a cash grab on a subject near and dear to the dev's beliefs that will draw the interest of many.”
- optimization3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is solid, with decent graphics and enjoyable performance, though some users note minor glitches. There are concerns about its potential to run on mobile devices, and players hope for further improvements as it transitions from early access.
“The graphics are decent and the overall performance of the game is solid.”
“(not sure if it could run on mobile due to optimization)”
“A few glitches in performance notwithstanding, this is a largely enjoyable, immersive sim strategy that I hope evolves further as it emerges from early access into a complex and nuanced game with a hint more clarity for the late-stage multi-cultural civilization evolution.”
