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The Planet Crafter: Prologue

The Planet Crafter: Prologue Game Cover
95%Game Brain Score
gameplay, graphics
grinding, stability
95% User Score Based on 2,937 reviews

Platforms

PCCloudWindows
The Planet Crafter: Prologue Game Cover

About

The Planet Crafter: Prologue is a single player action game. It was developed by Miju Games and was released on December 19, 2021. It received overwhelmingly positive reviews from players.

This is a prologue for the full game "Planet Crafter".From Hostile to Habitable You are sent on an hostile planet with one mission: Make it habitable for Humans. You'll have to survive, collect resources, build your base and machines in order to heat the planet, create an atmosphere with enough oxygen and eventually geo-engineer an entire planet! Survive, Collect, CraftGather minerals an…

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95%
Audience ScoreBased on 2,937 reviews
gameplay66 positive mentions
grinding44 negative mentions

  • The game offers a fun and addictive gameplay loop, reminiscent of Subnautica, where players can explore, gather resources, and build to terraform a planet.
  • The visuals and atmosphere are engaging, with a satisfying sense of progression as the environment changes based on player actions.
  • The demo provides a generous amount of content for a free game, allowing players to experience a significant portion of the gameplay before the full release.
  • The game lacks a clear tutorial or direction, which can make it challenging for new players to understand the mechanics and objectives.
  • Resource gathering can feel tedious, as materials are scattered across the landscape and may require excessive back-and-forth travel to collect.
  • There are currently no threats or challenges beyond managing oxygen, food, and water, which may lead to a lack of excitement and engagement in the long term.
  • gameplay
    201 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of the game has received mixed feedback, with many players finding it addictive and engaging, particularly praising its mechanics and exploration elements reminiscent of titles like Subnautica. However, some reviewers noted that the gameplay can feel repetitive and lacks depth, especially in the prologue, which leaves them wanting more variety and challenges. Overall, while the core mechanics are solid and enjoyable, there is a consensus that further development is needed to enhance the gameplay experience.

    • “Gameplay is addictive, if a bit repetitive, although this may be due to a missing storyline which I presume will be included in the full release.”
    • “The gameplay is simple but very easy to learn and get the hang of, and this is just a demo and it almost feels like a full game already!”
    • “Great mechanics and a realistic progression keep you motivated to reach the next goals.”
    • “The construction mechanics are banal; 'mining' involves walking around and picking up resources scattered hideously across the map, and the progression system is so easy to game it's not even worth my time.”
    • “The gameplay is a bit slow, and I hope they add a few more challenges for the full release.”
    • “There's barely enough here to call this a game. The best way I can put it is that 'The Planet Crafter' has the gameplay of an idle game like Cookie Clicker - you watch numbers tick up until you can unlock the next set of upgrades.”
  • graphics
    140 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many players appreciating the beautiful landscapes and vibrant colors, while others find them modest or sub-par compared to AAA titles. Some users highlight that the visuals are good enough to enhance gameplay, especially in a relaxing base-building context, but there are calls for better optimization and more graphic settings. Overall, the graphics are generally considered decent for an early access game, with potential for improvement as development continues.

    • “Beautiful graphics and landscapes.”
    • “Great looking terrain, beautiful visuals, effective audio & no mess controls make this a joy to play.”
    • “Graphics are also very sub-par.”
    • “Graphics could use some polishing, some glitching occurs here and there... but it's a demo :) to be expected.”
    • “The graphics are high-quality; the landscapes, textures, and lighting come together to create a captivating gaming experience.”
  • story
    134 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's story is described as having potential but currently lacks depth, with many players noting that it primarily revolves around the premise of a convict tasked with terraforming a planet for redemption. While some find the backstory intriguing and appreciate the gradual reveal of narrative elements through exploration, others feel that the story is minimal and could benefit from further development and integration into gameplay. Overall, players express hope for a more fleshed-out storyline in future updates, as the foundation for an engaging narrative is present.

    • “From unraveling the origins of the story through cryptic messages, to exploration and base building, it's clear that this game has been impressively orchestrated.”
    • “The in-game story looks to be promising, and it's so cool not having to kill stuff just to survive.”
    • “So much potential, and there's clearly a story behind it all, which makes it even more intriguing.”
    • “The story is lacking, although I don't expect much story-wise in an early access game.”
    • “Now, unlike Subnautica, which was a very story-driven survival game, there doesn't really seem to be a story in Planet Crafter beyond the fact you're a convict and to gain your freedom you have to fully terraform a planet.”
    • “It's basically Subnautica on Mars except there's no tutorial, no story, no vehicles, no enemies, no endpoint, half the buildings, and all on a fairly small map; all you can do is gather resources and build a base.”
  • atmosphere
    48 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere in "The Planet Crafter: Prologue" is widely praised for its immersive qualities, featuring a blend of eerie soundscapes and visually distinct biomes that enhance exploration. While many players appreciate the game's chill vibe and the sense of transformation as they terraform Mars, some critique the lack of complexity and realism in the atmospheric mechanics, suggesting that the game could benefit from more dynamic environmental effects and a deeper exploration of atmospheric consequences. Overall, the atmosphere is considered a standout feature, effectively creating a sense of isolation and curiosity, despite some noted simplifications in gameplay mechanics.

    • “A very chill game regardless of the eerie atmosphere; great work creating the vibe with the audio and keeping the tensions up, really feeling like I am completely alone yet still like someone's lurking outside.”
    • “Exploration is rewarding and the atmosphere is great, which makes exploring more fun than the mining, which can be quite tedious.”
    • “The atmosphere is mostly incredible, particularly the different areas like the caves.”
    • “But right now, the Planet Crafter: Prologue is a skeleton of a game, lacking the complexity, tension, or atmosphere to sustain interest.”
    • “This is no surprise considering just how simplified the terraforming is, but there are several important elements missing like soil composition, atmosphere composition, and radiation protection.”
    • “The eerie atmosphere will have you looking around for no reason.”
  • grinding
    47 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed feedback from players. While some find the resource collection and management to be tedious and time-consuming, others appreciate the satisfying progression and enjoyable exploration that balances the grind. Overall, players note that while the game can feel grindy, it remains engaging and fun, especially for those who enjoy survival and base-building mechanics.

    • “Great game if you want to kill time; it's not very grindy and it's not very boring. It's pretty much in the sweet spot a game needs to be in.”
    • “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
    • “A game needs to give the player a reason for everything they are doing or it just gets grindy and tedious, and there is no real reward for your time and effort.”
    • “It is boring, grindy, and empty.”
  • music
    44 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is generally praised for its atmospheric quality, effectively enhancing the exploration experience with a mix of eerie and relaxing tones. However, many players note that the soundtrack can become repetitive and express a desire for more variety and additional tracks to enrich the gameplay. Overall, while the music contributes positively to the game's ambiance, there is room for improvement in terms of diversity and frequency.

    • “I love the vibe, the music, simple learning curve with an interesting intrigue.”
    • “The music is a good mix of peaceful with a little bit of a foreboding feel, which I feel fits perfectly given the nature of some of the transmissions you see/find.”
    • “The atmosphere and music as well.”
    • “The music makes an eerie feeling, combined with the deserted vibe.”
    • “But the music can be repetitive.”
    • “I’m fine with minimal music, but perhaps there could be more ambiance to make up for it.”
  • stability
    30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's stability has received mixed feedback, with many players noting a variety of bugs and glitches, particularly related to map and object interactions. While some users report a relatively smooth experience with minimal issues, others highlight significant problems, such as disappearing items and collision errors. Overall, as an early access title, it shows potential but requires further refinement to address its stability concerns.

    • “Crafting is smooth; building and assembly of items run great.”
    • “The prologue was really stable, with no glitches, bugs, or random crashes.”
    • “Runs great on my 5-year-old system.”
    • “Basically a buggy and less-functional version of Subnautica.”
    • “Buggy as all hell since I died and the storage chest that is supposed to appear in the place you died just up and disappeared and made me lose a number of important items.”
    • “Huge number of bugs, mainly map glitches, random severe lags, and objects randomly moving out of space.”
  • optimization
    23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, the optimization of the game has received mixed feedback from users. While some players report smooth performance and high framerates, particularly on higher-end systems, others experience significant lag, low render distances, and performance drops during specific scenarios, such as rain effects. Many reviewers acknowledge that the game is still in development and express hope for further optimizations to enhance performance across a wider range of hardware.

    • “The game does have a ways to go but this is one of the first demos I've played in a long time that felt more polished and optimized than most early access games.”
    • “It's basically a mixture of Subnautica, Stardew Valley, Satisfactory, and maybe a few others, and it's all around well-optimized.”
    • “Even as a demo, this game produced buttery smooth framerates on my rig and seems very well optimized.”
    • “Very unoptimized; I could play it normally, maybe it's a cool game, but I couldn't play it without lag.”
    • “The problems I most often encountered are the lack of optimization of the game, which is manifested in sometimes a drop in framerate and in some cases terrain bugs when you cannot gather a certain resource or you cannot climb somewhere.”
    • “Performance is still a bit iffy, especially on particle effects, and that advanced crafting station makes your FPS sink into its knees, but that's okay for a game that's only 40% done.”
  • replayability
    11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Overall, players express a mixed outlook on replayability, with some highlighting the potential for infinite replay value through varied scenarios and random events, while others note limitations due to small maps and lack of diverse gameplay elements. The game's building system has garnered praise, contributing to its replayability, especially in its demo phase. Developers are encouraged to enhance replayability by incorporating more dynamic features and diverse environments.

    • “I see similar possibilities with Planet Crafter, where a whole backstory and mythos could be created and a story woven that incorporates the terraforming mechanics, elevating this game from fun to epic, with infinite replayability.”
    • “I hope the developers keep replayability in mind by changing start scenes and different scenarios.”
    • “Already has huge replay value even in the demo, and I'm ultimately impressed with the relatively smooth building system.”
    • “Replayability... it won't have any unless random generated worlds or random events/disasters are added to the game.”
    • “Small map and low replay value.”
    • “- replayability -”
  • humor
    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor in the game is generally well-received, with players finding it fun and funny, often highlighting amusing bugs that add to the comedic experience. However, some users express frustration with gameplay mechanics, suggesting that the need to wishlist the game for later play detracts from the overall enjoyment.

    • “Very funny... cool game”
    • “The second bug is more significant but rather funny sometimes; by mining ore and pressing the left mouse button several times, the ore mining animation (along with the laser and fragments from the ore) continues even when you mine it.”
    • “I think it is a really funny game.”
  • monetization
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The monetization aspect of the game initially raised skepticism among users, likening it to low-quality mobile games; however, many have found it surprisingly enjoyable, leading to continued play despite initial doubts.

  • emotional
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players find the emotional aspect of the game to be deeply satisfying, contributing to a fulfilling overall experience.

    • “Either way, it is emotionally satisfying.”
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6h Median play time
7h Average play time
5-8h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 20 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

The Planet Crafter: Prologue is a action game.

The Planet Crafter: Prologue is available on PC, Windows and Cloud.

On average players spend around 7 hours playing The Planet Crafter: Prologue.

The Planet Crafter: Prologue was released on December 19, 2021.

The Planet Crafter: Prologue was developed by Miju Games.

The Planet Crafter: Prologue has received overwhelmingly positive reviews from players. Most players liked this game for its gameplay but disliked it for its grinding.

The Planet Crafter: Prologue is a single player game.

Similar games include The Planet Crafter, Planet Crafter, Ocean World: Eden Crafters Prologue, Astrometica, Eden Crafters and others.