Recent reviews by Epic

Stationeers is simply amazing.

This is not a casual game—at least, not in the sense that you can just sit down and instantly get that dopamine hit. The satisfaction here comes from its complexity: the dangers, the logic, the programming, the planning, and the level of critical thinking few games demand. You will be tested. Your priorities will be questioned. Your perception of time will blur as you struggle to maintain survival and meet the atmospheric needs required to keep yourself and your base operational. This is a game for those who enjoy learning and embrace the challenge.

The developers are highly engaged, frequently interacting with the community on Discord. Updates are constant, and unlike many other titles, this one will not be abandoned.

Game is getting more and more predatory as time goes on. They now removed free night time skipping, made levels require more XP and the new boat DLC costs $40 only for you to not be able to keep trophies and uniques. Game is going down hill, DO NOT invest your time into this. The grind is long and by the time you get anywhere the devs would have ruined the game beyond measure.

For free the game is great. I only recommend the $8 if you have a tight group of friends who will play with you. There is definitely a lot of fun, and funny moments to be had, along with some scares of course. It could be lack of understanding of the game and its more hidden mechanics, but there feels like a lack of team work. Sure there is a gadget to revive players and stun monsters; But, for the most part it feels more like everyone else is just a tag-along for the camera guy.

If you don't have the camera, you are merely following the one who does and picking it up when they die. Or your job as the tag-along is to be cannon fodder, meaning, just go throw yourself at monsters or lasers.

Even if you are the one holding the camera, there isnt much recording time so making a fun movie isnt an option. You are forced to conserve your minimal footage space, for capturing monsters and deaths. I'd even go as far to say, that being the one with the camera is still less interactivity than one would have from lethal company. Which of course they are different games, but they are close enough everyone is going to be making comparisons.

TLDR: If you have a tight group of friends who can laugh and have fun without much going on, then I recommend this game. If you expect this game to have a ton of replayability and promote teamwork, then I'd suggest lowering your expectations, at least for the current state of the game. Mechanics are lackluster. Progression is nonexistant. AI is simple and dumb (if see player -> move to player), which conflicts with the fun from lethal companies smart AI. I played past the 3rd quota and only saw 2 maps.

Additional Concerns/Topics

Progression? Seems to be lackluster, and gadgets you can buy dont explain their benefit, often leaving us ignoring the video equipment in exchange for Defibs and tazer. NO UPGRADE TO CAMERA. The MAIN gadget that runs the entire game. Video quality is also bad for it, but I'll give that a pass for now since it wants a found footage vibe.

Maps? Made it past 3rd quota and only saw 2 maps. There are however, various Landing Zones, but these do not make the map feel new and fresh.

Replayability? Few maps, 2 that I saw. Few monsters. Minimal to no progression on equipment. Purchases do not persist.

Monsters? Few of them. Spider/webs seem impossible to escape, especially with them blocking off huge chunks of rooms, which can pretty much hard lock you if the person with the camera dies on the other side of the webs and you cant reach them.

Game lacks some transparency into its mechanics. It's hard to tell how views for spooktube videos are calculated. A lot of the monsters are slow moving and seem to have very basic "if see player -> move to player" logic. Which, again I am aware its a different game, but this heavily conflicts with Lethal Company. Since a lot of the fun from that game comes from the smart AI.

I think this game should work as a testament to the fact that you do not need fancy graphics, mechanics, animations, or famous names to make a good game. You simply need consistency, an ability to provide what is promised, and provide a challenge that matches the reward.

The game is loads of fun to play with your friends and seems to have amazing mod support which only boosts enjoyment and replayability. While it does not seem to cater too well to the solo adventurers, but those who like an extra challenge may still enjoy this.

If there are aspects of the game that push you away; such as the render quality, difficulty for solo or duos, lack of extra objectives, or maybe even just one monster that really bugs you, then guess what? There are mods for those. There are north of two thousand mods, so be sure to search for things to make the game fit more to your style.

TLDR: Gaem gud

I bought this game for me and my friend to play together, and we are having so much fun with it. I may not have as many hours as some people, or look extremely far into base mechanics. However, I personally really enjoy the different town events, getting to talk to the towns people and learn about them, and have had a ton of fun just running a farm with my friend. This is a great casual game, if you have a friend who wouldn't mind wasting a couple hours every now and then planning out your seasons and seeing if you have enough time to plant certain crops before the next season, then I recommend this game.