Recent reviews by Java

An exceptional survival game in every respect.

I've come back to this game every time there is added content, and unreluctantly, do an entire playthrough. Why?

Abiotic Factor has it all:
- A compelling storyline steeped in mystery, humorous characters, and pseudo-science jargon
- Strong base-building - you can build wherever you want, however you want and everything just works
- A simple and effective co-op system that you can play with your friends and they nail even the small details like offering items to each other, directly healing friends, and great comms (as long as you follow their audio settings correctly)
- A progressive loot and equipment approach. You'll never get bored of picking up new items, because each area has something new to empower your player and give you new gadgets and functionality
- And most impressively (to me), you have a world design that has the most incredible maps and game pathing I have ever played. Shortcuts will blow your mind where they lead, and really give you satisfaction to seek out the next door to open

I'm excited to see what Deep Field will do next, but it's hard to imagine they will ever top this game. It's clear it was a labor of love, and I wished they added to it forever, because I don't suspect a better survival crafter with such a strong story will come along to rival it (again for me) anytime soon.

Devs, please continue to add to the game. There are areas within the lab that are still inaccessible, and I know you had a plan to add them eventually. This is where I and many other players really want to see more content. Sure you can do a sequal to follow-up on what happened to some of the characters, but I want to know what's behind that one door - ya'll know the door I speak of. Take my money!

What a wonderful game. Highly recommended if you like puzzles, planning, and resource management.

I didn't go in expecting much, but it's been two weeks and over 100 hours and I'm sitting here now after having completed all of the levels and 100%-ing the achievements and just wanted to leave a review for those on the fence.

This is a great little city builder that is broken down into individual level challenges but also has a sandbox mode when you want to keep playing after completing the story. Each level offered unique tasks and had me slowing down and thinking things through or else I'd find myself short on resources or growing in angry townsfolk. The most remarkable aspect of these levels is simply how well balanced they are. You *will* have a way to win each level if you put in the time and effort to think it through and experiment, but some are won so narrowly it is clear how deliberate and well thought-out they are. I never got frustrated, but always felt under the gun. A tough balance to strike. A big thumbs up to the designers who put these together. It kept me coming back for more.

Not too much to say on the different aspects of the game's design: The UI is clean and useable and offers both high level, and detailed views of resources and progress. Controls are straightforward and don't overwhelm. The artwork is simple and fun and I think this is a fitting approach to this type of game where more detail would just add unnecessary clutter. Sound and music is unremarkable but no complaints there (I tend to turn off music anyways). The fanfare for completing levels is rewarding. There isn't a cohesive story per-say in the base game, but that is simply due to the nature of the game's design (note: there is somewhat of a serial narrative in one of the DLCs which was an interesting and engaging way of explaining the challenges)

Only criticisms I would mention is a repeated crash I have experienced in the sandbox, which is a very minor thing for me. Could just be my save game so YMMV. The game seems to save after every day/night cycle, so a reload and I'm back in the game. Also pathing roads could be made easier through dense forest if there was a way to remove tree foliage in tactical view. Neither of these affected my playthrough to any significant degree, and are things observed and highlighted after only dozens of hours of playtime.

I've seen some digs on the DLC in other reviews. I immediately purchased them as they added probably another 30-40 hours for me, and they all had the same level of quality the base game had. My recommendation? Buy the base game, and if like me, you want more, get the DLCs.

I highly recommend it if you enjoy solving puzzles; This isn't an over-handed city builder. There's no fat here. It's a simple but challenging game that isn't trying to do too much, but what it does it does really well.

A chill top-down adventure game with crafting, basebuilding, farming, cooking and a lightweight skills tree. Content is to a degree gated behind boss kills which are fun and challenging. Music and art are unique and create a unique atmosphere as you explore the procedurally-generated world.

This game is great to play alone and with a group of friends. Highly recommend for fans of Stardew and Terraria. The devs have a good pulse on what makes their game good and what their community wants and have continued to add engaging new content on the regular.