AETHUS

I played this game all the way through to the end, so, I really liked it. It has a robust storyline and, like a novel, keeps you interested. Each time you make a new discovery, a new mystery and/or challenge is presented. I found the difficulty progression was matched evenly by the suit and technical upgrades available for the character. I would advise prioritising suit upgrades. I originally bought this game, because I love building bases, and I did do some interior and exterior decorating. In the end though, it was the story itself that kept me moving forward. There is a lot of resource gathering and crafting, so if you don't like that mechanic, this game may not be for you. One of the game's strengths is that it doesn't require too much mechanical (keyboard or joy-stick) expertise to succeed. How good you are at that should not affect the outcome. Have fun on this world. I was sorry when it ended.

This is one of the few games where I actually WANT a sequel. I grew attached to Maeve, Roland, and the other characters, (no spoilers) and as soon as the game was over I missed their banter. Exploring the caverns very rarely grew tedious, and the active ability to (as another review put it) semi-automate most resource collection (provided you explore and invest in it) streamlined progression so that I was never mining in an area long enough for it to become stale. While not literally everything present in the different biomes was rigorously explained, there was always a coherent logic to the game and story that kept the biome variation interesting without introducing nonsense. I will say that the base-building could use a little work, mainly just in having the outpost be something more than a place you store things and sleep in. It is very simple, but it works for the scope of this game... I just would like more complexity so there is more of a reasoning to put components places other than "x crafting bench gets a boost in this habitat". AETHUS does a lot of things, and it keeps its mechanics simple enough that you don't need a spreadsheet to play it, but once you get the hang of the basic game loop it does leave you wanting more. Anyways, this game does not NEED a sequel as it is complete in its current state, but I want to see what these characters do in the universe following the game's ending. There are so many possibilities, and it feels like the story of AETHUS set up such a strong foundation character-wise that you could throw Maeve and Roland into any other situation and have it work. This game is not perfect by any means, but I nonetheless look forward to what else this developer does in the future, and can only hope that Maeve and Roland's story is continued in some fashion at a later date.

Really nice collect and craft game with unexpectedly good plot, which nevertheless unfolds slowly. Pretty much content, buildings, locations, biomes, ores to mine etc. Not the ultra super AAAA game, but the one was made with soul an gives you cosy vibes.

Great game with a nice story, really enjoyed it.

Just as a disclaimer I am yet to finish this game :) I stumbled across this by chance when it is on sale and so glad I did, a massive shoutout to the developer as the fact it was built by one person is incredibly impressive, seeing success stories like this is always both heart-warming and inspiring as you can really tell that a lot of passion and effort was put into this project. The game itself looks and runs great from the get-go, it has a compelling and interesting narrative with a really engaging and enjoyable gameplay loop. It fits in that nice slot of grindy enough to be satisfying but not tedious. The customisation and base building is well-balanced and enjoyable, but where the game really comes alive is the voice-acting and writing, the characters I have encountered thus far have been intriguing, funny and charming in their own right. This game is a fantastic survival crafter experience in its own right, but is made all the more impressive by the effort gone into it by Pawsmonaut. You will not regret picking it up. Easy, easy, recommend.

Incredible game. This isn't a genre I tend to play very often, but I got recommended and really enjoyed the experience. The plot and voice acting is incredible, and even though a lot of the quests can be distilled to collect resources, build items, use items to open new areas, it really felt like an immersive world where the progress was always exciting to experience. Looking forward to future games by Pawsmonaut!