Earthtongue

Earthtongue is a curious little beast, and the glowing satisfaction of seeing a stable ecosystem take shape is matched only by the complete vexation when starting your first world and not understanding how anything does anything. This isn't strictly a game, per se... Yes, there are achievements both ingame and on Steam, and some of them are even remarkably difficult to get and will require a fair amount of either tactical thinking or dumb luck (although it doesn't hurt to have both), but Earthtongue is by and large what you might call an "interactive screensaver". You make a few small adjustments, attempt to nurture a balanced world, and mostly just sit back and watch everything interact. It's fairly simple; there aren't very many special interactions between species... There's one beetle that's immune to the grasping tendrils of a particular carnivorous mold, there's a moth that acts as a pollinator by spreading the spores of whatever plant it's just eaten, and there is of course an implementation of the horrifying Cordyceps fungus. For the most part, everything else reacts by either eating or ignoring whatever it comes across. But even with these simple functions, remarkably complex ecosystems can arise and thrive. The wasp eats the fly and its body is turned into nutrients for the soil, the fungus consumes the nutrients and grows full stalks, the beetle eats the stalks and attacks the snail to defend its territory, and the body of the snail is eaten by a fly. All for your viewing pleasure! The actual life cycle is a teensy bit bizarre (nutrient dust falls from the sky? What is this, a fish tank?), and by no means are all the basic lifeforms balanced properly (locusts... Oh god, locusts), but that's part of the appeal! You don't just come in with a cosmic blueprint and know exactly how an ecosystem works and how to put it together, you need to see the creatures and plants for yourself and watch how they interact and how they survive in different circumstances. Observe, experiment, observe again... Or just let nature run its course through random events and see if something sticks! It's definitely "zen", and despite its small annoyances I found it to be a remarkably compelling experience. It's not for everyone, but if you've been looking for an ecosystem simulator to poke and look at... This is exactly it. An extra bonus is the developer, who added a couple brand new modules (thus introducing entirely new ecosystems that you need to learn and understand in order to make them bloom) as well as workshop support for community-made modules that extend the game's lifespan immensely. And that's all after having said "I probably won't be working much on this anymore, so don't expect any big updates"! Now excuse me while I add on a couple more worlds from the workshop and chill out while poking at the natural economics of alien plants and animals...

when i was a kid i was obsessed with "virtual aquarium" screensavers; the idea of being able to simulate an environment in my computer that i could watch and share the room with felt very tranquil and even a little festive. earthtongue perfectly captures that same childhood magic for me and expands on it. June's ability to breathe life into pixel critters is on full display here and it's mesmerizing to give the ecosystem the gentlest of nudges and watch the way that ripples out overtime. easy recommendation for anyone who's ever cared about a virtual pet or just likes to think about how everything is linked to its environment.

This is a WONDERFUL game for everyone who was obsessed with coding little procedural life sims while learning programming. It scratches the same itch of watching predator-prey simulations play out, but with so much added depth and so many variables! I could watch ecosystems evolve and collapse and reform for hours. The enthusiastic mod support is also wonderful - this dev didn't just create a game, they created a framework that they want other people to make their own games in! Overall this game has a lot of heart and will make you obsessed with mold reproduction like nothing else.

Still waiting for an update since 2019

i have no clue wether at any given moment in this game i am succeeding or failing but i am stressed about it

Incredibly cute ecological sim with mod support. I love watching the precious little creatures <3.

Its the game I leave on in the background while I do other things. I've seen life come and go. Many lifeforms have become fossils on this ancient planet. Currently it is 607,000 years worth of evolution on my little rock in space. I've bombarded the earth with thousands of meteors trying to kill off those pesky locusts. They are a cancer to your world. Sundew mold = death to your rock avoid it at all costs. It idles itself. Sometimes I intervene and try and cultivate life. Other times I simply just let it run in the background and check in every once in a while to see what new forms of life have arrived on my planet. If you love simulators, or keep insects in real life as I do, you will love to watch your own little ecosystem come alive.

Simple, stressful, fragile, and boring. However, It's cheap and good for a bit of fun. 7/10 DARN IT STAY ALIVE YOU DUMB BUG

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Beautiful little game about life and death and the sparkle in little creatures. Highly recommend!!!