ICARUS.1

You are alone, in space, on a space ship. No crew; everybody is missing. The only "person" available for you to talk to is the A.I. who gives you guidance from time to time as to what you're needed to do. This is Icarus - a game where your job is to find out what happened and, eventually, to escape. When done right games taking place in space can give you the creeps. Lots of dark corridors, an abandoned ship, terminals with entries from the various crew members that are getting more and more desperate as you're approaching the endgame. With the terminals' CRT displays and the game's design elements Icarus, for me, was an homage to Kubrick's Space Odyssey. It is my understanding that this software was mainly developed by one particular individual. Updates were released later on to remedy some of the issues presented by the community but the game can still crash a couple of times and do note that the controls menu is completely non-existent. However, when launching the game by quickly pressing SHIFT the Unity launcher appears where we are free to change our key bindings. It's a bit annoying that this is the workaround but the fact that electrolyte (the developer) was very active in the Steam discussion threads assisting users with their problems deserves all the merit. The game requires some getting use to. Hints are rarely given (and they usually refer only to the main objective of a chapter) and our cursor / pointer only slightly changes when we approach something that can be interacted with. These objects are not as much highlighted as you'd think. If you do not ragequit, however, and are willing to play Icarus for 10-15 mins you'll get the hang of it and this might just be a great journey for you. Icarus isn't really a walking sim as we do a lot in all 5 chapters in terms of interaction and puzzle solving. Traps can also kill us and another annoying thing is that once we are eliminated we start a chapter all over. In any case, Icarus is a great little game just make sure your expectations are on a solid level when approaching it.

Icarus.1 is a short, but sweet indie sci-fi game with some interesting twists. I have been following this game since the late spring of this year and I decided to give this game a shot. I'm glad I did. Icarus.1 centers around a salvage operative sent to the research vessel, ICARUS.1. This vessel has been abandoned for decades and all contact with its crew has been lost. You are accompanied by your suit's AI, named DAVID, who helps you along the way. Upon entering the vessel, you realize things are pretty grim. There are traps, the ship's evil AI, AEGLE, and other hazards along the way. Through the course of 5 chapters, you will unravel the mystery of ICARUS.1's fate. The game had a surprisingly good story for an independent game, although it was very short (I beat the game in just north of two hours.) The ending was abrupt, but I didn't mind it too much. I would compare the plot of this game to the film Sunshine, though it draws inspiration from many classic sci-fi sources such as A L I E N and 2001: A Space Odyssey, to name a few. I was captivated by the unconventional narrative, which used crew messages to further the story. I certainly wasn't on the edge of my seat while playing this game, but I desired to know more, and the story caught my attention enough to make me want to progress. [spoiler]Much to my surprise, there are no enemies in this game, just traps and environmental hazards that can cause you to die. I was expecting some sort of monster or alien to be the antagonist, but this was not the case.[/spoiler] I LOVE the graphics of this game. It's not often that low-poly textures make me go "wow," but this game did just that. The environments have a great, lived-in, gritty feel to them. It reminds me of the Nostromo from the original A L I E N film meets Outland. The Ron Cobb/Syd Mead aesthetic of this game is a hit with me and this style is done in great taste. There are very nice graphics options that help add flair to an otherwise drab low-poly title. Depth of field and motion blur help add to the realism here, allowing Icarus.1 to craft its own unique style. Sound design is a strong point for this game. Well-composed music is played at ample times, and the sound effects are very immersive. Walking down a flight of steps sounds like "clunk clunk clunk" while walking through the halls is a light thump. Little details such as this are what help me become invested in a game. The end credits score is very well done and makes me want more. The music was very minimalist, and did not feature heavily, but I thought it played the right amount. This game truly succeeds in immersion, from its minimalist HUD to feeling like you are inside a space-suit with the way the screen it set up. This game deserves to be longer, with more content, because I was entirely sucked in and mentally invested in this game during the whole two hours I played. There is lots to explore on the ship. Be prepared to backtrack a LOT. Come into this game with patience and due dilligence, and you will be rewarded. I had a problem with the controls, which were not very intuitive at all. I game with an Xbox One controller for Windows 10 and I had problems moving or looking at times, which caused me to turn both move and look assists off. That helped me out immensely. I also did not find a way in which I could re-map the controls to my liking, which I know many other gamers would certainly appreciate. My biggest problem with Icarus.1 is the fact that it is simply way too short. The developer of this game worked very hard on it and I applaud him for this awesome game, I just wish it was at least twice as long in story length. All in all, Icarus.1 is a highly cinematic, visceral sci-fi game not unlike watching a sci-fi film. It borrows elements from classic sci-fi films, literature, and video games. Over the course of just about two hours (depending on your playstyle,) Icarus.1 succeeds in taking its own spin on the classic sci-fi tropes and using a unique low-poly style to craft a highly-polished indie game worth playing. I give Icarus.1 a fair 9/10. For the price, it is definitely worth it, but please understand this game is very short.

That must be the most terrible game I have played in a long time. I do not understand the positive reviews AT ALL. First of all: No settings menu before you even start the game...ok, weird. Then you get right into the game and only then you get access to the most basic of graphic options: No sliders for performance, no resolution change. You can't change the controls or any of the keyboard and mouse settings. Playing the game with keyboard and mouse feels terrible. There's obvious mouse smoothing/acceleration and that makes the whole game feel sluggish and wobbly. There is no tutorial telling you any of the commands (Granted it's only move, jump and use, but still). There is no inventory, so you pick up random stuff and "loot" from crates, whatever that even is, but you have no idea how many, what you have and whatever. My first item were flares...ok, how many flares? What do they do? How long do they burn? Why do I accidentally use them for no reason? Why can't I deselect them? Pah, who needs modern gameplay. With a controller it's almost bearable. There is also no save feature, so my first attempt I clipped through the first set of stairs I came upon. I could NOT get back up, but I knew I needed to sooner or later, because there were locked doors up there that required keycards. So I had to restart the chapter from the beginning. This time I did not clip through the stairs. Thank god. But in that room I either needed a ratchet, a fuse box or a keycard. Finding the keycard was pure luck. I have no idea if the other items are in there as well. Anyway, picking up the keycard I thought I could use the button to open something. Nope. Just a message: Keycard required. Thanks, WHICH keycard? Ok, I think, back the way we came...uuuuuh, well, suddenly all doors are now closed off and I can't get back to the other door that required a keycard...that's the point I just quit the game and requested a refund. That is ridiculous. I won't even go into the horrible motion sickness the game causes, because there are no FOV options. I literally feel like puking. And that makes me sad, because I was lured in by so many positive reviews and I wanted to like this game, but seriously, I don't care if only 1 person developed it. You charge money for it, so I expect a functioning game with basic features. This is neither working properly (bugs), nor is it in any way, shape or form enjoyable to play...sorry. Not to mention that for all your troubles you get what? 2 hours of gameplay (where most of it is probably wandering around aimlessly, trying not to puke your guts out). And that for 10 bucks...

I had this game in my wishlist for long. I was really expecting it to come out and it disappointed me a bit. Random crashes or even Antivirus pop ups. Yet the atmosphere is great and the story seems quite nice. Puzzles are not much of a challange and you lack indications for your tasks what in my opinion makes the game a bit more interesting. There are still some things to polish but the developer responds to requests and seems to be interested in solving them. That is why I still give it a thumbs up. Worth a try!

"ICARUS.1" ist ein First-Person Science Fiction Erkundungs Spiel. Irgendwann in der Zukunft. Das Minen- und Forschungsschiff Icarus.1 treibt führerlos um eine fremde Sonne. Was mit der Besatzung passiert ist, ist unbekannt. Wir haben die Mission, das Schiff zu erkunden und herauszufinden, welche Ereignisse zu dieser merkwürdigen Situation geführt haben. Begleitet werden wir nur durch eine A.I., die sich hin und wieder meldet. Also stapfen wir durch das riesige verlassen Schiff, versuchen Systeme hochzufahren und Docks zu öffnen, lesen Tagebucheinträge auf PCs und lösen kleine Rätsel. Beschäftigt sind wir damit vielleicht knapp zwei Stunden. Die in fünf Kapiteln unterteilte Geschichte ist nicht wirklich lang, die Rätsel sind nicht wirklich schwierig, die Gefahren sind selten groß. Aber darum geht es in dem Spiel auch nicht primär. Richtig stark ist die Atmosphäre, die elegante Klarheit, die gekonnte Stimmung, die die Welt erzeugt. Das Gefühl der Einsamkeit ist großartig. Die wunderbar realistische Ausleuchtung führt dazu, daß es Ecken gibt, die wirklich extrem dunkel sind. Und dabei arbeitet der Titel eigentlich mit einer überschaubaren Anzahl von Versatzstücken. Monitore, Sessel, Lampen, alles findet sich zahlreich immer wieder in der Welt von "ICARUS.1". Zum Einen paßt das aber hervorragend in die Umgebung eines Raumschiffes, zum Anderen wird aber mit den Versatzstücken auch sehr geschickt variiert. Die Stimmung auf der ICARUS.1 erinnert ein wenig an eine Kombination aus Alien und 2001. Ein großes, merkwürdig leeres Schiff, das durchs All treibt. Massiv unterstützt wird die Atmosphäre noch durch den hervorragend subtilen Sound. Ständig hören wir das Brummen der Lüftungen, hin und wieder piept ein Computer und in seltenen Momenten läuft auch eine grandios gesetzte Musikaufzeichnung. Auch die beruhigend monotone Sprache des Computers ist mehr als passend. In vielen Aspekten ist "ICARUS.1" eine kleine Indie-Produktion. Ob Grafik oder Spielumfang, vieles ist merklich eingeschränkt. In Sachen Atmosphäre aber übertrifft es viele große Produktionen durch seine unaufgeregte Klarheit und Reduktion. Großartig allein schon mit welchen simpel subtilen Mitteln Hinweise etwa auf Bildschirmen zu finden sind. Ein unterschätzter Titel, dessen Macher eine sichere Hand für passende Ästhetik beweisen. [h1]Wertung:[/h1] 8/10 Atmosphäre 7/10 Story 7/10 Grafik 8/10 Sound 7/10 Spielmechanik 7/10 Balancing 7/10 Spielspass [h1]Fazit:[/h1] Der Sonne entgegen. [h1][b]7/10 Gesamtwertung

The concept of exploring an empty space station and uncovering the mystery of the missing crew sounds amazing. And the screenshots showed the game as at least a pleasant one to look at. But once you get in, the game has a very basic "Unity" look. All music used is just roalty free tracks by Kevin MacLeod, which sounds so excruciatingly mediocre, at least to me. All voices are just basic voice synths that are easily recognised, because the same ones are used all over the internet. Coupled with the moment in the game, where you're supposed to be seeing a planet in the distance. But because the Unity's skybox is so small, it just looks like a big ball, floating just outside the window. All that makes the game feel incredibly lazily and effortlessly made. I understand that this game was made by just one person, and maybe he put more effort into the story. But I personally just couldn't stand everything else. Even with an 80% discount, I feel cheated giving any money for a game like this.

The game Alien Isolation opens on board a deserted ship. There's no creature threatening to rip your head off, so you're free to explore and interact with various terminals. ICARUS.1 reminds me of a budget version of that, except extended to the entire game. If you love that kind of thing (*raises hand*) you'll probably have a good time. The aesthetic is more 2001 than Alien, to be honest. The environmental design is effective despite basic texturing, because it's brought alive through atmospheric lighting and sound. This is the result of one guy's work, and it's impressive. It has a very tactile feel, doors swoosh open slowly, bolts clang to the floor, every light glares in your visor, and there's a definite sense of forboding as the game progresses. However, perfect it is not. There are a couple of faults which - at first - were borderline "shall I quit and refund this game?" moments. I'm glad I didn't, but your patience may not extend as far as mine. The first issue is the movement; there's a noticeable momentum that makes it feel like you're gliding on ice. You do get used to it, but combined with some (mercifully brief) jumping puzzles at a few points, it can be frustrating. The second curious design choice is more problematic; the save game system. The game has 5 chapters, and you can start from the beginning of each chapter, but that's it. You start each chapter carrying nothing, so it's easy for the dev to do this, but it's frustrating not knowing how much longer you have to go before finishing a chapter, and if you absolutely can't continue for any reason... well, tough biccies. Shut the game down, and start that chapter over next time. Fortunately once you know what you're doing it's easier to get back to where you were, but it definitely breaks the immersion. If I had to nitpick futher, it would be that the game can be exceedingly dark, and you only occasionally get to pick up a box of flares (which are quickly used up) which doesn't help when you're looking for some fuse in a dark corner. A few more flares scattered around would probably help. Or hell, a flashlight! ICARUS.1 isn't without its problems, and that'll depend on your patience and how invested you are in the atmosphere, but if you like slowly exploring darkened, deserted space ships for a few hours, you'll probably dig this.

Eh, mein innerer Zwang jedes angefangene Spiel durchzuspielen und die komplette Experience zu erleben ist der einzige Grund warum ich das durchgezogen habe - Das Game hat viele Probleme und man merkt definitiv dass der Entwickler zu dem Zeitpunkt noch sehr neu war 1. Such eine Keycard 2. Auf YouTube schauen wo die sein soll 3. "DAS ist eine keycard und DA war die???" 4. Such eine Sicherung 5. Repeat step 2 & 3 Hier wird super schnell klar wie wichtig gutes Umgebungsdesign in Games ist, wenn dir einfach nicht gut gezeigt wird was ein benutzbares Objekt und was Hintergrunddeko ist.. frustriert das sehr schnell, Zahnräder, Karten und andere wichtige Objekte liegen oft im Schatten und manchmal ist nicht mal klar wonach man sucht - hält man die Maus also nicht zufällig über belanglose Objekte.. yeah, ihr könnt es euch denken. Story ist 2001 inspiriert, es fehlt aber leider jede Tiefe oder interessante Charaktere - nach 30 Minuten ist klar was die Thematik des Spiels ist und ab da geht es einfach nur durch die typischen Storystränge und bringt kaum neue Punkte Leider von Anfang bis Ende clunky, annoying, super unklar und monoton - und ich hab' echt eine starke Resistenz gegenüber janky Games, das hier kann man aber echt auslassen 4/10

Got it on sale. Do I recommend it on sale? Depends on the price, I got it for about $1.20. Do I recommend it at full price? Not at all. The game starts really well. It does manage to create a believable world, explaining a lot of things pertaining the story. Where it fumbles badly is the last chapter, or more particularly, the last few minutes of the last chapter. All those story telling efforts and the ending, well the ending is no good. Mind you, I don't need to have everything explained. Some things are best left unexplained. But it hints at some things while not explaining anything. Heck even some text at the end would have brought some closure to the character you play as. It feels like the developer focused so much on everything else then gave up at the ending. Also, I can understand you can't save, as once you know what to do you can breeze through the game very quickly. HOWEVER, the jumping sequences are awful, especially the first one. No remappable controls, which means stuff that could and should be allocated to the triggers is instead assigned to the face buttons, which makes for a fumbling experience. Also, no explanation is given as to what the control assignment is, thus making you fumble a lot until you learn what you can do. These are minor annoyances that when added up do make the experience less enjoyable. So, to sum it up, while it is an enjoyable experience for the most part, to be honest the ending, combined with the minor flaws, just makes me NOT recommend this game. I feel like I watched a real good short that fumbles the ending badly.