ICARUS Reviews
When playing solo, Icarus is a largely unforgiving survival experience brimming with both jank and atmosphere. It's not revolutionary, but it's still better than it has any right to be.
A refreshing take on the survival sandbox with a robust approach to progression and countless ways to tackle each mission. Sadly, harsh penalties, bugs, and crashes combine to make this a frustrating off-world expedition.
With gorgeous new vistas, fresh new technologies to build, and over two dozen new missions, this expansion pack delivers the alien world we've long been asking for.
Icarus is an absolutely gorgeous, engaging, and challenging survival crafting game. When it's working correctly, it is a fantastic entry into the genre. When it's not, the problems are deep and varied. Disconnects, corrupt characters, bugs, and balance problems abound. I look forward to seeing it reach its potential, but it's hard to see it as anything other than a game that exited Early Access too soon.
Unfinished, buggy, and broken, Icarus should not have released at this stage. With mind-numbing repetition and baffling design decisions, it's a survival game that's more frustrating than challenging.
Icarus boldly stakes its claim amongst giants in the field and swiftly proves to be a worthy contender. Everything I saw in the lead up to the release of Icarus made it seem too good to be true, but my faith and patience was rewarded many times over when I finally got to drop planetside for the first time, and the time after that, and the time after that. Icarus is going up on my list of favourite things to come out of New Zealand, alongside pavlova and Lord of the Rings.
Despite the many flaws, the superior picture quality and solid basic experience make ICARUS still have a lot of potential.
Review in Chinese | Read full review
It is a technically impressive game, both in looks and in depth. I really like the text and menu structure, although it is not always easy to use, it looks the part. It is really impressive how much data and gameplay are in here, and it still maintains a high-end looking interface and story. While the performance has its issues and the lack of a pause button or proper text sizing will sting, the loop of dropping in, harvesting, and building through those massive mission trees is addictive. It feels like a proper big-budget survival experience, even with the rough edges. If you can handle the jank and the tiny text, there is a massive alien world here waiting to be conquered.
ICARUS: Console Edition is a compelling survival game wrapped in an unfriendly welcome mat. If you can push through the opaque start, there’s a rewarding, systems-heavy experience underneath, but it really needs a better on-ramp.
Icarus is a solid survival game, especially with friends. The threat of running out of oxygen is a welcome addition to the genre, as many survival games don't take place on a planet that failed terraforming. The lack of some direction may throw off newcomers, as well as some poor UI choices, but genre die-hards will almost find this game cozy at times, given the freedom to go it alone or with three other friends. Icarus shows the genre still has a lot of life in it, provided you can survive the night.
Icarus arrives on consoles and sets the tone straight away: forget about relaxing strolls; this is a survival game from Dean Hall featuring a magnetic yet ruthless gameplay loop, where devastating storms and ferocious predators will keep you constantly on your toes. Planning every move to survive the relentless environmental physics will give you an unrivalled adrenaline rush. However, be prepared to battle against a technical side that’s still a bit shaky: noticeable frame drops, clunky menus and a truly slow early-game farming phase risk melting your wax wings before their time. Despite these flaws and a bestiary that is at times inconsistent, Icarus remains a fascinating hardcore experience, recommended without reservation to veterans of the genre; novices, however, are warned: the fall could be disastrous.
Review in Italian | Read full review
ICARUS may have debuted as a bill of goods, but it is shaping up to be an exciting survival sandbox experience. A rich RPG customization system intersects with a bevy of game modes to provide gamers with a variety of building and adventuring experiences. Consistent updates and optimizations show that ICARUS the Game completes its mission and doesn't get left stranded on Icarus the Planet.
Icarus has an interesting concept that could work in the future, but now? At the stage the game is at, there is nothing more to talk about than the early beta phase of an interesting project that may one day be more than just a survival title.
Review in Czech | Read full review