IXION Reviews
An enticing premise held back by uneven pacing and glaring technical issues.
Ixion elegantly balances the dynamic play of a colony simulation with a grand, meticulously directed sci-fi narrative. Its perilous journey through a cold and dangerous universe is vivid and engrossing, although its complex routines occasionally obstruct its storytelling ambitions.
It probably sounds frustrating. And it is. I walked away a few times in disgust. But as is clear from the tone of this review, I always came back. That counts more than anything else. That’s the most important thing. I liked spending time in Ixion’s world, in Ixion’s story. I like space disaster stories. Eventually, I was happy to bump myself down to the ‘story’ difficulty, because I didn’t want to miss out. I like looking at it, and I like listening to it. I plan to return to Ixion, to once again embrace sweet failure.
So, in order effectively play this challenging city-building, survival hybrid, players will need an upper mid-tier PC. It's unfortunate because IXION is a game that quickly catches the player's attention and, despite it's high demands of the player, it finds a way to feel balanced and fair. For those that enjoy this type of game and have the hardware to comfortably play it, then there's no hesitation in recommending this title. Otherwise, it might be better to start with a less intense game in this genre and wait for some performance patches to avoid the punishment of the ever spinning wheels of fire and buffering.
IXION is a game packed with good ideas and great execution which is a rare combo these days. The gameplay is rather innovative for a city-building title and the story is no short of a well-made Sci-Fi movie. IXION is a must-play for city-building lovers!
As an experience it’s honestly one of the most engaging and engrossing I’ve played this year.
As a space-style "farming" game, "IXION" presented a cold space world and the space station "Tai Kun". It is not only home for players, but also a carrier for exploration and advancement. The experience of wandering in space with home is quite unique. But beyond this, "IXION" did not bring more surprises to the players. The imperfect details, fast pace in the early and mid-term, and some unreasonable difficulty settings make players easily frustrated.
Review in Chinese | Read full review
Ixion perhaps could be used as an example of flying so high... and then missing the mark and falling pretty far down. There is so much to recommend and enjoy about the game, especially if only checking the first few hours. But the more you play, the flaws, difficulty, unravelling story, and pretty much everything else frustrates to such a degree that many players are not going to finish the game, either due to the difficulty, or simply not wanting to do the same thing for five hours and hoping their ship doesn't blow up randomly.
Beautiful setting and sound design, fantastic story, and perfectly implemented gameplay mechanics make IXION an easy 10 for me.
Even with a few minor improvements, Ixion is a fantastic proposition for fans of science fiction and management games.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
Overall I have to give IXION a big thumbs up. While it might be a little difficult at times, if you just take your time and read the tutorials, you should find it quite enjoyable.
IXION can be extremely overwhelming and punishes players for not having nearly precognition levels of foresight. Still, once these roadblocks are understood and avoided, the game can become an excellent and welcome challenge. IXION is defiantly for survival fans first, while city planners may find things a bit more aggravating.
There is a lot to like about Ixion – it is an atmospheric tale of humanity dealing with the odds and overcoming any obstacle in its path, one way or another. That same difficulty is often too oppressive however, and I feel that it will be a bit of an obstacle for some; in addition, there are a few foibles elsewhere which can make for a frustrating experience and have marked down my enthusiasm. For those who want a challenge though, Ixion will be an excellent and immersive choice.
With IXION the folks at Bulkwark Studios have radically traded in their alternate future formula for a compelling and well written space odyssey set in the far reaches of the universe. The connection between the gameplay and the dynamic narrative is impressive, and the result is a great experience.
Review in Spanish | Read full review
IXION feels familiar and accessible as it adopts the classic gameplay formula of city-builder games while also being unique enough with its various levels of management and exciting space exploration. Overall, IXION brings a lot to the table as a survival strategy city builder. It has solid core mechanics coupled with space-themed features that add enough challenge and variety to your overall gameplay experience.