Icarus

• Endure a savage alien wilderness on Icarus, humanity’s greatest mistake. Survive its brutal environment as you explore, harvest, craft and hunt while seeking your fortune.
• Confront and conquer a brutal PvE world that includes toxic atmospheres, savage wildlife, and game-altering weather events.
• Master three separate tech trees: planetary tech, player talents and orbital workshop. Craft tools, structures and machinery.

Food, water, and oxygen are your primary requirements in Icarus - and while they're not hard to maintain, they do take a bit of effort. The time limited missions are a neat way of putting you into that "starting from zero" mindset that's so common in survival sandbox games.

I've jumped in and out of Icarus since the backer beta weekends- but I haven't touched it in ages. There was - and is - a lot to like about the game. But for some reason, it never clicked with me for solo play. This is because, as with Valheim, games that focus a lot on building fail to hold my interest. I am terrible at building, have no imagination, and have accepted this about myself! I like how Icarus lays out their skill/crafting trees and how items are unlocked via progression & player choice. But as a player, I hate working towards shit via an experience-based system versus just through discovery or other means.

Having more survival titles “push the envelope” in terms of graphics, mechanical depth, and just making us adapt to new scenarios is nice. The constant "start from scratch" approach with the timed missions was a neat way to place us back into that early-day survival scramble. It was a nice touch. When I dragged my sister into the game, I was able to really have fun & appreciate the leveling process paired with the dangerous beauty of the world.

I’d encourage combing through written or creator video reviews and seeing if specific things resonate with you- if widespread complaints or praise are things that would piss you off or that interest you. But don't go into it to prejudge the developer(s) because of your thoughts on DayZ. And understand that, over a year into release, things are constantly changing with the game. In addition, the developers have been on top of a relatively aggressive weekly content drop schedule that has led to a game that differs in many ways- some massively- from the title as it was first dropped.

Thumbs up, so try it out! (Maybe on sale. It's pricey.)

Website Changelog

• 3/12/23- Changelog added.