Achron

 PC
User Score
7.3

Mixed or average reviews- based on 18 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 11 out of 18
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 18
  3. Negative: 3 out of 18

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  1. Mashama
    Sep 10, 2011
    8
    Never, anywhere, have I played an RTS as involved as this one is. Simply put this game is a must buy summed up in two simple words: TIME TRAVEL. I mean real honest time manipulation mechanics that allow you to not only "fix" your "mistakes" but also bend and break real time to your will.

    The only thing holding this back from perfection and its true greatness in redefining the RTS genre    Never, anywhere, have I played an RTS as involved as this one is. Simply put this game is a must buy summed up in two simple words: TIME TRAVEL. I mean real honest time manipulation mechanics that allow you to not only "fix" your "mistakes" but also bend and break real time to your will.

    The only thing holding this back from perfection and its true greatness in redefining the RTS genre lies in its Indie development and release giving the game play a look and unfortunate feel of the RTS games of the 1990s. The worst of which being the pathing. Some quick advice on that though, units will only move in straight lines and cannot seem to register terrain so hold CTRL and the game will allow you to que up your movement paths allow you to correct the poor A.I. movements easily

    Even still in the course of a few matches the "AHA" moments of realizing how to break time to your advantage are well worth the cover price. Future scouting to see places your units have never actually traveled, harassing with "phantom units" that won't exist come the next time wave. and chronocloning your army to battle with itself are just a few examples of discovers that make you feel like a king until you notice your opponent has changed something further in the past than you    … Expand
  2. destiny
    Sep 16, 2011
    10
    This is, as I write this, most likely becoming my second favorites strategy game after Starcraft Broodwar.

    Let's put it straight first. For me real time strategy games is all about multiplayer. So I don't care if the campaign of this time travel extravaganza is supposebly weak. I learned the game by watching casted games on youtube, and I suggest you do it too! Just experiencing the game    This is, as I write this, most likely becoming my second favorites strategy game after Starcraft Broodwar.

    Let's put it straight first. For me real time strategy games is all about multiplayer. So I don't care if the campaign of this time travel extravaganza is supposebly weak. I learned the game by watching casted games on youtube, and I suggest you do it too!

    Just experiencing the game like this, at the first glance, I recognised the wast amount of strategies that could be used by the players. Different kind of strategies, that needs a totally different way of thinking than in any other rts. In what other game could you go for a rush, in which you build a lot of tier 1 units, then when the units reaches your opponents base, you go back in time, SWITCH WHICH RACE YOU'RE PLAYING, and instead go for a resource heavy game? Just the though of the mind games that could be played by the players is mind boggling.

    Some people complain about different aspects of the game, but what the game is really about is the time travel, and that certain part of the game is working flawlessly. And it's not a gimmick either, it's a completely new way of thinking. Try it out, but give it the time it needs to be properly learned!    … Expand
  3. Raijinken
    Dec 17, 2011
    10
    Many of the poor critic ratings, I believe, were written back when Achron was still under primary development. I'd compare it to tasting a cake that's not done cooking yet - of course it's not going to appeal to many people. However, now that there've been several patches and fixes, I find that most of the critic reviews won't hold against actual experience.

    The time travel mechanic is    Many of the poor critic ratings, I believe, were written back when Achron was still under primary development. I'd compare it to tasting a cake that's not done cooking yet - of course it's not going to appeal to many people. However, now that there've been several patches and fixes, I find that most of the critic reviews won't hold against actual experience.

    The time travel mechanic is interesting. Somewhat tricky to use, but how you use it depends on how good you want to be at the game. If you go back in time (something Achron does differently from other games) and simply want to undo moves, well that's easy enough, but can only make up for so many mistakes. It's not hard to learn basic time manipulation, only to master its intricacies. The pathfinding has been significantly (and I mean tremendously) improved since release and when most of the critic reviews were made. Back then, yeah, you couldn't walk around a building without microing your units every step. Not as much of a problem now, and it just gets better with each patch (which comes once a month or so, to change balance aspects and whatnot).

    The AI isn't stellar. How it could be in a game like this is beyond me. However, it is enough to give players a challenge if they haven't mastered the RTS properties of macromanagement. The graphics look dated, but aren't important. They give the game a distinct feel, and convey all of the necessary information without hogging your system resources.

    Speaking of which, the Resequence engine is going to take a lot of system resources. Keeping track of several minutes of a match all at once is challenging. You'll need a dual-core system for sure, so make sure you meet the spes before you buy. Try the demo as a stress test.

    Achron's community is small, but great. Everyone is considerate and thoughtful, and the community contributes a lot to the balancing of Achron. The forums are great for discussing perceived problems and possible solutions, and everyone's really into the game at all skill levels.

    Over all, I strongly recommend the game to anyone with a taste for time travel AND RTS games. Pure RTS fans may feel like the time mechanic is too complicated, and should play other games instead. Fans of time travel alone may not adjust well to the RTS aspects, but should certainly watch games and theorize! Fans of both would most likely love the game.    … Expand
  4. Crescendo
    Jul 19, 2012
    8
    Don't let the arguably low score scare you, this game is a jewel. It's just hard to find that jewel, as the game is very counter-intuitive. Which is not the developer's fault but just the nature of time travel. I can relate to some of the reviews because I too thought the game wouldn't work properly, as there is nothing more frustrating than giving out complex orders only to find your armyDon't let the arguably low score scare you, this game is a jewel. It's just hard to find that jewel, as the game is very counter-intuitive. Which is not the developer's fault but just the nature of time travel. I can relate to some of the reviews because I too thought the game wouldn't work properly, as there is nothing more frustrating than giving out complex orders only to find your army somewhere else entirely because you forgot that one a-move you made. Timewaves just travel slow (does that even make sense?). Conclusion: if you are willing to mess around with this game, you are greatly rewarded. Obviously, time travel probably offers so many possibilities that you tend to get totally overwhelmed with it at the beginning... but just try. Achron is not ill-designed. It just takes some time to get used to the mechanics. And then you'll be very confused with the linear movement of time in reality when you stop playing the game.… Expand

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
54

Mixed or average reviews - based on 11 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 11
  2. Mixed: 6 out of 11
  3. Negative: 4 out of 11
  1. GamingExcellence
    Sep 28, 2011
    45
    The real-time strategy mechanics are just not done well, it's as simple as that.
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  2. IGN
    Sep 16, 2011
    50
    Injecting dynamic time travel into a real-time strategy game is a risky, ambitious move. Though it takes a lot of effort, experimentation, and agonizing in order to use the time travel mechanics effectively, Hazardous Software manages to pull it off. The problem is the rest of the game suffers from design flaws and technical issues, making Achron feel like an RTS relic.
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  3. PC Gamer
    Sep 13, 2011
    70
    When it comes to RTS design fundamentals, Achron is frustratingly primitive, which depreciates its brilliant twist. [Nov 2011, p.81]
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