Darwinia

The visuals are simple yet strikingly effective. The core gameplay is manageable, yet effectively complex. A game like this isn’t produced by huge teams with tons of money. Those kinds of games (god bless ‘em) are pure craft. Darwinia is art.

They nailed the user interface and playability. It's addicting. They made it for PC, MAC and Linux. And they are Independent Developers. Sounds like a solid “A” to me.

In plain English, don’t ask, "What’s it like?"- Just buy it, play it, and spread the word to anyone you know who’s a gamer about it by any legal means necessary.

It's graphics are unconventional and don't play the max polycount/photorealism game, but they're truly beautiful.

Darwinia is the most refreshing, beautiful, frustrating, compelling and dare I say it original game I've had the pleasure of playing in many a year.

Darwinia is a game unlike any other, with a mixture of gameplay elements that have been thrust together forming one glorious gameplay experience that has to be played to be believed.

Play this game long enough, and you'll believe there are souls in your computer, living simple, stark, beautiful lives.

Darwinia is revolutionary and groundbreaking.

A campaign of just a handful of missions doesn’t last long, but an active mod community helps offset that. Nonetheless, Darwinia stands above most games in design as an essential title for the PC.

Darwinia isn't just a good game. More importantly, it's a place you've never been.

If anything, it reminds us that ridiculous production values and high-powered rigs aren't always necessary to make a game that's just plain fun.

Darwinia deserves to be remembered as one of 2005's most creative games on any platform.

The lack of "Game Over" is a delightful incentive for continued play, and despite no fear of defeat, Darwinia still contains a considerable array of challenges to overcome.

The way the game adds small increments – a new move or weapon or task has been brilliantly devised and all the time you are playing you get help and feedback from a chap that looks not unlike Mr Clive Sinclair – you have to have been around in the 8 bit days to appreciate this.

A gorgeous, character-packed curio that combines strategy and arcade action with great aplomb. An essential purchase for nostalgics. [PC Gamer UK]

A new classic. It will change every gaming instinct you have. [March 2005, p.110]

Forget games with real-time physics. This is one has real-time metaphysics. It's this year's underground classic, this year's "Rez," this year's "Ico," this year's... well, this year's Darwinia. It's a game that justifies your sense of your brilliance and gaming' sense of brilliance.

My props go out to Introversion for developing such an amazingly original and incredible game. Just goes to show, you don’t need a few million dollars for a budget to create a classic hit.

Darwinia will remind you that videogames can be an art form as well as great entertainment.

One of the most unique games that I have played in a while. If you are looking for a unique game that isn’t just a “cookie cutter” of the most popular game out there, then look no further than this game.

Darwinia is great gaming. It makes me smile. My eyes rejoice at the sight of it.

After learning to take Darwinia in bite-sized pieces – say 45 to 60 minutes a time – it didn’t take long for me to begin to anticipate playing it.

So stylish it looks like art, but surprisingly it is also a very good game. [Apr. 05]

Darwinia is, all told, wonderful. It's the kind of game that would show impressionable young kids the breadth and scope of the medium without overwhelming them with mechanics.

The graphics in Darwinia while a throwback to times past, are superb.

Darwinia really has to be seen and heard in motion...to fully appreciate how effective the presentation is. [Jan 2006, p.56]

It's a brilliant and addictive experience that's unlike anything you've played before.

Guaranteed fun for strategy fans of all ages, but especially retro gamers. [July 2005, p.68]

It’s a game that has ideas and refuses to be diluted by mediocrity. These days that’s a rare and brave thing to do.

Despite the fact some may find the concept of mouse gestures a little irritating at first, and the path-finding somewhat of a pain, those that persevere will be rewarded with some solid interactive entertainment.

While the incredibly stylish graphics will be the initial draw, you’ll stick around for one of the greatest examples of pure gameplay this side of the aforementioned "Katamari Damacy."

Darwinia’s action can get repetitive, though no less addictive, and its AI issues can drag it down, but on the whole this is a refreshing game created with a pure love of gaming. Its unique interface and gameplay design set is apart from anything out there. The game’s appeal will no doubt be greatest with retro fans but its reach stretches to every gamer.

It's obvious that developers Introversion don't have a huge budget but they managed to create a minimalist masterpiece that any gamer with an imagination can appreciate.

If you can get past the lack-luster graphics and the moderately annoying controls then you will be able to really enjoy this title. Do to the somewhat awkward controls I can not say that this game is a “must have”, but I would have to say that if you are looking for a game that is not too heavy or serious then you might want to take a look at this one.

If you are jaded from too many of the same old RTS games or even if you just want to play an innovative game for a change, then Darwinia is definitely one you should look into and with a demo readily available, there really isn’t a good reason to not give it a try.

It has a completely unique style, both in the audio, sound and gameplay departments that cannot be easily compared to anything else.

This may not be a revolution in gaming, but as a fresh premise and interesting gameplay for $30, even with some flaws packed in, isn't a bad deal in my book. [July 2006, p.109]

Where most games are built out of wood, bullets and money, Darwinia has an unapologetically spiritual vision, its geeky god presiding over a world which dares to make an imagined religion into a ruleset. That in some places it falls short of its ambitions is not what makes this game important. [March 2005, p.82]

Sadly, the bugs I encountered during the game (especially with the way the graphics engine started chugging so severely in the later levels) really hurt my experience, and the action just eventually ended up being reduced to using the same strategy over and over again.

The action-RTS tomfoolery is remarkably compelling once you get a feeling for the basics... Darwinia is proof that you don’t need huge budgets and flashy visuals to make a decent title. [Apr 2005, p.112]

Darwinia is immersive, with a quality mix between unique game play and off-the-wall graphics. This title isn’t particularly successful, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see some of the elements that Introversion has brought to the table appear in future RTS titles.

Darwinia is certainly “unique” and “original”. It’s a shame it’s not very “fun”.

Darwinia 's weird, but it might well not be your kind of weird.

We’re left with a fairly annoying RTS title full of niggling and frustrating bugs, poor design decisions, and pathfinding that has dripped directly from the nose of Satan himself.