Miner Wars 2081

 PC
User Score
5.9

Mixed or average reviews- based on 72 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 36 out of 72
  2. Mixed: 12 out of 72
  3. Negative: 24 out of 72

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  1. Pysiu
    May 27, 2013
    1
    Developer is a liar and money grabber.
    Game supposed to be an opened space sandbox. Turned out to be arcade shooter in 3d with poor/crappy usage of 6DOF.
    Graphic is nice but other than this- BIG DISSAPOINTMENT. I was one of the alpha funders for this game- sadly what could have been a great game (or at least was advertised as such) was divided into parts- you will get sandbox in MMO    Developer is a liar and money grabber.
    Game supposed to be an opened space sandbox. Turned out to be arcade shooter in 3d with poor/crappy usage of 6DOF.

    Graphic is nice but other than this- BIG DISSAPOINTMENT.
    I was one of the alpha funders for this game- sadly what could have been a great game (or at least was advertised as such) was divided into parts- you will get sandbox in MMO but not in MW2081...
    This is outrageous...    … Expand
  2. Stunt
    Dec 1, 2012
    5
    Do not buy this game for multiplayer. As of the time of this post, multiplayer is only working for a minority of people. Do not buy this expecting a sandbox-ish open world game.

    This game is still in a very beta stage. Graphics are on par with the 10 year old Freelancer.

    Still giving a 5 as it's current single-player is fun despite the always-on DRM.
  3. LD9000
    Nov 28, 2012
    5
    I want to like this game, but I don't. I got both the pre-alpha, and this one. In essence, this is a space action game. What you see on the screen, like ship customization is fluff, you can put on some weapons, but it's not quite as good as games like Space Rangers, so don't be deceived. I found the 6 DOF combat to be lacking. Yes, the ship can rotate, but I have not seen the up/downI want to like this game, but I don't. I got both the pre-alpha, and this one. In essence, this is a space action game. What you see on the screen, like ship customization is fluff, you can put on some weapons, but it's not quite as good as games like Space Rangers, so don't be deceived. I found the 6 DOF combat to be lacking. Yes, the ship can rotate, but I have not seen the up/down button, the equivalent of jump and crouch in action games, that would make flying in this game much better. I'm not really enjoying the combat mechanics that much. There's no shield. Once the enemy hits your armor, you are SOL - there's no way to repair a ship, unless you find one of the repair boxes or buy a repair kit. There's no rechargeable shield, and I find myself replaying battles too many times, even on normal difficulty. I tried the mining part, and am not really impressed by it: the screen shakes and there's black dust covering half the screen. This gives me 5 credits, if sold, and my ship can hold about 16 units. A repair kit costs 6000 credits. I really don't see myself mining for hours in this game.

    I don't really understand why I have to run out of fuel so quickly.    … Expand
  4. raahsnavj
    Dec 8, 2012
    5
    Once you get things setup correctly you can almost play it. The Internet connection requirement when the game starts is the worst DRM one can have. There are lots of bugs (going from full armor to no armor in 1 hit for example). the game just isn't good.
  5. nomanredd
    Mar 24, 2013
    0
    Do not buy this game. The owner/developer of this game censoring and banning people left and right if you get into his bad side. http://steamcommunity.com/app/223430/discussions/0/846947320717087055/

    Not only is he keen on lying and threatening his customers, he will ban you as well.
  6. Crader
    Jan 3, 2013
    8
    I love Descent and that's it - new 6DOF open space action shooter. Amazing story, nice environment, fun with multiplayer (which nobody's actually playing). Game should be more balanced (it's frustrating sometimes) and without DRM, but over and over, I'm still enjoying it. Before you will follow all that "game sucks" critics, just try to play it first to make own opinion. I give it 8/10 andI love Descent and that's it - new 6DOF open space action shooter. Amazing story, nice environment, fun with multiplayer (which nobody's actually playing). Game should be more balanced (it's frustrating sometimes) and without DRM, but over and over, I'm still enjoying it. Before you will follow all that "game sucks" critics, just try to play it first to make own opinion. I give it 8/10 and hope they will fix all bugs.… Expand
  7. timmybian
    Jan 3, 2013
    9
    I don't get all the haters drowning this game down. It's pretty cool, fun and cheap. Of course it has some technical issues, but come on, which game doesn't? If everyone uses Steam and facebook, who really cares about DRM?
    Good job, keep going!
  8. Coeco
    Dec 3, 2012
    0
    I funded this game when it was waaay back in pre-alpha with promises of a persistent world, mining to develop your ship & character and now ages later, all they've managed to achieve is a deathmatch mode which no-one plays, a severely lacking and unbalanced storymode and the developers censoring people on Youtube who brings the game's DRM up. Yep, it's there. 100% online connection orI funded this game when it was waaay back in pre-alpha with promises of a persistent world, mining to develop your ship & character and now ages later, all they've managed to achieve is a deathmatch mode which no-one plays, a severely lacking and unbalanced storymode and the developers censoring people on Youtube who brings the game's DRM up. Yep, it's there. 100% online connection or GTFO. Avoid this game at all cost.… Expand
  9. 20k
    Nov 29, 2012
    10
    This game is excellent. I'm impressed that LD9000 couldn't find the up and down button, because they are F and C. Inertial dampeners can be turned off as well, which turns the game into a Newtonian physics model, albeit with limited ship max speeds

    The game has its bugs. If you want to set the resolution, you have to set it manually in the config options. The story is a little odd, but    This game is excellent. I'm impressed that LD9000 couldn't find the up and down button, because they are F and C. Inertial dampeners can be turned off as well, which turns the game into a Newtonian physics model, albeit with limited ship max speeds

    The game has its bugs. If you want to set the resolution, you have to set it manually in the config options. The story is a little odd, but fun. The gameplay is pretty fun though - if you want something challenging and not in this era of regenerating health and easy, pathetic fights, you are looking at the right game. Its pretty difficult on normal

    This is an excellent game and i would definitely recommend it    … Expand
  10. AussieMark
    Nov 29, 2012
    10
    Really great game, one of the best I have played and the storyline is incredible.

    Only thing is you need to be patient to work out how to play and give it a chance, because the first hour I died a hell of a lot until I figured out what I was doing and really enjoy it :)

    Switch to easy if you are having trouble
  11. DanteInHell
    Jan 14, 2013
    9
    I usually don't write reviews, but in this case I must. I've read about this game a lot, mostly negative, but despite, I bough it in sale, just to try. And from first second, I was amazed! Old-school space shooter is back, now in 3D. It's hard as hell sometimes, it crash to desktop once few hour, it's a little bit buggy, but still - must recommend this! Playing it second time right now andI usually don't write reviews, but in this case I must. I've read about this game a lot, mostly negative, but despite, I bough it in sale, just to try. And from first second, I was amazed! Old-school space shooter is back, now in 3D. It's hard as hell sometimes, it crash to desktop once few hour, it's a little bit buggy, but still - must recommend this! Playing it second time right now and don't understand why everybody on Steam hates it so much.… Expand
  12. Scorcher24
    Dec 4, 2012
    3
    Always online DRM for singleplayer. That is all what is there to say. I can't understand how an Indie Developer thinks he can win the piracy war with measurements like this. It is not like I am never online or have an unstable connection - it is a matter of principle. I enjoy singleplayer and play online only with friends avoiding the abusive masses. Why do I need to log into a server onAlways online DRM for singleplayer. That is all what is there to say. I can't understand how an Indie Developer thinks he can win the piracy war with measurements like this. It is not like I am never online or have an unstable connection - it is a matter of principle. I enjoy singleplayer and play online only with friends avoiding the abusive masses. Why do I need to log into a server on the other end of the world for playing offline and have my gaming experience maybe tainted with lags and connection issues? I don't expect it, but I don't take chances either, because we deal with an Indie here. I doubt that this developer is capable of having a worldwide network to ensure the maximum gaming performance for everyone.

    I give 3 points because the game itself seems to work, but any more would be praising the devil.
    Ubisoft learned its lesson - hopefully Keen Software House will learn it before it is too late.    … Expand
  13. Systemstatic
    Nov 30, 2012
    2
    When I bought this game, I thought, "Oh, this looks like an interesting cross between freelancer and minecraft" and to an extent, it is. But what they neglect to tell you is that more than half of the stuff on the screen isn't actually destructible, combat is flatly unfun, and the scale of the game world is off-putting (You fly through claustrophobic little tunnels in your space ship.) TheWhen I bought this game, I thought, "Oh, this looks like an interesting cross between freelancer and minecraft" and to an extent, it is. But what they neglect to tell you is that more than half of the stuff on the screen isn't actually destructible, combat is flatly unfun, and the scale of the game world is off-putting (You fly through claustrophobic little tunnels in your space ship.) The story was to me, uninteresting and difficult to grasp. If you're looking for something to purchase and be pleasantly surprised, look somewhere else - this game was $20 wasted for me.… Expand
  14. hellpocket
    Jan 23, 2013
    10
    I bough it few days ago, so I missed all negative content of previous versions. Now it's just awesome! Only part I'm missing is more intuitive controlls and better xbox controller support. Graphic, gameplay and story? Amazing? (graphic mostly). Really good job! Now I hope more people will join deathmatch games - it looks like most promissing part of content. Space battles in new NYC are just epic!
  15. dNider
    Dec 7, 2012
    0
    I really wanted to like this game and why not, it promised to be a mix of Descent with a expansive feel of a space sim all in a world that was fully destructible. Then the game came out and it wasn't just bad, but it was bad in the most unethical way possible. It promised more than it could deliver -- 360 degrees of missed opportunities.
    The only resemblance to Descent may just be the    I really wanted to like this game and why not, it promised to be a mix of Descent with a expansive feel of a space sim all in a world that was fully destructible. Then the game came out and it wasn't just bad, but it was bad in the most unethical way possible. It promised more than it could deliver -- 360 degrees of missed opportunities.
    The only resemblance to Descent may just be the out dated and virtually pixelated textures that the game uses, just one part of Miner Wars overall poor art direction with 3D models that make Quake look advanced and colors schemes that came out of a box of Trix.
    Couple this with poor voice acting of a script that a 12 year old wrote along with controls that are inconsistent and just as non-responsive with a graphic engine that makes the most advance GPUs cry and you'll wonder what DRM that requires a constant internet connection is really protecting.

    Recommendation: Stay FAR FAR away from this forsaken game.    … Expand
  16. MadGamer1258
    Nov 29, 2012
    10
    I want to like this game, and I do. I was following this studio for a two years, almost since they started and so I was able to watch how they grow and develop this game. And now, I am really happy it became true and released successfully. It is a great game with a lot of action, awesome story and well crafted graphics. And for those of you who are hating it for "not cool enough", I have aI want to like this game, and I do. I was following this studio for a two years, almost since they started and so I was able to watch how they grow and develop this game. And now, I am really happy it became true and released successfully. It is a great game with a lot of action, awesome story and well crafted graphics. And for those of you who are hating it for "not cool enough", I have a something for you - this is the first real game of this studio, they made it on their own, without the support of huge developer investing billions to the development. And still it is so huge and awesome! Which indie studio can do this? I think comparing to the price and their possibilities they did a wonderful job and they delivered a nice packet of fun.… Expand
  17. richardking1
    Dec 3, 2012
    10
    I am really enjoying this game. Haven't played such title in a long time, perhaps never.
    6DOF in an open space? Great.
    Action and controls? Feels perfect, everyone will become natural-born-6dof-er Sounds & music? Great... actually the music is fantastic. Story is intriguing, I want to see how it all ends. The game is mostly about story/campaign and little on sandbox, but why would be    I am really enjoying this game. Haven't played such title in a long time, perhaps never.
    6DOF in an open space? Great.
    Action and controls? Feels perfect, everyone will become natural-born-6dof-er
    Sounds & music? Great... actually the music is fantastic.
    Story is intriguing, I want to see how it all ends.
    The game is mostly about story/campaign and little on sandbox, but why would be that a bad thing? This way the developers resurrected 6DOF gaming, made it available for everyone, even those who would be lost in sandbox. I have heard they are not done with Miner Wars, so who knows what will come next?
    Everyone still hesitating -> just get this game!    … Expand
  18. CarpGames
    Jan 2, 2013
    1
    Descent was a truly amazing game, especially at LAN parties. I'd be over the moon if someone managed a decent remake of it. Miner Wars was clearly an attempt, but only in the sense that one could claim a two year old child was attempting to recreate the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel by throwing jelly around the kitchen whilst soiling themselves. Amateurish rubbish of the highest order.Descent was a truly amazing game, especially at LAN parties. I'd be over the moon if someone managed a decent remake of it. Miner Wars was clearly an attempt, but only in the sense that one could claim a two year old child was attempting to recreate the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel by throwing jelly around the kitchen whilst soiling themselves. Amateurish rubbish of the highest order. Avoid at all costs.… Expand
  19. Jingo
    Nov 28, 2012
    6
    This is a first glance review, ok? Obviously it's indie, graphics aren't great and the story is a bit hard to follow. But good on them for coming up with a totally different story/setting, and completely free 3D environment. It feels like the old game, Descent, but more fun. There's not much of a tutorial explaining things (none, in fact) and during the first mission when you start lookingThis is a first glance review, ok? Obviously it's indie, graphics aren't great and the story is a bit hard to follow. But good on them for coming up with a totally different story/setting, and completely free 3D environment. It feels like the old game, Descent, but more fun. There's not much of a tutorial explaining things (none, in fact) and during the first mission when you start looking at the key mapping, it doesn't pause and the baddies keep shooting you while you're trying to work it out. Loading times are also very long, but they provide an excuse. Sound is fairly tame, and there's no sense of real physics. When you stop your spaceship's throttle, your ship suddenly stops. Not at all realistic, but the alternative would make for trickier gameplay. Time will tell whether it's worth $20. I'm going to play it some more, for sure. It is different, at least.… Expand
  20. Diswin
    Jan 17, 2013
    2
    Another desperate attempt to squeeze some money from canonical title. Game is not "Descent", its not even close to Descent. Poor design, ugly battle mechanic, weird multi-functional repair boxes, paranoid storyline with China, Russia and so one. Graphics can be better and loading times are shorter. Sound and music... yes, there are sound and music in the game, not worth mentioning anyway.Another desperate attempt to squeeze some money from canonical title. Game is not "Descent", its not even close to Descent. Poor design, ugly battle mechanic, weird multi-functional repair boxes, paranoid storyline with China, Russia and so one. Graphics can be better and loading times are shorter. Sound and music... yes, there are sound and music in the game, not worth mentioning anyway. Overall - waste of money.… Expand
  21. Phasmatis
    Dec 26, 2012
    3
    I recently purchased this game on steam as I have gained a lot of interest in the space sim genre and didn't care about the multiplayer nor single player but only the interesting sandbox mode where i could mine asteroids. On the first day I couldn't even play the game as it has always on DRM and couldn't connect to the servers.

    On the second day:today: I was able to connect to the    I recently purchased this game on steam as I have gained a lot of interest in the space sim genre and didn't care about the multiplayer nor single player but only the interesting sandbox mode where i could mine asteroids. On the first day I couldn't even play the game as it has always on DRM and couldn't connect to the servers.

    On the second day:today: I was able to connect to the servers but only to be able to play single player if I wanted to play multiplayer I would have to contact the games customer support. First thing in game I was dropped into a lame mission with zero orientation as to the mechanics (though I was able to figure them out with a bit of effort on my part) other than this is the history. The mission glitchy forcing me to roam around before it recognized I was on the objective marker, mining is tedious and not made up for by the destruction physics which aren't even used but exist more as a novelty or for multiplayer. When I finally finished the mission the travel mechanic was entirely unituitive forcing you to have to zoom in on a tiny square of the world map to which I didn't care as I believe I had finally gotten to the open world part before the game crashed. I honestly suspect this game is still in beta as its mechanics don't seem to work very well.

    In conclusion the game doesn't work correctly, has always on DRM that is not advertised, and is missing core mechanics from the steam store advertisement. Avoid this game there are way better space sims coming down the road.    … Expand
  22. valiorik
    Dec 28, 2012
    0
    It very poor on content. And the sandbox doesn't looks like a sandbox at all. You are simply flying in narrow tunnels all of the time. Plus you must be always online to play it. Why? I have no idea. Online doesn't give you anything.
  23. Orpheusftw
    Jun 20, 2013
    10
    This (currently) 52 metascore is one of the greatest injustices I've ever witnessed. After a quarter century of solid gaming I've more or less seen it all, and consider my opinion as qualified as anyone's. Miner Wars 2081 is an entertaining game with a solid presentation. It plays very well, and is a worthy homage to the Descent series.

    I do have to apologize for my "10". The game    This (currently) 52 metascore is one of the greatest injustices I've ever witnessed. After a quarter century of solid gaming I've more or less seen it all, and consider my opinion as qualified as anyone's. Miner Wars 2081 is an entertaining game with a solid presentation. It plays very well, and is a worthy homage to the Descent series.

    I do have to apologize for my "10". The game admittedly has a few rough edges, and I probably would have only given it an 8 or 9 at most. However, when unprofessional clowns feel the need to bury an otherwise solid game with Zeroes based only on "third party DRM" (which they've long since disabled), I just want to do my part in trying to bring the average back up into reality.    … Expand
  24. unterwasserman
    Feb 14, 2013
    9
    I bought game recently, so I missed that buggy season everyone is complaining about. I must tell that game is great! Despite of corridor setting of missions, it gives me feeling of freedom maybe it's the monumental architecture or amazing graphic environment or just that meaningless traveling to new sectors (and there is A LOT of them!). Only thing I'm missing a little is more preciseI bought game recently, so I missed that buggy season everyone is complaining about. I must tell that game is great! Despite of corridor setting of missions, it gives me feeling of freedom maybe it's the monumental architecture or amazing graphic environment or just that meaningless traveling to new sectors (and there is A LOT of them!). Only thing I'm missing a little is more precise vendor system now I'm not motivated to mine asteroids and sell ore to merchants, because it's easier to fly to some sector, wait for solar wind and then just loot corpses And also (what isn't usual in space shooters), there is an amazing story it's even funny and serious! Sometimes a little bit cliché, but still fun to discover what's going to happen next. Listening to dialogues makes me feel I'm part it. Simple enough: GREAT WORK, 9/10!… Expand
  25. sanctificator
    Feb 15, 2013
    8
    For a long time I wasn't sure what to think about this. I spent first few hours in pre-alpha version and that was hell... I thought I finished with this game forever but last week I tried again. And I enjoy it! It made huge step for a last six months it's a different game I must say. Excellent graphic, cool gameplay, funny multiplayer (if you meet someone out there), but first of all andFor a long time I wasn't sure what to think about this. I spent first few hours in pre-alpha version and that was hell... I thought I finished with this game forever but last week I tried again. And I enjoy it! It made huge step for a last six months it's a different game I must say. Excellent graphic, cool gameplay, funny multiplayer (if you meet someone out there), but first of all and I know it sounds weird editor )which I haven't touch in pre-aplha). I'm building my own space areas more often then I'm playing official ones. it's like Lego, but much more fun. If you have friends to play with, you can kick their asses in your own map which is the best part. I don't like coop part of the game for it's not much motivating (you lost all inventory when you log off), but it's also only part of game which I rate negative. Giving 7,5/10 (rounded for 8 … Expand
  26. JonnysBeard
    Feb 19, 2015
    2
    Miner Wars is a sad attempt to revive the 6DOF genre. When it was announced with words like "we love Descent" and Dan Wentz (composer of the Descent 2 MIDI soundtrack) joined in the hopes were high but in the end if failed to deliver. If I'm referencing Descent a lot it's not only because it defined the genre but because the developers brought it up time and time again.

    For an    Miner Wars is a sad attempt to revive the 6DOF genre. When it was announced with words like "we love Descent" and Dan Wentz (composer of the Descent 2 MIDI soundtrack) joined in the hopes were high but in the end if failed to deliver. If I'm referencing Descent a lot it's not only because it defined the genre but because the developers brought it up time and time again.

    For an inspiration they took the history of Descent 4's cancellation: it was supposed to use the GeoMod engine that was then used for Red Faction. So what they did was making it about miners with destructible environments but with 6DOF gameplay. It's not the worst somebody could come up with but in combination with an uninspired cold war scenario plus something about aliens it really shows they were really uninspired.
    The 'fully destructible environment' only applies when you're not flying through stitched together prefab corridors which is 80% of the time. It is possible to mine resources and the voxel based asteroids will reshape accordingly which is kind of nice but it's novelty wears of really quickly when you discover how tedious and not worth your time it is.

    The graphics are a bit too colorful for my taste but overall OK. The level design sadly doesn't create any good atmosphere except for feeling lost. Descent made use of different textures to suggest where up and down is and rooms would vary in color and shape which helped navigating greatly. In Miner Wars every room is one of a few big prefabs that repeat time and time again which makes exploring levels a nightmare, especially if you consider there is no map. To make up for this they implemented a GPS to point you to your next objective but hitting the key every time you pass through a door isn't that fun.

    The gameplay could have salvaged it but it's the worst thing about the entire game.
    To begin with it's a quiet fast paced game which in it self isn't bad. What is bad is the fact that switching weapons requires the use of the mouse cursor so when you run out of ammo in a tight situation you can't do anything but hope to survive while selecting another weapon. Repairing or refilling oxygen requires you to open the inventory which again is mouse operated. In theory you can just pick up items and use them immediately but then you're wasting their potential. It's nice to be able to save powerups for later but the way it is implemented was a really bad design choice.

    But what finally kills it is the actual combat. To begin with every enemy is marked so there is never a suspense when or where enemies will come from. Basically they spawn somewhere based on triggers placed around the level, take a direct route to the player and then freeze in place because they have no AI. If you wait in front of a door the enemies will pile up and can 'easily' be dispatched every single time. Only problem with this is they are pretty good at aiming and dodging bullets that hit instantly is pretty hard so good luck.

    It gets 2/10 points for the use of voxels, the decent graphics and for being a playable game if you look past all it's flaws. The rest is taken away by bad writing, awful level design, non-existent AI and for not delivering what was promised in the first place. The Miner Wars MMO never happened. For good reasons but still...    … Expand
  27. Aaikir
    Mar 8, 2016
    10
    its a good game ......................................................................................................................................

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
52

Mixed or average reviews - based on 9 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 9
  2. Mixed: 7 out of 9
  3. Negative: 2 out of 9
  1. PC Master (Greece)
    Jun 10, 2013
    72
    Fans of the old Descent games will go mental, no doubt about it. Miner Wars 2081 will also be a blast for gamers that want a sci-fi space shooter with an interesting story, charming setting and solid gameplay. [March 2013]
  2. PC PowerPlay
    Mar 7, 2013
    50
    Developer Keen Software House has overextended its reach. [March 2013, p.90]
  3. Everyeye.it
    Feb 20, 2013
    60
    Miner Wars is a game with great potential, perhaps wasted. Defects are many: poor IA, complex level design, technical sector not great increase the sense of frustration that might have been.
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