Planetbase

 PC
User Score
7.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 47 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 31 out of 47
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 47
  3. Negative: 8 out of 47

Review this game

  1. Your Score
    0 out of 10
    Rate this:
    • 10
    • 9
    • 8
    • 7
    • 6
    • 5
    • 4
    • 3
    • 2
    • 1
    • 0
    • 0
  1. Submit
  2. Check Spelling
view
per page
  1. seanb1979
    Sep 15, 2016
    2
    I really want to like this game, and it's fun at first when you get all your needs met and start clicking, but you will reach a point in size where workers *always* simply stop doing their jobs. I had 2 large farms full of pods with 3 canteens and about 15 or so meat growers, about 70 people, and I hit a certain point where everyone stopped tending farms/gathering food, and they literallyI really want to like this game, and it's fun at first when you get all your needs met and start clicking, but you will reach a point in size where workers *always* simply stop doing their jobs. I had 2 large farms full of pods with 3 canteens and about 15 or so meat growers, about 70 people, and I hit a certain point where everyone stopped tending farms/gathering food, and they literally all started to lay down and die from starvation. Pretty stupid and broken mechanic and it's been this way since I first played it around a year ago. Very lazy devs allowing bugs like this to stay around - avoid wasting money.… Expand
  2. SpartanMario
    Dec 16, 2015
    8
    This game is at an 8/10 for me. It is a great idea for a game, but can suffer from in game a.i. problems and your colonists get themselves killed for no reason.
    This isn't as bad though as everyone makes it out to be and I personally only run into this issue on the second two worlds at the very start of the game were getting all the basics up.
    There is enough content to leave me    This game is at an 8/10 for me. It is a great idea for a game, but can suffer from in game a.i. problems and your colonists get themselves killed for no reason.
    This isn't as bad though as everyone makes it out to be and I personally only run into this issue on the second two worlds at the very start of the game were getting all the basics up.
    There is enough content to leave me satisfied, but at the same time i wish there was a little more depth like more power generation and goods to produce to trade away and throw onto nearby traders who are passing through the neighborhood.    … Expand
  3. kaitgamer
    Oct 26, 2015
    9
    This game is not finished. But i Love it. It is a very unforgiving game, but it all seems to make sense...It reminds me a bit of Majesty because you do not control your people or robots. You tell them what to build and they decide what to do. The system of power/food/production/logistics is really really well done and every decision seems very important. What you build, when youThis game is not finished. But i Love it. It is a very unforgiving game, but it all seems to make sense...It reminds me a bit of Majesty because you do not control your people or robots. You tell them what to build and they decide what to do. The system of power/food/production/logistics is really really well done and every decision seems very important. What you build, when you build it and WHERE you try to build it all matter. It will all boil down to the AI...right now the AI seems a bit rough as the game goes on..… Expand
  4. Markam67
    Oct 20, 2015
    9
    Very addictive game. Some of the minor issues are very unforgiving system if you start failing to provide for your colonists you rarely get them back, forcing you to restart from an earlier save point. It also feels like the tech tree is too short. While the game is still very playable it seems like there would be few alternate ways to play the game with regard to utilizing different techsVery addictive game. Some of the minor issues are very unforgiving system if you start failing to provide for your colonists you rarely get them back, forcing you to restart from an earlier save point. It also feels like the tech tree is too short. While the game is still very playable it seems like there would be few alternate ways to play the game with regard to utilizing different techs to help the base growth. All in all though an excellent and playable game.… Expand
  5. HandsomeHank
    Dec 14, 2015
    2
    The game's "difficulty" comes entirely from stupid AI. How do you overcome the stupid AI? By micro-managing every aspect of your base. Getting colonists to operate the machines that they need to in order to survive is more like playing a tooth-pulling dental simulator than anything approaching the word fun. It has potential, if the devs can make the colonists at least as smart as say aThe game's "difficulty" comes entirely from stupid AI. How do you overcome the stupid AI? By micro-managing every aspect of your base. Getting colonists to operate the machines that they need to in order to survive is more like playing a tooth-pulling dental simulator than anything approaching the word fun. It has potential, if the devs can make the colonists at least as smart as say a character from the Sims. The other 50% of the game is pure luck. Watch out for those solar flares.… Expand
  6. harney
    Oct 21, 2015
    9
    A great and extremely addictive game (more addictive than crack and cheaper too)....My 1st binge lasted 37 hours non stop well only pausing to eat and the toilet.....

    Yes the A.I is a little strange and could do with more tech ect but they keep on updating the game been an update every day since release ...lets hope there is more content to be added would be great ....
  7. RockJB
    Oct 18, 2015
    9
    Great city building game, in space! The game is, overall, well polished and good looking. That's not to say it doesn't have its problems, but they're nothing too big.

    The bad side is that the AI requires a bit of time to get used to and the game just feels too short (the 350 pop. achievement is pretty much your "the game ends here" screen, since the game doesn't and but there's no way    Great city building game, in space! The game is, overall, well polished and good looking. That's not to say it doesn't have its problems, but they're nothing too big.

    The bad side is that the AI requires a bit of time to get used to and the game just feels too short (the 350 pop. achievement is pretty much your "the game ends here" screen, since the game doesn't and but there's no way to build more things once you get a colony big enough to sustain this many people.

    But that's it. Other than feeling a little bit short (well, there are 3 planets so there is a guaranteed replay value, trust me), there's nothing too bad about it. It's just a legit good small city building game. The visuals look great and the sound is on point, not to mention the well balanced gameplay.

    I have to say I'm hoping it gets patched with more content, maybe *some* mod support down the line, but so far this is definetely a recommended purchase for any management game fan out there!    … Expand
  8. bola
    Nov 2, 2015
    9
    Immensely addictive base building game, with charming graphics and sci-fi theme.

    Although the game-play is mostly intuitive, and the controls are easy to use, there are some pitfalls for first-time players. I recommend you watch a few Let's Play videos before you begin. Don't believe people who say the AI is broken. They don't understand the game logic. The AI responds directly to    Immensely addictive base building game, with charming graphics and sci-fi theme.

    Although the game-play is mostly intuitive, and the controls are easy to use, there are some pitfalls for first-time players. I recommend you watch a few Let's Play videos before you begin.

    Don't believe people who say the AI is broken. They don't understand the game logic. The AI responds directly to your design decisions and resource management. If the AI don't do what you expect, you should investigate. There's likely an imbalance or bottleneck that you've overlooked.    … Expand
  9. Shypwreck
    Apr 16, 2016
    0
    I love games similar to planetside where I can build within a harsh environment and learn how to manage a a challenging environment. Planetside fails horribly. The micromanagement is beyond idiotic. The AI is stupid beyond belief (Oh I am tired so I am not going to get food food or work which will help me and my friends to survive or there is a structure in the way and I cannot go aroundI love games similar to planetside where I can build within a harsh environment and learn how to manage a a challenging environment. Planetside fails horribly. The micromanagement is beyond idiotic. The AI is stupid beyond belief (Oh I am tired so I am not going to get food food or work which will help me and my friends to survive or there is a structure in the way and I cannot go around it... each colonist must have their hand held...ridiculous!) I will not go into details since others players had already done so. But this piss poor excuse of a game needs to be either reworked or finished. I am deleting this game to make space for something more enjoyable.… Expand
  10. Kemchimikemkem
    Jan 9, 2017
    10
    I'm giving this game a ten because it's highly entertaining, exactly what it sets out to be and refreshingly unforgiving. Everything I want or expect in a basic space-colony sim. Everyone complaining about the AI simply played the game incorrectly/made mistakes. If you fail to proportion your production, resources and workers you WILL lose, quickly. If you blindly recruit new colonistsI'm giving this game a ten because it's highly entertaining, exactly what it sets out to be and refreshingly unforgiving. Everything I want or expect in a basic space-colony sim. Everyone complaining about the AI simply played the game incorrectly/made mistakes. If you fail to proportion your production, resources and workers you WILL lose, quickly. If you blindly recruit new colonists without the oxygen/food to support them, you WILL lose. If you fail to build a power buffer for the inevitable downtime. . . Yagonnalose. Save often. But once you get a hand of the mechanics—and a decent supply of bot buddies—it's surprisingly manageable, to the point where I'm looking forward to tackling the more difficult planets (just getting into). Using the hotkeys helps track vital stats.

    Gorgeous graphics. Decent music. Satisfying to see the whole base humming along. Zapping meteors never gets old. Reminiscent of Startopia, an amazing space station sim, though Planetbase has fewer features. Great game. Looking forward to future work from this developer.    … Expand
  11. danskmacabre
    Jul 17, 2016
    9
    Very nicely put together game at a great price (I got it on a Steam sale at $10 USD).

    It's essentially a Mars colony type base resource management game.
    It's complex enough to be interesting, but not so fiddly that it gets boring with minute detail.

    Well worth a purchase, especially at this price.
  12. corwin84
    Mar 2, 2017
    10
    Great game, addictive. Nice atmosphere, music. I didn't have any bugs mentioned by critics. Maybe they were based on early versions, check for updates and patches. Highly recommended for space lovers)
  13. Underswap_Sans
    Feb 22, 2017
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This game is great for people who are patience and likes a excellent challenge. So you land on a non inhabited planet and you must make your colony fast before the 3rd day or else you astronauts would die from dehydration. The games music is not very quality wise good but the visuals inside are beautiful. I hate the constant sandstorms and meteor strikes that keep on hitting your buildings and killing your astronauts. Resources if not spent smartly or gained back can really slow your colony's progress a whole ton. it can make you jump for joy or make you scream in anger. It's really well thought out. My most favorite building in the whole game is the Bio dome because it has many uses and it can supply food to your colony which will help a lot with the food problem. I've died a minimum of 10 times from running out of resources or natural disasters also its really toys your emotions if you die. If i had a chance to play this again I would not play it due to its many flaws and how it can really toy with your emotions.… Expand
  14. awesome360
    Feb 22, 2017
    7
    It was fun and interesting. It looked really interesting. I would play it again on different planets on Planetbase. I would put things on high priority if you need it quickly. I enjoyed the music and sound affects. If you don't know a lot of science then it would be good for learning. I enjoyed playing with a partner. I would not play it by myself. I would rate it a 7.
  15. RebelAngels
    Feb 22, 2017
    7
    The game was annoying and confusing, we didn’t know what to do half the time and there weren’t easy ways to figure it out. To make this game better we suggest creating a more detailed handbook to answer any more complicated questions that come up while playing.
    The warm colors were too pastel and the art style was very blocky and basic.
    We wouldn’t play this game again because we didn’t    The game was annoying and confusing, we didn’t know what to do half the time and there weren’t easy ways to figure it out. To make this game better we suggest creating a more detailed handbook to answer any more complicated questions that come up while playing.
    The warm colors were too pastel and the art style was very blocky and basic.
    We wouldn’t play this game again because we didn’t find not knowing what to do half the time fun.
    As for the learning aspect, it gave a basic understanding of what is needed to survive on another planet.
    When it comes to playing with a partner it’s better to bounce ideas off of a partner so they can point out things you would miss if you were playing by yourself.
    Over all we give it a 7 because though we may not have enjoyed playing it the game is well thought out and definitely one of the more accurate simulation games we’ve played.    … Expand
  16. EnkawEnkaw
    Apr 9, 2019
    6
    Short Reviews!
    The good:
    - addictive gameplay
    - relaxing
    - mods
    The bad:
    - lack of content
    - repetitive
    - graphic

    Summary: Nice little game, but because of lack of content only worth to buy with discount. Also you can really get bored with long sessions.
  17. RandomDragon
    Feb 4, 2020
    8
    A nice take on developing a small colony on Mars. There is no tech tree, and not that many buildings and workers, but somehow they are combined in a way that gives you many options and so we have a game quite easy to learn but still with plenty of strategic decisions. On top of that, the overall atmosphere is lovely.

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
70

Mixed or average reviews - based on 4 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1 out of 4
  2. Mixed: 3 out of 4
  3. Negative: 0 out of 4
  1. IGN Spain
    Feb 16, 2016
    70
    One nice unforgiving game that may have been much better being less difficult and more varied.
    Read full review
  2. Gamer.nl
    Jan 3, 2016
    50
    Planetbase starts off cool, as there are only few sim-builders that kill your characters after you have failed an assignment. It is too bad this game fades out after half an hour, because this really could have been something rather different and awesome.
    Read full review
  3. Post Arcade (National Post)
    Nov 2, 2015
    80
    Planetbase is unforgiving with your citizens only steps away from the void. A solar flare can irradiate your workers, a stray meteor can suck the oxygen out of your habitation pods, and your crops can fail leaving your people to starve.
    Read full review
See all critic reviews »