Residual

Residual is a comprehensive survival experience that fans of the genre will absolutely adore. Exploring the procedurally generated planets feels a bit daunting at first, but when the game opens up and starts dishing out essential resources, it becomes a lot more manageable. There are a few teething issues that we hope will be ironed out in time, like the confusing inventory UI, overly frequent need to eat/sleep, and the slightly dodgy navigation controls, but overall Residual is a fun, engaging 2D survival game that can sit proud alongside genre heavies like Minecraft and Don’t Starve.

The biggest setback for Residual is the limited crafting menu and lack of base building. While the primary goal of the game is to repair the ship and leave the alien planet, players are limited to sleeping in their small, broken-down spacecraft. There is also no way to build homes or other buildings, which is a driving mechanic in most survival genre games. These struggles are compounded by a limited, basic crafting menu that can be accessed alongside the inventory. While things like ladders, batteries, campfires, and fishing rods can be built, the menu lacks the more complex progression of tool upgrades and object building present in similar survival titles.

Orangepixel’s title might best be appreciated by casual fans of the genre looking for a solid (but mostly vanilla) crafting and resource-gathering experience that doesn’t include combat. Personally, I didn’t find much value in scouring for materials the same way a hundred other crafting games do, and the odd controls, murky UI and rough graphics don’t do it any favors, either. There are better choices in the genre.