Recent reviews by Max Damage

This is the only game where I buy DLC immediately without thinking about it, because I can fully trust the software quality and the usefulness of the DLC. Furthermore, the prices are more than fair. It would feel unfair for me to wait for a sale. Unfortunately, this has become very rare in the games industry. Thank you very much!

The cold is an invisible monster, tearing at our skin. Each breath is agony, our lungs burning like fire. We are Duplicants, pawns in a cruel game of survival, stranded on a planet that offers us no mercy. Our clothing, thin and useless, is no protection against the biting cold that freezes us to the bone. A few crumbs of food, brought with us through the portal, are our only solace in this icy hell.

Shivering, we search for a spark of hope in this frozen wasteland. We gather wood, build primitive tools, erect a research station—a beacon of knowledge amidst the darkness. We dream of technologies that will warm us, protect us, give us a chance to escape this frozen nightmare. Perhaps we can find a way to multiply the few food supplies we have left. We plant Sleet Wheat—a desperate attempt to coax sustenance from the frozen soil.

Fear creeps up our spines, a cold shiver that has nothing to do with the temperature. Each step into the unknown darkness could be our last, each plant that fails to grow our death sentence. We explore cautiously, gather resources, always wary of unknown dangers. Research is our only hope, new technologies, new buildings, new ways to cheat death. And maybe, just maybe, a way to produce more food before our last supplies run out.

We store polluted ice in a vacuum, a desperate attempt to prevent the spread of rot. In a desperate bid for warmth, we try to harness the waste heat from our meager machines, hoping to create at least a few pockets of warmth in this frozen wasteland. But even these efforts are just a drop in the bucket. Every day is a race against time, against dwindling supplies, against the cold that slowly but surely wears us down.

A glimmer of hope emerges as we learn to harness CO2, not just to survive, but to thrive. We use this poisonous gas to cultivate new, nutrient-rich plants, a beacon of hope in this desolate landscape. Could this be the turning point in our struggle for survival?

We huddle together, sharing the last crumbs of our brought food, seeking comfort in each other's presence. We tell stories, sing songs, try to forget the stress that gnaws at us from within. We dream of warm beds, hot meals, a time when we will no longer be hungry and shivering.

We plan our base, dream of a future where we are more than just freezing, starving Duplicants fighting for survival. We are Duplicants, pawns in a cruel game. But we are also survivors, explorers, pioneers. We will experiment, find new ways, break the rules to make this frozen planet our home. We will survive, no matter the cost.

And this is just what I've learned from watching YouTube videos about the DLC, and I haven't even started playing yet. 10/10

I can't understand the negative reviews about the game. I think the game is awesome because of the enormous complexity and will surely become even more awesome through numerous patches and DLC over the years.

Accordingly, however, it is not for everyone especially with the current state. For example, you have to be willing to watch youtube videos for hours or experiment for a very long time just to understand the principles and be able to comprehend them. It is especially interesting to save before making important decisions and then go back and act completely differently. The effects of this are sometimes enormous. And if you take a lot of time, you can also understand why certain actions have such an effect. But it is definitely not easy at this time.

Personally, I'm also annoyed by the already frequent criticism that you have to look for a lot of information for many things in many screens together.

Also, some mechanics are neither in the game, somewhere on the net or with experts on youtube properly explained. I almost went insane because I could not stop a migration outflow of a state even after reloading several times and acting differently. Then I discovered a youtube guy who had complained that subsidies do not make sense. After a few experiments of my own with subsidies, I found out that they make sense for migration problems. By subsidizing all the buildings there, you can quickly stop the migration outflow because the standard of living of the pops there then increases again and prevents a state from imploding. So I could finally solve this problem in an unexpected way.

But exactly these problems will surely soon be a thing of the past through patches and with better documentation by persistent players. That's why it can make sense to buy the game only after a few extensive patches and generally some time has passed to find better documentation and tricks for the game. Otherwise, as I said, you can quickly despair. But so far for everything there seems to be a perfect solution.

I feel so sorry for the 2 cool dudes who, especially in Early Access times, made a humorous and terrific video every month about the current state of development and also responded to criticism from the community.
I always looked forward to these videos and eagerly awaited them. This was Early Access as it should be mentioned in schoolbooks.

Now the 2 guys will probably have to spend their millions from Paradox on d**gs and h**kers, to somehow still be able to cope and displace what they have done to their brilliant life's work. You have sold your souls to the devil! But I can understand you. I would probably have taken the money myself first. Because that another studio can mess up a game like that, I would not have thought possible.

After the game was lying around for a long time I thought I can buy all the addons and enjoy the game with more features. By now all the bugs should be fixed and those who complain about bugs have no idea how the game works.

So I thought!

I have raised a completely new and own prison. So it can't be due to outdated savegames that like to trigger bugs. Also, my previous playing time should make it more than clear that I know how to handle this game properly. Unfortunately, I was shocked to find that the game has more bugs than in Early Access times!

General bugs like assigning certain rooms to multiple security levels hasn't worked correctly for years. No fix until today.
Especially annoying is that dead tunnels exist under the ground, which are constantly noticed by dogs but can not be solved. Even if I tear down all the toilets.
Even if I manually remove all tunnels directly on the savegame with a text editor, the problem reappears after some time. WTF! Not to mention all the other stuff. This has been documented in detail long enough all over the forums!

@paradox
At least make an early access for the DLC's if you can't do better. Thanks a lot! Sadly, however, there doesn't even seem to be any interest in it. Milking the cow until it's dead. Welcome to capitalism!

Leider war bei mir schon nach nur 8 Stunden Spielzeit die Luft raus. In dieser Zeit hat es zwar tierisch Spaß gemacht, aber dafür sind 20 € zu teuer. Allerdings bin ich auch ein erfahrener Simulationsspieler. Andere haben wahrscheinlich länger Spaß.

- Wenn man auf dem Standard-Schwierigkeitsgrad die Mechaniken erkannt hat, schwimmt man schnell im Geld.
- Das Verlegen von bis zu 5 unterschiedlichen Leitungen für jedes Stockwerk wird dann nervig.
- Am Aufzug gibt es niemals Stau und die Passagiere sind SOFORT im passenden Stockwerk. Einstellungen kann man an den Aufzügen ebenfalls nicht vornehmen. Hätte dieses Feature nicht gefehlt, wäre es für mich wahrscheinlich noch der Daumen nach oben gewesen. Denn:
- Dadurch spielen die Entfernungen zu Serviceeinrichtungen keine Rolle.
- Man muss bei der Platzierung lediglich auf Lärm, Besucherstrom und Gerüche achten.
- Aufgrund der anderen Mängel hat man aber eh genug Platz, wenn man nicht fanatisch jeden freien Block in jedem Stockwerk ausnutzen will.
- Selbst ein Möbelgeschäft im 50. Stock war bei mir ähnlich gut besucht wie Geschäfte nahe dem Erdgeschoss. Es scheint bei der "Besucherstrom"-Beschwerde also nur darum zu gehen, ob genug potenzielle Käufer IRGENDWO im Gebäude sind.
- So geht es schnell nur noch darum die Bedürfnisse mit Mausklick auf die jeweilige Einrichtung anzuschauen und die passenden Serviceeinrichtungen dafür zu bauen, welche teilweise andere Einrichtungen benötigen.
- Keine Hotelzimmer, Serviceaufzüge, Parkplätze, Rolltreppen, Kinos uvm. Im Vergleich zu Sim Tower.

Wahrscheinlich hätte ich in einem höheren Schwierigkeitsgrad etwas länger Spaß gehabt. Aber da sich die Spielmechanik für mich schnell abgenutzt hat, hatte ich keine Lust nochmal neu zu starten. Deshalb würde ich empfehlen es eher in einem Sale zu kaufen oder auf das 1. DLC zu warten.