I’d like to thank the developers of Icarus.

I was looking for a survival game with an open world that truly challenges the player.
As an adult, I don’t have endless hours to spend grinding — which is unfortunately the norm in this kind of games. The sense of progression and character development in Icarus is a masterpiece.
The fact that the game offers a skill tree providing meaningful support for a solo players is something truly special. It’s not overcomplicated, rather subtle and perfectly balanced.
You don’t suddenly become a superhero, but you do feel well and fair treated if you play solo.

The atmosphere of the world is outstanding.
That first dusk on the planet, the distant sounds, the whispering wind, and the echoes of unknown creatures - all of it creates a powerful sense of isolation. You genuinely feel surrounded by something unknown and unpredictable.

The planet doesn’t make survival easy — the environment is harsh, and the wildlife can be hostile.
Get too close, and you’ll be attacked. Yet those same creatures can also be tamed, becoming your companions as you venture farther from the safety of your base.

From a crouched, frightened survivor clutching a wooden spear, you evolve into an explorer whom planning, logistics, and resource management become essential.

The lore and the world itself form a cohesive whole — every anomaly and strange occurrence simply fits.

It’s a wonderful adventure that can fill many evenings.

Once again, a big thank you to the developers. I wholeheartedly recommend Icarus to anyone seeking an open-world survival experience that is unpredictable, genuinely challenging, yet ultimately fulfilling and rewarding.

Icarus or Sticky Rice as it been affectionately know in my gaming circles, finally redeemed it's self. I had a major issue at about the 500hr mark when I missed logging in over 2 critical updates that killed it for me and lost the save. I've recently picked it up again and another 300+hrs sunk into it. There's been a lot of improvements and changes since launch. I'm enjoying the multiplayer experience with a few friends. Stupidity and complacency are the main killers, but at least the new players done experience the real time mission clock to perma-death anymore. The rescue call out in the official discord is more than a life saver for those playing hardcore mode (used a few times and returned the favour).

Get lost in the art of bear jousting, build pretty things...
Another game that will suck hours away.

On a personal note:
I would like to see potted house plants available in crafting.
DLCs to be either cheaper or discounted more often.

Final though... Things burn. People, trees, foliage, animals... it all burns (talking to you unnamed fire bug hmmm)...

ICARUS is a very weird lil' game.
On one hand you have a somewhat complex skill-tree and tech-tree, with roughly a bit more than a dozen different materials you can mine and use but the longer one plays, the faster one realizes that the game's very, very shallow.

There are weird bugs, questionable design choices, a wonky multiplayer but most critical, there's no real sense of progression.

+ The open-world is really big. It contains a couple of biomes and they are interconnected via pathways, tunnels, etc.
+ The setting is very interesting, being a prospector on a hostile planet on which the air is toxic.
+ Building is snappy and quite easy to do.
+ Tools and weapons have a clear use but can be used outside of it as well (for example as a weapon).
+ Some graphics, especially for the animals, are quite well-done.

Hoo boy, where to begin...

-- The Multiplayer is glitchy. From fires that continue to burn to weird animation for downed players.
--- There is no sense of progression in the game. You can stay in your starting biome and farm XP till you are max-level and build then build your base. There's no real need to travel, there's no challenge to overcome to unlock the next tier. It's blunt and boring farming.
--- A good part of the game (which might give some sense of progression or danger) is locked behind DLCs that cost over €100+. I don't mind DLCs if they are substantial and are build on top of an already well-made game but ICARUS is not a well-made game and the content of the DLCs is sometimes a bad joke. There are developers who bring out better content updates for free.
-- Animals just feel... artificial? You find all sorts of animals all over a biome and there are no nests, no territorial behaviour, no nothing. They just spawn in and exist and don't feel like part of the ecosystem but just to be a farm for easy food and XP.
-- I honestly don't understand why we have such a massive skill-tree. Are we meant to play the game it with others? Does it try to cater to different playstyles? I don't fully know because some skills are so niche that you get the feel you need others to be as efficient as possible.
-- The world despite its size, is very bland. It's no fun to discover the 6th cave (that are hidden actually quite well) with a device that is pretty much pointless to figure out where caves are when you simply can look 'em up on the internet. There's just no sense of discovery
-- Survival is easy as cake. There's no challenge anymore during the mid-game. Storms don't feel threatening when it comes to ones base nor person, especially as exploration isn't necessary. Managing oxygen, water and hunger is very easy and even the different debuffs aren't really challenging and remind me strongly of Empyrion Galactic Survival's debuffs.
- The quests and missions just create an appeal, I've tried the first and got bored of it. The rewards and the workshop system feel rather pointless as well. Why would I want a knife, armour, bow, that I cannot easily repair if I can simply craft one out of natural resources, can repair it and have the same effect?


ICARUS is a survival game that tries to put the player into the shoes of a prospector, doing missions or just roaming around in the open-world, trying to survive. But the core-gameplay is so lacking with no real danger, with no real struggle. While the early-game still shines with the possibilities what one can do, what one has to do to survive, those needs are swiftly met and one simply wonders what is there to do. Exploration is unsatisfying, you find the same resources, fight identical animals and worms, endure the storms that just have another flavour. The tech-tree and skills are locked behind levels that you gain by murdering the fauna and flora, nothing crucial is really tied to exploration as the world is, in fact, empty.
After nearly 18 hours of gameplay I've had my fill of ICARUS and cannot recommend it to anyone seeking a survival experience.

Icarus is one of the best survival games out there. Weekly updates from the devs mean that the base price of the game is a bargain - you're not just paying for the game, you're paying for new content EVERY SINGLE WEEK.

While many survival games have you coasting and lacking in motivation to play once you reach a certain level, the missions on Icarus give you a reason to keep coming back. Great Hunts is an excellent DLC that really expands the game and is well worth the price considering how many hours of enjoyment I'll get out of completing the three mini-campaigns it introduces.

Those complaining about the price of DLCs or the lack of content in the base game compared to what's included in the DLCs should probably do some quick maths to see if the cost of the DLC is worth the amount of hours you get out of them - personally I'm looking at about 25p per hour, which is a hell of a lot cheaper than a trip down the pub!

Great open world survival game. You can build your base, green house, connect electric devices all around the map with incredibly short but infinite and free power cables (LOL), fight world bosses, complete missions, and also not play open world and do just deploy and extraction missions.

Also there is kinda big (not really complex like in PoE) talent tree which feels like the good old WotLK where talents sometimes ment something and sometimes they were just +5something, well it is good balanced overall in my opinion. Some stronger, some general, but it helps in the end.

Also there is Tech tree and each and every piece of equipment and building you have to unlock.
For every action (missions) you get orbital currency REN and can buy some niche things to help you during your journey. It does really helps and is fun to unlock (research) and buy.

Can reccomend for everyone who likes open world games or extraction games. I cannnot believe it I found it just a few weeks ago.

I am finally max level 60 and killed some world bosses but I still have so much things to do. Also when I finish with base campaign, I will for sure buy New Frontier DLC and start/continue there, then buy and do some Great hunts, and then maybe Styx?

I bought the game for full price and would do it again, absolutely zero regrets (made way worse purchases in the past), maybe I will buy even some DLCs for full price to support devs (even when you can grab it during the sales for 60 or 80% off), it is (for me) just that good and well worth it.

Well, better got to it again. xD