Dome Keeper

tl;dr : Fun game but not enough diversity between each run. Get on discount I'm going to be honest - I've got some serious buyers remorse for this game. The premise is simple - you have a dome that you need to protect. You mine resources to build upgrades that help you fend off waves of enemies. There are two modes so far: 1) Relic : You win when you find a specific artifact 2) Prestige : Play until you lose and try to get a high score My problem with this game is that I've played for around 5 hours and I don't feel like there's much else to do. Sure I can try to get a higher score in prestige, but the problem is that the runs are all pretty much the same. I've honestly have no motivation to try again because it's too repetitive. You can change the dome weapon (2 options) and your player (again 2 options) but I personally found the alternatives (Sword Dome and Gravity miner) more tedious than fun/challenging. My rule-of-thumb is that if I get 1 hour of fun for each $ I spent then the game is worth it but I can't see myself playing for another 12 hours - especially since there are so many other indy games that cost less. There's not much else to add - the game is very simple and you can just check some gameplay online. Don't get me wrong - it's not a bad game. But after 5 hours I feel like I've seen everything the game has to offer. I'm not sure if the game is actively being developed, some of the above might change depending on when you read this review. 3.5/5 stars or 4+ depending on discount

The Steam version has more content because it is updated a lot faster. The GOG version is a far behind path wise :(

Conquer alien worlds from the safety and comfort of your own, well, dome! All alone on a distant planet, hunt for an ancient relic buried in its depths, or, for more open-ended gameplay, mine resources to send back home, and maybe even return there- provided you survive. For while you're getting comfy in your tunnels, the timer ticks down until the next and even worse wave of native creatures lays into your fragile homestead up above. So keep an eye on the clock, and strategically convert resources into upgrades to match their increasing forces. The fights are about preparation and strategy rather than reflexes. A run lasts between something like forty minutes and several hours, depending on game mode and map size. Two different domes and two keepers, each with their own upgrade trees, a choice of starting gadgets, and mineable artefacts which add unique features to your setup, make for varied runs, as do different surface environments and colour schemes. Speaking of which, both the pixel art and the music are super nice and atmospheric. Oh, and it plays fine with the keyboard, even if they recommend a gamepad. I bought this after watching (well, dozing off to) dozens of hours of gameplay online, and I still love playing it myself now that it's on GOG. Haven't felt quite as relaxed in a game since Starbound- even as the tight gameplay loop of mining and defending keeps you on your toes and offers plenty of challenge on the higher difficulties. During my first 45-minute run, the game made 80000 connection attempts to api.backendless.com, which feels a bit excessive. Other than that a great, focused, relaxing game I can see myself return to many times.

This game knows exactly what it wants to be and does not get distracted along the way. The devs perfected the core gameplay loop and do not mess with much beside. No story, no dialogue, just pure fun gameplay. The visuals are crisp and fit the tone. Although you have to like pixelart of course. The game lacks a little bit of replayability. In it's current state you have two playable characters and several different dome types to choose from. The characters play very differently but I really haven't figured out the meta game for the second. So I'm stuck with the first a little bit. In addition you can modify your different runs substantially by choosing different upgrades that pop up during gameplay. So thats interesting for everyone who likes to experiment and optimize. This is also where a lot of the difficulty level comes from. Depending on the updgrades you choose the runs can get pretty hard. But after five to six hours the game becomes a little bit repetetive. From what I've heard the devs however have already lined up some pretty cool new content that will drop in the not too distant future. Conclusion: I highly recommend this game. But with less than 10 hours it is a little short for my liking so only four stars from me.