As someone who grew up watching and reading science fiction, the idea of space travel, starships, and other-world colonization always genuinely appealed to me from a young age. It’s why, even today, I gravitate towards space-faring adventures. So, when I got the chance to review Ixion, thanks to developer Bulwark Studios, I leaped at the opportunity. After all, it’s a mixture of many of my favorite things: science fiction, strategy, city builder, and survival elements whipped into a single package.
G&G Note: I was provided a copy of Ixion by the publisher, though this does not affect my experience or review whatsoever.
Early Hours in Ixion
The early game of Ixion is something of a mixed bag. On one hand, I thoroughly enjoy resource management and city building. On the other, Ixion proves more puzzle game than it does anything else, at least for now.
You’re faced with a dilemma. Your space station, the Tiqqun, requires resources and buildings that you have very little space to accommodate. You require food production, a medical facility, housing for your workers, and the usual resource management modules, like storage and delivery services.
But then, on top of that, in your very small starting sector, you’re tasked with constructing oversized facilities that jut out from the side of your space station. On the interior, these facilities require a lot of breathing room.
As such, if you fail to plan ahead—why would you, especially if this is your first time playing—properly, you’ll have to destroy countless constructs to make room. This could leave you without food production, for instance. It’s a tough spot to put a new player in at the beginning.
Story and Lore
I’m a sucker for a good science-fiction story, and I absolutely adore a ton of lore in my video games.
Ixion provides both. It does well in this department, I feel. It’s not a unique science fiction tale, of course, but what is these days?
A company with seemingly the best intentions wants to help push mankind into the future by exploring other star systems and mining for resources while providing colonization opportunities. It’s a genuinely noble adventure. But things go wrong. I won’t spoil anything, but your trip causes more calamity than it resolves.
We’re then tasked with piecing together precisely what went wrong, fixing the mistakes made, and looking forward to a new dawn. Overall, it’s a bit of a trope in the genre, but it’s done well here with finely crafted art and exquisite in-game details.
Main Gripes
Along with the puzzle-like nature of construction, which I previously discussed, I stumbled upon very few other main gripes in Ixion. Overall, I have to be honest, it’s a polished experience. Is it for everyone? No. And that’s okay!
I’ve witnessed other players comparing Ixion to Frostpunk. I think that’s a fair comparison, to an extent. Frostpunk is meant to be a survival city builder with an unforgiving nature and complex problem-solving. Ixion, while yes, a survival city-building game, doesn’t offer the same complexity or fair-yet-tough difficulty. Instead, the difficulty here feels arbitrary and overly punishing for seemingly no reason.
In any case, my primary gripe with the game comes in the form of the trust meter. I understand that, from a lore perspective, it makes sense. You’re humanity’s last hope, and your crew must have faith in your leadership abilities.
But damn, I don’t want to micromanage their feelings while building a space station colony. I want to enjoy my time mining and constructing new facilities without upsetting every individual because of decisions I have almost no control over.
Do I Recommend Ixion?
I can safely recommend Ixion with a few caveats. First and foremost, you have to be a fan of the semi-difficulty city-building genre. If you enjoy games like Frostpunk, then yes, chances are you’ll enjoy your time with Ixion. It’s easy to dump 40 or 50 hours into the game.
If you’re new to the genre or only somewhat dabble in strategy games as a whole, I don’t think you’ll have as enjoyable a time.