Back in 2021RocketWerkz released the PVE-titled game, ICARUS, on PC. Now, the game has landed on consoles in ICARUS: Console Edition. Let’s take a look at it.
ICARUS is a Player versus Environment game where players play solo or multiplayer (up to 8 players), land on a planet that’s been recently terriformed, and must team up or compete against each other for survival against a hostile world.
Now. Onto the game itself. When it comes to the controls for ICARUS: Console Edition, you can tell right off the bat that this game was meant for PC, and an attempt was made to port it to consoles. At times, the UI and menu don’t cooperate with commands; sometimes you can scroll through items, sometimes you can’t.
When it comes to the sound/soundtrack, a lot is going on soundwise, which makes it difficult to tell if it’s just ambient sound effects or if there is an animal around. The soundtrack is limited and comes up once in a while as you play. I’ve also noticed some sync issues.
Gameplay-wise, I’ll admit, the game is fun with harvesting resources, crafting items, and building. As you create and harvest, you earn points that unlock skill and building points, where you can learn how to create more advanced items to help you survive. The only thing is, it requires hours of grinding to reach higher skill tiers, don’t let the trailers fool you, all that stuff they show with guns and cool tools are a late game items, you really REALLY have to grind for hours or multiple play sessions.
Overall, ICARUS: Console Edition is, at best, OK. It’s not amazing, and it’s not bad. It’s a PVE clone of other games like Rust and Minecraft, but it could really use a more relaxing mode, where you won’t die from lack of air, water, or food, so you don’t feel rushed, because even the more “Free” modes on easy are a challenge. It’s hard to dislike this game, but at the same time, there are things about it that make it unlikable and potentially forgettable when the next PVE game comes out. On my scale of 1-10, because of control issues, difficult to read UI, panic-inducing difficulty on easy modes, unresponsive changes to settings, lack of tutorial, and being another PVE game with nothing new, ICARUS: Console Edition is a 6/10.
ICARUS: Console Edition lands on March 26th, for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S.
