Arctico

When I saw this game initially, I thought this game would be really fun. It looked similar to astroneer which is one of my favorite games on steam. But after playing for about half an hour I was trying to get into it but it was just boring. I didn't know what to do and nothing really peaked my interest to go explore. Now since I only have .4 hours there could be a great game down the line, but from what I experienced the game seems pretty boring. The art style and music is nice and the game is pretty cheap. Wouldn't recommend but could be worth trying if on sale.

I would not recommend this game due to its extremely slow pace. I had fun in the beginning, thinking it was some sort of story game, searching throughout the map and finding small notes. However, there is no story, plot, or ANY sort of interactive campaign in the game. I would only play this game again if they significantly made the progression easier. I've played this game for 3 hours and I've only gotten 3 buildings. Each building quite literally has no purpose. The game has potential but as of now its extremely boring and not interactive.

This game, as many others have said, has a BOATLOAD of missed potential. The game would be very good if it was only a building game, or only a story game. It fails to mash these two genres together in a way that is just entirely frustrating to play through.

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First up, I want to talk about the building system. It seems really half-baked and needs a ton of work as you can't build most basic components when you first start, which the game uses in an actual good attempt to encourage exploration and make sure that the player actually sees everything that the devs added. HOWEVER, in doing this and with how it's implemented, it basically means that until you go to LITERALLY EVERYWHERE to find most of the blueprints, there are a ton of items and buildings that are just LOCKED with no way of even tracking where the blueprint could be, "just go find it!".

The most egregious part of finding these blueprints is that the locations that they're tied to most of the time MAKE NO SENSE WHATSOEVER! Allow me to point some of these out:

- The first telescope blueprint makes sense because the building has a (broken) telescope on it, however on a building that is LITERALLY AN OBSERVATORY WITH A WORKING TELESCOPE, there's nothing except for 2 notes on the floor.
- There are a TON of windmills around the map, surely there's the blueprint for a windmill at ONE of them right? nope. literally not there.
- Oh hey, I found a crashed plane, there's a few of these around. Surely I can use my brain to figure out how the plane works by literally looking at one... NOPE, glider blueprints are spread around RANDOM buildings that don't have ANYTHING TO DO with planes.

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Now I want to talk about the story. It feels insanely forced and just shoved into wherever they wanted to put a note. As the frustration was building up wandering aimlessly around the map going from location to location trying to find ANY semblance of a blueprint, the one thing I kept finding INSTEAD were random notes that had almost nothing to do with the overall story. The game never explains if these notes are all from the same person or not, and a lot of the notes seem to contradict each other if they are supposed to be from the same person.

I normally adore stories in games like this as it feels like you're uncovering the truth and figuring out what happened (which is literally what it says in the opening of the game as what you're supposed to be doing btw) However with how shoved in the notes are, and how pretentious most of them come across, and the added bonus of finding NOTES instead of the BLUEPRINTS that you need TO PROGRESS, It all culminates into an insanely frustrating slog of a game.

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If this game was JUST a building game, It could've been great. You could've been tasked with picking up where the old researcher left off. You could have inherited the lab as a starting base and used the resources on the island to grow out and expand. You still could've had blueprints as a way to motivate exploration, but without making them NECESSARY! There could have been an ancient civilization or alien crash sites or something that had way more advanced technology that you could find and use as SHORTCUTS, skipping the progression needed to unlock said part. In terms of progression to skip, the player could use the research samples and data to unlock new parts in a tech tree. There should ALWAYS ALWAYS be multiple routes to take, ESPECIALLY in a sandbox game.

If this game was JUST a story game, It could've been great. You could have started on the coast and your task is to find out why the researcher stopped sending distress signals or something. And the ENTIRE GAME could have just been managing the dogs, surviving the cold, and finding notes that were left behind like a trail of bread crumbs. Once in a while, through the snow storms, you would come across a structure and actually be EXCITED because it means you're on the right path and you get more info on what happened. The game would end when you get to the researcher's lab where there could be a big twist or something. Overall, a short, satisfying, enticing experience of a game.


It should not have been both.

This game is important. There's very few games out there that create the same experience this game creates. If you can spare just a few dollars to play this, I highly recommend it :-]

This game is what i have been looking for. A game about exploration with no real threat. No Zombies, No mythical creatures at every corner just you your dogs in a vast area.

I just wish for a few things. I would love for more things to be added. It would be amazing to add more animals. Bears , Wolfs , Deer , Elks all types of species to liven the world.

And a expansion on the buildings we have in.

All in all. A great game i would 100% recommend!

Nice game, 6/10.

Very peaceful, no rush, and trekking around is rather interesting.
But it has some performance issues, I have a very good computer, but adding 2 or 3 buildings along few props, it occasionally, but regularly, freezes for few seconds, it's unbearable to the point you cannot really enjoy in building something complex.

Well worth it for the price though.

I played Artico with a friend of mine online and we had fun playing it. We both bought it when it was 80% discounted and for that price it was well worth the purchase. We had fun playing it together for about 7 hours and found almost everything that there was to find, and the exploration component of the game was what kept us playing. There is potential for this game to get even better, potentially by adding more survival components, such as potential environmental hazards like blizzards, polar bears or frost damage, but this would depend on how the developers what to grow and change the game. I will follow them to see any future updates and maybe play it again once new things are added to the game. So far, if you buy it at a discount, it is definitely worth it and fun to play!

Arctico feels like the lifeless, uninspired cousin of The Red Lantern—a game that strips away the emotional depth, engaging narrative, and tense survival mechanics, leaving behind a repetitive, hollow experience.

At first glance, Arctico promises a serene, open-world survival adventure in an icy tundra, but the reality is a game that quickly becomes monotonous. There’s no real sense of purpose—just endless resource gathering and base expansion, all of which lack meaningful stakes. Unlike The Red Lantern, which weaves an emotionally charged survival story through its gripping roguelike gameplay, Arctico throws the player into a sandbox with little motivation to keep going. The lack of a compelling narrative or even dynamic survival challenges makes the experience feel more like busywork than an actual adventure.

The sled-dog mechanic, which should be one of the game’s most exciting aspects, is disappointingly shallow. While The Red Lantern turns dog sledding into a core survival challenge filled with random events, tough decisions, and emotional connections with your canine companions, Arctico reduces it to a simple means of transportation with no real engagement. The world itself, though expansive, feels barren—there’s little to discover, no real threats to overcome, and no sense of progress beyond upgrading a base that never truly feels necessary.

Visually, the minimalist art style might appeal to some, but it ultimately contributes to the game’s lack of personality. The environments feel repetitive, and the absence of detailed animations or environmental storytelling makes the world feel empty rather than immersive. Even the music, while somewhat relaxing, doesn’t do much to elevate the experience beyond a dull grind.

Overall, Arctico is a survival game without the actual sense of survival. It lacks the tension, challenge, and emotional depth that make The Red Lantern so compelling. If you’re looking for a survival experience that actually feels meaningful, you’re better off playing something else.

nice and cozy game
really chill and relaxed

it's very glitchy, and the technological part to get enough resources to fix a certain mechnism is a bit boring/uninteresting

but exploring the whole world was really fun! and i can see the potentional of this game, still a long way to go tho

Very good relaxing game, 2.5 hours in and it's fun so far. I just recently had to clean install windows again so when I booted up my game there was no saved load... you guys need to have the save data upload to the cloud, if I was any further I don't know that I would have played the game again

I think this game is super chill, which is great, however if you are looking for a game with something past the shallow surface, you will have a tough time. The notes were good.
If this game gets updated itll probably be pretty good.
5.0 out of 10

nice little coop game to play with friends. not a very long gameplay but an enjoyable one. well worth the money this game has potential

Although, i have only played a small amount, it is a relaxing game. The game does not have much to do so if you want a game jam packed with various things to do, it would not be a game you would like/enjoy but it's simple tasks and what little extra content there is makes for a surprisingly enjoyable and relaxing experience with the simple abidance and relaxing soundtrack.
I would not recommend buying it at full price but buying it on sale, I got for £1.59 on sale.

Overall, a relaxing game, simple, not much past the collecting materials and reading notes and finding blueprints and the game is not a game for those who would want a large amount of content or variety. Despite its flaws, I have enjoyed what time I have spent playing as it was a relaxing experience.

This is nothing but a shell of a game. I was really excited for the Dogs! But found myself leaving them behind more often than not because walking was just better. Which was so sad. The ui is unorganised, and the core game loop is bland and needlessly repetitive unfortunately. But it is cute. Cute graphics and cute dogs :) You get to name them, but co-op players don't get to name theirs.

This game isn't too long, however what it lacks in length it makes up for in the visuals. the visuals in the game are incredible, from the sky to the water it all look really good, the only this that really need fixing are some small bugs here and there and the moving animations which don't quite look right at times. I would recommend this if your playing with a friend.

with a friend this game changes vastly, exploring the far lands of ice and uncovering structures and lost scripts, yeah it doesn't have a lot to offer but it does have a lot for a game made by 2 people, the simplicity of it makes the cold island a lot better, i recommend this as a game with friends it would be boring by yourself. (it was only $2 when i bought it)

Fun game but is exploitable later due to being able to sleep during the day. Infinite hardware and money. I know this isn't a tryhard game but it would benefit from not being able to sleep during the day.

This game could be great. Please make the dogs move even a little bit faster. Maybe third person? It's close to being a great game but feels clunky. The atmosphere and soundscape are beautiful. It's worth it if you can get it on sale but not for full price. I could see 13 dollars being real if the dogs moved a bit.

This game is absolutly amazing, it's like astroneer but in the antartic.

This game on sale was not really worth it, I played it with a friend and it was kinda uninteresting and they wasn't a clear objective so the gameplay was bland and boring. ;)

Nice game for the sale price, im enjoying it.
Lovely atmosphere, pretty chill.

I wouldn't think its worth the original £7.99 as I got it for £1.59 and really enjoying it! It's a very calming game to play when tired / ill. The mechanics are a bit glitchy sometimes but thats as expected. The soundtrack is very good though and it adds a really nice atmopshere. Would recommend :)

Arctico is a game that promises a relaxing experience but ultimately falls short. While the soothing music and chill vibes create a calm atmosphere, the gameplay feels underwhelming and repetitive. Despite the peaceful setting, there’s little to keep you engaged for long stretches. The exploration elements do offer some charm, with delightful little notes scattered around that add a touch of personality to the world. However, these moments aren’t enough to elevate the overall experience. If you're in the mood for something low-key, it might be worth a try, but don’t expect anything groundbreaking.

Arctico is a peaceful survival and exploration game that thrives on its relaxing atmosphere. The soothing music and serene, icy landscapes create a calming experience, making it perfect for players looking to unwind. However, the game falls short in terms of depth. While exploration is enjoyable, there’s a noticeable lack of engaging activities, leaving the world feeling somewhat empty. Additionally, the environment, though initially beautiful, lacks detail and variety, making extended play sessions feel repetitive. Overall, Arctico is a pleasant but shallow experience, best suited for those who enjoy a slow-paced, meditative adventure.

I almost don't recommend but I have enjoyed this game today. There is definitely room for optimisation and polishing for example: I was having an fps stuttering issue but managed to fix it by turning off ambient occlusion... mostly. There's no loading screens except for one cave but there is a short black screen when getting on and off the sled and boat. Some might not be bothered by it but I find it breaks immersion. There are some invisible walls around the map also. If the devs spent a few weeks testing and fixing above issues, then they could probably sell for more then $3 as the game is quite addictive. I bought it today and played 7 hours straight, there's lots of cool things to discover and the progression and base building is satisfying.

The game has really good potential, but I cant recommend it for any co-op experience.
When people join, there is a chance their dogs get stuck in the air forcing the host to reset the lobby. When trying to restart the lobby, the host gets an infinite loading screen.
Also got soft locked when someone built something while another player was looking in that same menu.
The game is chill and everything is really charming, but its just frustrating to constantly deal with soft locks.

Peaceful game, pretty fun but a bit confusing to start

fun for 2$ , needs a substantial amount of work.

Beautiful scenery, and nice calming music and gameplay. I love the adventure of finding new wreckage around the map. All of this with your doggos. Plus you can name them 10/10!

Worth it at the discounted $2!

If you’re looking for the ultimate cozy survival crafting game,even tho the survival part isn't that challanging, and perhaps that's what's so beatiful about this game, anyway, this one is an absolute gem. From the moment you step into its beautifully designed winter-themed world, it wraps you in a blanket of charm, atmosphere, and rewarding gameplay.

The game perfectly balances survival mechanics with a relaxing, almost therapeutic experience. Gathering resources, building your shelter, and crafting tools all feel intuitive and satisfying, making every session enjoyable. It’s a game where you can lose hours just immersing yourself in its world, watching the snowfall as you go out fishing or exploring. Exploration is where the game truly shines. The world is not just a backdrop, it’s a beautifully crafted landscape and the messages you can find are truly poetic, sad and happy at the same time i would say, like bittersweet. Also Mining, in particular, is a joy, can't say much about it, really basic stuff, but i would say really lovely at the same time.

What truly sets it apart is how insanely cozy it feels. Everything, from the cozy and relaxing lo-fi music to the gentle ambient sounds of snowfall and soft lighting, contributes to an atmosphere that makes you want to stay forever. It’s a rare blend of survival and comfort, making it worth every penny.

The only small improvement I’d love to see is a better use of water resources—making them more relevant and impactful in gameplay. But beyond that, this game is a masterpiece in its genre. If you love survival crafting games and crave something that feels warm and welcoming despite the cold setting, this game is awesome. :steamthumbsup: , :steamthumbsup: , :steamthumbsup:

Arctico has a simple but enjoyable game loop set in a picturesque location. It also has a lot more content since I've last played, which I am excited to try out.

Fun at first and then it's boring

Not much to explore
Not many things we could do

If i'm playing it solo, i would only last for an hour
It's getting boring easily

But i like the visual

firstly i got this on sale for less than 5€, and i like it

it's chill, there isn't much to do at this point in development but it is very cozy to ride around, explore the islands, and pet the dogs :3

beyond that it seems to be in active development by someone who is very able to make a stable and functional game, so that's good ^-^

Empty, devoid of any purpose or direction, just doesn't work as a videogame in general.

Then you join your friend, the game changes day/night every 3-4 seconds. Really annoying and it's the same vice-versa.
Another fun thing, while being the HOST, both of us got 200+ ping??? Even the HOST???
Paid $2 for this, wouldn't play it for free.

Great chill game, even better with friends.

Pretty good relaxing game. It have a solid and well-done foundation of mechanics and systems. However, it do feels like Beta version instead of a full release.

Exploration feels nice with readable notes mostly containing philosophical thoughts on humanity exploration of surrounding environment.

Building controls and system overall require a good revisit, cause in current state building in multiple floors as well as building inside houses is a giant pain.

Sound is probably the main issue for me, because due to no settings for sound I found out about music existence only by the time I almost finished the game. Which was caused by it very low volume by default, that made me go through exploration in silence for the most parts.

So, in the end I can say that game feels like it not in a final state. I still will recommend it, because I did spend my time well for it cost, but I was picking it during -80% sales. Otherwise I would probably suggest to wait for more content and QoL to be added, if such even planned.

Very serene and calming so fari :D

I last played this game in 2016. When I bought it, it was about surviving in the arctic climate and upgrading various buildings in your village.

Looking at it now, it's painfully obvious that the game I bought is not around

This game could be fun but needs to be optimized and polished BADLY. I played this co-op with two of my friends. For whatever reason, when the players who were not the host used any fish/seeds, it would change the amount of fish/seeds the host had. So, if the two non-host players gave each other fish over and over the host's fish count will increase infinitely. We could then sell the fish and get infinite money. So like 60% of the game play became completely irrelevant since we no longer needed samples for money or ore for hardware. The tutorial is only displayed for the host, no one else. There are several parts of the game the tutorial doesn't explain, such as crops and upgrading the dome. When we did upgrade the dome, it completely broke the system for me & while the dome was green and had vines for my friends it was just a normal dome in my game & I became completely unable to access the terminal to upgrade domes. There is literally no need to feed your dogs anything other than water as water replenishes their energy and is an infinite resource. At some point during the play through my game bugged and my hunger stopped dropping, so I never had to eat. We had a fun time playing, but not because the game was good. We pretty much spent the entire time laughing at how broken everything was. I would NOT spend more than $2 on this game, as you *might* be able to play it for two hours before getting bored. Considering the fact that the game is this broken and it's been out for two years, I wouldn't hold your breath for updates & would probably just skip this one. It is absolutely NOT worth $10.

TL/DR: Game is incredibly buggy and broken (at least in co-op mode). Fish stonks.

4 часа чистейшего кайфа и снега

no fun
2€ too much
chill game but boring
3/10

Arctico (v2.3)

Arctico — это игра про выживание в ледяной пустоши, среди остатков былых экспедиций и жизней

По сюжету, вас отправляют в экспедицию, дабы вернуть утерянные чертежи и записи. Поэтому, в ходе вашего прохождения, вы будете собирать ресурсы, строить различные станки и добывать информацию. А чтобы не заскучать, в игре есть система сытости для вас и вашей собачьей упряжки.

Геймплейно — игра очень приятная и расслабляющая, благодаря отсутствию агрессивной среды. Правда есть небольшие замечания:
• Местами кривой перевод (Не критично, играл по итогу на Англ.)
• Есть душная часть с созданием Глайдера, уж больно много на него нужно ресурсов, хотя цель миссии может быть выполнена и без него, и намного раньше, чем вы его сделаете
• При перемещении по миру и "точкам интереса", иногда застреваешь в текстурах
• Нет возможности регулировки громкости(
• Иногда персонаж может сам прекратить действие (копание, подзорную трубу) и из-за это бывают неудобства (Подзорная труба, вообще может оставить эффект приближения, а интерфейс не отобразится правильно)
• Есть проблемы с оптимизацией, падение Fps с 140 до 50
• Малое разнообразие геймплея

Часть для разработчиков:
• Пожалуйста добавьте часть острова, куда можно добраться только на Глайдере, и снизьте его стоимость

Спасибо за хорошую игру и успехов!

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Arctico is a game about survival in an icy wasteland, among the remains of past expeditions and lives

According to the plot, you are sent on an expedition to return lost drawings and records. Therefore, during your passage, you will collect resources, build various machines and obtain information. And to avoid getting bored, the game has a satiety system for you and your dog sled.

Gameplay - the game is very pleasant and relaxing, due to the lack of an aggressive environment. True, there are some small comments:
• The translation is crooked in places (Not critical, I ended up playing in English.)
• There is a stuffy part with creating a Glider, it requires too many resources, although the mission goal can be completed without it, and much earlier than you make it
• When moving around the world and "points of interest", sometimes you get stuck in textures
• There is no way to adjust the volume (
• Sometimes the character can stop the action himself (digging, spyglass) and because of this there are inconveniences (Spyglass, in general, can leave the zoom effect, and the interface will not display correctly)
• There are problems with optimization, Fps drop from 140 to 50
• Little variety of gameplay

Part for the developers:
• Please add a part of the island that can only be reached by Glider, and reduce its cost

Thanks for a good game and good luck!

i love co-op games so im recommending this just for that, but the game does lack a lot and is buggy but very atmospheric and nice art

Great relaxing game. No press, no stress, just a player and vast arctic desert. Very calming experience.

An interesting little proof of concept game. The art style and graphics are pretty cute, and some of the landscape shots, especially at night, can look very beautiful. The music is nice and soothing, and it is generally a pretty chill game to play.

However, I found that I could not play it for long. To summarise the review below: this game is extremely boring.

As I mentioned above, this game feels like more of a proof of concept, more of an Early Access game, than anything actually finished. When you go to sleep, almost everything respawns. There is no shortage of resources whatsoever, which takes this game from a chill survival crafting game, to a very boring crafting game. There really is no survival here. You do not get cold, if your sled goes into the water you teleport home with no consequences, if you get too far and don't want to waste time going back, just hit the teleport home button. You just go around digging resources out of the ground, collect energy, build your base further, and collect and sell technology for money for... I don't even know what purpose. A sort of scoreboard perhaps after you use it for all the upgrades you want/need?

What I am trying to say is that this game gets very boring very fast. There are no stakes. You do not need to go out further and further and further, and expand your base, to complete the core concept of this game. You can travel in a little circle. Leave the base, catch fish, dig ore, dig crystals, dig samples, return to base, collect energy, turn the samples into data, turn the ore and crystals into hardware, sell the data, use the hardware to build more energy collectors, and repeat.

If this game wants to actually be a game, it needs to have some sort of setting that allows you to get out of this boring mode, and into something actually interesting and exciting. Get rid of the fact that resources can respawn. Decrease how much fish you can catch from one spot, and make over-fishing those spots take longer than a day to reset. Have a cold meter of some kind, create items we can make or find that allow us to survive in the cold for longer. Or, don't; and make it so that we need to keep building new bases and outposts across the landscape as we go.

Put in some polar bears, or some kind of enemy, that can guard areas rich with data samples. Give me a point to what I am doing. Why am I collecting all of this data and money? What do I do with all of this money?? I understand that as you explore more, you unlock more buildings, which allows you to make more money, (which you can use to purchase upgrades, sure) but why??? What is the end goal? It is just, so boring. I barely played it for more than two hours and I had already collected more than half of the collectables on the map and made myself nearly a millionaire.

But now this review is starting to become like the game, circular and repetitive. I have made my point, and it is this: if it looks like something you would like to buy and play, wait for it to go on sale for about 80% off. There is just no game here, it is worth about $2.50 CAD at most. It is not worth full price, $13 CAD, at all.

Although there are a few bugs/annoyances, the game is a nice relaxing and fun game. I enjoyed finding every letter and object I could, and the letters themselves were always a nice read. Fun story, short and sweet.

Concept is super cool, game runs well, but I cant recommend it due to lack of direction or features. I would love to play this game again if it gets significantly updated in the future. I just wish the game had the aspect of discovering the works as advertised as that would make the game much more interesting, and I can't really get into it without that aspect.

so calming mane. i can literally feel cold arctic breeze on my skin when i play this. great music tho.
sometimes i just turn it on and stare into the northern lights on a night sky