Aven Colony

Solid enough city-builder sim. I got my money's worth of fun out of it, and found no bugs. Grabbed it on a sale.

peaceful easy colony builder. might take some getting used to for controls and the production chains. nice storyline too

I had been playing this game on Epic (where I have 100s of hours in this game), but it works loads better here for some reason. Who knows what made the difference.

Get this on sale - yes, it's good and I recommend it, but it is an older game with a lot of quirks which makes it a bit difficult to play. It goes on sale pretty regularly and for dirt cheap sometimes. It isn't currently being updated and seems to have been left as is since the last DLC release.

In all, the game is challenging and gives a lot to micromanage without feeling overwhelming until you're close to disaster and, at that point, it's just easier to start fresh with better ideas anyway. There was only one challenge which befuddled me for months - something that I feel was my fault or a fault with the copy I was playing with because I beat it within 2 shots once I loaded it on Steam. Who can say.

The graphics might be taxing for an older system, which is silly to think about considering how old this game is, but they were pretty intensive for the time, too. Once your city is large enough, you may experience slowdowns, but an easy fix is to save and restart the game. There is a fun "cinematic camera" you can use for fun, too.

I really wish we'd get something similar in this genre because this game is relatively easy to play with great music and unique ideas which are hard to find. It feels genuinely like you are exploring a foreign place, which is helped my randomized events on the world map. You never know what may pop up and what you might interact with.

Definitely worth it for a reduced price.

Game crashes after 1 min 16 seconds

Do not buy this game "Aven Colony". It constantly crashes withing the first 2 to 3 minutes. No support from game support team! Had to search and find my own solution to be-able to play it. Support team will not refund me because I play it with my own solution. Steam needs to fire the team thats pushing this product without fixing the problem and issues it had.

Reading other Steam reviews, I don't know what's going on in Windows land but over here in Linux the game is crash-free, solid as a rock! Maybe you should join us? WINK.

Unlike other city-builders that got bitten by the punish-the-player bug, Aven Colony is light-hearted, relaxing and fun. The simple, attractive graphics and easy build systems combine to weave a hypnotic little spell as you lovingly craft your little sci-fi colony from tender lander-acorn all the way to mighty, orbit-scraping oak.

It's a little repetitive but then what city-builder isn't? And this one's very charming and well worth your time spent with it. Four Optimus Thumbs Up!

didn't like it

Got the game in sale under 4 bucks (with the DLC). Great game with simple not overcomplicated gameplay and neat graphics. I am surprised.

i like

Absolutely an awesome game. Great graphics, fun buildings. A bit repetitive but over all very challenging. Its a lot of fun and worth every penny when on sale!

Easy to approach. Good graphics and gameplay and they don't spam DLC. Recommended!

It's a fun city builder in space. I like the camp story and the art, but some of the functions could definitely use some improvement.

I loved playing the game on my laptop, in spite of my hardware limitations. Now, that' I've got a proper gaming PC... I keep getting an error when I try launching the game. I am so disappointed, and I don't know how to fix it. I love the game, but I can't recommend it if I can't play it anymore.

Great game fun yet challenging

Overall a fun game, but it's completely unplayable on Windows 11. It won't stay open for more than about a minute without crashing ever since I updated. Which is really unfortunate, because I do enjoy it.

For some reason it crashes starting the campaign. Nobody wants to fix this?

In addition: It's annoying that you cannot max the FPS to 60 in the menu. 2900 fps is too difficult for me to follow ;)

The concept is good. The execution is not bad. But what makes this game terrible is the static maps. All veteran developers know that the key success of a great sandbox game is random generated maps. Unfortunately this game does not have that and the developers are already gone.

"Aven Colony" is a city-building game set in an alien world, offering a unique and engaging experience. Players build and manage a thriving colony on a distant planet, requiring careful planning and resource management. The game features beautifully designed environments, with diverse biomes that present specific challenges and opportunities. A rich narrative immerses players in the Aven Colony lore, involving encounters with alien species and various planetary events. Resource management is crucial, as players balance different building types and prioritise needs based on their environment and colonists. The game also includes an environmental system, emphasising sustainable practices to prevent hazards. While it may have some minor AI and learning curve issues, "Aven Colony" is a well-crafted game that successfully blends strategic gameplay with captivating storytelling, appealing to both new and experienced players.

Colony Sim Builder. Mostly self-sufficient if you get it set up right. I recommend 4x4 city blocks. That will accomodate the largest buildings and allow you to place anything while still allowing for access. Place housing every other block at least and make waaaaayyyy more police than you think you might need. The citizens will always complain about something, so decide which complaints will get you elected (AKA which ones you can handle.) Build turrets early and often and you wont even get a problem brewing. 2-3 turrets can take down an entire swarm!!! Use containment centers to slow disease and have chem plants making antibiotics for hospitals and you will be okay. Good Luck. You got this!

Tried it several times. It just crashes within a minute or to. Needs fixing.

underrated colony sim IMO

great game!

Listen to the other reviews, it crashes shortly after it launches.

game just crashes as soon as it starts

Bought this game ages ago, only just today started playing after reading negative reviews from recently. I wanted to see if this would be an issue for me and I can safely report that no, the game runs fine and doesnt crash etc. I run a mid rig windows 11. Everything is fine on my end.

With that said, I can see really enjoying this game more, the more I play it. So far it has been fun. But if you are looking for a colony sim that does something insanely different from others, its not. It is solid though for sure.

The game i always go to after a long and stress full day. Very relaxing and brain stimulating at once. Beautiful visuals, relaxing music, simple to understand game mechanics, whats not to love. 10/10

one of my all time favorite space games. i play on console and on steam.

Just purchased the game and it's completely broken, it crashes within a minute of playing. I'm not a happy bunny. 1/10 fix it or give me a refund

I have now played this game on PS4 Xbox One and now steam and I would play it again on another system yea the air intake always being needed is an issue but its not game breaking and does not takeaway from the fun of the ride

I don't get all the bad reviews.....I've have had no problem with the game. Yes....you do have to play it "offline" in order for it to run correctly...but who cares. The maps are just challenging enough and the graphics are good.

Used to be good, terrible game now. Game crashes constantly 2-3 minutes after even opening the damn thing, devs sit back and do nothing instead of finding a proper fix for it. (probably need a certain kind of processor or graphics card for it, but even then why the hell would they make a simulator game that requires those).

Overall, terrible game, would refund if I could, if you buy and it starts crashing, refund it. Do not try and fix it.

Fun game that's not too hard to figure out and entertains me. The addition of alien plant growing is a cool twist.

Love it

I build some shiny buildings, then some more, in tiny min quest demands given out drip by drip. Its tedious, with dull rewards, and there is little reason to put anything anywhere in particular. Aside from put-mine-on the rock-thing you could just stick it all into a giant rectangle of boring generic buildings and be done with it. The only thing going for it is its scenery artwork.

The game concept in itself it's amazing, but has a lot of dumb bugs like people always complain and your average happiness it's like 60-75 max, the energy consumption problem it's persistent in every scenario and campaign!

THe graphics are cool, i hoped that they would made a sequel to this one..

The game itself is cool, the buildings and the quests are nice.

I do not recommend the game because it feels stupid in certain aspects:
-> People complain when buildings are full when they live in a skyscraper as they would not each have their own appartment.
They are happy when half of building is empty which for me makes no sens
-> People complain when workplaces are unused. I have 100 people out of 100 working. But I make 2 new working places. People complain that no one works there...why would people care about places with no workers?
-> People do not want to travel, despite building fast means of travel people do not want to go to work about 6-8 streets away from their home.
-> People complain when elections are on about crime rate despite having almost no crime anywhere lol.
-> People complain about food variety despite having 7 or 8 out of 12 food variety available

Being a game about space civilizations, i feel that the people are so suborn that they would not have evolved this hard.

The game forces you to build the perfect environment, all people to work with no working spots empty.
Have plenty of food variety meaning making perfect amount of farms to cultivate crops.
If you are into perfecting cities and have max efficiency this is the game. But for me, the people cry too much about stuff they should not be concerned about and cry about issues that are not even there .

Chill grid like colony builder. The game is not very difficult which is a plus. The graphic is nice and clear, with lots of animation; the close up camera is a gimmick because it cannot be moved but it's nice to have. It is way less punishing than other of the genre and when something goes wrong there's plenty of time to fix your mistake without going into a death spiral. Recommended for the price!

I really like this game - its a base builder with some interesting features - I just wish there was more! Please some DLC or a sequel, anything.

Aven colony is a space based colony survival game with a simple but satisfying game play loop to fulfil the basic plot points across multiple maps. There are the basics such as food, water and power but also infection, moral, weather and politics. Its a decent game to pick up but can be considered simple and a bit dated. There achievements are also relatively simple to perform for anyone doing achievement hunting. :)

It has a certain conceptual simplicity that makes it relaxing.

Didn't run. I started the game and a few seconds later it stopped. Each and every time. I was disappointed.

Got a refund.

Bug prevented gameplay. Appears to be a known problem since at least 2021 and has not been fixed. Do not recommend.

I purchased this game as it is a space based colony builder and the graphics looked pretty. I had been looking for a game similar to my favourite game "Space Colony" by Firefly studios. I looked around and people said this is similar. I can agree, it is quite close to it since we try to survive on the planet with limited resources etc. Where it differs is we don't manage individual colonists (positive: no need for micromanagement at colonist level, negative: individual colonists don't matter at all, and I found myself unbothered if they were suffering). I also wished there would be combat (like aliens attacking you since you are on their planet, or other companies competing for resources or glory). I have only played a few missions so far, so maybe there will be something like it in the future, but from other comments I infer there is no combat.

Here is what I liked about this game:
1. It is a colony builder in space. - nice
2. The graphics are pretty nice (full 3D, you can rotate the camera in any direction) - very nice
3. There are plenty of resources, building types and missions to keep you occupied - nice
4. The DEMO is very good, and really helps you get started - very cool
5. The music is pleasant
6. The devs seem to be active

What I dislike:
1. The colonists' dialogues are confusing and there is no information anywhere. Add to that, it seems these dialogues have no connection with game play??? Examples:
1.1 My colonists kept complaining about a dead body for a while and then stopped. I couldn't do anything as I was unsure where the dead body came from? Maybe a colonist got old and died but I don't know. Maybe the dialogues are just fillers, in which case I would like some wiki or so which says not to worry for this?
1.2 Occasionally my colonist says "What am I seeing, I will close my eyes and hope it disappears". No please tell me, WHAT are you seeing? Just hearing the words doesn't help me decide what to do about this.
2. My PC has 8 GB ram and 2 GB graphics processor but it hangs occasionally (it is not too bad, just a few seconds here and there, but I thought if I have recommended settings my game shouldn't hang?)
3. It gets repetitive after a while. Once you figure out how to get a colony going, it's just a wait game, wait for enough nanites, or enough people or enough 1-2-3 and then you can do what you wanted to do. Not saying this is bad, it is relaxing in its own way, but some variety would be nice.

Neutral:
There are some aspects of the game I haven't explored yet, example the Plague Spores or the Creep Spores. I am curious to see what happens when they infect someone, so far they haven't because they just die from hits by my pew pew machine. . So I am not sure if the game is deeper than I think it is.
I also have not played on other difficulties other than Normal as I feel like it would just annoy me rather than make it fun (since so far I found it to be waiting game).

Final thoughts:
I am really enjoying this game. I will play more since I like it. It is a game of moderate depth, fun and no need to use brain too much. City builder in space! Very cool :)
But if the devs read this, please add alien fights to the game (if via DLC also okay). Just a suggestion, they can be similar to the alien fights in Space Colony from Firefly studios. That kind of combat will really fit well with this game.

Its ok I guess. Only buy it on sale

Have always enjoyed this game over the years all tho those pop up messages can get really annoying.

💋

Yeah it's a good game.

I had a good time on the game but the autosave killed it now.
Word of advise is to manually save often as things can go wrong bad pretty fast with no returns.

Base building game with some survival elements. Graphics are good. No crash for me.

loved it on xbox, downloaded it on pc and it refuses to let me go past the tutorial, the game will just shut down. i have now reinstalled it 4 times sadly the same thing happens. When i can actually play it is an amazing game.

Yet another chines game that just seems....pointless and unfinished.