Survival game Icarus flies high on opening weekend

NEWS Sacha Loric - Dec 9, 2021, 4:00 PM

The sci-fi PvE co-op game Icarus hit it big at launch last Friday, Dec. 4, rapidly racking up 50,000 concurrent players over the weekend, according to Steam. Check out the Icarus launch trailer now:

Despite its popularity, the launch wasn’t without a hitch or three. Players complained about lags, stuttering, freezing, and other performance issues, which has led Rocketwerkz to push three updates throughout the weekend, promising more to come this week. It’s also a demanding game in terms of hardware, with minimum requirements at 16 Gig of RAM and Nvidia GTX 1060 6GB or equivalent for a graphics card. At current, it has a Mixed rating on Steam, with lots of reviews complaining about bugs.

Icarus still has a lot going for it, though. The game has a novel mechanic of time-bound sessions that can really ratchet up the tension. Players act as prospectors who take on missions to the planet’s surface, but due to the cost of each drop, every excursion has a time limit. Either you complete the mission before then, or get left behind to die on Icarus.

The planet is far from cooperative—Icarus is filled with dangerous wildlife and an inhospitable environment. Not only do you have to worry about hunting for food, crafting tools, building a shelter, and finding water, you also need to protect yourself from dangerous weather. Not to mention the host of killer bears, giant insects, and massive armored worms. You need to grab the exotic resources you came for and make it back alive to your space station. Do it right and you get to level up and improve your crafting and survival skills. Do it wrong, and like the myth of poor Icarus, you'll never fly again.

Marketing for Icarus is certainly on point. Check out this live-action short film about prospectors who didn’t make it back.

If you’re ready to test your survival skills against this alien world, pick up Icarus for the best available prices around.