Icarus

The star around which our new Earth gravitates has turned into a red giant and is slowly expanding, engulfing every planet around it. You have to find a way to evacuate as much of the population as you can before it’s too late.

A simple and well executed game concept

In some part, Icarus is a strategy game because you have to mine resources, as well as build structures and star ships. Each planet that revolves around the dying star has a number of moons which are rich in resources and you need to mine them before you can build the colony ships.
You start with two planets that are inhabited by humans and have to act fast so that you can colonize nearby planets to escape the ever growing star. However, that will prove to be quite difficult because time is not at your side.

Straightforward gameplay that makes the game very enjoyable

Icarus is a really short game, that is, if you manage to create an interstellar colony ship that can take the rescued people to a new solar system. But before that, there is a lot of clicking to do.
Mining resources requires your undivided attention because you must constantly build mines if you want to gather the huge amount of resources that is needed to create the interstellar ship. Along with that you need to terraform the planets, create solar mirrors and fusion inhibitors that grant you a little but necessary extra time to evacuate.
At first, the game feels like it’s a walk in the park but as the sun grows and it gets closer to your planets, you really feel the burn. A truly exceptional feature of the game is its soundtrack. It’s absolutely wonderful and very fitting for the theme of the game.

A brief, casual, but good experience

To end, Icarus doesn’t have a lot of depth to it, but it is really nice to play. It’s a game that offers a brief experience but an intense one.