Gaia

Im torn on this i really am. especially considering i just septn nearly 6 hours solid playing it.
Ok so here is what i like about it, the graphics are ok the buildings are stellarly nice, the gameplay is EH (could be better)
Here are several issues
1.) you log in and are building certain other buildings before you even have a foundation, house or cooking skills. It says you need blueprints but you already have them you just hve to research them in the encoder
2.) You spend the materials to make the items then you have to actually build it ONE BUILD IS ENOUGH PEOPLE.
3.) No real weapons for you to use other than your rifle (note im not counting the launchers that you can place all over the place)
4.) Character gets stuck in several places when going up hill and takes forever to uncrouch
5.) How the hell are you suppose dto get 2 miles away in 50 seconds to an anomaly in the beginng. Guess what YOU CANT ITS IMPOSSIBLE (ive tried you need hermes boots or ship to get there in time and even then its questionable)
6,) you construct furniture later in the game yes your hygiene drops to zero really fast and you cant build a sink till later AND you need these blobs from underwater to build it but you cannot use your pda underwater (as far as i can tell and ive tried everything so far) Good news is your hygiene right now affects little so im not worried about it.
Cooking should be a start learning skill and you should learn foundations FIRST NOT LATER..... Storage space to start is a pain in the ass, i ran aroudn so mych i hurt in real life.
NOTE TO DEVS-Peeing should not decrease hygiene it should INCREASE IT. What is she doing peeing on herself, its called a tree and leaves.../facepalming for days on that one.
That said its a fun game and needs a lot of love and attention BUT if on sale is worth it. I reserve the right to update this at a later time depending on if the devs screw it up or dont make the recommended changes.

After my solid game hours invested, I believe I can give this game an honest review!
To begin, I have to comment that GAIA Is a game that's been an utter joy to play and I really want to thank Radu for his extreme effort and commitment so far!
We will start with the bad points;
The first thing I noticed was that even though my FPS are rather high, around 80 mostly, the game doesn't really perform smoothly like you would expect it should with such high frames. I am not sure if its my set up, but I even dropped my resolution right down along with quality settings and it didn't make much difference at all? It seemed to give the feeling that it was more like 30 frames per second than a silky smooth 60 plus that I'm used to on most games. Maybe its the Engine, not sure?
The weather cycle is a bit simple. It rained only once or twice in my whole play time. I really enjoy games that have a very dynamic weather system, this adds a lot of atmosphere and ambience that is the icing on the cake for me. I think having wind, snow and rain within the annual cycle is nice touch. Not sure how a game hour compares with real time? There are Cows, Bears, Chickens, Deer's and crazy killer Bunnies, so why not have Earth like seasons to?
I also found the tutorial a little vague and was killed off fairly quickly due to being overwhelmed with raids and disasters, etc, that I couldn't focus on the more important aspect which was advancing my tech and skills. Again I know this is EA and I am sure Radu will fine tune this later. Base building was a bit of trial and error at first, but it works fine when you know how. I had to place a wall between 2 pillars and the add the door after and once this was done destroy the wall that's in the way? I think this is obviously the wrong way, to go about it but it worked okay, just meant I'm wasting resources on a wall that will be inevitably be destroyed!!!
The amount of resources required for crafting is extremely high, although they are in an abundance fairly near to your origin point. I think I would prefer the amounts for crafting to be reduced and also scale down the availability and spawn rate so its still a challenge,but just means you don't need a 100 chests stocked up all the time everywhere.
The size of the equipment or assemblers needs to be reduced in scale, as they take up way too space within your camp. This meant that having an efficient production line was never easy to facilitate. I had to de-spawn everything and only re-spawn when I needed to use them( this also reduced my energy consumption I think - having less stuff means less power required?). Maybe I am not good at running a factory line ? I dunno? There needs to be some automation maybe, so when your out in the field gathering stuff, your factory can still produce or refine, so that crafting is more realistic. I prefer sometimes sitting back and watching it all unfold. Instead of instant yield, I prefer it to cook for a bit and watch the timer and the turn brown etc. There's nothing more satisfying than coming home after a good days work to find you meal cooked and your copper bars and ammo awaiting for you all refined.
Overall the AI is fairly good, but I found that Bears were easier to kill and took less bullets than Wolves, which seemed a bit off. Animations need a bit of polishing , but this should improve later on I'm sure. Overall I am sure that most of these things will be addressed in time, so I am being a bit nit picking here.
Now onto to Good Points;
Firstly, this game is maybe one of the most addictive games I have ever played. It's become a nice & relaxing game to play now I understand the mechanics and concept. I've only had several sessions but already clocked over 20 hrs on it!
I own triple A games that I haven't barely scratched the surface with.
The random events and anomalies keep you busy and there's never a dull moment. I am continually craving to unlock my research tree and get that new technology cranking.
The graphics are decent enough for a budget game and it has a unique charm I must say! There is a good atmosphere and the game gives me a good feeling when I play it, kinda nostalgic in a way.
Its a Fresh and Original take on a survival genre that's been overwhelmed by the boring ole Z rubbish. The Sci-Fi category is not an easy one and I can tell a lot of thought was put into this game.
I have never had one game crash or come across and game breaking bugs, only very minor glitches like FPS drops and occasional stutter.
The controls are fairly easy to work with and I like the User Interface.
The Developer listens to his community and responds in a promptly fashion. He has made several changes already, that I have been very happy with.
The game has plenty of potential and I am sure it will get better and better with each update. I can see some interesting cool new content already in the making and I am excited to see what else comes down the track.
Overall, I do score this game fairly high for an EA title in it's infancy. We have to factor in that this is a solo effort and on a low budget so there has to be a correction factor for this. We can't compare it with AAA games that have millions of bucks invested and 100's of people on staff.
With that said, I score it 8.5 out of 10.
Thanks Radu !!!!
Good luck !!!!
Peace OUT:)

First of all, got the game for being a tester.
I’ll be short:
This game has various elements, strategy, tower defence, survival and lots more, the game is fully playable with beginning and ending, and has future potential!
Single play through takes well over 10 hours, longer than some AAA titles out there.
Dev is working on this solo, but I've seen the game develop since its announcement last year, and I tell you, it has come a long, LONG way! Sure, there’s still some work to be done, hence why it’s still in early access. So let’s support the dev to get the game along even further!
Also join the discord / forum and give your input
Garies

Please note: Several of the negative reviewers seem to have missed the clearly labeled and easily accessible options menu. The developer, Radu Saghin, is very quick to respond, and has already fixed several of the issues people had in less than a day after the complaint was made.
This game is clearly Early Access, and if you don't know what all that entails then this game is not for you. (Another point that some seem to have missed)
My first play through: I set everything to what I assumed would be the easiest possible setting because the reviews terrified me. I was surprised at how slowly the meters dropped. I actually had to get a snack and a drink in real life more often than the character, Amanda, needed it. Luckily that play-through was cut short by a bad trade deal and my base was destroyed by an orbital strike.
Second try: I played with the defaults and received the challenge I was expecting.
It has the limits of many EA games. There are limited options of things to build, but the models are better than some of the finished games I've played. It took me a while to figure out how to change the direction of placed objects and there's a few other similar things that I wish were included in the tutorial. And if you play the tutorial and manage to die, bless your heart but don't blame the game. Also if you see a big monster or mushroom don't try to hug it. To address the complaint regarding hygiene, anyone with experience in actual wilderness/survival expeditions knows that going to the bathroom in the woods is not as hygienic as a real bathroom. There is a reason you don't buy a pack of toilet leaves from the store.
To be honest I have no real complaints about the game play and hope it continues to grow to its full potential and great expectations. It has survival elements that you have to keep track of that most other games don't include. I personally like the extra logistical challenge. Things I hope get added to the game include more decorative options, more storage options, multiplayer co-op, character customization, a way to move placed objects, food spoilage, and a globe style map.

STORY.
Amanda is your main character. She's a tough explorer, a treasure hunter. There is character customization, so you can design something normal or crazy looking !
AI.
The Artificial Intelligence of the animals in Gaia is very advanced. They react to each other, some will attack everything, some are more cagey. If you play your cards right, you can let predators fight it out and collect the loot later!
OPTIONS.
There are three separate "Storytellers" that create a very different game experience. Then there are the traditional difficulty options, resource and predator levels. You can dial in a very easy, exploration-type game, or make it super-hard in Ironman Mode.
Most of the assemblers and devices can be placed on the ground. Straight out the pod, it is very easy to get up and running. From there it is up to the player how intense the action is.
Start slow, explore the area and gather food- you will attract little attention. But when you build a big base, and your wealth increases, you will attract the attention of hostile competitors
who are looking for the same resources and artifacts. The stronger you get, the harder they will hit. Even predatory animals seem to know when you are getting wealthy and come in greater numbers.
BUILDING
If you played Subnautica, the "Panel and Socket" style of construction will be familiar. But in Gaia, you have individual floor, wall and ceiling panels. The panels are not armored and you will take damage in attacks, but the damages are not bad and are not hard to manage.
There are surface to surface weapons and surface to air, so it is possible to build up a strong defense.
MODDING
SO you didn't gather enough support to get that fantastic idea of yours implemented in the game? Put on your coding hat, and in no time you can make your own poison-flechette grenades and then add them into the game! This is way beyond me LOL
MUSIC.
We scored a real home run with the soundtrack. It is definitely worth picking up the DLC. The initial tracks remind me of the old Bristol sound- Massive Attack and Tricky, and there is also a very slick atmospheric sound. 10/10 for the soundtrack.
Recommended!

It has some drawbacks, but if you don't spend too much time in your base, and explore, that really cuts down on the annoying attacks early in the game. The building part of the game can be really frustrating, but if you are careful to keep your cursor at the correct spot, the pieces will show up and you can place them. The stairs have an annoying bug that won't let you put a floor panel where the top landing is, but you can put a ceiling panel and you can at least access that part of the floor.
Watch out when you finally decide to build a ship. Just building the ship assembler will trigger multiple assaults, ground, drop ships and large air ships. You REALLY get pounded, so make sure you have the materials you need to complete the ship and arm it and supply ammo for all your weapons. I also experienced Solar flares with the fire tornado's AND the large air ship attacks several times.
This games end-game will pound you to a pulp! You can make use of the god mode built-in activated my the Test Mode checkbox on the main menu. It may be the only way to get to space. Even on easy difficulty, this game is brutal !

Wow i have to say.. Most of the bad comment have minimal hours spent on the game.. Ive had atleast 5hrs and im definitely going to spend more.. Its everything to expect from an early access game and ive had a few now, there will be bugs, there will be itchy graphics but the gameplay is great and keep making me wamt to go back for more. Im definely amped to see the final product and i know it will take a while.. I think subnautica took like 7 years? Might be mistaken, good things take time