Is it worth playing Icarus in 2025?

Icarus is developer RocketWerkz's take on the open-world survival crafting genre. The game plops you into the Earth-like yet mysterious planet of Icarus as you try to survive its lethal wilderness while grinding to complete timed missions. The game received mostly positive reviews during its launch. However, with the rise of other survival games like The Forest, Palworld, and others, players might be wondering if RocketWerkz's offering is worth playing in 2025 or not.

To answer that question, Yes, Icarus is worth playing in 2025, but only if you enjoy an uncompromising, janky, yet engaging gameplay experience.

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Exploring what makes Icarus divisive in 2025

A brutal yet intriguing world

Icarus is a cruel yet engaging world (Image via RocketWerkz)

Preparation is essential in the game. The world of Icarus is one that will be merciless on you, whether it be the constant draining of your hunger and thirst bars or the extremely slow progression rate. It is stubborn with its elements and can sometimes feel unapproachable.

But, this ruthless direction forces players to question every decision they make in the game. It creates a sense of fear in the players that is organic to the feeling of being stranded on an alien planet. When the various elements of Icarus click together, it can provide an engaging experience even with its uncompromising approach.

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Bugs that take away from the experience

The game's bugs are on the more frustrating side (Image via RocketWerkz)

The game is filled with a modest amount of bugs that can detract from the gameplay experience. Animals are the most affected by this — they constantly clip around the geometry or get stuck on invisible walls, and their attacks can hit you from a mile away. Things can also go out of a spiral if you do not follow your mission objectives in their order.

While the game does have intentional elements that detract it from being a title worth your consideration, these bugs may suck away all the fun when you try to approach the game on its terms.

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Storms add some spice to the mix

Storms add a monkey wrench into the game (Image via RocketWerkz)

A defining mechanic of the game is its extreme weather, or more specifically, its storms. During your stay on the planet, storms will infest the regions, blowing away trees with tremendous force. Sometimes lightning strikes will also tag along. Thus, if your hut happens to be in the immediate area, chances are the strikes can light it on fire.

These weather conditions provide a distinct challenge for players wanting to experience survival games with some unique gimmicks.

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An inconvenient mission timer

A confusing decision bogging the game's structure down (Image via RocketWerkz)

While this might be more of a nitpick, one specific element of the game can feel extremely inconvenient to gamers with other hobbies. One important aspect of the missions that you'll have to contend with is the fact that they have a time limit. This isn't anything out of the ordinary, but an important thing to note is that the mission timer will keep ticking even if you're not playing the game.

While these timers are sufficiently long, if you do not complete the mission within the timer, your character gets stranded on the planet and is presumed dead, forcing you to start with a new campaign.

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Conclusion

To summarize this article, Icarus is a game that is filled with intriguing and exciting ideas, bogged down by janky elements and some confusing decisions. Thus, if you want a game that is steadily-paced, has some unique elements, and can sideline its observable flaws, Icarus is worth playing in 2025.