An ambitious upcoming sci-fi alien survival game! | Beta Review - Auroria: a playful journey

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Auroria: a playful journey is a sci-fi open-world survival game, where you are a spaceman on a alien planet trying to gather resources to survive and build, The vibe is similar to No Man’s Sky, but here you are mostly grounded which is much closer to traditional survival games

🟩Pros

+Immersive Sci-fi setting

+Freedom to build and to be creative

+Diverse range of activities and gameplay elements

+Coop play

🟥Cons

-Performance needs work

-Technical issues; visual and audio bugs

-Combat lacks depth

📝Notable points:

These pros and cons are based on Beta (Early Access) version and does not accurately represent the quality of the finished product

Auroria: a playful journey combines elements of traditional survival games with a grounded, alien planet-based experience. After Earth’s destruction 10 million years ago, Humanity has since been living in a huge space station called Star City, and have never experienced planetary life since then.

The story of the game follows your player created character, a space journeyman who has lost their memories after landing on a newly discovered alien habitable planet. With the help of an AI companion, you establish a foothold on the planet, preparing it for future inhabitants.

The visuals also resemble No Man’s Sky with colorful visual palettes and stylized character designs. The soundtrack is also soothing and relaxing at times and the quality of the music actually surprised me. While the game looks visually good and has all the hallmarks of potentially great graphics, the actual presentation still needs a lot of work, particularly in the cutscene department, having multiple visual bugs. I’ve also encountered sluggish performances throughout the entirety of my playthrough in my Snapdragon 888 phone, as well as audio crackling and notoriously object pop-ins appearing all over the place, especially when moving around the environment.

The first few minutes include a traditional tutorial introduction to its systems. The omni-extractor which extracts all sorts of resources from the ground, further simplifies the extraction mechanic as opposed to other games where you need to use a variety of tools such as hatchets, pick axes, etc. to gather resources. Instead of using different tools, the omni-extractor can gather all sorts of resources from the ground.

Survival is part of the gameplay, although it is not really a main focus. It features mechanics similar to The Sims, where you need to take care of hunger, sleep, hygiene, and overall health.

The Lander is your main source of progression and acts as a beacon of sorts where you can easily teleport back to it whenever you are. You can also trade with it and sell resources in exchange for gold coins, which are then used to buy upgrades, print new structures, and trade with NPCs.

The so-called Omniprinter of the Lander is a powerful tool in Auroria, allowing you to print blueprints you find or unlock as long as you have the necessary materials. It can create small items like weapons or large structures such as housing. There’s so many things to do in this game, including resource gathering, base building, equipment enhancement, hunting wildlife, and combating Guluman Pirates.

You'll also be able to encounter and recruit NPC companions like Ryan, Nada, and Taihe early in the game, who specialize in different areas such as technology, weapons, and farming, respectively, and can assist you on your journey. Additionally, you have companion pets called Jojos that provide bonuses and follow you around.

The building system in Auroria: A Playful Journey follows a traditional grid-based approach, allowing you to place objects freely. You have the freedom to construct walls, floors, and doors according to your preferences. While resource gathering and building form a significant part of the gameplay, combat is also present.

You can obtain and utilize a range of weapons, including conventional firearms like shotguns and sci-fi guns like lasers, for self-defense. However, the combat mechanics currently lack excitement and require substantial improvement to deliver a satisfying experience. At present, it feels more like a proof of concept rather than a fully fleshed-out gameplay element.

Auroria: a playful journey is currently free to download for testing. However, I'm uncertain about how the monetization will work once the game is officially released. There are indications that in-app purchases, such as gold and cosmetics, will be available for real money. As for gacha mechanics, I haven't come across any specific sign or information at this time, although the game features live service elements such as daily logins and events already in place.

As far as space exploration goes — while the game is mostly focused on surface exploration — it also provides the option to relocate and transfer to other planets within the star system. Star Systems and Planets effectively function as servers within the game.

You can choose which point of the planet you will initially launch and start from there. Players with the same star systems can play, build and survive cooperatively. Different star systems and planets have different special characteristics and modifiers for them. For example, opting to live on deserted star systems gives plenty of resources, but at the expense of not having an active population of players.

Conclusion:

Auroria: A Playful Journey seems to offer a rich and immersive sci-fi experience, blending survival mechanics, resource gathering, base building, exploration, and cooperative play within a visually appealing world. However, it's worth noting the game is clearly incomplete at its current state --- both optimization and feature wise, and needs more time in the oven before it is ready for release.