“Have a successful colony,” proclaims the guide for Quriocity on Steam. Establish and develop a functioning settlement on a recently discovered planet. Welcome the continual influx of colonists, providing them with employment, entertainment, and education. Being a sci-fi fan with experience in classic games like Space Engineers and 7 Days to Die, I went into Quriocity thinking, “How hard can this be?”

Find out what happens when I challenged myself to follow both this guide written by the game’s developers–which suggests skipping the tutorials–as well as the in-game tutorials themselves.

Quriocity, created by Oxeliz Games, is a city-building sim focused on strategic resource management and survival. As of July 25, 2023, it is out of early release and available to play on PC (PS and Xbox releases are planned according to Oxeliz’s Facebook page). Players are leaders of a space colony on a barren planet. Thanks to state-of-the-art technology, humans can travel faster than light, which allows us to colonize these newly found worlds once outside our reach.

My agenda full of tasks to build and expand my space empire, I recognize there is a lot to do. Settlers are arriving soon–all who expect to be healthy, productive, comfortable, and well-accommodated.

Where do I start? With the Tutorial button, of course.

TUTORIALS FIRST

Quriocity has a set of tutorials for each Campaign Tier. Despite being titled Campaign Tier 1, there are no actual campaigns within this tier. These three tutorials are intended to show players the ropes and set them up for success. Campaign Tier 2 covers campaigns 1 through 4. Once 12 stars are collected, Campaign Tier 3 containing Campaigns 5-8 unlocks. And so on.

Remembering my massive to-do list for my imperial expansion, I honed in on just getting through the first tutorial. (One crucial observation: The tutorials are all text and no audio, so unfortunately, there is a lack of accessibility.) Some introductory material informs me that we’ve safely landed, the air is breathable, and the Search rover will split the region into sectors and begin looking for resources.

Immediately, I have 100 civilians in my care, so there is no time to waste. The tutorial explains that the six Technical rovers docked at my Spaceport will, by my command, deploy and construct buildings. It also directs my attention to the Game Guide. As long as I follow it, then this should go smoothly.

Let me pause here and explain. Following the Game Guide housed within the first tutorial of Campaign Tier 1 is not well structured. It needs a serious overhaul. I had to backtrack and do other tasks on top of other tasks several times before frustration set in. Getting informed that I needed to acquire a particular resource or perform a specific task before I could do what was asked of me felt more like work and less like a game.

Was I able to complete the first tutorial? Barely. With a lack of sequential steps to follow, I ran into barriers far faster than I anticipated.

By this point, I realized why the developer may have posted that guide on Steam. Did following it lessen my frustration and provide a more linear approach?

NOW TO FOLLOW THE GUIDE

“When the game starts, just click Skip Tutorial.” When I first read this statement at the top of the developer’s walkthrough, I felt perplexed. It recommends watching a video posted within the guide. After attempting to learn Quriocity via its tutorials, I believe I now know why the developers may have made this guide. 

It only took a few minutes into the video to realize that I’m doing something I absolutely loathe–watching someone else play a game. If I’m going to be told exactly how to do something in a game in order to be successful, then what’s the point in even playing a game?

The part of the video I did manage to watch gave me what I hope is a good tip: Construct more than one of certain units after I place their corresponding storage units.

With this information, I stopped the video and started from scratch again. Sadly, it did not improve my success. In fact, going my own way only made the situation worse. Was I frustrated? Yes, but I also delighted in failing on my own. That’s part of the joy I get from playing games.

WHERE DID I GO FROM HERE?

Quriosity feels too restrictive and claustrophobic, and there doesn’t seem to be enough resources to build a city for the continual influx of colonists. Extracting resources doesn’t happen at a fast enough rate to keep in step with demand, and speeding up the time of the game clearly does not resolve anything. After four varied attempts (tutorial, developer’s guide and video, survival mode, and sandbox mode), I ran into these same limitations. The constant messages notifying me of the constraints I faced became too much. Either a sector was not available, a resource was not located in any sector, units couldn’t be built where rocks were, or units couldn’t overlap. On top of that, the Space rover’s battery needs charged, sewage needs addressed, and infections are popping up.

If you’re a civil engineer or city planner, this may sound like your average day on the job–enjoyable even. For me, it missed the mark on being a fun game.

CONCLUSION: DID I BUILD A SPACE PARADISE FOR COLONISTS?

Did I enjoy playing this? I wanted to. Quriosity does not feel immersive but restrictive and detached. Ultimately, I didn’t feel compelled or motivated to continue. I didn’t get the sense that I had much of a chance of making this space colony a brighter place for humanity.

I have three suggestions for the developers. First, overhaul the tutorials. A guide that teaches players the basics should explain how to accomplish something in sequential order and step-by-step. If players have to backtrack, it could cause frustration and a poor first impression. Players need to see not only how to do something, but also that they can achieve mastery. Second, increase the amount of resources available in the different sectors. Playing in easy mode and yet not having adequate resources felt demoralizing. For players who want more of a challenge, the availability of resources can decrease as the difficulty level increases. Third, lessen the intensity or frequency of the colony’s problems. To be bombarded with multiple challenges while learning the basics feels overwhelming.

Setting aside my own initial impressions and experiences, let’s look at what Quriocity offers those who can’t wait to dive in. Quriosity’s developers listened to the feedback while the game was in early access, and as a result, they added new units, rovers, research, and quality-of-life improvements. The full game includes five new maps, and within each beautiful biome, players will find unique plants and other environmental elements. Specific weather events, such as tornadoes and freezing temperatures, will dynamically change with the seasons. Prepare to deal with these as well as scorching heat, blizzards, sandstorms, earthquakes, and more. The better you equip yourself with the proper tools, the better you’ll be able to protect your colony.

Your management and engineering skills will get tested in all of these situations. While exploring the various elements of Quriocity, you will need to adapt your tactics to reach all of the different goals required. As I’ve mentioned before, colonies can get unbalanced, and if not addressed, things can get out of hand faster than you think.

Forty-eight campaigns are contained within the game’s thirteen tiers. Survival mode has three difficulty levels to choose from: easy, intermediate, and hard. The Sandbox mode also allows players to adjust individual parameters and options so they can play at their own rules.

The graphics are sharp, colorful, and visually appealing. The UI layout is somewhat easy to understand, and navigating it just takes time to learn where everything is. The controls are easy and intuitive. The music is far too repetitive to enjoy. 

PROS: 

• Graphics are attractive

• Lots of customization options

• Controls are easy

• A great game for those who enjoy a challenging city-building sim

CONS:

• UI layout takes time to learn where everything is located

• Tutorials are not in a logical order, making for a bad first impression

• Soundtrack is one song that repeats the entire game