With thanks to the folks at Kasedo Games and Bulwark Studios we’re able to bring you our IXION review for PC. As ever, our IXION review comes with our Pixel Bandits’ common-sense parent’s guide. In the full video review and extended written analysis below we’ll cover our thoughts on this new epic space-opera strategy, as well as the in-game content to let you know if IXION is suitable for your own children and micro-bandits.
August 2023 – Since release, the team have worked on a number of different accessibility features for IXION. Because of this, we have altered our rating in the Accessibility Analysis area of our review. This is not reflected within the video review, so please do read this to see added features and improvements.
The Basics – What is IXION About?
IXION intricately blends space-based city and resource management with exploration of familiar and unfamiliar star systems. You manage the space station Tiqqun (just to make things easier that’s pronounced “tycoon”), navigating through and between star systems to find a new home for humanity.
On a journey filled with danger, solar storms, labour disputes and more, you’ll need to plan carefully. Critical falls in the Tiqqun’s hull integrity or in the faith of your people will see you wash out of IXION altogether. To stop this, you’ll have to source raw materials in deep space, manage power, cultivate food and produce refined materials on-board the Tiqqun and work through a decent tech tree along your way.
Beginning in just one section of the Tiqqun you’ll not only spread through other star systems but also between internal sectors of your intrepid space station. In addition to sourcing materials and refining into usable products you’ll also need to manage storage and station inhabitants between sectors. Working within the curvature of the Tiqqun, IXION provides a good number of technologies, buildings and upgrades to help you along your way.
To achieve all of this you’ll also need to send out probes to map the systems you find along the way. Doing so will allow you to discover points of interest, dispatching science ships to investigate these areas of intrigue. This provides a significant amount of flavour to the title, and allows you to make choices which can benefit (or hinder!) your mission.
Probes will also help you to find resources in deep space, and enable dispatch of mining and cargo vessels to capture these precious materials which you’ll have an increasing need for as you move towards your goal of finding a new home for humanity.
Is IXION Safe for Children?
Rating: 3 / 5: Some Concern.
IXION hasn’t been rated by either PEGI or the ESRB at the time of writing (and as a PC exclusive it could be likely that this won’t happen at all). There’s not a great deal here in terms of graphic gore or language, and as a strict single player you’ll not have to worry about other players either. However, IXION does touch on some pretty rough themes, such as you might expect with the struggle for finding a new home for humanity.
Along your journey, your choices will have a huge impact on the people living on the Tiqqun. There’s not much in the way of graphic visuals, however reports and mission information does go into some detail on self harm, as well as other violence and descriptions or various crimes.
In addition to this, the relatively complex nature of the title is not inherently problematic, however it may put off younger players. Overall, our common-sense parent’s guide provides a 3/5 rating – “Some Concerns”. The title will be suitable for older children, but caution should be exercised before letting younger micro-bandits have a go themselves.
Is IXION Accessible?
Rating: 2 / 5 Low Barrier.
There’s not much in the way of options when it comes to difficulty and it’s relatively easy to back yourself into a corner in IXION. However it must be said that I’ve found it to be just complicated enough to provide some solid engagement without going overboard and having too much to track. IXION does provide a challenge, and with a solid rolling save pattern you might just get through it. Overall it’s picking up a 3/5 Tricky rating for accessibility.#
Since release, the team have been working hard to add new accessibility features for IXION. This deserves genuine applause and we absolutely love to see it. Firstly, the team have added a narrative mode, severely reducing difficulty and allowing players to follow the story and play with the mechanics in a more forgiving environment. In their August 2023 update, they’ve also added further features including having the game run in the background, colourblind options, text font and size adjustment and option to disable screenshake. Because of this, we’re upgraded accessibility from 3/5 (Tricky) to 2/5 (Low Barrier).
The Run Down – Our Five-Point Rating for IXION
Gameplay – 4/5: I’ve really enjoyed the blend of city management, survival and exploration within IXION. The title manages to be complex enough to pull you in and give you things to do. Importantly it’s also far from being too easy but it achieves this without being overly complicated. It loses some marks here as it’s definitely possible to make critical mistakes which you won’t realise for another hour down the line, however the streamlined gameplay blending internal and external workings of the Tiqqun alongside your remote teams is one of the most enjoyable management systems I’ve used this year.
Visuals – 4/5: If you go as far down as you can into the Tiqqun’s streets things do look a little blocky and samey but zoom out and the visuals can be pretty spectacular. Being able to zoom out from individual workers to your city, and then further to the station and then even further to the star system is genuinely enjoyable even on the hundredth time you do it. You can’t zoom too close on system maps, and I’d have liked to see a little more variation in building models, but the mis-scale visuals have absolutely knocked my space socks off.
Audio – 5/5:From the very beginning it’s clear that thought and care have gone into the music and soundscapes which accompany your journey. The soundtrack is exceptional and while I wasn’t expecting it the voice acting is on point too. I especially enjoyed the different effects on voice clips depending on which view you are currently in, and this is a title which sits open on my desktop for the soundtrack alone.
Narrative – 5/5:I wasn’t expecting an excellent narrative from IXION but the team at Bulwark studios delivered one anyway. The narrative within IXION has had my jaw on the floor and (at times) tears in my eyes. I’ve found myself getting attached to away teams, and have had my in-game choices lead to both great and tragic consequences. In addition, behind everything there’s a much larger and darker mystery at play, but no spoilers!
Replay – 4/5: While the build up in the initial introduction to the title can be slow, the different choices you can make within your expeditions and in the tech tree do provide a different flavour. There are lots of secondary supporting story elements to find along your travels which give you a reason to head back in.
The Verdict – Is IXION Worth It?
Pixel Bandits Compliance Level for IXION is 8/10: Respectable. . The title does very well to blend the different resource and city management elements with exploration of the different star systems along your way. I’ve been really surprised to find a very engaging narrative alongside this, which has some decent voice acting and player choices behind it as well.
It’s clear that the Bulwark team of only 15 people have used the time gained by delaying release to good effect here, and ultimately it’s been my favourite management title this year and a strong contender for one of my top ten games overall. IXION manages to be complex without being complicated, as well as expansive without lacking detail. If sci-fi and city management is your thing, this is one you should absolutely get your hands on.
