Icarus is, all in all, an excellent game that will likely continue to improve as time goes on. While there are a number of issues that plague the game, whether it be in the gameplay loop, the gameplay itself or just some of the mechanics. Many of these things can vary from each persons preference, so I'll just put my view on a few of the things I think stick out.

First, the gameplay loop. Land with either nothing or some items from the workshop, build your way up the tech tree and complete the objective. In all honesty, 90% of the missions could be beaten without even going past the machining bench, making everything in tier 4 rarely used, while also being insanely expensive. Once the objective is done, leave everything behind except exotics and repeat. I don't mind the repetition myself, but I do know that many people will get turned away real fast because of it.

As for the gameplay itself, I have very little to complain about. The movement is good, the visuals are wonderful and the weapons are fairly well varied. That being said, you'll likely be using the bow most of the time, as gun ammo is expensive and the crossbows are simply underwhelming. The only gun that is cost effective is the hunting rifle, but that is in tier 4. Melee is alright, though the spear is close to useless as the knife does the same damage with massively higher attack speed. The new throwing weapons are good, as the pack an absolute wollop, doubly so if you get a headshot. My biggest issue with the gameplay is the fact that all the creatures are... normal. Wolves, deer, bears, rabbits. I have only found 2 creatures that aren't something we have on Earth and it's rather disappointing.

Now there are a few mechanics that I find really annoying. The biggest offender is pneumonia. You're telling me my sealed suit, able to stay underwater forever, will let enough damp cave atmosphere in to get me sick? And it lasting 10 minutes without treatment, had me frustrated in the lower levels where I flat out couldn't make anything to help against it. Another mechanic that both helps and hurts the game is the workshop items. Overall, they are a good addition that help you get started on each drop, beginning the map with anything from food and water to weapons and armor. The downside? Dropping with enough gear means you can basically finish the mission without building anything. The weapons and armor have high durability, ammo is cheap to bring and everything that isn't a consumable can be brought back to orbit and reused, so long as it isn't broken. It both helps get through the repetitive start of missions while taking away from the early and mid game difficulty. The only reason not to drop fully geared is either you haven't gotten far enough into the game, or you want to challenge yourself. There is basically no risk, so long as you don't lose the character and don't break the item.

The mounts also need some work. What they have at the moment is simple, the Moa and Buffalo can be ridden, with the Moa built for speed while the Buffalo can carry much more weight and slots. The problem is that they die easily, constantly wander off and get stuck places if not locked up and have no real attack, the Buffalo has a headbutt, but it does almost nothing, while the Moa can't attack at all. Which is odd, as the wild Moa are very aggressive and attack on sight. It would be cool if they added the ability to tame things like baby bears and wolves as guard animals, but that will likely be far in the future, if at all.

Now, while they are plenty of things that are both good and bad, the one thing that makes me have hope for Icarus is the devs. Weekly updates, they're in the forums and keep the players in the loop on whatever is happening at the time. The play-by-play of them trying to fix the server shutdown a few days ago was interesting to read, even if I didn't know what all the techno-babble was about. So if there is anything that will keep me watching Icarus for a long time to come, it's the dedication of the developers to their product and the players.