Screenshots & trailers
What players say
Why the number is what it is: aspect mentions counted across 315 sampled Steam reviews (233 positive / 82 negative), recent and most-helpful. Plain keyword counting, fully reproducible; nothing here is written by a machine.
What positive reviews talk about
- Grind & repetition6% mention it
- Bugs & crashes4% mention it
What negative reviews complain about
- Grind & repetition29% mention it
- Controls & UI20% mention it
- Bugs & crashes13% mention it
- Multiplayer & servers12% mention it
- Performance9% mention it
Satisfaction by hours played
Same score, different games: see how sentiment holds up the longer people play.
Under 5h
49%
69 reviews
5-15h
74%
92 reviews
15-40h
81%
70 reviews
40-100h
88%
57 reviews
100h+
89%
27 reviews
Review sentiment over time
Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.
How this score was computed
The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.
| Component | Positive | Quality (0-100) | Weight (pseudo-reviews) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Press reviews (Metacritic) | – | – | 0 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 86% | 79 | 1000 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | – | 0 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 73% | 69 | 1292 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: since the last significant patch (May 8, 2026) · 300 reviews sampled · 1292 total reviews in window · weighted 200.8 up / 40.9 down · computed 3h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (1)
Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.
- 80
“While it won’t be for everyone, for the right player, I can’t recommend Hydroneer enough. It's an addicting game that can provide countless hours of fun. ”
read full review ↗
Patch history
- [Update] Hydroneer Mega-OptimizationMay 8, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- [3.0.9] - Save corruption fix!Mar 10, 2025
- 3.08 PatchJun 3, 2024significant · resets scoring window
- 3.0.7 PatchApr 22, 2024significant · resets scoring window
- 3.0.6 PatchApr 15, 2024significant · resets scoring window
- 3.0.5 [Bug Fixes]Apr 10, 2024significant · resets scoring window
- 3.0.4 [Mini Patch]Apr 7, 2024
- 3.0.3 Micro PatchApr 6, 2024
- 3.0.2 [Day one patch, part 2]Apr 5, 2024
- 3.0.1 [Hour one patch]Apr 5, 2024
- Hydroneer: Journey to Volcalidus DLC (OUT NOW!)Apr 5, 2024significant · resets scoring window
- Hydroneer's MEGA PATCH!Apr 5, 2024significant · resets scoring window
- [Dev Vlog] More QoL fixes coming to the base game + DLC additions!Mar 24, 2024significant · resets scoring window
- 2.2.5 PatchJul 27, 2023significant · resets scoring window
- 2.2.4 PatchMay 3, 2023significant · resets scoring window
- 2.2.3 PatchApr 28, 2023significant · resets scoring window
- 2.2.2 PatchApr 18, 2023significant · resets scoring window
- The Prospecting Update is Here!Apr 14, 2023significant · resets scoring window
- The new resource coming in 2.2...Feb 2, 2023
- 2.1.3 Patch to fix some issues.Feb 2, 2023
- Patch 2.1.2 [Vehicle overhaul + Bug fixes]Dec 21, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- Patch 2.1.1 [Bug fixes, Player Suggestions]Dec 13, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- Farming Season is here!Dec 9, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- 2.0.8 Mini patchJul 9, 2022
- 2.0.7 Patch - Various bug fixesJul 8, 2022
- We took YOUR suggestions and made an update! OUT NOW!Jul 5, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- 2.0.5 PatchMay 23, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- 2.0.3 Patch - Various bug fixes.May 17, 2022
- Hydroneer 2.0.2 PatchMay 12, 2022
- 2.0.1 PatchMay 11, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- HYDRONEER 2.0 IS HERE!May 8, 2022significant · resets scoring window
- 1.7.2 Patch - A few quality of life improvementsNov 24, 2021significant · resets scoring window
…and 8 earlier patch announcements.
