Screenshots & trailers
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 (OpenCritic) | – | 86 | 190 |
| Creator reviews (2 tracked) | – | 88 | 4 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 90% | 84 | 1000 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | 86 | 316 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 89% | 83 | 624 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: since the last significant patch (Jul 30, 2026) · 300 reviews sampled · 624 total reviews in window · weighted 230.3 up / 29.3 down · computed 2h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (150)
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.
- 85
“It's not just about surviving a dying planet, it’s about surviving yourself. The Alters is a triumph of concept, design, and emotion. It may stumble in its systems, but it soars in its soul.”
read full review ↗ - 85
“The Alters delivers a gripping, existential survival experience that explores identity, regret, and self-acceptance in a way few games attempt. It's a little longer than it needs to be, but its story, systems, and emotional weight make it hard to forget.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“The plot, though far from light or pleasant, is truly engaging, and completing it leaves you with a feeling of existential emptiness. The gameplay itself, though seemingly simple, is addictive and very satisfying. It is impossible to remain indifferent to The Alters. At the moment, it is one of my favorite “smaller” titles of the year, which I can recommend to everyone with a clear conscience.”
read full review ↗ - 80
- 95
“The Alters is a truly addicting management sim. It has the perfect amount of resources to monitor, enough to be a challenge, but not enough to be impossible. Players have to balance assigning Alters, managing resources to create critical items like radiation filters, talking to the Alters and the corporate overlords, exploring the planet’s surface, and trying to do the right thing. It's one of the best games I've played this year.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“The Alters can be considered one of the best games of 2025, offering a unique and memorable gaming experience.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“The Alters is a great game that fans of elaborate stories and personality psychology will especially enjoy. If you prefer shorter conversations, the title may not be for you, but otherwise, it's a great combination of survival, strategy building, and adventure game that offers a lot of replayability.”
read full review ↗ - 90
“The Alters is a gorgeous-looking sci-fi space survival game that offers high replayability thanks to its diverse choice system. It ditches the micromanagement aspects of a base-builder survival game and simplifies mechanics to offer a more focused gameplay on the narrative and the choices that you must make to shape your journey. Featuring amazing gameplay, beautiful locations, a solid sound design, and plenty of choices to make, The Alters is simply one of the best sci-fi survival games to launch this year so far. It caters to a diverse range of players, ranging from sci-fi lovers to base-building fans or players who love making tough moral choices. If you love playing games that offer them, The Alters should be on your must-play list.”
read full review ↗ - 100
“The Alters is a wonderful combination of a great story, exciting management, and an interesting but not panic-inducing survival simulator.”
read full review ↗ - 100
“The Alters is a science fiction survival drama that combines resource management with a profound existential exploration of identity and choices. It talks about the decisions we make and those we didn't have the courage to make. And despite the monotony of its exploration sections, it's a very enjoyable and replayable experience thanks to the combinations we can make with the Alters and the four possible endings.”
read full review ↗ - 50
“The Alters may be ambitious in its effort to supplement base-building and survival with a strong narrative, but in doing so, it sands away all the sharp edges of its mechanics, losing the skin-of-your-teeth hardship that defines a great survival game. ”
read full review ↗ - 100
“The Alters is a resource management and choice game that explores different versions of oneself through clones created by a substance called Rapidium. The protagonist, Jan, must navigate survival on an inhospitable planet, managing his ship and the alters, alternate versions of his life. Combining third-person exploration and management, the game challenges the player to make decisions that shape the fate of Jan and his clones. Its narrative explores identity, choices, and the consequences of our actions throughout life. With multiple endings, the game offers an addictive and reflective experience.”
read full review ↗
TheBigBois
Gamepressure
ZdobywcyGier.eu
Stryftek
The Punished Backlog
GameMAG
INDIANTVCZ
GamesHedge
3DNews
La Orden del Pixel
Slant Magazine
GameFM…and 138 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Patch 2.2.0Aug 18, 2026
- Patch 2.1.0Jul 30, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- Hotfix - 2.0.2Jul 23, 2026
- Hotfix - 2.0.1.182Jul 17, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- Last Variable Expansion is Available Now!Jul 13, 2026significant · resets scoring window
- Hotfix 1.4.2Feb 9, 2026
- Free Major Content Update is Available Now!Dec 8, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- Free Major Content Update is coming on December 8!Nov 26, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- Open Playtests of New Update Launch Today!Oct 29, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- Patch 1.3.0Sep 15, 2025
- Patch 1.2.0Aug 12, 2025
- Patch 1.1.0Jul 14, 2025significant · resets scoring window
- Hotfix 1.0.2Jun 26, 2025significant · resets scoring window