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) | – | 66 | 127 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 65% | 63 | 168 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | 48 | 81 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 81% | 75 | 5 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 12 reviews sampled · 14 total reviews in window · weighted 7.8 up / 1.8 down · computed 1h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (84)
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.
- 60
“Apparently, Aphelion fell victim to the financial difficulties that DON'T NOD faced. Despite a fairly solid foundation, the authors failed to polish both the narrative elements and the gameplay.”
read full review ↗ - 65
“Aphelion is a faithful portrait of DON'T NOD: ambitious ideas and rare narrative sensibility, undercut by a recurring inability to fully deliver on them. Persephone, Ariane, and Thomas deserve to be discovered, but the cracks show, and in a genre where atmosphere and coherence are everything, they weigh more than they should.”
read full review ↗ - 60
“A beautifully staged sci-fi survival story weighed down by repetitive, sometimes awkward gameplay.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Aphelion is the equivalent of a burger from a fast-food restaurant. You know it’s not good for you, it’s not the greatest and it’s not going to blow your mind but it will satiate your hunger. Give this game a try if you don’t mind playing through a slow-burn, climbing, walking and light puzzle solving game with gorgeous visuals and a rather standard sci-fi story.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“After finishing Aphelion, the feeling is one of having lived through a journey that bets much more on emotion than on spectacle for its own sake. Even while using a fascinating science fiction setting with visually imposing scenery, the game chooses to tell a deeply human story, centering the relationship between the protagonists, their sense of responsibility, and their desire to keep exploring even as every certainty falls away. This choice defines the entire production and lets the work stand out within a genre where action and big plot twists often take center stage. One of the aspects we appreciated most concerns precisely the consistency of the experience. From start to finish, Aphelion never loses sight of its own identity. It doesn’t suddenly try to turn into a shooter, doesn’t throw in superfluous mechanics to artificially inflate variety, and doesn’t constantly chase spectacle. Every element, from the narrative to the gameplay to the audiovisual side, pulls in the same direction, helping build a balanced, believable adventure. This is a quality we shouldn’t undervalue today, especially in a market where many productions end up overloading themselves with systems and content and lose sight of their original vision. The art direction undoubtedly stands as one of the highest points of the whole production. The alien scenery constantly conveys that sense of wonder and isolation that should accompany any good space exploration story. Every vista communicates something to the player, not just on an aesthetic level, but on an emotional one too. The narrative won us over too, and we especially appreciated the developers’ choice to tell the story without constantly resorting to long exposition dumps or overly explanatory dialogue. They let much of the information emerge through exploration and the interactions between the protagonists, letting the player feel like an integral part of the journey. On the gameplay side, though, the mechanics always do their job competently, but they rarely surprised us. The mechanics the developers introduce work, fit well into the progression, and feel pleasant to use, but they hardly ever come across as truly innovative. Personally, I don’t consider this a particularly serious flaw, since the game doesn’t base its value on mechanical complexity. Still, it’s undeniable that greater gameplay evolution would probably have made the experience even more memorable. The challenge level also stays fairly contained. The exploration sections and puzzles generally stay accessible, letting the player focus mainly on the narrative. What keeps coming through, though, is the quality of the overall construction. Aphelion proves that revolutionizing a genre isn’t necessary to make a good video game. Having a clear vision, developing it with consistency, and taking care of every detail so all the components work in the same direction is enough. The title achieves exactly that: it builds a harmonious experience, where narrative, gameplay, graphics, and sound complement each other without any single element overpowering the rest. This is a title that manages to stand out through the quality of its execution and its ability to emotionally engage the player. It belongs to that group of games that would rather leave players with memories tied to characters, landscapes, and emotions than to a constant chase after the shock factor. And for that reason, I can only recommend it wholeheartedly.”
read full review ↗ - 83
“Don't Nod is back, and they're doing it in style! Aphelion is a title we've come to appreciate for its top-notch storytelling, above-average scientific accuracy, and a thoroughly impressive technical execution. It's a game we'd recommend not only to sci-fi fans but also to anyone looking to enjoy a great adventure story, just the right length and with well-balanced difficulty. Finally, the price is the classic cherry on top of a delicious cake! It’s a shame that, unlike the developer’s other IPs, there won’t be a sequel.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Aphelion feels like watching a beautiful sci-fi film that stumbles on the small details. It leans heavily on an interesting story with two protagonists who deserved a bit more depth, while leaving the gameplay feeling too simple, even if the potential is there. The soundtrack and the visual design are stunning, with the planet Persephone being a real feast for the eyes, but the stealth sections fall short, the invisible walls pull you out of the experience, and the idea of having two playable characters is largely wasted. It could have been so much more.”
read full review ↗ - 58
“At the end Aphelion devolves into trial-and-error frustration, with the game too often not working the way it taught you it would. There’s some thematic resonance in that, it falls apart just as Montclair and Cross’s mission did, just as the earlier expedition did, but it’s unintentional. Don’t Nod discovers that the edge of the solar system isn’t just farther than its ambitions can go; it’s so far it effectively breaks a game. Yes: Aphelion flies too close to the sun.”
read full review ↗ - 30
“Aphelion has the look and sound of an ambitious cinematic sci-fi adventure, with a visually striking planet, strong performances, and an excellent soundtrack. Unfortunately, its frustrating climbing, repetitive stealth sections, heavy corridor design, technical bugs, and underwhelming story turn that promise into a slow and often tedious journey.”
read full review ↗ - 35
“As if frostbitten of any nuance, intrigue, or genuine character, Aphelion may just be Don't Nod's most boring title of all time.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Aphelion offers a gripping sci-fi mystery with two well-written protagonists and realistic astronaut gameplay focused on survival tools. While the experience becomes somewhat repetitive due to a lack of new mechanics later on, the emotional story still makes it a worthwhile experience from DonʼtNod Entertainment.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Aphelion is a game that relies on atmosphere, narrative, and setting to drive its journey, but ultimately relegates gameplay to the background. The combination of linear exploration, simple challenges, and repetitive mechanics means that player engagement varies considerably throughout the game.”
read full review ↗
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Pizza Fria…and 72 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Workaround Fix for Crash with DLSSJun 2, 2026
- Hope-01 mission patch, 2026Oct 31, 2025