videogamescritic
← all games
NEO Scavenger

NEO Scavenger

Blue Bottle Games · released Dec 15, 2014

IndieRPGStrategyPC

NEO Scavenger is a game where you must survive in the wasteland long enough to figure out who you are. Each turn, you must decide where to go, how to scavenge for supplies, and how to deal with anything and anyone you encounter.

Steam page ↗Metacritic 77 · users 7.5 ↗
83
VGC Score
▲Improvingmedium confidence
81%
At launch
90%
Steam all-time
77%
Press
73%
Player sentiment
100%
Recent sentiment

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.

ComponentPositiveQuality (0-100)Weight (pseudo-reviews)
Press reviews (Metacritic)–776
All-time Steam reviews90%841000
Metacritic user ratings–783
Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted)100%972
Calibration prior (typical game)–7250

Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 7 reviews sampled · 5 total reviews in window · weighted 6.2 up / 0 down · computed 59m ago · full methodology →

Press & Creators reviews (7)

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
    LEVEL (Czech Republic)
    trust 63Feb 2, 2015

    “Old-school strategy, what tries and succeeds to bring you first-hand all the anxieties, that you would probably experience in a post-apocalyptic world. [Issue#249]”

  • 79
    IGNIGN
    trust 61Dec 22, 2014

    “NEO Scavenger is a deep, exciting sandbox for discovery with some truly surprising and inspired moments of storytelling. Its detailed and gritty survival mechanics bring an edge of realism, but often serve as a daunting barrier to some of the best parts of the story.”

    read full review ↗
  • 67
    Game World Navigator Magazine
    trust 61Jan 24, 2015

    “Top games of survival genre, alas, are all built from an action or platformer base, which are rather constraining for a thoughtful (or just not-so-agile) player. So NEO Scavenger offers a unique experience: surviving with the luxury of turn-based gameplay. [Feb 2015]”

  • 80
    Games.cz
    trust 60Jan 9, 2015

    “The result of a passionate night between the F.T.L. and Fallout games is a bit ugly to look at and very hostile to the guests. If you have the nerves of steel you can find some hundreds of hours of pure entertainment. NEO Scavenger game is definitely the most interesting survival game of the last year.”

    read full review ↗
  • 75
    SoftpediaSoftpedia
    trust 51Jan 22, 2015

    “The biggest asset and problem that the game has is its difficulty level, because it does create that feeling of challenge that every good rogue-like needs and can produce moments of small but enchanting triumph, but it also tends to limit access to the story a little too much.”

    read full review ↗
  • 69
    Games Master UK
    trust 48Feb 22, 2015

    “A bleak-but-enjoyable survival game that's occasionally just a little too harsh for its own good. [Mar 2015, p.72]”

  • 85
    MeriStationMeriStation
    trust 45Jan 8, 2015

    “NEO Scavenger is a fantastic very complete game with original and intense mechanics, and huge replayability. But most of all, it is highly lethal. A real challenge for lovers of survival games. Blue Bottle Games has created a very interesting offer at an affordable price that guarantees many hours of entertainment. A unique and almost essential title, which will test our skills and will force us to make brutal decisions in order to survive.”

    read full review ↗

Patch history

  1. Today Only: NEO Scavenger Only $3.50 at chrono.gg!
    Jun 11, 2017
  2. Today Only: NEO Scavenger Only $3.50 at chrono.gg!
    Jun 11, 2017
  3. NEO Scavenger Is Officially Updated to v1.15
    Mar 15, 2017
  4. NEO Scavenger Is Officially Updated to v1.15
    Mar 15, 2017
  5. Happy 2017! And NEO Scavenger Update v1.15: Autosave Fixes.
    Jan 7, 2017
  6. Happy 2017! And NEO Scavenger Update v1.15: Autosave Fixes.
    Jan 7, 2017
  7. NEO Scavenger Update v1.14: Autosave! And Modding Fixes.
    Apr 28, 2016
  8. NEO Scavenger Update v1.14: Autosave! And Modding Fixes.
    Apr 28, 2016
  9. New NEO Scavenger Test Build 1.14: Autosave, Modding Features, and Bug Fixes
    Mar 3, 2016
  10. New NEO Scavenger Test Build 1.14: Autosave, Modding Features, and Bug Fixes
    Mar 3, 2016
  11. NEO Scavenger Update v1.13: Modding Clean-up, Bug Fixes
    Nov 17, 2015
  12. NEO Scavenger Update v1.13: Modding Clean-up, Bug Fixes
    Nov 17, 2015
  13. New Test Build 1.13: Modding Clean-up, Bug Fixes
    Nov 4, 2015
  14. New Test Build 1.13: Modding Clean-up, Bug Fixes
    Nov 4, 2015
  15. NEO Scavenger Update v1.12: Mouse Enhancements and Bug Fixes
    Aug 4, 2015
  16. NEO Scavenger Update v1.12: Mouse Enhancements and Bug Fixes
    Aug 4, 2015
  17. New Test Build 1.12: Mouse Enhancements and Bug Fixes
    Jul 24, 2015
  18. New Test Build 1.12: Mouse Enhancements and Bug Fixes
    Jul 24, 2015
  19. NEO Scavenger Update v1.11: Modding Updates and Bug Fixes
    Jun 20, 2015
  20. NEO Scavenger Update v1.11: Modding Updates and Bug Fixes
    Jun 20, 2015
  21. New Test Build 1.11: Null Pointer Bug Fixes
    Jun 10, 2015
  22. New Test Build 1.11: Null Pointer Bug Fixes
    Jun 10, 2015
  23. New Test Build 1.1: Split Data Files for Modders
    May 28, 2015
  24. New Test Build 1.1: Split Data Files for Modders
    May 28, 2015
  25. NEO Scavenger Update v1.06: Modding Updates and Minor Fixes
    May 21, 2015
  26. NEO Scavenger Update v1.06: Modding Updates and Minor Fixes
    May 21, 2015
  27. New Test Build 1.06: Mac Fullscreen, Modding Improvements, and Bug Fixes
    May 14, 2015
  28. New Test Build 1.06: Mac Fullscreen, Modding Improvements, and Bug Fixes
    May 14, 2015
  29. NEO Scavenger Update v1.05: Modding and Other Minor Bug Fixes
    Apr 22, 2015
  30. NEO Scavenger Update v1.05: Modding and Other Minor Bug Fixes
    Apr 22, 2015
  31. New Test Build 1.05: Modding and Other Bug Fixes
    Apr 14, 2015
  32. New Test Build 1.05: Modding and Other Bug Fixes
    Apr 14, 2015
  33. NEO Scavenger Update v1.04: Moddable Campaign Start and DMC, Stability Fixes
    Mar 11, 2015
  34. NEO Scavenger Update v1.04: Moddable Campaign Start and DMC, Stability Fixes
    Mar 11, 2015
  35. New Test Build 1.04: Hex Resource Bug Fix
    Feb 27, 2015
  36. New Test Build 1.04: Hex Resource Bug Fix
    Feb 27, 2015
  37. New Test Build 1.03: Crash Bug Fix
    Feb 14, 2015
  38. New Test Build 1.03: Crash Bug Fix
    Feb 14, 2015
  39. New Test Build 1.02: Bug Fixes
    Feb 13, 2015
  40. New Test Build 1.02: Bug Fixes
    Feb 13, 2015

…and 10 earlier patch announcements.