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) | – | 72 | 15 |
| Creator reviews (1 tracked) | – | 97 | 0 |
| All-time Steam reviews | 72% | 68 | 1000 |
| Metacritic user ratings | – | 77 | 4 |
| Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted) | 59% | 59 | 2 |
| Calibration prior (typical game) | – | 72 | 50 |
Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 6 reviews sampled · 7 total reviews in window · weighted 3 up / 2.1 down · computed 3h ago · full methodology →
Press & Creators reviews (60)
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.
- 70
“Aven Colony is a very addictive city-building game, and it's a pleasure to spend a few hours after work with it. Despite not the best interface and certain flaws in the mechanics, the project stands out for its theme and content. And it is definitely a must buy for the fans of the genre.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Aven Colony strikes a superb balance of introducing its systems and giving one enough freedom to live and learn.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Aven Colony isn't Cities: Skylines, nor does it try to be. It's a space colony simulation, and it does that well enough to earn a spot on your shelf, maybe not in space, but definitely in your library.”
read full review ↗ - 50
“Lack of depth, average story and repetitive mission design makes Aven Colony a great looking, but bland city builder.”
read full review ↗ - 75
“Aven Colony is a well made city-building strategy game. Well-known solutions were improved and the end result makes you play for hours at a time. The "just one more building" syndrome is strong with this one - even irritating music and occasional graphical issues don't matter that much. Aven Colony is simply a good game.”
read full review ↗ - 80
“Aven Colony has shaped itself up well with the other city-building game that are on the market today. It offers a Campaign mode with a good story line and an array of different objects to help mix it up a bit as well as having the sandbox mode that allows for endless, customisable fun.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Aven Colony is an addictive city-building game set on a planet called Aven Prime, with a science-fiction twist. Growing a small colony into a massively sprawling cityscape is a very fulfilling experience, with plenty of hazards and obstacles along the way.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“A faithful genre piece, Aven Colony takes the socio-economic juggling of settlement building games like Tropico and Banished, transports it to space, and establishes a pretty successful outpost.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“When Aven Colony is at its best, it's making a strong case for the viability of the real-time strategy genre on console via an addictive mix of easy-to-grasp city building mechanics, a surprisingly intriguing sci-fi story, and a tight campaign that offers variety and never outstays its welcome. Unfortunately, it has a number of annoying technical issues which -- while they might not affect every player -- are persistent enough to undermine the experience depending on your tolerance for slow down and hard crashes. If you can weather the storm of technical shortcomings Aven Colony throws at you, you'll find an impressive, accessible strategy game that feels right at home on PS4.”
read full review ↗ - 77
“Aven Colony suffers from a mild identity crisis. It converges many base building sims in one, never collapsing under that weight but never excelling either. All in all, it's a pretty decent and stable colony sim and even manages to offer some moments of otherworldly poetry.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Aven Colony is a unique take on the genre. It is also one that works surprisingly well on consoles. For those with the itch to build some cities and don't mind the alien landscape I definitely recommend it.”
read full review ↗ - 70
“Aven Colony is thoroughly competent but uninspiring colony management game with overly-familiar mechanics. It’s an interesting diversion for fans of the genre but breaks no new ground.”
read full review ↗
GameMAG
Slant Magazine
Gaming Professors
Hu3br
GRYOnline.pl
Invision Community
Cubed3
PC Invasion
Push Square
ZTGD
MonsterVine…and 48 more tracked reviews.
Patch history
- Aven Colony update: Ark fixes and new Battery interfaceMar 2, 2018significant · resets scoring window
- Aven Colony update: improved ice & more!Feb 21, 2018significant · resets scoring window
- Aven Colony update: improved ice & more!Feb 21, 2018
- Content Drop 3 now available, including Governor Perks, 3 new Challenge maps, 3 new Sandbox maps, + more!Feb 16, 2018significant · resets scoring window
- Content Drop 3 now available, including Governor Perks, 3 new Challenge maps, 3 new Sandbox maps, + more!Feb 16, 2018significant · resets scoring window
- New update: Cinematic Camera with Hovercar Chase Cam, new Main Menu, and more!Dec 19, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- New update: Cinematic Camera with Hovercar Chase Cam, new Main Menu, and more!Dec 19, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- Content drop 2: The Expedition Update is now live!Dec 5, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- Content drop 2: The Expedition Update is now live!Dec 5, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- Aven Colony post-release update #13 is now liveSep 15, 2017
- Aven Colony post-release update #13 is now liveSep 15, 2017
- Aven Colony post-launch update #12 is now live!Sep 14, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- Aven Colony post-launch update #12 is now live!Sep 14, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- Post-launch update #11 now liveSep 5, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- Post-launch update #11 now liveSep 5, 2017
- Post-launch update #10 now live -- hotfixSep 1, 2017
- Post-launch update #10 now live -- hotfixSep 1, 2017
- Introducing Hovercars, Space Elevators, Serpent isle, and more! Content Drop 1 has arrived!Aug 31, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- Introducing Hovercars, Space Elevators, Serpent isle, and more! Content Drop 1 has arrived!Aug 31, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- Post-Launch Update #8 now live - optimizations for large colonies (1.0.20802)Aug 16, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- Post-Launch Update #8 now live - optimizations for large colonies (1.0.20802)Aug 16, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- Post-Launch Update #7 now live - tweaks & optimizations (1.0.20712)Aug 11, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- Post-Launch Update #7 now live - tweaks & optimizations (1.0.20712)Aug 11, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- Post-Launch Updates #5 and #6 now live - tweaks and tuning changes (1.0.20618)Aug 8, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- Post-Launch Updates #5 and #6 now live - tweaks and tuning changes (1.0.20618)Aug 8, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- Aven Colony 1.0.20472 is now live, including the achievement browser, notification fixes, plasma turret fixes, & more!Aug 4, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- Aven Colony 1.0.20472 is now live, including the achievement browser, notification fixes, plasma turret fixes, & more!Aug 4, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- Aven Colony 1.0.20363 is now live!Aug 2, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- Aven Colony 1.0.20363 is now live!Aug 2, 2017
- Aven Colony 1.0.20273 is now live!Jul 29, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- Aven Colony 1.0.20273 is now live!Jul 29, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- Aven Colony update notes: 1.0.20217Jul 27, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- Aven Colony update notes: 1.0.20217Jul 27, 2017
- New Aven Colony beta update: 0.1.19684Jul 17, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- New Aven Colony beta update: 0.1.19684Jul 17, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- New Aven Colony beta update: 0.1.19450Jul 12, 2017significant · resets scoring window
- New Aven Colony beta update: 0.1.19450Jul 12, 2017significant · resets scoring window
…and 10 earlier patch announcements.