Icarus

Icarus PC is a first-person and third-person PvE survival sandbox from RocketWerkz, built around exploration, resource gathering, crafting, hunting, base construction, and hazardous expeditions on a failed terraformed planet. The current Steam storefront still uses the name ICARUS; no verified rebrand or replacement edition was found for the PC version.

You play as a prospector sent down from an orbital station to extract exotic matter and complete contracts. The game supports solo play and cooperative sessions for up to eight players, with a structure that can shift between focused objectives and long-running planetary survival.

Survival expeditions with two different rhythms

The original identity of Icarus comes from its mission-based format. You land with limited equipment, establish a temporary foothold, gather local materials, unlock technology, and complete objectives before extracting. This creates a clear pressure loop: every shelter, tool, food supply, and route into a dangerous biome must support the current prospect.

Players who prefer a more persistent sandbox can establish themselves in Open World mode. Open World sessions remove the mission timer and let you maintain a permanent settlement on the selected map while taking on operations and other activities from within that save.

Outposts provide a lower-pressure building space focused on construction and experimentation. They are useful for players who want to test layouts, decorate a settlement, or learn the building systems without treating every structure as disposable mission equipment.

The perspective is flexible. Icarus is primarily played from first person, but a third-person camera can be selected when you want a broader view of your character, equipment, mounts, or surroundings.

Weather, wildlife, and preparation

Icarus treats the environment as an active threat rather than simple scenery. A toxic atmosphere, storms, forest fires, temperature changes, hostile animals, and apex predators can turn a routine resource run into an emergency retreat.

Preparation and logistics matter more than rushing up the technology tree. Oxygen, food, water, shelter, medical supplies, tools, and backup equipment all determine how far you can travel before returning to base. A well-planned expedition can open a new region; a poorly supplied one can end with lost progress and an expensive recovery.

Combat is mainly against the planet's wildlife and other environmental dangers. Hunting provides food and materials, while stronger creatures demand better weapons, defensive positioning, and awareness of the terrain. The result is a survival game where construction and combat remain closely connected.

The building system moves from simple hand-built structures toward more advanced materials and industrial facilities. Base design is practical as well as cosmetic: walls protect against weather, workstations unlock production, and power infrastructure supports higher-tier equipment and automation.

Three progression layers

Icarus separates progression into several systems that serve different purposes. The planetary technology tree covers equipment and structures crafted during a prospect, advancing through tiers from primitive tools to advanced composites, electronics, and industrial production.

Player talents shape the role of each prospector. More than one hundred talent choices allow specialization in areas such as hunting, exploration, building, farming, taming, combat, and survival. A player focused on construction can solve problems differently from a hunter or a specialist in resource gathering.

The third layer is the Orbital Workshop. Exotic matter earned on the planet can be exchanged for permanent equipment and upgrades that are available on later drops. Workshop items give the game a metagame economy without replacing the need to gather and craft locally.

This structure is one of Icarus's clearest differences from a straightforward open-world survival game. Your character and long-term choices persist, but each deployment still asks you to rebuild tools, establish infrastructure, and adapt to the conditions of the selected prospect.

Animals, mounts, farming, and companions

Wildlife is not only a source of danger. Icarus includes taming and animal husbandry, allowing players to earn the trust of creatures, train companions, establish farms, and breed animals with useful traits.

Mounts improve travel across large maps, while trained animals can provide protection or practical support. Companions also have their own talent trees, giving animal management a progression layer beyond simply collecting pets.

These systems give builders and cooperative groups additional reasons to maintain a long-term base. Farming can support regular operations, while mounts and companions reduce the logistical burden of moving between distant biomes.

Base game, expansions, and paid content

The paid base game contains the core Icarus experience, including its main survival systems, mission structure, Open World play, and Outposts. RocketWerkz continues to add free updates to the base game, while optional paid content expands the available maps, campaigns, animals, and decoration options.

The major map expansions currently listed for PC are Styx, New Frontiers, and Dangerous Horizons. These additions broaden the playable territories with new environments, threats, missions, and progression opportunities rather than functioning as simple cosmetic upgrades.

Additional paid content includes Great Hunts Campaigns, which emphasizes dangerous creature hunts and boss-style encounters, plus Homestead, pet-related content, furniture packs, and multiple themed Outposts. The storefront also lists the Zebra Rescue Mission and the free Matariki Mission.

The commercial model is therefore a paid survival game with optional expansions and cosmetic or specialized content packs. There is no requirement to purchase every add-on to access the base game's principal modes.

PC features and multiplayer reality

On PC, Icarus is distributed through Steam and includes Steam achievements, Steam Cloud, Steam Trading Cards, Family Sharing, and online cooperative play. The game can be played solo, and its local save approach supports offline play after the game files are installed.

Dedicated servers are available for groups that want a persistent multiplayer world without relying on the original peer-to-peer host. Standard sessions can also be hosted by one player for friends, but the host's availability matters more when the prospect is stored locally with that session.

Controller support exists for Xbox, PlayStation, and Switch-style controllers, but it is limited. RocketWerkz recommends keyboard and mouse because some menus and game features are not fully covered by controller input.

There is no official mod support. Independent modding communities exist, but frequent game updates can require mods to be maintained separately. Players should treat third-party modifications as an unofficial part of the ecosystem rather than a supported PC feature.

Steam lists interface and subtitle support for English, German, French, Russian, Brazilian Portuguese, Latin American Spanish, Simplified Chinese, Traditional Chinese, Japanese, and Korean. Voice acting for Prospector Sol is in English.

Who should play Icarus?

Icarus suits players who enjoy methodical survival, large-scale building, environmental hazards, and progression that rewards planning. It is especially attractive to cooperative groups that want both structured missions and the freedom to maintain a shared planetary base.

The game is less suitable for anyone looking for a purely relaxed crafting sandbox, a competitive PvP survival game, or a tightly linear campaign. Even in Open World mode, supplies, weather, wildlife, and travel remain central concerns.

Players who enjoy the persistent exploration and construction of first-person survival adventures such as Subnautica may appreciate Icarus's resource planning, but Icarus places more emphasis on expeditions, technology tiers, and cooperative operations.

Similar survival games on PC

For a fantasy setting with cooperative base building, biome progression, sailing, and boss encounters, open-world survival games like Valheim offer a useful comparison. Valheim is more focused on exploration through a procedurally generated world, while Icarus is more structured around prospecting, technology, and environmental preparation.

Players interested in creature management and deeper server-based survival may also compare Icarus with creature-focused survival sandboxes such as ARK: Survival Evolved. Both games combine crafting, building, taming, and dangerous wildlife, but Icarus has a stronger mission economy and a more deliberate expedition loop.

The best way to understand Icarus is as a hybrid: part mission-based survival game, part persistent open-world builder, and part long-term character progression system.

Icarus FAQ

Is Icarus still called ICARUS on PC?

Yes. The current Steam listing uses the stylized name ICARUS. No verified PC storefront rebrand or replacement edition was found.

Is Icarus a single-player or multiplayer game?

It supports both. You can play alone, host a cooperative session for friends, or use a dedicated server for a more persistent multiplayer setup. The game is PvE rather than a PvP survival sandbox.

Does Icarus have a permanent open world?

Yes. Open World mode provides untimed, persistent settlements on the selected map. Players can explore, build, gather resources, and complete available operations without the original mission timer.

What is the difference between Missions and Open World?

Missions are focused deployments with defined objectives and, depending on the prospect, time pressure. Open World is designed for long-term settlement and exploration, while allowing many operations and activities to be completed from within the persistent save.

Does Icarus support controllers?

Yes, but support is limited. Keyboard and mouse remain the recommended control method because not every menu and feature is fully adapted for gamepads.

Does Icarus have mods?

RocketWerkz does not provide official mod support. Third-party modding communities exist, but mods may require maintenance after weekly game updates and are not covered by official support.

Do I need every DLC pack to play Icarus?

No. The base game includes the principal survival, mission, Open World, and Outpost systems. Paid expansions add maps and specialized content, while cosmetic packs and selected missions are optional additions.