Orbitmine

Sure, it mentions on the store page that AI was used in the creation of the game in very specific instances, but you don't learn until you come across the Dev making comments in the discussion forum that the game is 100% AI created in Vibe Coding and they don't know how to code at all... so... VERY misleading. Refund requested.

Orbitmine is a short and sweet incremental game, but the gameplay loop feels pretty repetitive and boring for the genre.

My biggest frustration was not realizing until more than halfway through that you don’t need to return to the starting point at all. Once you’re past the planet’s border, you can just fly a bit further out and launch into space from anywhere. I wish the game had explained that earlier — it would’ve saved a lot of unnecessary backtracking.

It has a nice chill vibe and looks decent, but it ends way too quickly and lacks the satisfying depth I expected. Feels more like a prototype than a full game. I still cannot recommend it.

There's a plenty to love here which makes me sad that I can't recommend it. The game starts off pretty fun but it suffers some frustrating flaws that disrupt the rhythm and feel more like padding than they do engaging gameplay. I'll break it down into pros and cons:

The Pros
-Fun little incremental game
-Short and sweet(ish) (just short of 3hrs)
-Simple but straightforward mechanics and a reasonably satisfying power curve.
-Enjoyable but soothing neo aesthetic and chill music and vibe

The Cons
-Initially charming little fuel system and storage capacity grow thin VERY quickly -- the game only offers you two points to start the map (it's a consistent planet/world) and you don't unlock the 2nd one until about halfway in.

You spend more and more time having to fly from your start point to where you left off mining and then alllllll the way back again. Misjudged your fuel by a second or two? Great, your ship explodes and you're out anywhere from 40% to 100% of the bits you mined.

But mostly... it just... feels like empty space. It's not exciting, you have no jet boost or other tricks to push the limits and try and get back. You just weren't looking at the fuel gaze on the bottom left hand of your screen and now you're making an almost always hopeless bid to get back.

-Similarly, the cargo limit -- the game is very zen, very chill and enjoyable, except if you don't notice that your cargo capacity is full (again, only located at the bottom left corner of your screen), you can mine a bunch of bits (which do not respawn) that are just wasted.

-The game offers 4 Seasons (four quarters) of the planet but only provides you a starting point at the top and the far right. Why?? So that it stretches the game out making you fly all the way from your starting point to where you left off. It just feels like padding. You unlock infinite fuel LITERALLY just before you finish the game. At a point where it's not a relief, it's frustratingly unnecessary.

In summary, these things really just slow the game down. The game is fun but that fun and progress is disrupted by these needless speedbumps. It makes it so you gather power but that pay off feels stifled by long stretches of just... getting where you need to go. Why make you extract at the entry point? Why can't I just die when my fuel runs out and keep all my points?

Again, because the game would honestly be an hour and change long at that point.

It's fun, it's cute, but it's really frustrating. You can restart with a fresh planet after you beat it but there's no further upgrades, nothing else to do. So it adds 0 replayability.

I had some fun but I felt pretty annoyed too. 2/5. Can't recommend it. You could play worse, but I've played so much better. With nothing but respect.