Space For Improvement
Over the last few weeks, I have been playing Ixion, a city-building strategy game made by independent developer Bullwork Studios and published by Kasedo Games. Ixion was initially released on PC way back in 2022, but here we are three years later, as the game has finally arrived on console. So, how does this strategy game fare on console, and was Ixion worth the wait? Well, it’s complicated.
Ixion is a city-building game similar to the likes of Frostpunk and SimCity. You build a settlement, manage resources, and keep people happy, or at least try to. A few things do set Ixion apart; firstly, the setting being space and more specifically a ship named the Tiqqun (pronounced Tycoon, because obviously..). Secondly, Ixion has a deep focus on story, something which other games in the genre tend to put less of a spotlight on or completely ignore altogether. This genre is ripe for improvements and depth, and Ixion goes the distance to provide as such.
Before I go into my experience with the story, I want to talk more about the Tiqqun. Players take the role of the ship’s administrator, meaning you are responsible not only for completing the Tiqqun’s mission but the crew’s survival. So, what is the Tiqqun’s mission? Well, the ship was designed by DOLOS Aerospace with the purpose of testing their new VOHLE engine, built with the goal of achieving deep space interstellar travel.
The early hours of the game teach you the basic mechanics of building, collecting resources, and upgrading the Tiqqun. Building is fairly simple; you select the type of building you want to create and place it somewhere within the pre-defined grid. Not allowing free-building to place things anywhere you like is both a good and a bad thing. On one hand, it will make things easier for those less experienced with the city building genre, but on the flip side grid grid-based building is always more restrictive for experienced players.
What makes this even more odd is that Ixion does not do a good job of explaining its systems to the uninitiated. Jeff, who also played some of the game, had trouble due to the lack of tutorials explaining that you needed roads connected to different buildings and resource piles within the ship to interact with them. That being said, as a more experienced player within the genre, this wasn’t too much of an issue for me, but there is definitely room for improvement. At the same time, one part of the onboarding process that Ixion gets right is the constant objectives given to you as a driving force, both through the story and to make you interact with different mechanics.
Speaking of, you will find that you quickly run out of space in the initial building area known as Sector 1, but connecting roads to the various arrows on the right or left wall of each sector will allow you to commit resources to unlocking a new sector and therefore gaining more building space. Just beware that committing these resources towards a new sector too early can be disastrous. That’s because until you can build a fleet of ships and send out probes to find resources, allowing you to mine them and bring them back to the Tiqqun. Resources can be extremely limited, and some resources are required purely to keep your ship operational.
As you progress you’ll be able to build a tech lab which allows you to research new building types or upgrade existing buildings. The way you unlock these upgrades is by collecting science research, something which you can earn by sending a science ship out to different points of interest.
Eventually, you will build the VOHLE engine and complete your first VOHLE jump, but things don’t quite go to plan. This is where the story really begins, as you end up losing contact with DOLOS and needing to find a way to survive on your own. When it comes to the story, I was surprised to find that not only is Ixion's main quest fully voiced, but it also has cutscenes between chapters, helping to tie things together and giving Ixion an edge in presentation over many of its direct competitors. However, that is unfortunately where my praise for the story stops.
Unfortunately, due to a consistent crashing after the first couple of chapters, meaning I needed to constantly restart my save, it made it impossible to finish the story. Initially, I had planned to hold this review until I could finish the story, but the game has now been out on console for a few weeks and has had a few patches since. Unfortunately, despite other aspects of the game seeing their technical concerns addressed, this issue still persists on my PS5 Pro. As the game is currently blocking any chance of seeing it through, I’ve decided to publish my review as is.
Visually, Ixion feels right, everything from menus and its chosen font type look suitably sci-fi. However, I found that the presentation could be blurry at times especially with a lot of builds and crew members on the Tiqqun. When it comes to cutscenes these are all pre-render CGI and as such look great but they obviously are not representative of the visuals throughout the rest of the game.
That isn’t my only issue with Ixion either. Being such an in-depth city-building strategy game means that Ixion struggles to adapt well to the controller. Is the game playable on a controller? Yes, but it’s not always comfortable to play. Having a heavy focus on menus will always present challenges for controller play, but having menus that aren’t well explained initially, combined with certain menus being tab or list-based, with others being radial, makes playing on controller harder than it needed to be. A unified menu design with all menus taking on the same style would help, but most of all, menus need to be more responsive to controller inputs.
In the end, as a fan of the genre, Ixion is a deep city-building strategy game that puts a bigger focus on story to set itself apart from the competition. So, if you’re familiar with the genre, Ixion is definitely worth a try. Unfortunately, given its current technical issues and less-than-optimal controller-friendly design on console, I can say it’s a decent game with lots of space for improvement. So, for now, if you have the option to experience this game on PC, I strongly suggest that platform as it feels built solely for it.
Developer - Bulwark Studios. Publisher - Kasedo Games. Released - December 7th, 2022, April 8th, 2025. Available On - Xbox Series X/S, PS5, PC. Rated - (E10+) Mild Language, Mild Violence. Platform Reviewed - PS5 Pro. Review Access - A review code was provided by the publisher for the purpose of this review.
I’m Jordan I have a background in game design and am deeply passionate about accessibility in gaming. My favourite games/franchises include Shenmue, Red Dead Redemption 2, Plague Tale: Requiem, Metal Gear Solid 3, Yakuza, Splinter Cell, and Assassin’s Creed.