A Game About Making A Planet

Building a world, one drifting particle at a time

A Game About Making A Planet is a short, minimalist incremental game from Acrylic Pixel Games, built around particle collection and gravity manipulation. Players start with tiny particles drifting across a bare cosmic backdrop and gradually pull them together, through careful interaction and purchased upgrades, into a fully formed planet. This review draws on an English review sample, 41 reviews at the time of research, Mixed.

Praised for a calming, satisfying core loop

Reviewers consistently credit the simple pleasure of watching the central mechanic play out. "It embraces simplicity with confidence, creating an experience that feels calming rather than demanding," reads the sample's most detailed review, describing the moment-to-moment loop of particles clustering into larger, more rewarding shapes. A separate reviewer independently credits the same core satisfaction: "The core gameplay is fun and the looks are polished." This review treats that as fair: reviewers who otherwise land on very different overall verdicts converging on praise for the specific feeling of the merging mechanic is credible evidence of a genuinely well-tuned core loop, whatever else surrounds it.

Praised as a decent entry in the "zen incremental" genre

This review also found reviewers situating the game favourably within its specific niche, one popularised by the similar A Game About Feeding A Black Hole. "The physics system was decent, the upgrades were reasonably impactful... the overall concept is charming," reads one detailed review. A separate reviewer, who owns the game via a bundle, independently reaches a similar conclusion: "Must feed that incremental and idle itch regularly," recommending it at the price they paid. This review treats that as fair: reviewers experienced with the specific "zen incremental" genre finding the mechanics and concept sound, even while flagging other issues, is a credible, if modest, point in its favour.

Praised as an effective, relaxing wind-down experience

This review also found more than one reviewer specifically praising the game's ability to help them unwind. "A good fun little zen-type game. Music is calming, feedback loop of merging particles is satisfying," reads one review after 12 hours on the earlier demo plus the full release. A separate reviewer, more tongue-in-cheek, credits the exact same quality from an unusual angle: "its the ultimate sleeping pill before going to sleep, honest to god last 2 days I was waiting for night time just to play it and fall dead asleep!" This review treats that as fair: multiple reviewers independently crediting the game's calming, low-stakes atmosphere as an intentional strength, even when framed humorously, is credible evidence it succeeds at its stated relaxing tone.

A fair, heavily corroborated complaint about very short content

Set against that praise, this review found an extremely consistent complaint about the game's length. "The game is EXTREMELY short. If you have played the demo you have essentially played the game... I played all four [levels] at only 2.5 hours," reads one detailed review. A separate, more critical reviewer reports an even shorter experience: "It's pretty and chill for like 20 minutes, then it sort of fades to being just repetitive." This review treats that as fair and serious: reviewers independently reporting runtimes from 20 minutes up to 2.5 hours to see everything the game offers is strong, corroborated evidence that the content on offer is genuinely thin.

A fair, corroborated complaint about repetitive, low-strategy progression

This review also found a specific, corroborated complaint about how the game's later stages are structured. "The game is set up with 'stages', which feel less like more content and more like game padding as it's a way to force a complete skill tree reset without having to build a prestige system," reads one review. A separate reviewer independently describes the same lack of depth in what to buy: "There's no real strategy to what you buy, other than obviously maxing your income immediately... and from then on it's just... buy whatever, and you'll eventually win." This review treats that as fair: two reviewers independently identifying the same structural shortfall, that repeated stages substitute for genuine new content and upgrades, is credible evidence of a shallow incremental system dressed up as a longer game.

A fair complaint about price relative to content

This review also found a related, corroborated complaint about value. "This game was ok, but not worth the full price at all. It is barely 2hrs for 100%... Very much overpriced from what it is and would only recommend on a 80% sale," reads one review. A separate reviewer independently reaches a similar conclusion: "the price is a tad bit high for how little content is given although not too unreasonable." This review treats that as fair: reviewers converging on the same specific complaint, that the asking price outpaces the amount of genuinely new content, is a reasonable expectation for a game whose own reviewers frequently compare it to a fuller genre peer.

Achievement data corroborates a short, low-friction experience

This review's own check of Steam's global achievement data, across 10 tracked milestones, shows 99% of players completing the very first particle merge, 79.6% clearing the first level, and a gentle, gradual decline from there, with 45.1% still completing the third level. That gentle slope, rather than a steep difficulty wall, is consistent with reviewer accounts of a short, low-friction experience that most players who start end up finishing quickly, reinforcing the complaint that there simply isn't very much game here to begin with.

Final verdict

A Game About Making A Planet is a pretty, well-tuned incremental toy that earns genuine credit for a calming, satisfying core mechanic and a relaxing tone that several reviewers specifically valued as a wind-down experience. This review found that praise heavily undercut by a strongly corroborated complaint that the game is very short, padded out with repeated stages rather than real new content, and priced higher than that thin offering comfortably supports. For fans of short, low-stakes "zen incremental" games looking for a quick, pretty diversion, it's worth a look, ideally on a discount; players wanting substantial content or real incremental depth should temper expectations.