Far Mining

Far Mining released on Steam on June 4, 2026 from developer and publisher LostVolBytes, priced at $2.99. It's a short, relaxing incremental game about mining asteroids to upgrade a stranded spaceship, framed around a captain left behind when their crewmates escape through a stargate ahead of an attack, working to earn their own way home.

A small framing device that earns its keep

For a $2.99 incremental, reviewers consistently credit Far Mining with more narrative intent than the genre usually bothers with, treating the framing as a genuine hook rather than a throwaway excuse for the mining loop. The stranded-captain setup, complete with a talkative parrot guide reviewers describe as genuinely funny, gives the resource-gathering loop a light emotional throughline that several reviewers specifically call out as an unusual and welcome touch for something this small and cheap. It's not a heavy story by any measure, but it's enough to make mining copper, gold, and eventually more exotic resources feel like it's building toward something rather than existing for its own sake.

Distinct from the developer's last game, for better and for worse

LostVolBytes previously released Far Fishing, a similarly short and cheap incremental with its own dedicated small following, and several reviewers approached Far Mining specifically worried it would be a cheap reskin of that earlier game, worry that reviewers report was unfounded once they actually played it: the ship-flying, battery-management, and upgrade structure here are described as meaningfully different mechanics rather than a reused template, right down to how resources are gathered and spent. That's a real point in the game's favor for players following the developer's small catalogue. Less favorably, though, at least one reviewer explicitly reports the same stutter and lag problems recurring from Far Fishing, describing random slowdowns and teleport-like movement hitches that they say point to an underlying engine issue rather than a one-off bug specific to this release, a carryover complaint worth flagging for anyone sensitive to that kind of technical rough edge.

A short game that different players clock very differently

Length draws the most divided reaction in the review base, more so than any other single aspect of the game. Several reviewers explicitly praise the short runtime, a few hours including all eleven achievements, as exactly right for a low-priced incremental that doesn't overstay its welcome, with more than one saying they specifically prefer it to genre peers that pad out to dozens of hours. Other reviewers reach the opposite conclusion: one describes it as taking far longer than expected, mistaking the midpoint for near-completion, and criticizes a late-game shift toward start-stop battery management as friction rather than meaningful new mechanical depth. Both readings come from reviewers who otherwise recommend the game, which suggests the core loop's pacing lands well for some players and wears thin for others depending on tolerance for repetition rather than there being an objectively broken pacing curve.

The upgrade loop itself, and what it does and doesn't ask of a player

Beyond framing and length, reviewers are fairly consistent about what the moment-to-moment upgrade loop actually offers. Resources fund a fairly linear string of ship improvements, more cargo space, faster mining, better shields, and reviewers who criticize it do so specifically because there's little room to build differently from one playthrough to the next: several negative reviews describe the choice at each upgrade tier as effectively predetermined, simply buying whichever option is objectively strongest rather than weighing a real tradeoff. That's a fair criticism as far as it goes, but it's worth noting alongside the reviewers who say that's precisely what they wanted from a $2.99 chill incremental, a low-friction loop to unwind with rather than a system demanding real optimization. A small but appreciated bit of hands-on control, steering the ship directly with mouse-and-keyboard or Steam's controller-input helper, gives the loop a bit more physical engagement than the genre's usual pure-clicking baseline, though several reviewers specifically wish native controller support had shipped rather than requiring the workaround, describing the setup process as an unnecessary extra step for something that should have worked out of the box.

A small, consistent studio worth watching

LostVolBytes' catalogue, now including Nebulock, Far Fishing, and Far Mining, draws its own specific praise from returning fans who describe following the studio release to release and generally trusting each new game to deliver a similarly well-scoped, cheap, short experience rather than an over-promised one. One reviewer's direct comparison across all three titles frames Far Mining as a clear step up in mechanical variety from Far Fishing specifically, crediting the developer with visibly iterating rather than repeating a successful formula unchanged. That kind of specific, comparative fan loyalty is a meaningfully different signal than the generic positivity this fleet sees on many small releases, and it's worth weighing seriously alongside the more mixed length and performance complaints raised elsewhere in this review.

Verdict

Far Mining is a well-priced, well-intentioned short incremental with real personality in its framing, a likeable talkative-parrot companion, and a genuine sense of its own mechanical identity next to the developer's earlier work. Reported stutter and lag carrying over from that earlier game, the lack of controller support, a fairly linear upgrade path with little room for build variety, and a late-game structure that wears on some players more than others keep it from a higher score, but at $2.99 for a few relaxing hours, it's an easy recommendation for genre fans.