I can see why the reviews might be mixed, but for me, this game has fallen heavily on the recommend side.

A strategy city-builder set in the near future, where humanity is able to reach out to the stars to escape a uncertain future on Earth, Ixion gives only a brief introduction to the core mechanics needed to survive; it reminds me very much of strategy games 20 years ago, and I don't think it suffers for it. You learn the game as you learn the scenarios; I think it ties in relatively well with the story of discovery of ever increasingly weird and wonderful background.

The main meat of building your station is challenging for a first run through. The game expects you to be demolishing and rebuilding frequently; it's not a static landscape of "Once Built, Forever Here". The expansion into new sectors and the logistics that entails takes some figuring out, but adds an added dimension of population and resource management.

The strategic side requires vigilance; you can slip into a death spiral if not paying attention. There are different avenues to pursue in this regard - do you rely on mining or aim for an entirely self-sufficient ship? Have I scouted for sufficient resources near a destination prior to moving? Do I have sufficient battery capacity to traverse a star system and not have essential maintenance buildings shut down? Does my storage system have enough transports to get the food out to the whole station? The game isn't going to tell you this ahead of time, or even that you need to be aware of this. Is that a weakness? Maybe to some, but for me I appreciate the challenge.

Behind a positive gameplay experience on the whole is a bucket-load of lore, with allegories to art, greek mythology and ancient history. No name in the game has been chosen without reason, there are a incredible number of cultural easter eggs, and the story is deeply layered and multi-faceted. At first glance, this isn't necessarily readily apparent. As with every other gameplay mechanic, Ixion doesn't draw attention to it, but it's there and obvious if paying attention and not clicking rapidly through everything.

Graphics are reasonable, but there is an unreasonable requirement to reduce setting in my eyes. The game will chug in certain parts even with relatively strong hardware. The music is generally tone-sensitive background stuff. Neither outstanding nor offensive.

Ixion's biggest strength and weakness is the fact it rarely draws attention to things happening within. For many, that may make it a hard game to get through, but if you enjoy a fusion of strategy and lore discovery, then this game could very well be for you.