Xenus 2. White gold.
Xenus 2. White gold.
Game
Game2017
Precursors
Developer Deep Shadows
The Precursors is a 2009 first-person shooter video game developed by Ukrainian studio Deep Shadows. It was released for Windows in Russia on 4 December 2009. It was then released worldwide through GamersGate on 21 December 2010 and through Steam on 4 February 2017. The Precursors is set in a futuristic sci-fi environment where many political factions are engaged in an intergalactic war. From Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0)
71 reactions from 4 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky, Lemmy, Mastodon) · newest Oct 2, 2026 · last updated Oct 13, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
62
Fresh
36 positive · 22 negative
95% range 49–73%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 36 | 22 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 2 | 0 | 9 |
| Lemmy * | 0 | 0 | 1 |
| Mastodon * | 0 | 0 | 1 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
Steam's own rating
Mixed
38 of 62 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What players are saying
62% recommend · 37 yes, 23 no
Counted from the reviewers’ own thumbs up/down on the 60 English Steam reviews we collected, not by the AI. Valve’s all-language rating: Mixed (81 of 117 positive).
Players praise the game's unique blend of FPS, RPG, and space sim elements, calling it ambitious and unlike anything else. [1][2][3] Many note that the game requires unofficial patches to fix bugs and improve cutscenes, with some calling it unfinished. [4][5][6]
Liked
Representative posts
- [10]
Gameplay: 5/10 Story: 3/10 Graphics: 7/10 Performance: 6/10 Overall: 5/10 It’s a real bummer that I can’t recommend Precursors, since the idea is something that could seemingly appeal to everyone. An FPS/RPG/Space Sim. It’s basically Star Citizen before Star Citizen was even a thing. So, what’s not to love? It’s a clunky mess. Plain and simple, and before anyone even tries to state it. Yes, I played with the …
- [6]
So, for the first time ever, I'm having to seriously rewrite a review. What I wrote previously was based on fond memories of spending 20-30 hours screwing around within the game, running side missions, exploring, and generally ignoring the main plot. (Especially since back then, there was no English translation for the major plot cutscenes.) I've just gotten done replaying it with a focus on the plot this time, and …
- [1]
I already had the old version of "gamersgate" and now I bought the steam version (playing at 2560 x 1080), because this game is simply unique in its genre. It is a very good RPG / FPS, with elements that even the most current games do not have. You can fly with your ship in space, land on planets and stations, approach other ships and each planet is like an open world. You can explore the cities and locations, get …
- [3]
It's a very good mix of RPG and FPS, with lots of exploration. It has one of the most open worlds ever, or actually, multiple worlds, because you can travel between them in space, something I've never seen before (kind of like X series mixed with a role-playing game). I must say, that the game is a bit flawed - requires installation of unofficial Wesp's patch (otherwise enjoy watching movies in bolshevik), the space …
- [7]
"Starfield at home" but with extra "slavjank". However for a very obscure, yet ambitious 2009 game it still holds up quite well. And unlike before mentioned AAA game it doesnt have load screens every 5 seconds, has vehicles and multiple handcrafted planets with actual aliens.
Summarised from 34 of the 73 public posts collected about this game; every point cites the posts behind it ([n] opens the post) and the split is counted from the posts’ own ratings. Updated Oct 13, 2026. How summaries are made
RottenBot@rottenbot · automated account
Precursors sits at 62% positive across 58 opinionated reactions from 4 sources. Fresh or rotten — where do you land?
Critics, per Wikipedia
The Precursors received "mixed or average" reviews from critics. It has an average score of 68/100 according to review aggregator website Metacritic.
From the “Reception” section of Wikipedia, CC BY-SA 4.0. Critic context only — not part of the audience score.
Reactions
60 of 71 · most liked firstBe sure to grab the unofficial patches from http://www.patches-scrolls.de/patch/3211/7/ it will replace the Russian voice-overs in cutscenes with English voice overs (albeit fan-voice overs so don't expect too much) and a film grain removal mod http://www.moddb.com/games/the-precursors/addons/no-film-grain-fix
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'd recommend playing this game, but I CANNOT recommend paying full price for it on steam. My reasons: - you SHOULD PLAY this game, because there's literally nothing else like it. Developed by a miniscule, ukranian development team, they decided to follow their insane ambition and create a HUGE space-themed, sandbox-fps/space-sim/rpg-lite hybrid. The sheer insanity of this undertaking alone is something to behold and experience. Even though it's very unstable, broken, unblanaced and so rough…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I should start this review saying that buying this on Seam will be the third time I have actually paid money for this game (I own my original Russian disc copies still and own it on GamerGate, the following review is my original review the latter) and should be telling in-of itself. After I play the Steam version, I will update my review with any additional notes I find about the about the game that are unique to this version. Hopefully now that Deep Shadows have released two of their three…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A true underdog of an unique game that successfully combines FPS, RPG, space combat sim and space trade sim. Be sure to use the Unofficial Patch from ModDB to get English cutscene voice overs, bug fixes and more...
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's a very good mix of RPG and FPS, with lots of exploration. It has one of the most open worlds ever, or actually, multiple worlds, because you can travel between them in space, something I've never seen before (kind of like X series mixed with a role-playing game). I must say, that the game is a bit flawed - requires installation of unofficial Wesp's patch (otherwise enjoy watching movies in bolshevik), the space part is average at best and a bit dull (fortunately, it can be rushed…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Speaking about Ukrainian gamedev. Game I wish to revisit some day. The Precursors. It's amazing how much in common visually it has with Borderlands... Yet they came out in the same 2009 year.
positive · AI labelView post →How the hell isn't this game much more popular? Good soundtrack, good gameplay, working faction systems, quite similar to S.T.A.L.K.E.R.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Oh my, there was a canceled "AC with flying ships" project 🤗 "The idea was apparently to create a game about the Precursors—a sort of vertical Black Flag where you could explore islands floating in the sky at the helm of a genuine flying ship."
neutral · AI labelView post →2009 Slav Starfield - Probably better than starfield.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I finally got my hands on this game after following it for years and waiting for a patched up release on a trustworthy platform. After applying the wesp5 patch (thanks for that!) it works without a hitch and I've already enjoyed it more in the short time I've played it than any the big titles I've been trying out. My favorite game ever is the very old Outcast, and ever since playing that game I've been looking for something that could give me the same feeling: simple to control, a beautiful…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very good game. Usual quirky Russian production values and horrible English VO that thankfully is only in the cutscenes. This version has the Russian audio patch so you don't need to download it separately(it is superior to the half done English which only voiced a few of the characters). You will need Wesp5's unofficial patch to make it all go smoothly but that's easily found. Just point it at the install folder and you'll have no issues. On to the game itself, it's basically what Mass Effect…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →2009 Ukrainian Starfield. This FPS-RPG has almost everything : planets, weapons, secondary missions, choices, factions, perks, inventory management, upgrades, space fights & mining, stealth, drugs, vehicles... The graphics are nice for a 2009 game, sounds and music are correct, albeit a bit repetitive. The post processing effects are ugly as hell, especially overdone bloom, distractive motion blur and depth of field. The FOV is also low but some of these can be modified by tweaking .INI The…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Required mods/patches to play the game today: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2332327424 This is a interesting game, and I have respect for Deep Shadow for trying to make such an ambitious title with such limited resources. It's basically an open world FPS/RPG/space sim. Which ya...sounds absolutely insane to do with next to no budget. As far as I can tell from some quick online research, Deep Shadow was unable to get funding to finish the project and had to launch it…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Due to it´s aiming issue it is trash - sadly. And if you quit id continues to run in the background. You have to kill it with the task manager - it´s name is "executable".
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Played with the unofficial patch. The starting planet looks very alien, but after that it's just a generic desert spaceport with corrupt officials, a tropical planet with wolves etc. The writing is attrocious and the voice acting is Russian only (except for cutscenes with the unofficial patch).
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Knights of the Amarn Republic: The Precursors A Star Wars game that was never made. It may not feature lightsabers or the Force, but in essence, this is an off-brand remake of Bioware's Star Wars: Knight of the Old Republic. The depleted mining planet of Tatooine is called Goldin (Watch out for sandworms!). Civil war rages on the forest planet of Kashyyyk, except it's called Gli and its Wookiees are feathered (Dantooine's kynrath cave has been transposed here for convenience). Korriban is…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →starfield was a return to form after fallout and skyrim's abortive attempts at polished, anglicized game design. not since ukrainian studio deep shadows's 2009 classic The Precursors has a space rpg been so ruthless in its pursuit of slavjank excellence
positive · AI labelView post →Better than Starfield!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Gameplay: 5/10 Story: 3/10 Graphics: 7/10 Performance: 6/10 Overall: 5/10 It’s a real bummer that I can’t recommend Precursors, since the idea is something that could seemingly appeal to everyone. An FPS/RPG/Space Sim. It’s basically Star Citizen before Star Citizen was even a thing. So, what’s not to love? It’s a clunky mess. Plain and simple, and before anyone even tries to state it. Yes, I played with the mandatory unofficial fan-made patch. If you do decide to take the plunge and play the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →IT'S FINALLY ON STEAM!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The gameplay is brilliant, mixes FPS with RPG and space, and it's got an interesting story too. It does start off a little slow and it may feel like you're doing chores and running errands for a while, but the game quickly picks up the pace and becomes more interesting every minute. Being an interplanetary agent, you fly from one planet to another, sorting things out, dealing with space pirates and villains - mix it with fun gunplay and good RPG mechanics and it's really great fun! The main…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →No matter what you do, you cannot fully turn off mouse acceleration. I'm disappointed. I was looking forward to playing this cult classic open world FPS RPG, and instead I'm uninstalling it because mandatory mouse acceleration is abysmal.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →"Starfield at home" but with extra "slavjank". However for a very obscure, yet ambitious 2009 game it still holds up quite well. And unlike before mentioned AAA game it doesnt have load screens every 5 seconds, has vehicles and multiple handcrafted planets with actual aliens.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pure garbage, remove it from Steam, please!
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Sad. Was really looking forward to playing this based on the tons of great reviews. Unfortunately it's unplayable. I spent a good half hour just trying to get it to launch. Finally launched, then after adjusting nearly every setting, I was ready to play. Intro cinematic was pretty cool, we're on an alien planet! Then the "soldiers" (?) start talking, and apparently they're speaking whatever this alien language is. Turns out that's all anyone talks, is this weird, made up alien language,…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →So, for the first time ever, I'm having to seriously rewrite a review. What I wrote previously was based on fond memories of spending 20-30 hours screwing around within the game, running side missions, exploring, and generally ignoring the main plot. (Especially since back then, there was no English translation for the major plot cutscenes.) I've just gotten done replaying it with a focus on the plot this time, and come to a horrible realization: The Precursors is totally unfinished. I…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Tried a few different ways to get this to work. Normal installation: Crashed on startup Tried starting it windowed with launch options -autoconfig in the launch options, got to a screen with a bit of hud, but nothing would happen after that. No buttons or menus to do anything. Tried Wesp5 patch 1.8, no change. Tried WIndows campatability mode, no change. Have an i5 and Radeon 270x, old, but should be able to handle a game this old. Loved Boiling Point, would of loved to have tried this.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very bad, i feel like i wasted 1$ for this game
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Good game, but there is no subtitles in cutscene. Not playable if you don't understand Russian.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Absolute bada ss game. There is TOO much going on. This would have blew me away 10 years ago but I am extremely frugal with my time and this game is going to take a ton, which is a good thing in this case due to its complexity but I can't care enough to invest in this particular flavor of scenery. There's too much to learn and that makes me anxious so I'm passing but you should try it (with the patch)
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Man, what is there to say. Ive played the game "Boiling Point" wich was made by this studio when I was younger and it still is one of my favorit game of all time. Sadly Ive never knew it had a second installment namely "Xenus White Gold" and I wouldve absolutely loved to play Precursors when I was younger. However I can still completely enjoy this game and recommend it to everyone that is looking for classic good games that offer alot of depth. This one right here is a space adventure with so…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The Precursors is the sequel to the Xenus Boiling point series that deep shadows has made. Don't Get me wrong I love deep shadows and their Motivations but this game I just can not recommend as it is awful IMO. The main problem that I have with this game is that there is no variety. This game has minimal Character models. The character models in this game are very repetitive and can get very annoying to look at. There are like only 3 female models and like 8 male human models. Like how can you…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Has to be one of the few space RPG games that has both large planet locations (with vehicles) and space combat/exploration. Is it as refined as say... Everspace or Mass Effect? No. But it's fun, easy to pick up, and stable. I also installed the "unofficial patch", but I'm not sure what it improved... Seems the same as before. Overall, for $15, it's a solid game.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →There is alot of good game to be had here if you can get past the Russian audio. The unoffical patch is a must have though.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game rather feels like farcry blood dragon, halo,entropia universe and mad max all got together, had a baby and out came Precursors. Good game and seems to play really well, the design is well done and graphics are really good as well.. I recommend.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →FIRST A WARNING As stands without a patch this game has cutscenes without subtitles in Russian but thankfully gameplay and tutorials are in English. Also I did have trouble loading the game several times. Try setting all the graphic options to low, starting the game, then going back and adjusting the graphics the way you want. After it loaded once I never had a problem again. Like the previous games of Deep Shadows this has ambition outweighing realistically the technical power of an indie…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I wanted to like this game so badly. But the entire thing is a mess. No english subtitles, so I have no clue whats going on. Enemy beasts, in the first level, on easy, will keep up with and destroy your vehicle. Enemy humans have infinite forcefields. One wrong move and you wind up stranded somewhere surrounded by a plethora of hostiles with your armor broken and you lose hours of gameplay. Its too frustrating to be any fun. Which is a real shame. I was hoping for STALKER in space but got....I…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The best concept in the world doesn't matter if it's too janky to actually play.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Very good and challenging game, I love it!
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →WOW. This game is an openworld isn't it ? I can exploration both on terrain of many Planet and in the galaxy with my space ship. You may need to repeat press F9 for quick save because this game don't have any auto save even after cutscene movie. The flashlight is too bright in morning, use when it dark.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →When i saw the comment: "Well, it's not gonna be that bad right?" After I played the game: "Well it's ♥♥♥♥"
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Absurdist scifi RPG.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Fun, but short. I may have missed some story content spread across the various star systems, but the main story is certainly very short. And unfortunately once you complete the main story the game goes immediately to credits. :( That said, the game is very fun while it lasts, despite a lot of jank. I recommend it. 7.5/10
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →One of a kind games, FPS with space combat element if you wait for Star Citizen/Squadron 42, this game could give you joy while you waiting
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Whereas the story in the first game it was mostly just seen in the pre-campaign briefings, here it's definitely more involved, with a heavy focus on humor. The basic premise is that you play as a young prodigy captain, finding an odd ship left behind by an ancient race called the Precursors.
neutral · AI labelView post →Pretty solid game. Blends a lot of science fiction and open-world styles into one. Definitely similar to a lot of the biggest franchises of the time while keeping its slavjank charm. It's worth picking up if you don't mind a lot of travel time between quests and npcs.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Because of the terrible mouse acceleration that can't be fixed by anything, panic attacks have started, definitely a downside.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Sadly unfinished but fun to see, you can get a flyer in the first level if you use set clip = 1 and fly up to the platform. Apparently the flyer was available for the player to buy in game in version 1.0... i have no clue why they would remove the best part of the game like that..weird. I reccomend you go get it back. Just a warning tho, If you are using the flyer and you run back to the spot where you are first standing upon entering goldin for the first time, npcs will take over your flyer…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Primitive and unplayable. This program acts more like a virus than a game. Quitting requires a full system reboot. Resolution is low: I can only assume It might be adjusted from somewhere within the program. Vocals are non-english but the store page make no mention of it being a forein game, not localized to the language it is advertised in. I hope no one else wastes as much time as I have trying to get this POS to work.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is a thumbs up with a BIG caveat - I ran into a game-breaking bug and was unable to finish Precursors after 10 hours of playtime, which was very saddening. However, I'm still giving it a thumbs up because I really liked the parts of the game I was able to access and I went into the game knowing it has a reputation for being essentially unfinished (due to financial issues) So, I was prepared for a sudden ending already - it's just that the ending came even earlier for me! Precursors is…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Backgammon became highly popular worldwide in the late 20th century-Precursors of backgammon are among the most ancient of all games (as early as 3000BC) The ancient Romans played a game, Ludus Duodecim Scriptorum (“Twelve-lined Game”), which was identical, or nearly so, to modern backgammon. 🎲🎲
neutral · AI labelView post →Date: October 1972 Place: ARPANET public demonstration From “where wizards stay up late: the origins of the internet” Fascinating read. #ai #precursors #models #computinghistory
neutral · AI labelView post →It's some sort of proto-Starfield, and it's surprisingly good. It has interesting gameplay, cool encounters and just plays a lot with its own setup and systems. A lot of games these days are too focused on one combat style or one combat distance, Precursors throws a lot of situations at you and just lets you resolve them your way. Of course it's aged as heck, and I encountered a game breaking bug that blocked me from continuing the game. I actually tried to get my hands on it back when it…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Unplayable due to broken mouse acceleration
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Precursors and Tangents to the Trading Card Game: Benign Brown Beast https://beast.blot.im/precursors-and-tangents-to-the-trading-card-game #dnd #ttrpg
neutral · AI labelView post →10. Oulipo: A Primer of Potential Literature, ed. by Warren F. Motte Jr. A book not to finish, but to load into your brain. Algorithms and literature’s open multiverse. Precursors to AI. Experimental mindsets. Is the game the most important thing?
neutral · AI labelView post →I enjoyed my time with the game up till the Space Fight section. Yea im good for now
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →There was a college football game this week at the Pop-Tart Bowl. Precursors: Sugar Orange Peach Rose Cotton
neutral · AI labelView post →Good but unfinished.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →[Patch Notes] 0.5.5c Patch Notes. ### 0.5.5c Patch Notes - Fixed a rare issue where some players were unable to complete the Legacy of the Precursors questline after defeating the Arbiter of Divinity. You now have to have been present when the bosses of the Patriarch Halls and Matriarch Halls die in order to pick up the Origin Spark and Origin Cradle. - You now have to have been present when the bosses of the Western Enigma Chamber and Eastern Enigma Chamber die in order to pick up the…
neutral · AI labelView post →
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