Icarus launched back in December of 2021 and brought some unseen game mechanics to the survival genre, while trying to survive on Savage Wilderness of Alien planets. Since its release, the team over at RocketWerks has been diligently releasing weekly updates, mostly small updates including bug fixes and QoL improvements to the game.

But now Icarus has released ‌one of the largest updates to date, the Galileo update. It brings new features to the table such as Steam Achievements, Steam Trading Cards, The Bestiary, and what all the anglers out there have been looking forward to, fishing.

Fishing

If you have ever wanted to fish on exotic planets, then come to Icarus. The Galileo Update has introduced both active and passive fishing and freshwater and saltwater areas to fish in, each with their own unique fish to catch. There are 53 different species of fish, 23 different types of lures, 3 fishing rods, and even a tackle box.

You can first craft your basic wooder rod and progress your way to even more advanced rods, allowing you to have an easier chance at catching the rarer species.

While being able to create 23 different lures, you will still have to use trial and error to find out which lures work best with each rod and fishing location, but each time you do catch a fish, you will unlock more information, giving you an upper hand in your next foray to the old fishing hole.

No fisherman would be worth his salt without a good tackle box, and Icarus is no exception. Not only is the tackle box a convenient place to keep and store all your lures and rods together, it also allows you to keep your fish fresh while on the go.

You can show off your fish in the new aquarium or even mount them on the wall with three different walk-in mounts.

And of course, there is passive fishing, where you can just lay down a trap and wait for the fish to come to you, but make sure you check the trap often as it can also fill with trash and debris. It is not as fast as hand fishing, but there is no extra work for you either.

Bestiary

As its name implies, it is a one-stop shop for detailing all the exotic and mundane life forms, both land-based and aquatic, you will encounter. Whether you kill them, skin them, or even come to your demise by them, you will continue to increase your knowledge about the creatures, unlocking their lore, traits, and weaknesses to help you better understand them and possibly kill them when you encounter them in the future.

Below is a list of the knowledge and perks you will gain with your knowledge:

1% The creature’s name and habitat
10% Lore about the creature
20% Creature traits: weaknesses, strengths, and unique behavior
30% additional lore about the creature
40% Gain a perk related to the creature.
60% of the creature’s unique loot table
80% additional lore about the creature
100% Another perk related to the creature

And to sweeten the deal, every 20% progress provides 1% extra damage and 1% damage reduction against the creature.

Steam Achievements

40 achievements have been added, so they are easier to achieve and can be accomplished doing mundane tasks, while others will require you to tackle specific challenges and complete unique objectives.

The achievements were inspired by the Icarus community and were all hand drawn by the Icarus Art Team to make them all feel unique to the Icarus world.

The team over at RocketWerks also thought about the community when issuing out the achievements, as you won’t be starting over as the game will retrospectively look at your previous play and award them or give you a percentage to unlock the achievement.

The developers have also added nine Steam trading cards, also hand drawn by the Icarus Art Team, four profile backgrounds, eight emoticons, and a Steam Badge for you to create.

Balance changes

With last week’s update of increasing the talent points from 60 to 75 points per character, the new update adds the level cap to 60 and offers 15 more talent points for a total of 90 points. Along with 5 more solo talent points, you can enjoy all the new content without sacrificing skills in other areas.

I can’t wait to see what future updates come out. What addition are you most looking forward to? And if you stepped away from Icarus, will this update bring you back? Let me know in the comments below.