Planetary Life
Manipulate climate, add plants and evolve creatures in this planet and life sandbox simulation game. From cells to civilizations, spread life throughout the whole planet. Or just enjoy watching your creation burn!
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The Sapling on Steam
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The Sapling is a simulation game where you design your own plants, animals, algae and fungi, and put them in a world together. Or you turn on random mutations, and see what evolution does to your ecosystem!
The Sapling is a life sim, sandbox and god game game
developed and published by Wessel Stoop.
Released on December 12th 2019 is available on Windows, Linux, Steam Deck and Steam Machine.
It has received 1,932 reviews of which 1,719 were positive and 213 were negative resulting in a rating of 8.5 out of 10. 😎
The game is currently priced at 17.99€ on Steam.
The Steam community has classified The Sapling into these genres:
Life Sim
Sandbox
God Game
Science
Nature
Artificial Intelligence
Simulation
Procedural Generation
Dinosaurs
Aliens
Education
Relaxing
Open World
Casual
Singleplayer
Atmospheric
Early Access
Indie
Short
Survival
Here is the detailed breakdown of supported languages for The Sapling:
| UI | Subtitle | Audio | |
|---|---|---|---|
| English |
Media & Screenshots
Get an in-depth look at The Sapling through various videos and screenshots.
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System requirements
These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.
Windows
- OS *: Windows 7
- Processor: A processor with SSE2 instruction set support
- Memory: 16 GB RAM
- Graphics: Graphics card with DX10 (shader model 4.0) capabilities.
- DirectX: Version 10
- Storage: 150 MB available space
Linux
- OS: Ubuntu 16 or newer
- Processor: A processor with SSE2 instruction set support
- Memory: 16 GB RAM
- Graphics: Graphics card with DX10 (shader model 4.0) capabilities.
- Storage: 150 MB available space
Steam Price & Best Deals
User reviews & Ratings
Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.
tbh pirated game played for at least 40 hours and decided that SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY THIS GAME DESERVES TO BE INVESTED IN game already feels like finished (other than optimization problem which is actually pretty normal for an early access game this massive) the amount of details put thought into is surprising me consistently. Hope devs get the appreciation they deserve
The game is good, but it could be better. I’ve put together a few things you could add, Wessel Stop: Scenarios Mode: You could provide more detailed explanations for certain parts and include explanations for features found in Sandbox mode—like planet editing, which took me a while to figure out how to use. Sandbox Mode: You could add a mechanic to change the spectral class of the star our planet orbits (e.g., from Type G to Type M) and a system to add natural satellites or allow us to create life on them. It would be great to choose whether we orbit a rocky or gas planet. You could also add an atmospheric chemistry system to let us tweak the planet's gases and equip animals with traits allowing them to breathe different gases (like hydrogen, as on Titan). Additionally, an axial and tidal system would be cool—allowing us to apply tidal effects or lock a celestial body's axis (like tidal locking), forcing life to adapt to living only in the twilight zone, or eventually adapting to eternal day or eternal night. Finally, you could include unicellular life so we can truly start from the very dawn of life. I hope you read this and add one of these suggestions to make the game even more immersive and scientifically grounded.
This game is pretty interesting and has a ton of potential—imagine Spore, but done with way more care and zero publisher meddling that crippled the original. In The Sapling, you actually get to build a whole planet: plants, animals for land, sea, and air. You can skip time, watch your species thrive or flop, and if they die out? Just hop back in the editor, tweak 'em, and give 'em a fighting chance. It's super satisfying experimentation early on. I do recommend it, but honestly, only grab it on sale for now. At its current stage (early access as of 2026), it's got bugs, crashes a lot, framerates tank once too many species crowd the screen (though the organism cap in the ESC menu helps a ton), and it often freezes the longer you stay in a session. Optimization and graphical improvements would be huge for future updates—if the devs are reading this, please prioritize stability! The crashing and performance dips hit hardest for folks without a beast rig. I'd love to see more animal parts, better customization options, part scaling/morphing, all that good stuff... but making the game more stable and crash-happy should come first so more people can actually play and enjoy the magic. Otherwise, I love this game—even with its quirks. It has so much heart and potential; I hope to sink way more hours into it once it's smoother. Keep going, dev!
Short but honest review: It's not only a promising successor to Spore (2008) but it genuinely has GREATER potential. Don't let my first words diminish the fact that it has now established itself as its own amazing evolution game with its own fresh mechanics even in Early Access. In the first given scenario, you don't start on creating animals, you start on creating their food source. You have to factor in the quality of the environment to be able to create a species that can survive, then live, then thrive in it. I'm still trying to grasp the basics of producing a functioning ecosystem, there's some trial and error as your species can go extinct if it cannot survive. It's extremely fun. Wessel Stoop please don't stop on The Sapling! Even if it has some jank here and there, a lot of helpful features that could be implemented, I haven't experienced this level of wonder with any other currently developing evolution sim.
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Frequently Asked Questions
The Sapling is currently priced at 17.99€ on Steam.
No, The Sapling is currently not on sale. You can purchase it for 17.99€ on Steam.
Yes, The Sapling received 1,719 positive votes out of a total of 1,932 achieving a rating of 8.50.
😎
The Sapling was developed and published by Wessel Stoop.
Yes, The Sapling is playable and fully supported on Windows.
No, The Sapling is not playable on MacOS.
Yes, The Sapling is playable and fully supported on Linux.
Yes, The Sapling is playable on Steam Deck, though it might require a few minor tweaks. Make sure to check the Steam store page and community feedback on ProtonDB for exact compatibility details.
Yes, The Sapling is playable and fully supported on Steam Machine.
No, The Sapling does not support VR.
The Sapling is a single-player game.
Yes, there is a DLC available for The Sapling. Explore additional content available for The Sapling on Steam.
No, The Sapling does not support mods via Steam Workshop.
No, The Sapling does not support Steam Remote Play.
Yes, The Sapling is enabled for Steam Family Sharing. This means you can share the game with authorized users from your Steam Library, allowing them to play it on their own accounts. For more details on how the feature works, you can read the original Steam Family Sharing announcement or visit the Steam Family Sharing user guide and FAQ page.
You can find solutions or submit a support ticket by visiting the Steam Support page for The Sapling.
Data sources
The information presented on this page is sourced from reliable APIs to ensure accuracy and relevance. We utilize the Steam API to gather data on game details, including titles, descriptions, prices, and user reviews. This allows us to provide you with the most up-to-date information directly from the Steam platform.
Additionally, we incorporate data from the SteamSpy API, which offers insights into game sales and player statistics. This helps us present a comprehensive view of each game's popularity and performance within the gaming community.
Last Updates| Steam data | 28 September 2026 22:45 UTC |
|---|---|
| SteamSpy data | 14 October 2026 07:00 UTC |
| Steam price | 26 October 2026 19:37 UTC |
| Steam reviews | 19 October 2026 15:46 UTC |
If you'd like to dive deeper into the details about The Sapling, we invite you to check out a few dedicated websites that offer extensive information and insights. These platforms provide valuable data, analysis, and user-generated reports to enhance your understanding of the game and its performance.
- SteamDB - A comprehensive database of everything on Steam about The Sapling
- SteamCharts - Analysis of The Sapling concurrent players on Steam
- ProtonDB - Crowdsourced reports on Linux and Steam Deck The Sapling compatibility
Game modes
Features
Online players
32
Developer
Wessel Stoop
Publisher
Wessel Stoop
Release
12 Dec 2019
Platforms