For a game that was released many years ago, this is still a very pretty space shooter. Also, playing FTL prepared me for the frequent deaths/rebirths. I bought an X52 flight stick to use with this...honestly, my Xbox 360 controller is a better fit. I like the loose story line that progresses with each sector you can clear, giving me something to look forward to besides just finishing. On one run, I actually survived the Okkar corvettes arriving and then died when the human ships arrived...maybe one could live long enough to watch a battle? To prime you for this game outside the tutorial: - you will die many times, the ships "AI" companion loves to roast you - money is kept after death to purchase your perks or new ships, money is reset on each new run - some perks are specific to the ship - hardware found on each run is lost at death, as well as resources collected - there is a crafting system - damage is fairly realistic and gradual, with subsystems that can leave you crippled in various ways - there is a hardcore mode Running on Windows 10, AMD Ryzen 5, 12GB RAM, and Radeon RX570. All visuals are set to "Epic."
Once you get past the "naval style" 2D combat, this builds on the original "Elite" concept with lots of eye-candy. Would you rather play offline? Do you like to grind? If "yes", then this might be for you. There is no instantaneous travel in-system, so you get occasional "distress beacons" or enemy "warp jammers" to spice things up. It seems geared toward console-style play and holding your hand with "risk assessments". But you can reassign keys if you don't like the simplified default layout, and you can always jump into situations where you're outmatched. I find myself dabbling in different activities to maximize profit getting to the next ship or upgrade. The market system offers some volatility with surplus and shortage events to affect prices, and that can tie into factions or interplanetary war. I wish there was more control over save files. There seems to be one main music track and the vocals can be annoying while repetitive, but the instrumentation is long enough to make it bearable (for me) overall. There is a dialog box that opens with most of the graphics options before the game itself launches, which I like.
I love the start of the game, the complexity of the gameplay, and the customizing options. That being said, after ten playthroughs it's a little masochistic. Despite the risks and rewards, you'll always come up short...even on "easy". It seems no matter what good fortune or upgrades you make, the AI gets to scale up so it can beat you down. A glance at search results show that the game *can* be conquered. I strongly suggest you review some of these before actually playing... the tutorial is of little use. What's that unwinnable scenario from a certain sci-fi franchise? That's what it feels like to me so far. Nonetheless, I'm not giving up on it yet.
I was skeptical at first, being laid out in 2D. So I tried the tutorial...at the end, I got my ass KICKED. I love the various layers of this game, and how the units are more detailed as you zoom in. It can be a daunting learning curve for the uninitiated, but worth the time. I am hooked.
