This review is based on 100% completion and 4.8 hours of gameplay.
[h1][b]Recommendation:[/b][/h1]
Would I recommend this game? No, I wouldn’t. This definitely isn’t my kind of game, so I didn’t enjoy my time with it. Even objectively, I just don’t think it’s a good game.
I’ll start with my biggest dislike: the controls. They’re clunky and frustrating, and I think that if this game had better controls and was optimised for both keyboard and controller, it would have improved the experience tenfold. One major issue is the camera, which doesn’t allow you to “look around” like in other games; instead, it’s tied to your movement, which is quite annoying. Interacting with things, like moving on the star map or rotating moons, is also awkward. If the controls had been more intuitive, it would have made a big difference.
So, what is this experience? To be honest, I can’t conclusively say. The game hints at some sort of a story through small snippets of text at the start and when you find an anomaly at the end, but it’s vague and doesn’t make much sense. The main objective seems to be to travel from planet to planet, solve simple puzzles, and, if you’re the first to discover a planet, name it. Ultimately, you’re meant to find a planet with an observatory and chart stars to locate a planet with an anomaly, which ends the game. The puzzles in the game are repetitive, and since each one is essentially the same, the game quickly feels tedious. Travelling between planets takes a lot of unnecessary time, adding to the monotony.
The game gives almost no guidance on how things work, what they do, or why you’re doing them, which can be confusing and disorientating, leading to dissatisfaction for some.
That’s enough of the negatives, though.
There are a few good aspects: the concept itself is interesting and could have worked well with better execution. The game has a minimalist [i]“No Man’s Sky”[/i] vibe, albeit stripped down to its basics. The sound design and music are fine and work well, and the simple art style with distinct colours is appealing—though I wish there were much more variety, as most of the 20+ planets I visited looked very similar.
Overall, I don’t recommend this game. I think you’re better off playing something else.
[h1][b]Achievements:[/b][/h1]
Achievements in this game can be tricky, as there’s a bit of a learning curve and the game isn’t great.
Because I couldn’t find a good comprehensive guide, I’ve included a few tips below that might help. I’ll cover potential spoilers so you can avoid them if you prefer.
I recommend starting with the current season, as you’ll need to name 10 stars before anyone else. Since this is an online feature, starting in the current season should make it easier to find unnamed planets. Planets that aren’t named yet typically have placeholder names like "ABC/11" if it has a slash in the name good chance it’s not been found/named.
To start, you’ll need to complete “Side A” [i](the red planet, or the first planet you enter)[/i], which acts as a tutorial. This unlocks “Side B,” the main game, where you’ll need to complete one nearby planet before gaining free roam access to the star map.
For “The Other Way Round” achievement, proceed as normal until after you align the moon and the station. Rocks will start floating, indicating it’s time to try for the achievement. I spent a lot of time trying to lift the building with the moon before this stage, but it didn’t work until the rocks started floating.
For “AFK BRB,” select a star far away. The screen on the right will show the travel time [i](look for “T” at the bottom; you’ll want it to be over 10).[/i] Also, make sure your fuel is low, as this increases the travel time.
For “Observatory” and “No More Paradoxes,” which require finding planets with an observatory and an anomaly, I highly recommend starting a new game in a previous season if you know the coordinates. You just need to visit the planet and complete it to earn the achievements. Here are the coordinates I used from the games steam discussions:
[list]
[*]Observatory – Season 117: Coordinates [spoiler](592, 008, 745)[/spoiler]
[*]Anomaly – Season 82: Coordinates [spoiler](699, 407, 328)[/spoiler]
[/list]
While the game itself isn’t great, the only really annoying achievements were “Observatory” and “No More Paradoxes.” You shouldn’t have too much trouble with the rest.
[hr][/hr]For more in-depth yet straight-to-the-point reviews, feel free to check out my curator page [u][b][url= https://store.steampowered.com/curator/45595645/] here. [/url][/b][/u]
