Starcom: Unknown Space

First of all, BUY THIS GAME, not Nexus. Unknown Space might be more expensive, but it is such a vast improvement over the first game and worth every penny, even at full price. Anyway. I bought this game, thinking it would be a good way to kill a few hours, but once I started I could not put it down. It’s the space exploration game of my dreams, the best space exploration game since Star Control 2 imo. Better than SC2 in fact, because there is no timer and the resource gathering is more streamlined. What makes it so great is the writing and pacing. There is a wide variety in the alien factions you come across and they all react to you differently, in a way that makes sense. The variety of reactions you get is what makes the exploration so exciting because when you encounter a new alien, you feel tension because you don’t know how they will react and if you will be able to talk your way out of a fight. And if it comes to violence, you are not sure if you can take them because this game is constantly surprising you with new weapons, which makes unknown aliens all the more intimidating, knowing that they might hit you with something you’ve never seen before. This tension also makes the planet exploration more interesting. Because when you find a planet with its civilization wiped out, you become more tense in this area, or an asteroid field entirely made up of destroyed ships, you know you are not safe. And you are not alone on your ship. You have officers who occasionally banter during long flights through the void or make observations about discoveries according to their area of expertise (which can be leveled up with skill points). They make you feel like you are part of a team and make the exploration not feel lonely. I love this world so much, I think it’s one of the most interesting worlds I’ve seen in a game. And I love how they maintain a sense of mystery. You can discover a lot about this world through your exploration, but by the end of the game, there will still be some mysteries for which you still have no answers. My only criticism is with the map. Your cursor (at least on steamdeck) displays wildly inaccurate co-ordinates when zoomed out, and you have to zoom in to get more accurate readings. Which means that when you are trying to find a specific location mentioned in a log, you have to zoom in, zoom out, zoom in, zoom out, over and over to pinpoint the location. But other than that, the games amazing. I really hope the dev keeps making games, because they are extremely talented and I want more.

Great fun. If you enjoy games like Space Pirates and Zombies (SPAZ) or Star Control series then this will be right up your ally. Resources refunded when changing ship designs is very nice and makes experimenting with different setups very easy. Fair bit of stuff hidden off the beaten path (but also not necessary to complete the game). If they do another one after this I'll definitely be buying it.

The first one is fun and best to get on sale because you may get stuck and not know where to go and ultimately stop playing. This sequel is so much better in every way. Glad I played the first one before this one; but if you were to only get one this is it. Hope they make a third one.

Wonderful game to get lost into. Deep complex without being overwhelming. Back to the basics of great space exploration. Highly recommend, and very hard to put down.

Easy to get to grips with, can play for long sessions or just nip in and out as time allows. Progress is slow, but constant. Graphics are simple so it plays on old hardware.

Its one of the best exploration games I've played in years.

A cool, relatively chill, exploration focused space game. I probably spent the most time in the ship editor, designing increasingly complex and deadly ships. It was incredibly satisfying to put together a build, take it out for a spin, and watching enemies melt before me. I also enjoyed general exploration and the mystery of not knowing what you'll find next was compelling and drove me to just fly in random directions at times to see if I would run into anything. My biggest complaint would be the quest system. The game simply does not do a good enough job of keeping track of open quests and where you might go to solve for them. A lot of discussion for this problem has been "just use the log", but even though I used the log to search for things extensively, often times knowing WHAT to search was more important, and the quest / log system was often too vague about what I should be searching for. I oftentimes found myself using Google to find discussion for specific quests, where people would share specific coordinates / instructions if they felt like being helpful, or offer vague "use the log" recommendations if they didn't want to help at all. Quest design aside, it was still an enjoyable experience. It's rare for me to complete a game and wish there was more content, but that's how I felt about this beating this game. I wanted there to be a bigger limit to the ships I could build, more exotic research I could conduct to construct more powerful modules, and more stars and systems to explore. But what was already there was well worth the $24.99.