I actually really like this game, but I can't recommend it. Some people will dismiss the people complaining about the difficulty as babies and say "git gud", but the game's RNG is ultimately the deciding factor on whether you do well or not.

Three games out of five started on Normal difficulty had my starting ship location in a far off corner with only one way to go toward the objectives. And the event in the way of me progressing the game? The worst possible event in the game, Space Pirates, which is actually impossible for the captain to resolve without losing possibly game-essential cards for everyone on Turn 1. Turn 1, on Normal. Three times.

That's obviously a string of bad luck, but it really drives home the issue with this game. There's no balance. The difficulty doesn't scale up or down when you select a difficulty, you just get advantages similar to the Civilization series. Ultimately the game is the same on Easy as it is on the hardest difficulty.

I was compelled to write this review when I started multiple games in a row and figured "Well I've already lost this game" either on the first turn or several turns in. So I'd quit the game, delete the save, and start a new one. Get hit with Space Pirates on turn 1 again. Quit and make a new game where I might have a chance.

And that's why I can't recommend this game. If you have to actively go searching for a decent seed to start the game off, it's not a fun experience. There's a serious design problem with the balance of this game. All good procedural-generated games almost never put you in a no-win scenario, but this game definitely does.

It feels like they created all of the cards, planet locations, events, and the systems behind the game... then just put it together and didn't bother to make sure it felt fun to play.

In a real board game, you have no control over the difficulty besides adding or removing cards/pieces from the game or using house rules, so most games can be salvaged if there's an issue. This game is all digital, so they have the means to fake the RNG to make the first turns go by more smoothly, or dictate rules for the RNG (i.e. spawn locations never occur next to Space Pirates).

This game has great art, good music, and a fun premise. It's just frustrating to play and I definitely don't want to try it again with friends, even on the easiest difficulty.

I actually really like this game, but I can't recommend it. Some people will dismiss the people complaining about the difficulty as babies and say "git gud", but the game's RNG is ultimately the deciding factor on whether you do well or not. Three games out of five started on Normal difficulty had my starting ship location in a far off corner with only one way to go toward the objectives. And the event in the way of me progressing the game? The worst possible event in the game, Space Pirates, which is actually impossible for the captain to resolve without losing possibly game-essential cards for everyone on Turn 1. Turn 1, on Normal. Three times. That's obviously a string of bad luck, but it really drives home the issue with this game. There's no balance. The difficulty doesn't scale up or down when you select a difficulty, you just get advantages similar to the Civilization series. Ultimately the game is the same on Easy as it is on the hardest difficulty. I was compelled to write this review when I started multiple games in a row and figured "Well I've already lost this game" either on the first turn or several turns in. So I'd quit the game, delete the save, and start a new one. Get hit with Space Pirates on turn 1 again. Quit and make a new game where I might have a chance. And that's why I can't recommend this game. If you have to actively go searching for a decent seed to start the game off, it's not a fun experience. There's a serious design problem with the balance of this game. All good procedural-generated games almost never put you in a no-win scenario, but this game definitely does. It feels like they created all of the cards, planet locations, events, and the systems behind the game... then just put it together and didn't bother to make sure it felt fun to play. In a real board game, you have no control over the difficulty besides adding or removing cards/pieces from the game or using house rules, so most games can be salvaged if there's an issue. This game is all digital, so they have the means to fake the RNG to make the first turns go by more smoothly, or dictate rules for the RNG (i.e. spawn locations never occur next to Space Pirates). This game has great art, good music, and a fun premise. It's just frustrating to play and I definitely don't want to try it again with friends, even on the easiest difficulty.