Recent reviews by Dr. Horrible

Wonderful fun but not as challenging as the other games in the series. Still some bugs to work out with "what do I do on this level". At this time, no replay value once you complete with all stars other than to nail specific achievements. Usually it takes a while before the community levels show up. Still worthy of playing.

So I was attracted to this game by a negative review. They said it was like Hardspace Shipbreaker (350+ hrs) meets Factorio (450+ hrs) but failed to accomplish either. I thought, I can check this out and if I'm bored or disappointed I could always return it in that 2 hour window... The sunrise that morning was quite nice when I looked up from the game.

It's early access. If you are familiar with this process, you will note that many games in early access look much different at the end but the potential here is intriguing.

Working with the developer after providing feedback helped highlight a few bugs that were squashed almost immediately and this is the first game where I get to do the automation in actual 3D vs. a 2d game that lets you build up higher and calls it 3D. I mean when you have to design around the surfaces of a cube.

One of the items that brought me concern was the earning $$ (Credits) faster than I could spend them, eventually they just stockpiled with nothing to spend them on. I estimate that only 30% of the blueprints are actually implemented so there should be a much larger development cycle based on your gameplay preferences. Some people can design big machines that do the job of much smaller machines, but those require special resources and research.

Stuff I hope will be fixed/added in the future:
- Drone Automation - Would like to see drones handle the farming and due to limited inventory, drones that could take stuff back to your ship(base) would be great. And overall make the drones smarter with tier leveled automation options.
- More manufacturing options for items and parts (up the complexity of build components)
- Resource trading systems. I don't want to buy resources, that would be too easy, but trading on a 2 for 1, 3 for 1 ratio would be appreciated. I get we can jump to a new area.
- A build mode that would let you do most of the mechanics and design without perhaps unlocking the later more speciality items. This way you could experiment with ship designs, etc.

In summary, the game itself is fun as is, but even during the last 2 weeks, it's gotten better and you can see the improvement and the work being put into it. A title worth supporting and it has the added bonus of being fun.

Rather fun. I just wish you could change the destination exits to the other side of the unit on occasion. Playing with the "freeze" then fast forward is great way to speed things along.

Updated review post release :: They nailed it, the interface is smooth, any stuttering of graphics is gone. I'm running this on a 3440x1440 display at full resolution (ultra) and it's smooth.. They even surprised me by making changes to all the ships and their configurations, just a bit so far.. the approach is different for the missions.

I'd buy this at the full price point if I didn't pick it up in early access.

Enjoy!!

---------- Early Access Review ----------
This has got to be one of the most "zen" games ever encountered. Sure you get a little stressed if you are stuck inside a ship and do something stupid that blows a reactor or try to force push something that out "physics" you and you launch yourself into the smelting furnace...

But when everything flows.. it's just awesome. Even replaying the storyline doesn't get old.

Just waiting for the next update to replay the entire game again to see how it changed.. They have been great on the bug fixes as well.. no complains, recommend to everyone except those who can't grasp floating in 3D space.

And as seen on a different topic, this would translate well into a VR game. Still great though.

Researched the game like mad and was pretty sure it would be good, but damn... wow. Don't let the play time affect things, this game will be played extensively...

This game I dare say is what VR was made for.

Technical info people might want to know: HTC Vive and Oculus 2 Quest controllers recognized when running the game with the different hardware. Playing the game via the Oculus 2 with Virtual Desktop allows you to run the program wirelessly and it's sweet, but on the Vive, the experience felt more solid and in control. Vive version played via i7 laptop, SSD Drive installation and GTX 1060 card. Oculus 2 Virtual Desktop run, i7 Desktop, SSD install, GTX 1080 card. No performance issues.

I will probably still be buying the Oculus 2 version specifically so I can play with multiple family members. I strongly recommend this for anyone who likes any form of D&D or strategic dungeon adventures and especially if you like playing with friends.

If you love train games, have OCD and are a completion-ist.. this is for you. If you liked Train Valley, you'll love this.

The game keeps getting better and better. Carnage at it's finest.. with Dwarves! And now that it's out of Early Access, not a moment of disappointment. 10/10 GAME OF THE YEAR BABY!!

I love audioshield and I honestly thought I wasn't coordinated enough to do this, but hell, light sabres.. so of course, had to try. Not only does the game challenge the hell out of you, but you find that suddenly you have far more rhythm than you thought you did where the hard difficulty seems like second nature. It's a far more aerobic workout than audioshield.

And the light sabres in the end are just over the top cool. If you like guitar hero or rockband in the slightest, this is a great fit.

This is hands down the best game of the VR library that I have. The only thing that could possibly make this better is to bring sword play into this. The crossbow is a stellar addition. Every friend who has tried this has requested to play it again and again :).

What I enjoy is resetting the game for your friends and then afterward, your next game with experience unlocks 20 achievements :)

This game is a surprise hit. I've liked the idea for a while and yes, the tutorial is "wanting". Think Space Engineers only with working components.

Suggestions to avoid initial frustration... it's a learning curve and the tutorial is misleading in some of the advanced features that it doesn't touch on. You can build ships through a factory menu. Lights are "L", Jetpack "J". I suggest looking at the commands menu in the options to give you a hint of what is available that isn't discussed in the tutorial.

Pros:

In a nutshell, you can build a hovercraft, small spaceship, capital ship (or space station) or a complex base piece by piece. All the materials you need are harvestable and crafting simple (and fun).

In game blueprints allow you to make pre-designed items to use or examine. You can modify something basic to your liking and make your own blueprint of it for future easy of replication.

You can play solo, with friends, or you can play in a pvp server and try your luck. So far with friends is cool. Suggestion, if you are in space, confirm your friend is in the passenger seat before flying away and having them tumble out an airlock... Again, sorry Will.

Many of the games that require that you spend huge amounts of time mining materials.. with the factory, you can put in components from other items and the materials that make up those components are utilized toward your item being built (and reduce production time).

There are a large variety of complex bases to overtake (think dungeons) and they are unforgiving (not a cakewalk). If you take these over though, you can dismantle them for parts (to use in your factory)

There are certain items in game that are almost essential, but you can only find them or buy them from a vendor at a trading post. Locating these items is a driving factor.

Graphically you will stop and go "damn" on occasion. Very nice sunrises.

Having built my first large base in game with blueprint, the simplicity and optional complexity are a blast. Only drawback, I wish the base turrets would realize that although the spider is scary, the 10 story concrete base doesn't need to waste ammo. Work in progress...

Cons: (mild)

In a multiplayer game, bases you could take over now respawn eventually, thus some higher end items are too easy to acquire and if you learn how to defeat a base, you can pretty much farm them.

The game is good at scaring the hell out of you when you aren't listening to the approaching bad monster. Night is worse because you can hear the bad monster, but you don't see it. And raptors travel in packs. (This might be a Pro, depending on your view of getting surprised).

Once you locate all the hard to find items, the later end game become more of a creation thing, but you can still do adventures :)

Conclusion: This is a very promising game and the changes I've seen since being part of the Alpha are rapid and very good. Since I wrote this I was thinking, this might be too easy.. then I tried to harvest a lava planet and a toxic gas planet (a gargantuan hell beast coming out of the poison fog.. there might have been a small moment of panic...), ran out of gas (Crystals). Had to combine remaining bits with another player to get to a system where we could gather resources then return to rescue our stranded capital ships.