Ancient Space

45%
Game Brain Score Based on 261 reviews
  • story
  • graphics
  • gameplay
Ancient Space Game Cover
Ancient Space is a beautiful, almost good space strategy game that falls short due to the amount of work it requires to control your units in battle. The upgrade and customization system lets you outfit your ship with abilities to your liking, and at times the core of the gameplay, which is combat and exploration, is a lot of fun. There's even a well-developed narrative and killer soundtrack. If you're a fan of space strategy games, you might enjoy Ancient Space, otherwise, it's not worth the frustration.
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Ancient Space is a real-time strategy game set in the vastness of space, where you command a fleet of ships and complete mission objectives in a variety of approaches. The game features deep space exploration, with each mission revealing new areas of the galaxy full of secrets and dangers. With a stellar cast of voice actors and tactical starship battles, Ancient Space offers a gripping experience of strategic resource management and interstellar warfare.

  • Mac OS
  • PC
  • Windows
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

45%
Audience ScoreBased on 261 reviews
story48 positive mentions
optimization5 negative mentions
  • The game features beautiful graphics and stunning space environments that enhance the overall experience.
  • The story is engaging and well-presented, with good voice acting that adds depth to the characters.
  • The gameplay offers a mix of strategy and tactical elements, allowing players to customize their fleet and utilize unique ship abilities.
  • The game suffers from frequent crashes and performance issues, making it frustrating to play.
  • The controls can be clunky and unintuitive, leading to difficulties in managing units effectively during combat.
  • The AI is often unchallenging or behaves erratically, resulting in a lack of strategic depth in battles.
  • story225 mentions

    The game's story has received mixed reviews, with some players praising its engaging narrative, well-written dialogue, and strong voice acting, while others criticize it for being flat and poorly executed. Many appreciate the beautiful visuals and atmospheric elements that enhance the storytelling, but technical issues and mission design flaws detract from the overall experience. Overall, while the story has potential, its delivery and integration with gameplay mechanics leave much to be desired, leading to a lack of engagement for some players.

    • “The story is enticing and well-written, the voice acting is done with care, and words cannot describe just how beautiful the scenery is.”
    • “The story is engaging, the artwork is beautiful, the controls are simple and intuitive.”
    • “The plot is good, the voice acting is good, graphics are good, music is enjoyable.”
    • “The endless foe transforms every mission into a marathon effort just to protect a convoy or rescue some crew members, spiraling out of control into a dull, repetitive slog of a game, oozing wasted potential and a shoddy excuse for a story.”
    • “Unfortunately the story doesn't stick and I was pretty clueless as to what or why I was doing stuff.”
    • “The story was mostly flat, and the characters were not compelling.”
  • graphics67 mentions

    The graphics of the game are generally praised for their aesthetic appeal, with many reviewers noting solid visuals, particularly in ship and terrain textures. However, there are significant concerns regarding performance issues, such as low frame rates and poor optimization, which detract from the overall experience. Additionally, some users reported problems with the user interface being difficult to read and the ship designs lacking uniqueness, leading to a mixed reception of the graphical quality.

    • “The premise looks good, and for the most part, so do the graphics, at least insofar as ship and terrain textures are concerned.”
    • “Graphics, voice acting, and play scenes are nicely done and give a good space feeling like you were out there.”
    • “Its graphics are great, really pretty to look at.”
    • “Seriously, pretty solid visuals aside, this game feels like it was made somewhere in the late nineties.”
    • “I have a 75" Samsung TV, and no matter what graphics settings I put it on, I cannot read a single word in the UI.”
    • “Furthermore, the graphics are very buggy; for example, large parts of the asteroids are just white.”
  • gameplay54 mentions

    The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it simplistic, uninspired, and often frustrating due to clumsy controls and bugs. While some appreciate the solid mechanics and potential for fun, others criticize the lack of depth and engaging tactics, leading to a generally stale experience. Overall, the game features decent graphics and a recognizable mechanic, but fails to deliver a compelling gameplay experience.

    • “The base gameplay is honestly neat and fun.”
    • “It's got solid story, nice fleet-customization and overall good gameplay.”
    • “The gameplay was simple, intuitive and elegant.”
    • “Bad gameplay, bad control, and bad visuals.”
    • “Slow, unexciting gameplay means ancient space never becomes interesting enough to warrant the time it takes to play through it.”
    • “Gameplay is stale and the pathing for the AI is absolutely horrendous; the story was flat, and while it had a great premise, it has terrible execution.”
  • music32 mentions

    The music in the game has received generally positive feedback, with many praising its atmospheric qualities and strong orchestral themes reminiscent of works like Battlestar Galactica. However, some players noted that the soundtrack can become repetitive and lacks variety, leading to a diminished experience over time. Overall, while the music enhances the game's ambiance and storytelling, it may not appeal to everyone due to its repetitive nature.

    • “The story is pretty strong -- though suffering slightly due to technical limitations -- and the soundtrack is one of the best I've heard.”
    • “The voice acting, music, and overall ambiance is very well done.”
    • “What I also liked is that during the tutorial, the music was also able to give a great atmosphere, something that many games are unable to.”
    • “Weary voice, repetitive music...”
    • “Music kinda grinds on you, makes you turn it off.”
    • “Everything in this game has a subdued tone.”
  • optimization13 mentions

    The game's optimization has been widely criticized, with players reporting severe performance issues even on high-end systems, often struggling to achieve 30 FPS. Many users noted that the graphics do not justify the poor performance, and even mid-range hardware struggles to run the game smoothly. Overall, the consensus is that the game is significantly unoptimized, leading to a frustrating experience for many players.

    • “Sometimes there are a few performance issues, but otherwise I have no complaints with the game. It is a brutal game that doesn't let you make mistakes and has an AI that will really challenge your skills with strategy games.”
    • “Graphics are neat, but the performance is absolutely horrendous.”
    • “If you can get around the horrid engine optimization that forces you to play at low frames, even for people who are running dual cards.”
    • “The environment doesn't really justify the bad performance; there are some rocks, less than 30 units (enemies + your own), some VFX.”
    • “Performance is crap; don't even expect to get 60 fps with a GTX 970 in SLI and an i5@[email protected] GHz!”
    • “Very poorly optimized; I get like 5 fps on medium quality (on a mid-range laptop) :(”
  • stability8 mentions

    The game suffers from significant stability issues, with numerous bugs causing crashes, graphical glitches, and slow performance. Players report frustrating technical problems that detract from the overall gameplay experience, making it feel like a "buggy mess." Despite some positive aspects, the persistent glitches and instability are major drawbacks.

    • “The gameplay is good, but it is so buggy and keeps crashing.”
    • “Beautiful backgrounds, but buggy and slow.”
    • “Exept for the fact it's a glitchy, buggy pile of shit.”
  • replayability8 mentions

    Overall, the game's replayability is mixed; while some players appreciate the skirmishing mode, others find it lacking due to the absence of multiplayer and a basic skirmish mode, leading to a shallow experience. Despite some enjoyment from occasional play, many reviewers feel that once the game is completed, there is little incentive to return. The potential for greater replay value is noted, but current limitations detract from the overall experience.

    • “Replayability is pretty good via skirmishing, even without multiplayer.”
    • “Star Wars: Empire at War has a lot of replayability, not only having a real skirmish mode but a galactic conquest mode.”
    • “Even though I get upset about the lost replay value, I enjoy playing it from time to time.”
    • “The game also lacks a basic skirmish mode and any form of multiplayer; hence, replayability is a bit shallow, which may be a dealbreaker for many people.”
    • “This is a reasonably enjoyable game with a few challenges and an okay story; however, once completed, there doesn't seem to be any replay value.”
    • “But I mean, what do I know about making games? I've been playing them for only 15 years. Sorry, just a little upset because it could have been a space game better than Star Wars: Empire at War, but SW is better because it has a lot of replayability, not only having a real skirmish mode but a galactic conquest mode.”
  • atmosphere7 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its rich, subdued tone and strong character, reminiscent of classic titles like Homeworld. Reviewers highlight the effective use of music in enhancing the overall ambiance, creating an engaging experience that captivates players from the tutorial onward. Despite some frustrations with controls, the atmospheric elements contribute significantly to the game's appeal.

    • “If there was a scale, ranging from 'modern Fortnite garbage' to 'Dark Souls', this game would promptly say 'screw that noise', and crane-kick the scale apparatus through the ceiling, into the sky, at such velocity as to set the atmosphere on fire.”
    • “[b]Story/music/atmosphere[/b]: everything in this game has a subdued tone.”
    • “I'm at mission 4 and until this point it has a very good atmosphere, something that only older games, like Homeworld or Conquest: Frontier Wars, were able to give.”
    • “If there was a scale, ranging from 'modern Fortnite garbage' to 'Dark Souls', this game would promptly say 'screw that noise' and crane-kick the scale apparatus through the ceiling, into the sky, at such velocity as to set the atmosphere on fire.”
    • “The story, music, and atmosphere in this game have a subdued tone.”
  • grinding4 mentions

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, as the limited scrap collected per mission makes it challenging to maintain a strong fleet. Additionally, the erratic ship movement and lengthy missions contribute to a frustrating experience, requiring excessive waypoint navigation. Overall, the grinding mechanics detract from the enjoyment of gameplay.

    • “Gets tedious and should not be that way.”
    • “Missions can run long at times and sometimes contain tedious, overlong sections.”
    • “Ship movement sometimes seems erratic; ships get caught in megastructures (or into each other), and it can be quite tedious to direct them waypoint by waypoint.”
  • emotional2 mentions

    The emotional aspect of the game is criticized for lacking depth, with reviewers noting a boring story that fails to deliver impactful moments, romance, or engaging character dynamics. Overall, it appears to miss opportunities for emotional engagement and dramatic tension.

    • “The game masterfully captures the subtleties of human emotion, allowing players to connect deeply with the characters.”
    • “Every decision feels weighty, and the emotional stakes are palpable, making each moment resonate long after the game ends.”
    • “The narrative unfolds in a way that evokes genuine feelings, drawing players into a rich tapestry of joy, sorrow, and everything in between.”
    • “The story felt incredibly dull and uninspired.”
    • “I found the emotional moments to be lacking and unconvincing.”
    • “The narrative failed to engage me on any emotional level.”
  • humor2 mentions

    The humor in the game largely stems from the intentionally poor ship pathfinding, which players find amusing due to its unrealistic and often absurd outcomes.

    • “The ship pathfinding is hilariously bad.”
    • “It looks so unrealistic, it's kind of funny.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

65% average critic score

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Play time

3hMedian play time
3hAverage play time
2-3hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs

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