Astrox Imperium

About

Astrox Imperium is a single-player space strategy game that lets you explore, gather resources, build space stations, and manage interstellar politics. Engage in real-time combat with AI-controlled ships while navigating a vast, procedurally generated universe. Experience an immersive narrative with multiple branching storylines based on player choices.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

+42

88%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,702 reviews

story40 positive mentions

grinding80 negative mentions

Astrox Imperium offers a relaxing and immersive single-player experience reminiscent of EVE Online, without the toxic player interactions.
The game features a variety of gameplay mechanics including mining, trading, combat, and crafting, allowing players to choose their own path.
The developer is highly active and responsive to community feedback, providing regular updates and improvements to the game.

The game can feel grindy, with missions often being repetitive and not rewarding enough compared to other activities like mining.
Some players have reported issues with the user interface and navigation, making it difficult to find missions or manage inventory effectively.
The game lacks depth in certain areas, such as a compelling storyline or dynamic economy, which may lead to a sense of emptiness after extended play.

story
432 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
9%
84%
6%
The game's story content is currently incomplete, leading to a lack of narrative drive and connection for players as they engage in repetitive mission grinding primarily for skill points and ship upgrades. While the sandbox elements and mission variety are praised, many players express a desire for a more developed storyline and meaningful progression beyond just leveling up. Overall, the game feels like a work in progress, with potential for a richer narrative experience in future updates.
- “Ancient wrecks of incalculably large ships dot sectors relating to the backstory.”
- “Eager to see more of the story!”
- “There is no story or anything to make you feel connected to why you are continually grinding missions to get the next ship.”
- “I'd hoped to see that by now, the game had a fleshed out story to continue a feeling of 'meaning,' but at present, there is still no such thing.”
- “The main downer is that there's not a whole lot of 'drive' behind it without a story objective - no real sense of progression apart from leveling - but that's okay for some.”
gameplay
206 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
67%
8%
The gameplay of Astrox Imperium is generally praised for its depth and engaging mechanics, drawing comparisons to Eve Online while offering a more accessible experience. Players appreciate the variety of activities available, such as mining, trading, and combat, although some find certain mechanics, like life support, to be confusing or unnecessary. While the game is still in early access and has some rough edges, many users find the core gameplay addictive and enjoyable, with a solid foundation for future updates.
- “With its stunning visuals, immersive sound design, and engaging gameplay, it offers a welcome escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.”
- “The game has very few bugs, graphics are decent (for a Unity game), gameplay is good, music is good and this game is good for playing your own music source from wherever you get your tunes.”
- “It has all the activities you need, like mining, trading, exploration, missions, combat, character progression, build & command your fleet, station building, etc. with a well-designed, simple to use UI and easy to understand mechanics.”
- “It is nowhere close to a finished experience with a proper gameplay loop.”
- “Yes, I said I only do combat, but I did make sure to give trading, transporting, and mining a quick try, but doing the same gameplay loop with no depth over and over bored me to death.”
- “Fake economy, simplistic combat, and an overall static universe without power struggles or any kind of overarching threat that needs to be dealt with leave you basically with one gameplay loop that's worth pursuing.”
graphics
170 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
51%
5%
The graphics of the game are generally described as decent, with many users noting that they are functional and immersive, particularly for a Unity title. While some players appreciate the beautiful visuals and colorful aesthetics, others feel the graphics lack the polish and detail found in AAA games, comparing them to older titles. Overall, the visuals are seen as a mixed bag, with potential for improvement, but they do not detract significantly from the enjoyable gameplay experience.
- “With its stunning visuals, immersive sound design, and engaging gameplay, it offers a welcome escape from the hustle and bustle of everyday life.”
- “The graphics are beautiful and run very fast; I was hitting 250 fps on my 5-year-old i5 GTX 970 rig until I turned on the vsync to give my video card a break.”
- “Beautiful graphics, great gameplay, wide possibilities, but mostly the developer is constantly improving.”
- “And it does this in triplicate with dated graphics.”
- “This game looks worse graphically than X3, which came out in 2005.”
- “The missions and gameplay didn't draw me in, and the graphics are not detailed enough to run it as a screensaver.”
grinding
82 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
2%
98%
The grinding aspect of the game is a significant focus, with many players finding it tedious and time-consuming, particularly if they are not fans of exploration. While some appreciate the grind as a core element of the gameplay, akin to titles like EVE Online, others criticize it for lacking depth and connection to the game's narrative. Overall, the experience can vary widely, with options to mitigate grindiness through sandbox modes, but many still feel it detracts from overall enjoyment.
- “There is no story or anything to make you feel connected to why you are continually grinding missions to get the next ship.”
- “Running a set of tedious and monotonous missions, becoming the richest guy in the known universe with the fattest ship and a sizable fleet...and you're still as insignificant as you were at level 1 in your tiny starting vessel.”
- “It is an arbitrary money and time sink in a game that is already grindy as hell.”
music
58 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
50%
5%
The music in the game is widely praised for its atmospheric and ambient qualities, enhancing the overall experience and creating a chill environment suitable for background listening. While some players noted that the music can be repetitive or short, many found it engaging and fitting for the game's aesthetic, contributing to its replayability. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a strong point, complementing the visuals and gameplay effectively.
- “The ambience is superb, the replayability is quite high, and the music track, while perhaps a little short, is haunting and atmospheric.”
- “This is a beautifully created early access game with great graphics and a fantastic soundtrack that sometimes gives me shivers.”
- “The music in Astrox Imperium is great.”
- “I own a lot of games (on and off Steam) and on virtually all of them, one of the very first things I end up doing is going into the sound settings and turning the music off.”
- “Graphics and music are just passable, but these are clearly not the main focus of this title.”
- “There's no sounds when you shoot, get shot, get locked, anything really other than music.”
optimization
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
39%
17%
Overall, the game is well-optimized, running smoothly even on older hardware, which enhances its accessibility and enjoyment. Players appreciate the immersive experience and the interconnected systems that allow for extensive customization and optimization. However, some users have reported overheating issues on higher settings, indicating that while performance is generally good, there may be room for further improvements.
- “Bottom line, this game runs smoothly on old equipment, it's fun for a few hours, and the developer continues to improve it.”
- “There's a grand variety of skills, items, modules, and ships, and it seems everything is quite interconnected, offering many ways of customization and optimization of how you want to achieve your goals.”
- “It's absolutely immersive... its practical application of productivity and efficiency are well worth buying this game for, and will help you in real terms with production optimization and efficiency.”
- “However, I don't know if this is an optimization problem or what, but the game makes my laptop struggle.”
- “Maintenance - performance and failures need to be added to ships.”
- “Having a crew system tied to ship performance and adding risk if a certain amount was lost in combat.”
atmosphere
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
88%
13%
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised for its stunning visuals and immersive ambient soundtrack, which effectively sets the tone and enhances the overall experience. Players appreciate the haunting music and superb ambience, contributing to a captivating and replayable environment. Overall, the combination of great graphics and atmospheric sound design creates a deeply engaging atmosphere that resonates well with players.
- “The ambience is superb, the replayability is quite high, and the music track, while perhaps a little short, is haunting and atmospheric.”
- “The different systems and ships all look great, and the whole atmosphere is very immersive.”
- “This game has some amazing ambient space music that is really very cool and adds to the atmosphere.”
stability
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
43%
Overall, the game's stability is a mixed bag; while many players report it as being more polished and bug-free than many fully released titles, there are notable glitches that can disrupt training missions and affect AI behavior. Some users have experienced issues with pathfinding and graphical glitches, but the developer's commitment to addressing these problems and engaging with the community is commendable. Despite these issues, many players still find the game enjoyable and stable on various platforms.
- “More polished and bug-free than many 'fully released' (a.k.a. non-early access) games I've played before.”
- “It's pretty much bug-free, fully featured, and stable at the time of writing.”
- “From the sole developer's relentless pursuit of a bug-free product to communicating with his community, he is second to none.”
- “There are glitches that will cause the training missions to bug out and become unusable - same for missions.”
- “My ships fly sideways and don't ever reach their objective, and some of the ally AI is tricky to trigger in certain scenarios. Pathfinding can be really bad, and there are some graphical glitches.”
- “Now I'm learning about fleet management and drone management at the same time; it's buggy. Okay, it's me, but I digress. XD, love this game.”
replayability
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
20%
20%
Astrox Imperium offers high replayability, enhanced by its recently added sandbox and sector-clear modes, which provide diverse gameplay experiences. The game is accessible for players with physical limitations, making it more enjoyable for a wider audience, while its atmospheric ambience and numerous skills further contribute to its replay value. Overall, players find it to have great promise and infinite replayability.
- “Astrox Imperium is a fun space sandbox with great promise and infinite replayability.”
- “The ambience is superb, the replayability is quite high, and the music track, while perhaps a little short, is haunting and atmospheric.”
- “It's very replayable, with many sectors and many skills.”
- “The recently added sandbox mode and hse mode (a sector-by-sector clear-the-map of baddies game mode) add a lot of replayability to the game already.”
humor
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the humor in the game to be a significant highlight, often laughing and singing along to songs like "Father Christmas (Give Us Your Money)" while playing. Despite the graphics not being top-tier, the entertaining and funny gameplay keeps players engaged and amused. Overall, the humor adds a delightful layer to the gaming experience.
- “The whole time jumping back and forth to the sectors, we were laughing and singing the Kinks song, 'Father Christmas (Give Us Your Money).' If you've never heard the song before, I highly recommend a quick YouTube search for it.”
- “Ok, the graphics are not AAA models, but I don't care because it is entertaining, enjoyable, and funny to play.”
- “That's awesome and funny.”
character development
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Character development is generally well-received, with players appreciating the depth and variety of skills that characters can learn. However, there is one notable exception that detracts from the overall experience.
- “It also has character development through education in a vast array of skills.”
monetization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization aspect of the game has drawn criticism for its misleading advertisements, which showcase features like fleet building that are ultimately non-functional or ineffective in gameplay. Players express frustration over the lack of benefits from these advertised mechanics, suggesting that the game's monetization strategy may not align with the actual experience.
- “Despite advertisements, building doesn't benefit you and the mercenaries are broken. For that, you should play Starpoint Gemini Warlords.”
- “I respect the developer; it's just a single person doing everything. However, I'm frustrated with the fact that I see the ability to raise fleets and build things during advertisements, then go to do it and it doesn't work.”