Colony Ship: A Post-Earth Role Playing Game
- April 5, 2021
- Iron Tower Studio
- 19h median play time
Get on Steam"Colony Ship: A Post-Earth Role Playing Game" is a turn-based RPG set in a generation ship fleeing a dying Earth. The game features a complex narrative with multiple factions, skill-based character development, and strategic combat. Players must navigate the ship's political landscape and make decisions that will affect the fate of the colony. Note: The above summary is based on general information available about the game and may not fully capture its nuances or individual features.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Engaging story and world-building that immerses players in a unique sci-fi setting.
- Multiple ways to approach quests, allowing for diverse playstyles including combat, stealth, and dialogue.
- Challenging combat that rewards strategic planning and character specialization.
- Combat can feel unfair and punishing, especially for players who do not min-max their character builds.
- Limited character and companion development, making it hard to form connections with NPCs.
- Some quests and areas feel rushed or underdeveloped, particularly in the later stages of the game.
- story2,242 mentions
- 31 % positive mentions
- 66 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The story of *Colony Ship* is praised for its intriguing premise, rich world-building, and the depth of its narrative, which explores themes of identity, morality, and the human condition aboard a generational spaceship. Players appreciate the variety of choices that impact the storyline, allowing for multiple resolutions to quests, although some criticize the linearity of certain plot elements and the lack of character depth among companions. Overall, while the game has its flaws, many find the storytelling compelling and engaging, making it a worthwhile experience for fans of narrative-driven RPGs.
“Whether you just want a game with tactical combat, or one that has an exuberant amount of choices for role play in an interesting story... Colony Ship checks many boxes.”
“If you relish a great in-game narrative, if you prefer a great story more than shooting things up - then this game is definitely for you.”
“The story is very well developed, as a role-playing game this is very much welcomed.”
“Story had potential, but falls flat with the boring factions and missions.”
“The story is just...not that good.”
“The story quickly devolves into you being an errand boy for the three faction leaders.”
- gameplay658 mentions
- 26 % positive mentions
- 70 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Colony Ship: A Post-Earth Role Playing Game" is characterized by its challenging mechanics, requiring players to master combat, stealth, and diplomacy to succeed. While the game offers a rich narrative and diverse gameplay options, many players find the mechanics to be punishing and sometimes confusing, particularly for newcomers. Overall, it appeals to fans of classic CRPGs, but may frustrate those unaccustomed to its demanding gameplay style.
“A gem and a delight, a science fiction RPG with superb writing, fascinating world, great combat mechanics but also a number of alternate ways to accomplish goals including stealth and persuasion.”
“Extremely unique gameplay in this day and age, the developers clearly spent a lot of time planning out and fine-tuning their vision for the game.”
“Great game for traditional RPG fans; thoroughly enjoyed the story and mechanics and the fleshed out, hard-ish sci-fi world.”
“The gameplay is defined by obscure mechanics, rigid gameplay, and sometimes punishing difficulty.”
“The stealth mechanics are confusing, not intuitive, and deliberately hard.”
“Despite investing over 23 hours into completing both the main and side quests and finishing the game on hero difficulty, the gameplay felt repetitive and predictable.”
- graphics336 mentions
- 41 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many praising the significant improvements over its predecessor, "The Age of Decadence," particularly in terms of visual fidelity and atmosphere. While some players appreciate the immersive environments and aesthetic design, others criticize the lack of modern graphical features and a cumbersome user interface. Overall, the visuals are generally considered good, contributing positively to the game's setting and mood, though they may not meet the expectations of those seeking high-end graphics.
“The graphics are beautiful.”
“The graphics are a huge jump up, and the writing is brilliant.”
“The attention to detail in 'Colony Ship' is impressive, and the game's graphics and sound design work together seamlessly to create an immersive and believable world.”
“Poor graphics, poor UI, very text heavy with poor font, game interaction feels cumbersome, looting and equipping feels cumbersome.”
“In the graphics and aesthetics department, the game looks ok-ish, but is full of confusing 2.5D verticality which, for me, ruins immersion.”
“The graphics feel like they are only a very slight improvement from Age of Decadence.”
- atmosphere252 mentions
- 63 % positive mentions
- 35 % neutral mentions
- 1 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive and richly detailed environments, effectively blending elements of post-apocalyptic and cyberpunk themes. Reviewers highlight the strong world-building, compelling storytelling, and atmospheric music that enhance the overall experience, although some note a lack of interactivity and depth in certain areas. Overall, the game successfully creates a captivating and moody setting that resonates with players, making it a standout feature.
“The atmosphere is great, it has a lot of post-apocalyptic vibes with much of the cyberpunk.”
“The atmosphere, story and characters are compelling.”
“The developers really nail the atmosphere with dark drab colors and the depressing yet hopeful music perfectly sets the tone in motion for this game.”
“The atmosphere and story are sublime, but the world feels empty because you can't talk to anyone except for designated people.”
“The game largely carries a drab atmosphere, as your trip to space has taken far longer than it should have, the ship is falling apart after an intense civil war, and everyone is too focused on killing each other to improve their situation.”
“The soundtrack, meant to enhance the game's atmosphere, was unremarkable and did little to complement the game's settings.”
- music230 mentions
- 51 % positive mentions
- 41 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally praised for its atmospheric quality and ability to enhance the immersive experience, with many tracks described as beautiful and fitting for the game's setting. However, several reviews note a lack of variety, with repetitive loops that can detract from the overall enjoyment, leading some players to wish for a more diverse soundtrack. Overall, while the music is often highlighted as a strong point, its repetitiveness is a common criticism among players.
“The music has an epic industrial and celestial ambiance that is also mixed together with broken melodies.”
“The soundtrack is superb, giving off an atmosphere that really strikes a chord as you play through the game.”
“The music is sublime; spaghetti western crossed with classic electro-blade runner themes and the writing is top class, very immersive.”
“The soundtrack, meant to enhance the game's atmosphere, was unremarkable and did little to complement the game's settings.”
“My only complaint is there is one musical track you will hear for 90% of the game and it has a terrible loop that you won't un-hear once you clock it.”
“The soundtrack is weak, in my opinion, with many of the background songs looping too soon or too obtrusively making each loop very noticeable.”
- replayability206 mentions
- 36 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 1 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its high replayability, offering numerous character builds, branching storylines, and meaningful choices that significantly alter gameplay experiences. Players appreciate the depth and variety in how quests can be approached, although some note that it may not reach the replay value of similar titles like "Age of Decadence." Overall, it is considered a solid RPG with ample opportunities for multiple playthroughs.
“A fantastic hard sci-fi CRPG with great roleplay opportunities and a lot of replay value.”
“With many branching choices, skill-dependent quest lines, and excellent build variety, replay value is tremendous.”
“The choices you make truly matter and can drastically alter the progression of the game, making it highly replayable.”
“Takes about 30 hours to explore everything and finish a single playthrough on high difficulty; however, what it does not offer is replay value, as each encounter is almost exactly the same.”
“Consequently, and because of the relatively long time to beat the game, there is practically no replay value like in Age of Decadence.”
“This game has low replayability, so I will not go through this nonsense to try to max out these skills again.”
- grinding66 mentions
- 6 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 94 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious and unfulfilling, with a lack of renewable experience or skill points leading to frustrating difficulty spikes. The absence of respawning enemies or random events further exacerbates the grind, making combat feel clunky and unengaging. Overall, many reviewers express that the game fails to provide meaningful rewards for effort, resulting in a frustrating experience that detracts from enjoyment.
“For the positive, the game is well executed which you can see even in this early stage and the design of the game contains some elements that I really agree with and wish were more common - eg. combat being actually impactful (and possibly completely ignored), and not simply thrown in as a filler, no grinding, meaningful decisions within the context and from the characters' perspective.”
“Grinding isn't even an option; enemies don't respawn, there aren't random events to stumble on, and you very quickly run into a problem where every mission is beyond your ability to complete and you have absolutely no way of making it possible.”
“The low level cap means that you will make far fewer choices and spend way more time grinding between them.”
“Even when you do learn to win fights, it's tedious, clunky, and almost never worthwhile.”
- optimization62 mentions
- 26 % positive mentions
- 69 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is generally praised, with players reporting smooth performance, fast load times, and minimal bugs. However, many reviewers emphasize that character and party optimization are crucial for success, particularly in combat, leading to frustration for those who struggle with the game's difficulty and lack of a respec feature. While some players appreciate the tactical depth and replayability, others find the optimization requirements excessively demanding, especially on higher difficulty settings.
“Smart usage of precious, finite consumables, careful build planning, and strenuous optimization of loadouts are fundamental to just have some chances of winning; and you’ll get your ass kicked half the time anyway.”
“Colony Ship is a game that, on one hand, can reward min/maxing and build tweaking while also allowing a roleplayer to try different non-optimized builds without suffering too much.”
“As others have said, and with which I agree, it is really peculiar how optimized the player must be for the game progression to have even moderate success.”
“I put a lot of emphasis on difficulty here because I myself ended up having to restart my playthrough twice due to my unoptimized parties making combat nigh-impossible for me to take on towards the midgame (there is no respec feature available within the game, either, further requiring you to build your party carefully).”
“The developer is clearly incapable of doing basic arithmetic, or they'd be able to calculate that it isn't possible to survive these combat encounters no matter how optimized the player is.”
“As others have said, and with which I agree, it is really peculiar how optimized the player must be for the game progression to have even moderate success states.”
- character development52 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is generally well-received, with many players appreciating the thoughtful design options and meaningful choices that enhance gameplay. However, there are criticisms regarding the lack of depth in companion interactions and character arcs, which can lead to a superficial experience. Overall, while the character development system offers intriguing mechanics and customization, it may not satisfy those seeking deep narrative connections or extensive character growth.
“Colony ship is a very atmospheric isometric RPG, playable solo or with a party, with meaningful character development and story choices and with hand-crafted combat encounters, which require you to master the game's combat system.”
“There is an interesting perk system in character development, with perks that seem meaningful and provoke thoughts about 'what will my next character be?'”
“Character development is filled with really carefully considered options, leaving me to think... ahhh I should have upped my constitution for more implants.”
“My biggest sore spot is with the way character development progresses through the game.”
“Minimal companion interactions, no character development.”
“Entire questlines have next to no character development, or memorable characters at all, due to how rushed and simplistic they are.”
- stability36 mentions
- 28 % positive mentions
- 11 % neutral mentions
- 61 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's stability is generally praised, with many players reporting it as relatively bug-free and running smoothly. While a few minor glitches and animation issues were noted, they were not game-breaking and could often be resolved with a restart or save reload. Some users experienced occasional pathing problems and UI bugs, but these did not significantly detract from the overall gameplay experience.
“I like the graphics and sound, found the game pretty much bug free and managed the game controls happily once I got used to them.”
“Setting, characters, story, gameplay options, optimisation, all packed in a tight, almost bug-free package.”
“I ran into absolutely no bugs, no glitches, no crashes, nothing.”
“A few glitches caused people to disappear, creating quests that could not be completed.”
“It is sometimes buggy when it goes too close to the top level and can't be moved further, so you have to do a lot of scrolling. Then it's too far when you're on the lower level of the multi-level location.”
“The bugs I encountered were minor in nature, as they amounted to few and far between visual glitches, one or two stuck combat scenarios that were fixed upon a save reload, and a few pathing inconsistencies for the main character and party members when traversing the world.”
- humor34 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by a serious tone, reminiscent of the original Fallout, and lacks the dark humor found in later installments. While some players appreciate the absence of metahumor and irony, they express a desire for more comedic elements, particularly in dialogue. Overall, the writing is praised for its liveliness and dark humor, but the game is noted for taking itself seriously, which some find refreshing in a genre often filled with goofy humor.
“Overall, I give it a 7.5/10 (although I should give it a 6/10 since that would be humorously fitting). I enjoyed the game, but it's a shame that the game could be so much better.”
“I enjoy the indie nature of how the developers choose to design things, and the highlight is the writing, especially the hilarious streetwise dialogue options.”
“It's funny really, for such a tough game - my final play-through was a breeze.”
- emotional10 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Reviews highlight a mixed emotional response to the game, with some players appreciating its heartfelt storytelling while others criticize the lack of character depth and immersion. Many felt disconnected due to repetitive dialogue and a sense of detachment from the characters, leading to a diminished desire to explore all endings. Despite these shortcomings, some players expressed gratitude for the enjoyable moments the game provided.
“Ps: if any of you devs happen to be reading this - here's my heartfelt thank you for the good times I had when playing your game.”
“And that you'd forgive the game anything even if it proved to be not very good later on, because you can clearly see it's a heartfelt piece of art.”
“That emotional response may have been immersive if I didn't have to savescum every single conversation, combat, and door opening.”
