DarkOrbit Reloaded

About DarkOrbit Reloaded

DarkOrbit Reloaded is a single player and multiplayer role playing game. It was developed by Bigpoint GmbH and was released on December 3, 2025. It received negative reviews from players.

Humanity’s reckless use of Jump Gates triggered a brutal alien retaliation that almost annihilated Earth. In the aftermath, three rival conglomerates emerged: Earth Industries Corporation (EIC), Mars Mining Operations (MMO), and Venus Resources Unlimited (VRU). For generations, their strife has cloaked the stars in a never-ending fog of war! Dark Orbit is a long-running free-to-play space MMO…

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Reviews

19%Audience ScoreBased on 124 reviews

music2 positive mentions

grinding19 negative mentions

The game provides a nostalgic experience for long-time players and has a strong core concept with enjoyable space shooter gameplay.
Active community on some servers and a solid foundational PvP system with interesting ship formations and faction elements.
Playable on various systems, including a Unity client that can run smoothly on high refresh rate monitors for some users.

The game suffers from pervasive cheating issues, including bots, bot trains, and third-party programs which dominate gameplay and go mostly unpunished.
Severe pay-to-win mechanics with exorbitantly priced in-game items, making competitive progression extremely difficult for free-to-play or new players.
Frequent crashes, bugs, poor server stability, lag, and unaddressed technical problems degrade the gameplay experience significantly.

grinding
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions
Grinding in the game is excessively time-consuming and often seen as a barrier to progress without spending money, with many players resorting to bots to handle repetitive tasks. This has led to a frustrating, unbalanced experience dominated by pay-to-win mechanics and automation, severely impacting fair competition and enjoyment. Overall, grinding feels punishing and detracts from the game's original appeal.
- “If you expect to play this game without spending money, it will take potentially a year, if not longer, of countless grinding to achieve 'UFE - Ultra Full Elite' (to have everything you need to actually PvP/PvE at end game content).”
- “Bots and automated farming dominate the servers, leading to hundreds of hours of repetitive tasks such as killing NPCs or collecting resources one by one; if you don't pay, progression is nearly impossible, and the game's current state is unplayable once you try to climb through the maps.”
- “As new gear became stronger and more essential, the amount of grinding required to stay competitive grew to the point where getting fully equipped became nearly unachievable through normal play.”
gameplay
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19% positive mentions, 62% neutral mentions, 19% negative mentions
The gameplay is heavily criticized for being bug-ridden, grind-heavy, and dominated by pay-to-win mechanics, with frequent exploits, bots, and unstable servers undermining fair play. While the PvP system has potential, it is overshadowed by expensive RNG upgrades and a shift away from skill-based mechanics toward monetization and gambling elements. Overall, the experience feels outdated, frustrating, and unbalanced, making it difficult to recommend.
- “+ The gameplay (PvP) is just perfect (not the actual meta, just the idea of emps, smartbombs, freezing rockets, formations, etc.) Well-made system.”
- “77 hours of pure gameplay, only daily quests, pet on the go, and 1, max 3 tasks.”
- “About 1 - 1.5 hours of gameplay per day.”
- “Horrible game management, the game barely works. Every week some part of the gameplay is bugged. 80% of the content is outdated and the 20% that is new is behind a very expensive paywall. Very greedy prices for rewards that are not worth it. You cannot partake in farming important NPCs because of the bot/train users.”
- “Overall, DarkOrbit has shifted away from being a skill-based MMO and has become a grindy, pay-to-win, poorly moderated game filled with bots, gambling mechanics, and unstable servers.”
- “Bots and zombies are not the issue, the trains are. Really pay-to-win mechanics and they are not cheap at all. The PvP mechanics of the game could be solid if they had stopped after releasing the Prometheus laser. They added really grindy RNG modules for ships which can be broken as hell. If you don't pay, you won't get anywhere. If you bot in the game then good luck because it is going to take you literally hundreds of hours doing the same tasks either killing NPCs or going to collect the palladium resource one by one. The game's current state is unplayable once you try to climb through the maps.”
story
15 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
0% positive mentions, 80% neutral mentions, 20% negative mentions
The game lacks a meaningful story, with quests focused on repetitive, grind-heavy tasks that are often hindered by server issues and unbalanced gameplay. Players find missions tedious and progression frustrating, leading to an overall dull narrative experience.
- “There is essentially no story in this game, not even in new content or time-limited events.”
- “It doesn't stay relevant at all, beyond quests for weaker aliens totaling in the thousands which will take you a very long time (again, unless you bot!).”
- “The quest goes up to 10,000 of said NPC, and there's no AoE to kill them, they take about 5 seconds to 40++ seconds to kill by yourself depending on your equipment.”
monetization
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
0% positive mentions, 31% neutral mentions, 69% negative mentions
The monetization of the game is widely criticized as overly aggressive and predatory, heavily relying on expensive microtransactions and pay-to-win mechanics that create significant imbalances. Players report constant intrusive ads, inflated grind times pushing for paid shortcuts, and a lack of developer support against cheating and botting. Overall, the monetization is seen as a cash grab that undermines gameplay enjoyment and alienates both new and veteran players.
- “This is a cash grab company with many predatory tactics used to siphon every cent out of its player base for advantages and pay-to-win shortcuts.”
- “Now however, once you open the game you are greeted with 20 popups, 10 of which are related to microtransactions (micro meaning some packs cost as much as 300€) – what a way to start the game!”
- “Rework monetization system, we understand you need to make money and we do pay for lots of stuff, we are okay with some, but as of now we have no chance against players that can spend 2000 euros for some lasers.”
optimization
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17% positive mentions, 33% neutral mentions, 50% negative mentions
Optimization reviews are mixed, with many users reporting persistent bugs, crashes, and performance issues, especially given the game's age. Some players note the developer's focus on adding content over fixing optimization problems, while others experience relatively stable performance with minimal crashes. Additionally, achieving peak performance can require significant financial investment.
- “Played 110+ hrs since the Steam release; the game has been working perfectly so far with no issues with performance or lag. The few crashes I've had occurred only when tabbing out too much.”
- “Constant bugs, crashes, and performance issues.”
- “The game is almost 20 years old; frankly, it will never be optimized.”
- “A lot of unnecessary content is added instead of focusing on optimizing the game, and they're adding even more.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
0% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 100% negative mentions
The game suffers from significant stability issues, with frequent freezing and server crashes during multiplayer sessions, especially when many players or objects are present. Despite years of updates, persistent bugs and glitches remain unresolved, leading to a frustrating experience.
- “Doesn't matter what PC you have, after 4 ships appear on your screen, it freezes, and if there are more than 20 people on the same map as you, it's going to crash the map server.”
- “The Steam version uses the same buggy Unity client that's been around for a while and still contains the same bugs it has had for years.”
- “Money-hungry publishers have for years ignored the players and the game itself, which is riddled with bugs and glitches that are exploited without punishment or being fixed.”
music
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions
The music in the game is pleasant and enhances the overall experience, creating an enjoyable and immersive atmosphere, especially when playing leisurely on a PvE server.
- “My honest recommendation is to start and play slowly on a PvE server, enjoy the game, enjoy the grind and the smaller ships with some music in the background. It's a vibe and it's fun.”
- “Music is nice, too.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions
The atmosphere is consistently praised for being strong and unique, contributing to an engaging and enjoyable early experience that resonates well with a loyal community.
- “The core idea is brilliant, the atmosphere is strong, and the early experience is still genuinely fun.”
- “It had a loyal community and a unique atmosphere.”
graphics
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50% positive mentions, 50% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions
Despite being an older game, the graphics are surprisingly well-done and visually appealing.
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100% positive mentions, 0% neutral mentions, 0% negative mentions
The humor in DarkOrbit is described as unintentionally amusing due to the game's numerous issues, such as ineffective anti-cheat measures, a poorly made paid bot, and frustrating developer behavior. Players find the situation "hilarious" in a sarcastic sense, reflecting the game's grind and cash grab tactics rather than genuine comedic content. Overall, the humor arises more from player frustration and irony than from the game's intended comedic elements.