Drox Operative

About

Drox Operative is a space-themed action RPG where you are the captain of a spaceship. Your mission is to explore, trade, and complete quests while navigating a dynamic galaxy filled with various alien races. As you progress, you can upgrade your ship, hire crew members, and negotiate or battle with other spaceship captains to gain fame and power. Your actions can shape the galaxy's political landscape, leading to different endings.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

88%

Audience ScoreBased on 235 reviews

gameplay12 positive mentions

story6 negative mentions

Engaging gameplay that combines ARPG mechanics with a dynamic 4X universe, allowing players to influence the outcome of galactic politics.
Highly customizable ships with a vast array of loot and upgrades, providing a unique experience in each playthrough.
Addictive and fun, with a variety of ways to win, including military, diplomatic, and economic victories.

Graphics are dated and may not appeal to everyone, potentially detracting from the overall experience.
The learning curve can be steep, and the game may feel overwhelming at first due to its complexity.
Repetitive gameplay can set in after extended play, leading to a grindy experience as players seek better loot and upgrades.

story
64 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
5%
86%
9%
The game's story is minimal and largely overshadowed by gameplay mechanics, with players acting as mercenaries completing randomly generated quests for various factions. While there are some overarching themes and backstories, the quests often feel repetitive and lack meaningful narrative depth, making the experience more about grinding and combat than engaging storytelling. Overall, players seeking a rich narrative will likely be disappointed, as the game prioritizes gameplay over story.
- “The developer, Soldak, is a small shop that keeps iterating on the same idea - an ARPG where the quests and adventures are the natural byproduct of a living and changing world that reacts to what you do in it.”
- “Each race offers a huge number and variety of quests that you can complete or ignore, ranging from finding and destroying bosses, guarding undefended worlds, attacking other civilizations, to fetch and carry quests.”
- “You gain influence with factions by completing quests for them, protecting their planets and ships from attack, and trading with them.”
- “There's no story, and only a vague backstory.”
- “The lack of story and the quests get repetitive.”
- “It's not a story-driven game.”
gameplay
46 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
67%
7%
The gameplay of Drox Operative is characterized by its deep, addictive mechanics reminiscent of classic ARPGs like Diablo, offering a blend of exploration, combat, and strategic decision-making in a space setting. While the graphics may be dated, the game provides extensive replayability through its intricate systems, allowing players to engage in various victory conditions and faction dynamics. However, some players note that the gameplay can become repetitive over time, despite its initial appeal and unique mechanics.
- “Gameplay-wise, very diablo-esque, in terms of items, skills, and equipment.”
- “The gameplay is simple and somewhat familiar as an ARPG.”
- “Drox Operative has a lot of depth with its ARPG gameplay, RPG leveling system, and loot that once you start playing online co-op with some friends, you won't be able to stop.”
- “The gameplay itself is also generally repetitive; you enter the game and aim for a certain win condition, whether it be allying with one race and destroying everyone else for total domination, raking in the big bucks, being feared, or becoming a legend by killing solely monsters and avoiding attacking people as well as a few other heroic deeds.”
- “Unfortunately, while the replayability is high, the gameplay gets samey.”
- “However, the gameplay becomes really, really repetitive.”
graphics
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
66%
9%
The graphics of the game are generally described as dated and simplistic, lacking the polish of modern titles, yet they possess a certain charm that complements the gameplay. While some players find the visuals rough and unappealing, many agree that the minimalist design allows for smooth performance, especially on lower-end systems. Overall, the graphics may not be a selling point, but they do not detract from the enjoyable and engaging gameplay experience.
- “The graphics are great and the player is allowed a reasonable range of customization to make it his/her own.”
- “While the graphics lack in the 'pretty' department, they more than suffice to keep the game running smooth while you blow up tons of mobs.”
- “This game is the perfect example of the fact that you don't need over-the-top graphics and flashy swords to make a good action RPG.”
- “The graphics are dated, and the game is sorely in need of a basic tutorial.”
- “If it had better graphics, it would be famous!”
- “Graphics are pretty rough, which probably won't bother you if you're looking for a 2D space combat game; sadly, however, the frame rate stuttered quite often on my 2014 US$3000 PC.”
grinding
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and time-consuming, with many noting that progression can feel overly repetitive and cumbersome, especially when managing inventory and completing quests. While some appreciate the cooperative gameplay and the engaging combat, the grindy mechanics, particularly in improving faction relations and tracking numerous quests, detract from the overall experience for many. Overall, the game is seen as enjoyable but marred by its grind-heavy elements.
- “Progression becomes grindy.”
- “The only mechanic provided for this is to visit planets of each faction and navigate through a 'rumor' menu dozens and dozens of times until you improve relations, a very tedious enterprise that is costly, and must be funded by missions (which anger other factions) or hunting monsters for loot (which the factions can't buy because they run out of money).”
- “You grind a lot of quests in this game and as they pile up it becomes tedious to track and pursue them all.”
replayability
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
63%
13%
25%
Overall, the game is praised for its high replayability due to various difficulty settings, deep gameplay, and extensive customization options. However, some players note that despite the replay value, the gameplay can become repetitive over time.
- “Gameplay is great and offers a lot of replayability at various difficulty settings.”
- “Great fun, great replayability, this is a really deep game - the price is well deserved.”
- “With its complex simulation, powerful customization and high replayability, Drox Operative remains one of the most unusual and interesting space-based games of the decade.”
- “Unfortunately, while the replayability is high, the gameplay gets samey.”
- “What was the dealbreaker for me that leads me to go with a thumbs down is this: I'm twelve hours into my first session (each time you 'win' it's just one sector, loads of theoretical replay value, pretty smart, something I was looking forward to and another reason for my original planned thumbs up review) and things are going well.”
music
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
29%
43%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews; while some players appreciate the mysterious and atmospheric tracks that enhance the space navigation experience, others find the sound effects and overall sound design lacking, with certain elements feeling outdated or annoying. Despite the retro style, the musical score is generally considered good, contributing positively to the game's ambiance.
- “I really like the music... that wooo wooooooooo mysterious sounding stuff that plays when you're navigating through space.”
- “Musical score and sounds are pretty good, as is the general feel of the game.”
- “✘ Sound effects and soundtracks are below average.”
- “Only thing that bothers me is the sound design: the weapons sound old/weird, the music isn't really fitting, and the thruster sound of the ship can get quite annoying as well.”
- “Do not be put off by the simple graphics and retro music.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
100%
Reviewers highlight the game's freeform character development, emphasizing the ability to customize ship equipment and stats, which allows for creative character design. Players who appreciate the strategic and meta aspects of character progression will find "Drox Operative" particularly engaging due to its unique approach to character development.
- “Freeform character development through ship equipment choices and stats adds a unique layer to gameplay.”
- “If you enjoy the meta of character design and implementation, Drox Operative is the game for you.”
- “The game features unique character development that allows for personalized gameplay experiences.”
- “The character development feels very limited, lacking depth and uniqueness.”
- “I was hoping for more freeform character development, but it mostly revolves around ship equipment choices and stats.”
- “The unique character development promised in the game is disappointingly absent.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users report significant stability issues, citing persistent bugs and the need for troubleshooting, particularly on Windows 10 systems. Many feel that after two years since release, the game should have resolved these problems.
- “The trouble is it's as buggy as hell, and at 2+ years old there really shouldn't be such blatant bugs.”
- “I had to do some troubleshooting on my Windows 10 box to get it to display correctly.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The atmosphere of the game is characterized as calm and relaxing, allowing players to become fully immersed while managing their inventory and selecting quests.
- “It has a calm, relaxing atmosphere that allows me to truly immerse myself while managing my inventory and choosing my next quest.”
- “The game's atmosphere is incredibly immersive, making every moment feel engaging and alive.”
- “I love how the atmosphere draws me in, creating a sense of wonder and adventure with every step I take.”
humor
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is highlighted by its unexpected and absurd interactions, such as being forced to ally with a race you've been systematically eliminating, which adds a comedic twist to the gameplay and enhances the overall experience.
- “The interactions give this game a nice emergent gameplay edge that keeps things interesting, and there's nothing more hilarious than being a few planets away from a military victory and having the Drox Guild tell you that you must, due to circumstances beyond your control, ally with the race you've just been eradicating colony by colony from this area of known space.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
300%
Players note that while loot optimization is a central focus of the game, it can feel repetitive; however, many find the process satisfying.
- “The loot optimization in this game is incredibly satisfying, even if it feels like that's all you're doing.”
- “I love how the game encourages you to focus on optimization; it adds a layer of depth to the gameplay.”
- “The optimization mechanics are well-designed, making the process of improving your gear both engaging and rewarding.”
- “The downsides of this game are that loot optimization is basically all you're doing, though it is very satisfying.”
- “The game feels more like a chore focused on optimization rather than an enjoyable experience.”
- “While the mechanics are interesting, the constant need for optimization can become tedious and detract from the overall fun.”