Gratuitous Space Battles 2

About

"Gratuitous Space Battles 2" is a space fleet management and simulation game, where you can design and build your own customizable ships with a new and improved engine. Retaining the core gameplay of the original, it offers even more gratuitous explosions and beam-lasers in epic space battles. As the admiral, your task is to manage and strategize your fleet, not control individual units, in this unique and engaging sequel.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

40%

Audience ScoreBased on 258 reviews

graphics17 positive mentions

story5 negative mentions

The game offers extensive ship customization, allowing players to design unique fleets with various modules and visual components.
The graphics and visual effects have been significantly improved, making battles visually appealing and engaging.
The asynchronous multiplayer feature allows players to challenge each other's fleets, adding replayability and community interaction.

The game is plagued by frequent crashes and bugs, making it frustrating and often unplayable for many users.
There is a lack of content compared to the first game, with only a limited number of missions and races available at launch.
The user interface can be clunky and unintuitive, leading to confusion during ship design and battle setup.

graphics
61 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
67%
5%
The graphics in the game have received mixed reviews, with many players noting that while the visuals are improved and more detailed compared to the original, they can also be overly busy and detract from gameplay. Some users appreciate the eye-catching effects and customization options, but others criticize the game for being buggy, with graphical glitches and performance issues that hinder the overall experience. Overall, the graphical enhancements are seen as a step up, but not enough to compensate for the game's other shortcomings.
- “The game also offers great visuals, especially for a 2D game, and there is a lot of strategy involved when planning your attack.”
- “I love the feeling of immense space battles, and the added features and graphics over the previous version add so much to the game.”
- “My favorite part of GSB2 has to be the visuals... it's just pure eye candy when you see lasers and torpedoes shooting across the battlefield.”
- “The graphics are much worse quality than the preview images show.”
- “The graphics are an improvement but the environment is so prominent it can be hard to tell what is going on with layers of asteroids, debris, and smoke obscuring your view.”
- “Even if by some miracle you get it to actually load and play, you can expect constant crashes, graphical glitches, and a developer that, as far as I can tell, never supported the game to begin with, much less patched it.”
story
39 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
8%
79%
13%
The story aspect of the game has been widely criticized for its lack of narrative depth and coherence, with many players noting that it feels more like a series of disconnected missions rather than a cohesive campaign. Reviewers expressed disappointment over the absence of a compelling storyline, which detracts from immersion and engagement, making the gameplay feel repetitive and uninspired. Overall, the game is seen as a missed opportunity to build on the foundation of its predecessor, offering little in terms of story-driven content.
- “Ultimately, I found that a fleet composed of dreadnaughts, each of which had two tractor beams, could easily beat all of the normal and hard missions in the game.”
- “Without a storyline to hold the game together, this game ultimately feels like a space battle simulator like the one in Ender's Game.”
- “I personally would enjoy more of a serious campaign that has some story, but this game does not have that.”
- “You could spend hours painstakingly pouring over every little detail of what ships to use and where to place them in formation and then it's just a few minutes of watching ships shoot at each other (that you don't control) and there's no larger context or purpose beyond that since there's no story or narrative elements.”
- “Was quite a fan of the first one, this second one may look a little prettier however it's fairly boring and lacks any challenge or storyline to inspire you to play on.”
- “The story periodically changes between non-existent and incoherent.”
gameplay
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
57%
13%
The gameplay of the sequel has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it shallow, repetitive, and plagued by bugs, leading to a less enjoyable experience compared to the original. While some appreciate the visual customization and ship creation mechanics, others criticize the lack of depth and balance in gameplay, suggesting that newcomers might be better off starting with the original game. Overall, the game shows potential but suffers from significant issues that detract from its overall enjoyment.
- “The deep and interesting ship creation mechanics allow limitless fleet capabilities and potential, and more will come with expansion packs.”
- “I like the changes made to gameplay.”
- “Many improvements on visuals and gameplay.”
- “The gameplay loop is a bit shallow and repetitive.”
- “Beyond that, the gameplay is crap compared to the original and there is a line of never-ending bugs.”
- “Gsb 2 is just terrible, lacking a lot of content and polish with game mechanics that are somehow worse than the original, combine this with limited customization and the fact that other than the online features, you're pretty much stuck with the very limited and quite frankly poor content.”
stability
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is widely criticized, with users reporting numerous bugs, crashes, and graphical glitches that significantly hinder gameplay. Many players describe it as an unfinished and abandoned product, lacking developer support and essential features. While some find enjoyment in the game, the overwhelming consensus is that it remains a buggy and frustrating experience.
- “The game shipped as a buggy, incomplete mess, and frankly it hasn't improved much at all since then.”
- “Even if by some miracle you get it to actually load and play, you can expect constant crashes, graphical glitches, and a developer that, as far as I can tell, never supported the game to begin with, much less patched it.”
- “Short summary: this game is unplayably, laughably, horribly, ruinously, buggy.”
replayability
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
29%
29%
Overall, the game offers significant replayability, particularly through its skirmish mode and a compelling research system that enhances longevity. While some players feel it initially lacks content, the challenge of fleet-building on a budget and the integration of Steam Workshop challenges contribute to a deeper replay value. Players looking for a game with high replayability will find it rewarding, especially as new content is anticipated.
- “Plenty of replayability in skirmish mode.”
- “If you're looking for a game with incredible replay value, then GSB 2 is the game for you.”
- “The challenge and what makes this game have a high replay value is that you must build your fleet on a budget.”
- “It really doesn't add that much replayability.”
- “It may seem to lack content at first, but when you realize it is harder, fleets need to be thought of more, and challenges are integrated with Steam Workshop, then you understand how significant the replayability is while waiting for other races/campaigns.”
humor
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is noted for its quirky elements, such as amusing ship names and entertaining combat chatter, which contribute to a unique comedic style. However, some players feel that the humor has diminished over time and express frustration with technical issues that detract from the experience. Overall, while the game has its funny moments, opinions on its comedic value are mixed.
- “I like the funny random ship names, I enjoy the chatter during combat, and I appreciate the minor amount of strategy involved.”
- “The series has such a unique sense of humor.”
- “The ships all have funny names too that remind me of ships in an Iain M. Banks novel or something.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game frustrating due to a lack of sufficient modules and content to earn, compounded by tedious navigation and setup processes. The inability to sort research modules by ship type and the excessive number of clicks required to manage fleets contribute to a cumbersome user experience. Overall, many feel that UI improvements are necessary to alleviate the monotony of grinding.
- “Not enough modules or content to earn, and selecting modules to research and unlock is super tedious without being able to sort by the kind of ship you want to build.”
- “Come on, get your act together and implement some UI tweaks like being able to copy, paste, and save parts of the fleet. It's so tedious to constantly set up the same formations, for example.”
- “There are so many forced, unneeded clicks to jump around that just moving from one screen to the one you want feels tedious.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews indicate concerns that the game's monetization strategy may exploit the success of its predecessor, with fears of excessive DLC and a potential cash grab approach.
- “It is clearly a cash grab from the success of the first one.”
- “The last game was DLC heavy, and I hope this doesn't end up being a cash grab.”
music
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The music in the game has received mixed feedback; while some players find the soundtrack amazing and visually appealing, others find it annoying enough to lower the volume. Overall, the sound design is generally appreciated, but the music may not resonate with everyone.
- “That being said, it is really quite pretty and the soundtrack is amazing.”
- “The graphics are fine, the sound is nice, although I find the music a little annoying, so I switched the volume down.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
100%
The atmosphere of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players finding it lacking in immersion and engagement, particularly during early missions. However, others appreciate the introduction of new mechanics that enhance the ambiance within the flagship's war room, suggesting potential for a more dynamic experience.
- “The atmosphere inside the flagship's war room is enhanced by several new mechanics that bring a fresh feel to the hardened bunker.”
- “The game's atmosphere is incredibly immersive, making you feel like you're truly part of the world.”
- “Every detail contributes to a rich atmosphere that draws you in and keeps you engaged.”
- “I snoozed through the first few missions; there's no immersion, no atmosphere, and little gameplay.”
- “There are several new mechanics that help to freshen the atmosphere inside the hardened bunker that is your flagship's war room.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews indicate that a more heartfelt approach to storytelling could have fostered a stronger emotional connection with fans, suggesting that sensitivity towards the original material and its audience might enhance long-term engagement and satisfaction.