Halcyon 6 Starbase Commander
- September 9, 2016
- Massive Damage, Inc.
- 22h median play time
Halcyon 6: Starbase Commander is a deeply-involved game with a huge number of things to keep players busy.
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Get on Epic Games Store"Halcyon 6: Starbase Commander" is a strategy game where you reclaim and rebuild a derelict starbase to stop an impending alien invasion. Using gathered resources, you'll build station facilities, research new technologies, establish alliances, and manage diplomatic efforts. Inspired by classic games like Star Control and Master of Orion, Halcyon 6 also features base building and exploration.
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Reviews
- Engaging mix of turn-based combat and base management, reminiscent of XCOM and classic JRPGs.
- Charming pixel art and humorous writing, with plenty of sci-fi references that add personality to the game.
- Deep tactical combat system that encourages players to exploit status effects for maximum damage.
- Repetitive gameplay that can become tedious, especially in the mid to late game as battles feel similar.
- Resource management can be cumbersome, requiring constant micromanagement of fleets to gather supplies.
- Some bugs and interface issues that detract from the overall experience, making navigation and decision-making frustrating.
- story311 mentions
- 22 % positive mentions
- 74 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The story in Halcyon 6 is generally regarded as decent, featuring a mix of humor and engaging sci-fi elements, though it can feel repetitive and grindy as players progress. While some players appreciate the lighthearted narrative and character interactions, others find the plot simplistic and lacking depth, often leading to a sense of tedium as missions become formulaic. Overall, the game offers a fun premise with quirky dialogue, but many feel it would benefit from a more immersive and varied storytelling experience.
“The story itself is also fresh and funny, perfectly working with the game's mechanics, which at times can be a bit grindy.”
“The story is thoughtful and enough to get you to want to see it through.”
“Halcyon 6 also features a compelling sci-fi storyline with some funny alien races who clearly are a parody of some of the most famous alien races featured in many successful space operas.”
“The charm and fascination of 'playing Star Trek' quickly wears off as the nonexistent storyline and repetitive gameplay result in a grind that can't be sustained until the game's end.”
“I really wanted to progress through the story, but after 7 hours the game just annoys me and I don't want to start it again.”
“The storyline is not immersive and quite boring, to be honest.”
- gameplay203 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 66 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game is a mixed bag, featuring a blend of turn-based combat, resource management, and base building that some players find engaging and enjoyable, while others criticize it for being repetitive and lacking depth. Many reviews highlight the initial thrill of the mechanics, but note that the excitement diminishes over time due to grindy elements and tedious combat. Overall, while the game offers solid mechanics and a charming aesthetic, it struggles with repetitiveness and a lack of meaningful choices, leading to a somewhat polarized reception.
“Started a game on normal difficulty ironman and found the gameplay to be thrillingly close to the edge.”
“The gameplay is great: from turn-based strategy, resource management, base building, to a minimal form of RPG where you name your fleet, ships, and officers - that alone deserves a recommendation.”
“Great game, with quirky and interesting characters, surprisingly deep gameplay systems, fun real-time management loop, and interesting combat system.”
“The charm and fascination of 'playing Star Trek' quickly wears off as the nonexistent storyline and repetitive gameplay result in a grind that can't be sustained till the game's end.”
“The gameplay gets very repetitive very quickly.”
“It lures the player in with a promise of a great time and once you actually start, all the elements necessary to make an awesome game are all there but once you really sink into it for a few hours, the excitement turns into disappointment as dull, repeatable space battles and badly designed resource management kick in and show you that actually some (very few, but still) flash games have achieved a similar level of gameplay.”
- grinding143 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The reviews indicate that the game features significant grinding, particularly in the mid to late stages, leading to repetitive and tedious gameplay. While some players find enjoyment in the mechanics and story, many express frustration with the excessive resource gathering and combat, which can feel like a chore. Overall, the grinding aspect is a common point of contention, with players divided on whether it detracts from the overall experience.
“The combat system is simple and fun, but the sheer amount of grinding the same actions eventually wore on me.”
“The game has variable difficulty, but even the normal difficulty is really difficult and incredibly grindy.”
“Unfortunately, the game falls short of being fun and lands in being super tedious.”
- graphics143 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 55 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are predominantly in a charming pixel art style, which many players appreciate for its nostalgic appeal and aesthetic quality. While some reviews note that the visuals may not be as polished as AAA titles, they are generally considered well-executed and fitting for the game's retro theme, enhancing the overall atmosphere and humor. However, a few critiques mention that the pixelated graphics can sometimes hinder clarity in gameplay, particularly in complex scenarios.
“The graphics are very nice (for pixel graphics lovers), there is a vast amount of content and the immersion is high and flawless.”
“I absolutely love the graphics, and I think making them 'better' and less pixelated would make the game worse!”
“The pixel graphics alone sold it to me and I think there's a lot of lifetime in the game.”
“You won't get AAA graphics or sound.”
“The visuals, though also 2D like FTL, just looked really rough and cheap and amateurish; I think it has to do with the pixel resolution of images that they use to compose each scene.”
“Bland, boring, lifeless homogenized garbage with no originality wrapped up in a pixel aesthetic.”
- music91 mentions
- 52 % positive mentions
- 43 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with many praising its enjoyable and atmospheric qualities, often likening it to classic soundtracks from games like Final Fantasy and FTL. However, some players find the combat music out of tune or repetitive after extended play, leading to a desire to turn it off. Overall, while the soundtrack enhances the game's charm and ambiance, it may not be memorable enough for some players to seek out independently.
“The art style is cute and very much along the lines of FTL or Shovel Knight, the sound design is fantastic with the music being both amusing and extremely fitting.”
“I recommend you buy this game for a fun, simple romp across the stars, blasting Cthulhu monsters, outfitting an unstoppable fleet, and listening to some of the best battle music ever made.”
“The music is incredible - totally reminds me of Star Wars (although it is definitely its own thing).”
“The only thing I didn't like was the terrible combat music that sounded like it was out of tune.”
“I had to turn the music off because it was so bad.”
“The music isn't too good, and the DLC music is repetitive.”
- humor77 mentions
- 99 % positive mentions
- -3 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is widely praised for its quirky and light-hearted nature, often drawing on sci-fi references and featuring amusing dialogues and interactions with alien races. Players appreciate the clever writing and comedic elements that enhance the overall experience, making it an enjoyable blend of strategy and humor. While some feel the humor could be more developed, it generally adds charm and entertainment to the gameplay.
“The dialogue is funny and quirky.”
“This game is being presented as a funny little strategy game with a cute and interesting story.”
“The humor is light and quirky enough that it doesn't detract or overstay its welcome.”
“The humor falls flat and feels forced, making the story tedious to get through.”
“Despite its attempts at comedy, the jokes often miss the mark and feel out of place.”
“The game tries too hard to be funny, but the humor is neither clever nor engaging.”
- replayability25 mentions
- 44 % positive mentions
- 44 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The game's replayability is a mixed bag, with some players praising its balance of scripted and random events, diverse difficulty levels, and multilayered gameplay that encourages multiple playthroughs. However, others feel that the replay value is limited due to resource constraints, penalties for failure, and a lack of significant content variation. Overall, while many find it enjoyable and worth the investment, opinions on its long-term replayability vary widely.
“In summary, a well-executed space strategy campaign with a good enough balance of both scripted and random events to warrant some replay value.”
“The fairly multilayered gameplay offers hours of replayability.”
“This is a hardcore, unadulterated, no-holds-barred sci-fi space epic with near infinite replayability potential.”
“This game was well worth the money I paid for it, although it comes with little replayability value, unlike FTL and similar games.”
“Main problem I have is that the replayability isn't there.”
“Due to resource costs of everything, harsh penalty on 'death' and stupid limits on officers and ship levels, losing a ship means reload, zero replayability and zero ways to recover.”
- stability10 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- -20 % neutral mentions
- 90 % negative mentions
The game's stability has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting various bugs, such as mission alerts not closing and graphical glitches, though these issues are generally described as unsightly rather than game-breaking. Some users noted that while the game can be buggy, the developers are actively working on patches and improvements. However, a few players reported a bug-free experience, indicating that stability may vary between playthroughs.
“Just finished playing through the near-original version; the new one has more content, but my playthrough was bug-free.”
“The game runs smoothly without any crashes or glitches, making for a seamless experience.”
“I appreciate how stable the game is; I didn't encounter any issues during my entire playthrough.”
“The game can be slightly buggy, but the developers seem committed to patching and upgrading it.”
“On top of everything else, this game is a buggy piece of software.”
“Prepare for unfair difficulty spikes and glitches where completed quests don't disappear or quests have vague descriptions that send you heading to message boards in the hope of deciphering them.”
- atmosphere8 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 13 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised, characterized by its engaging art style, immersive music, and a blend of humor that enhances the overall experience. Reviewers note that the visuals effectively create a captivating environment, reminiscent of sci-fi classics, while the storytelling and sound design contribute significantly to the game's charm and appeal. Overall, the atmosphere is described as a standout feature that elevates the gameplay.
“The artwork does well in delivering very atmospheric vibes to various areas of the game, serving both aesthetic and functional roles.”
“It's got great pixilated art, the music helps build a great atmosphere and the story and world had me eager to get in there and save the galaxy.”
“The atmosphere of the game feels like Star Trek as written by Douglas Adams, and for me at least, there were a lot of laugh-out-loud moments.”
“The game atmosphere (setting/story/visuals) is lacking and fails to create an engaging experience.”
“While the music is top-notch and really adds to the atmosphere, the overall setting feels uninspired and flat.”
- character development2 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- -50 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is appreciated for its nostalgic RPG elements, offering a blend of base building and character progression. However, players feel that it ultimately lacks depth and engaging content to sustain long-term interest.
“Upon reaching that threshold, I came to the conclusion that the game scratched an itch of old school RPG with light base building and character development.”
“Upon reaching that threshold, I came to the conclusion that the game scratched an itch of old-school RPG with light base building and character development but lacked anything to keep playing.”
“I love FTL and always thought how great this game must be with a campaign, character development, stories, quests, planet exploration, ground combat, star bases, research, and development.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 150 % positive mentions
- -100 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is commendable, as it runs smoothly even on older hardware. However, players have reported some issues, including sound stuttering and the absence of a windowed borderless mode, which detract from the experience.
“The game runs smoothly even on my 10-year-old toaster.”
“The optimization is impressive, allowing for seamless gameplay on lower-end hardware.”
“I appreciate how well the game is optimized; it maintains high performance without sacrificing graphics.”
“Other than these two main problems and a couple of minor annoyances (sound stuttering issue and no windowed borderless mode), I enjoy this game a lot.”
Critic Reviews
Halcyon 6: Starbase Commander Review
It feels like a missed opportunity. It starts okay, but it’s not long before the downtime or micro-management begin to push the enjoyable segments of gameplay further and further apart.
50%Halcyon 6: Starbase Commander Review
Halcyon 6: Starbase Commander presents a tough game to rate: its composite elements set it up to be an awesome experience but it fails to meet the bar it raised. The mix of so many great franchises easily could set itself up to be a great game with crazy replayability; the problem is as it currently is, the novelty wears off quickly and the grind becomes real with no end in sight. The resource gathering is far too bland and repetitious, the battles start cool but devolve into similar, repetitive outcomes. There is nothing new as it is just more of the same, which was grindy to begin with. All the elements present come close to being this awesome game, but in the end the repetition of the core elements and the endless grind make it hard to recommend at this point, which is very unfortunate.
50%Halcyon 6: Starbase Commander Review
Halcyon 6: Starbase Commander brings a lot of different concepts into one amalgam of a game and it’s shockingly good at doing a lot of things well. Construction and research relies on resource management, which inevitably leads to combat aided by construction and research. It builds upon itself thoughtfully, does well in avoiding making any of these aspects annoying or boring, and keeps the tension going the whole way through. The pixelated look is clean and every ship, race, and officer brings nostalgic charm to the game’s overall visuals. There’s a few speed bumps in random chance wrecking your journey or an untimely bug making things difficult, but these problems are pretty easily overcome by everything else the game has to offer. We just wish we didn’t have to play as boring old humans every time.
85%
