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Idle Space Raider

71%Game Brain Score
gameplay, music
graphics, grinding
71% User Score Based on 324 reviews

Platforms

PCWindows
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About

You are one of the station guards and need to patrol space. Complete missions and raids, upgrade ship and station to increase your power. Complete missions, mine ore, kill enemies, research new tech, return to base to upgrade ship and repeat.

Genres & Tags
Play Modes
Idle Space Raider screenshot
Idle Space Raider screenshot
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71%
Audience ScoreBased on 324 reviews
gameplay4 positive mentions
grinding8 negative mentions
  • Idle Space Raider offers a surprising depth with various currencies and interlocking systems that can keep players engaged for long periods.
  • The game has a solid automation feature that allows for a more relaxed gameplay experience, making it enjoyable for those who prefer less active involvement.
  • As a free game, it provides a decent experience without aggressive monetization, allowing players to progress without spending money.
  • The game suffers from a convoluted user interface and a steep learning curve, making it difficult for new players to understand the mechanics.
  • Progression can feel painfully slow and repetitive, leading to a lack of satisfaction and engagement over time.
  • There is no offline progress, which limits the game's idle nature and requires players to keep it running to make any meaningful advancement.
  • gameplay
    38 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of "Idle Space Raider" has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it repetitive and lacking a true idle experience, as it requires constant active engagement. While there are various mechanics and potential for improvement, the game suffers from unbalanced progression and a focus on cash shop elements that detract from the overall enjoyment. Players express a desire for more robust features and better balance to enhance both active and offline gameplay.

    • “At first glance, it seems like a strong idle game, with lots of choice and different mechanics to take part in.”
    • “You feel like a mechanic constantly fine-tuning and adjusting your spaceship so it can perform the best.”
    • “Having also checked (and played) their previous game 'Transport Defender', there have been significant improvements made to ensure that gameplay doesn't become stale.”
    • “Idle Space Raider is a disappointing idle game with bland graphics and painfully repetitive gameplay.”
    • “You get cash shop greed ruining what could be a great game, or you get just lame gameplay.”
    • “Gate the progression behind mandatory events, require active gameplay resetting often and grind hours to gain progress.”
  • graphics
    22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of Idle Space Raider have received largely negative feedback, with many users describing them as bland, lazy, and reminiscent of outdated 2D retro art. While some acknowledge that the visuals are decent for an idle game, the overall consensus is that they fall short of the quality expected from a PC title, often comparing them unfavorably to mobile games. Overall, the graphics are seen as a weak point that detracts from the gaming experience.

    • “Great graphics (for an idle game), surprising depth.”
    • “A decent premise and reasonable graphics, but it gets stale quickly, behind a wall of redundant options, bad UI and limited methods to advance.”
    • “As much as I like the visuals and the menus are kind of easy to use, it's meh.”
    • “Idle Space Raider is a disappointing idle game with bland graphics and painfully repetitive gameplay.”
    • “Considering this is being evaluated as a PC game, having the graphics phoned in like this isn't going to result in a high quality, visually impressive game that PC gamers are used to seeing.”
    • “Really crappy, lazy, phoned in 2D retro 'art' instead of contemporary visuals... even mobile app idlers have better graphics.”
  • music
    18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's lack of music and sound has been a significant point of criticism among users, with many expressing that it contributes to a monotonous and boring experience. While some players enjoy using their own music while playing, the absence of an in-game soundtrack is seen as a missed opportunity that detracts from the overall enjoyment. Overall, the consensus is that the game would benefit greatly from the addition of music to enhance the gameplay experience.

    • “Don't know how much I can say here, but their 99.9% background thing is rather accurate as I will often just boot up some music, boot up this game, then just go to bed.”
    • “(No offense intended to the soundtrack of FTL -- Ben Prunty killed that OST in some of the best ways possible.) Just an opinion, but anyone that keeps an idle/clicker game running 24/7 and doesn't turn off the sound & music within the first day is a weirdo.”
    • “Kind of nice to play idle games when you get struggling by other games, then you can head to this to relax, but kind of a shame there's no music or sound on this, but no worries!”
    • “The balance is totally screwed and you get way too much way too fast so the ore upgrades mean nothing in less than ten minutes. You've got so many resources to keep track of it's mind-boggling, there is no music so you go slowly mad, and it's just outright boring to play.”
    • “No sound or music?”
    • “Kind of nice to play idle games when you get struggling by other games, then you can head to this to relax, but it's kind of a shame there's no music or sound on this.”
  • grinding
    8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious and uninspired, with slow progression that can lead to disengagement. Despite some enjoyment for fans of idle or grind-heavy games, the lack of meaningful rewards and the need to repeatedly farm resources detracts from the overall experience.

    • “Progression is slow, and there’s little to keep players engaged beyond endless, uninspired grinding.”
    • “The information says that dev center upgrades are permanent, yet they are gone after resetting, and I don't feel like farming all that gold again.”
    • “I give it a 6 out of 10 because it gets tedious pretty quickly, and I play a lot of idle games that let you do stuff while waiting.”
  • story
    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The story aspect of the game is not heavily emphasized, as players note that the focus is more on gameplay mechanics and missions rather than a cohesive narrative. While there are various missions that offer beneficial rewards, the overall storytelling is considered secondary to the idling and gameplay experience.

  • optimization
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's optimization is notably poor, leading to high electricity consumption and frequent crashes on low-end computers. This has raised concerns among users regarding its performance and accessibility.

    • “The game is not optimized very well and takes a high amount of electricity for some reason, which can cause crashes on low-end computers.”
  • monetization
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game is generally viewed positively in terms of monetization, as it reportedly features no microtransactions, which is considered a significant advantage by players.

    • “It's an okay game with, as far as I can tell, no microtransactions, so that's a plus.”
  • emotional
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players express a strong emotional connection to idle games, enjoying the ability to let them run for extended periods without active engagement. This reflects a sense of comfort and satisfaction derived from the game's mechanics, even if it may not be the most efficient use of time.

  • replayability
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Reviewers highlight that effective replayability is achieved by initially engaging players with rewarding experiences, gradually introducing new mechanics, and culminating in challenging achievements or unique features that enhance late-game play. This structure encourages players to revisit the game for a fresh experience each time.

    • “The game does an excellent job of pulling players in with satisfying rewards at the start, then introduces new mechanics as you progress, culminating in challenging achievements and unique replayability mechanics for the late game.”
    • “The replayability is enhanced by the introduction of new mechanics and challenges that keep the experience fresh and engaging, even after multiple playthroughs.”
    • “With its unique replayability mechanics, the game encourages players to explore different strategies and approaches, making each playthrough feel distinct and rewarding.”
    • “The game fails to provide unique replayability mechanics, making it feel repetitive after the initial playthrough.”
    • “There are no significant changes or new challenges in subsequent playthroughs, which diminishes the overall replay value.”
    • “Once you complete the game, there's little incentive to return, as the experience remains largely the same.”
  • stability
    2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Users report significant stability issues, with the game frequently freezing their computers when navigating through menus. This recurring problem has led to frustration and negatively impacts the overall gaming experience.

    • “Game freezes computer when trying to browse through the menus.”
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4h Median play time
4h Average play time
4-4h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs
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