Interstellar Rift

About

Interstellar Rift is a sandbox-style RPG set in the vastness of space. Players can explore, trade, and build their own spaceships as they navigate an open world filled with procedurally generated galaxies and alien races. Collaborative gameplay is encouraged, with the option for players to form factions, engage in piracy, or work together on massive capital ships. The ship-building aspect is highly detailed, allowing for customization of every aspect from engine to weaponry.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

+21

69%

Audience ScoreBased on 864 reviews

gameplay36 positive mentions

story16 negative mentions

The ship building mechanic is highly praised for its depth and creativity, allowing players to design and customize their own ships extensively.
The game offers a unique and immersive experience with its diegetic interfaces and the ability to walk around inside your ship while it's in motion.
The developers are responsive and actively engage with the community, frequently updating the game and addressing bugs.

The game suffers from significant performance issues, including lag and crashes, especially in multiplayer, making it frustrating to play.
There is a steep learning curve with minimal tutorials, leaving new players confused about how to progress and utilize game mechanics effectively.
The game feels empty and lacks meaningful content, with repetitive missions and a low player base, which diminishes the overall experience.

story
151 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
9%
80%
11%
The game's story aspect is largely criticized for its lack of depth and engaging narrative, with many players noting that it primarily consists of generic missions such as trading, mining, and combat without a cohesive storyline or character interactions. While some enjoy the sandbox nature and ship customization, others find the repetitive mission structure and absence of a compelling plot to be a significant drawback, leading to a sense of aimlessness in gameplay. Overall, players express a desire for more diverse and meaningful missions, as well as a richer narrative experience.
- “The quest and faction system is pretty nice, so there's always something to do while you fly around exploring.”
- “I hope in the future they create some more diverse missions and maybe include some general lore of this universe in them.”
- “This game is about the usual privateer game-style in space: you fly around in a ship either doing missions, mining or trading, or any combination of it.”
- “Those that want a guided mission, storyline, and tutorial won't like this game.”
- “However, if you want to visit planets, have a lot of interactions with NPCs, and have a story, well you will not find this in this game.”
- “The missions are generic, and to be honest, there isn't a lot to do at the moment other than design and build ships.”
gameplay
147 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
69%
6%
The gameplay of the game is characterized by a mix of engaging shipbuilding mechanics and resource management, though it suffers from repetitive tasks and a lack of depth in combat and exploration. While many players appreciate the ship design and cooperative multiplayer aspects, they also note significant issues with bugs, confusing mechanics, and a steep learning curve that can detract from the overall experience. Overall, the game shows potential but requires further refinement and content expansion to enhance its gameplay appeal.
- “The gameplay loop of building up systems is novel and very satisfying.”
- “I was surprised how well all the mechanics of the game worked together.”
- “Overall fantastic gameplay.”
- “The shipbuilding is broken and the gameplay is entirely lackluster.”
- “The core gameplay is too dull and needs a lot of work before I could recommend this title.”
- “The gameplay is repetitive, dry, grindy, and doesn't get you anywhere in the end.”
graphics
75 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
56%
4%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many players appreciating the art style and immersive ship interiors, while others criticize the dated exterior visuals and lack of advanced graphical settings. Some users report good performance and decent visuals, but also mention issues like graphical glitches and optimization problems, particularly on lower-end PCs. Overall, while the graphics are generally considered appealing, they are seen as needing improvement and optimization to enhance the gaming experience.
- “This is a pretty immersive game for the graphical style it presents.”
- “The art style is great, and the game lacks any bugs, at least in the starting area, which I traversed with a friend.”
- “Beautiful graphics and art design.”
- “After 4 years of development, this game introduces synthetic limitations, outdated visuals, lags in the middle of empty space, and a couple of pieces of playable content.”
- “The developers have made the game amazing but yet unplayable due to the fact that my computer can't currently handle the lowest graphics the game has to offer.”
- “No graphics options - is this for GameCube?”
grinding
53 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
4%
98%
The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it tedious and repetitive, particularly in resource gathering and ship design. While some appreciate the depth and potential for customization, others feel that the grind detracts from the overall enjoyment, especially in solo play where automation options are limited. Overall, the game is described as heavily reliant on grinding, which can be frustrating without the right balance of engaging content.
- “I love how the ship's rooms are functional, and you can 'do stuff' on your ship.”
- “I hope flying your ship turns out like a Guardians of the Galaxy feel, not grinding away at asteroids.”
- “So given how little content can be easily performed solo (namely mining and most non-pirate missions, that's it), and how grindy even those feel (I normally like how calming mining is in these types of games and here it's just painfully boring without any of the peaceful sense of increasing wealth), I cannot recommend you purchase this game unless you are doing so to play with friends.”
- “The game continues to be unstable, filled with devastating bugs and tedious unrewarding gameplay.”
- “When you actually figure out how to design your ship, you need to gather resources, so that means grinding for 4 hours running back from a miner to a refiner.”
optimization
35 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
54%
34%
Overall, the game's optimization is a significant concern, with many users reporting frequent crashes, poor performance, and limited graphical options. While some players experience smooth gameplay under certain conditions, issues such as framerate drops, server lag, and bugs persist, particularly with larger ships and in multiplayer modes. Despite being in early access, the game shows potential, but substantial optimization improvements are needed before it can be recommended.
- “The game is well optimized, and until you want to fly a behemoth, it should be running smoothly.”
- “Isr has managed to avoid one of the main pitfalls of space building games: decorations don't create a huge performance compromise.”
- “Gameplay is pretty smooth, with no performance issues or major hangups like that.”
- “Crashes often, poor optimization and few options.”
- “The optimization is horrible, framerate issues are more present than ever, even with a high-end rig.”
- “Poorly optimized servers allow only a handful of people to play at the same time without creating desyncs and lag, and this has gotten worse since I started playing.”
stability
34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
6%
94%
The game's stability is widely criticized, with numerous reports of severe bugs and glitches that lead to freezing, crashes, and progress-erasing issues, particularly in combat and multiplayer modes. While some players appreciate the game's aesthetics and performance on lower-end systems, the overall consensus is that the game is too unstable to enjoy in its current early access state. Many users acknowledge the presence of bugs as a common issue in alpha or early access games, but the extent of the problems has left many frustrated and unable to fully engage with the content.
- “It runs great in 4K.”
- “Looks beautiful and runs great even on lower-grade computers.”
- “As soon as I enter combat, the game freezes periodically and it's such a frustrating mess that I end up just quitting in the middle of it.”
- “Extremely buggy, to the point of inability to start a game or tutorial; with some executable contents spewed into the log as they attempted to be interpreted by the local server.”
- “Aesthetically beautiful and very immersive, but too buggy to enjoy currently in its state.”
music
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
22%
22%
The music in the game is widely praised for its exceptional quality and immersive experience, enhancing the overall gameplay with a diverse selection that includes classical tunes. While players appreciate the soundtrack and sound effects, some express a desire for a broader range of music options. Overall, the music significantly contributes to the game's engaging atmosphere.
- “The music is soooo perfect.”
- “Love the music.”
- “Only negative is there isn't enough music, especially classic.”
- “It is extremely immersive and the non-pausing menu systems make me feel like I'm actually flying through the void of space, mining asteroids while my jukebox plays classical music in the cockpit upstairs.”
humor
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by its quirky glitches and amusing interactions, such as the comical behavior of small drones and the playful mislabeling of weapons. Players appreciate the lighthearted atmosphere and the developers' engaging responses, which contribute to a fun and enjoyable multiplayer experience. Overall, the game successfully blends humor with gameplay, making it accessible and entertaining for new players.
- “It's hilarious, but the note is, keep it easy for new players.”
- “Small drones (the ones that can be stored on a cargo pad and jettisoned when you need to use them) act funny and are controlled from the 'sensors' panel of all places.”
- “Just bought this game with a few friends and we are having a hilariously great time.”
monetization
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization aspect of the game is viewed negatively, with users labeling it a "cash grab" due to its incomplete content and heavy reliance on ads. There are concerns about the lack of player engagement and effective advertising, leading to skepticism about the game's long-term viability and potential for improvement.
- “Cash grab”
- “I would really wait for a year to see if this game is not just another EA cash grab; that is what it feels like right now.”
- “The wiki is on a website full of ads and it's very incomplete.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
The game's atmosphere is visually impressive and engaging, drawing in new players, though some find the community's tone in Discord channels off-putting. However, technical issues, such as poorly designed ship construction menus, detract from the overall experience, leading to frustration that undermines the enjoyment of the game.
- “The game looks really good and has a great atmosphere.”
- “I have personally seen several new players come for help and get chased off by the general atmosphere in the Discord channels.”
- “'Atmosphere-alike' space with very limited maximum combat speed.”
- “Ship construction mode isn't even windowed properly, and you end up fighting with your Windows taskbar to desperately click the menu items, which strips all the fun away quicker than a black hole strips an atmosphere from a planet.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game offers a more stable and playable experience compared to similar titles, particularly in combat. However, the limited variety in faction missions reduces its overall replayability, suggesting that players may find it repetitive over time. Users recommend waiting for further improvements before diving in.
- “Awesome game, different and much more playable in combat than that other space building game.”
- “Literally more playable and stable than Star Citizen, so that's a plus.”
- “Although they incentivize teamwork between crew and fleet members, they don't really vary the amount of missions to run, which lowers the overall replay value of faction mission running.”
- “I highly recommend you wait until the game enters a more playable state first.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find "Interstellar Rift" emotionally engaging due to its exhilarating sense of exploration and camaraderie, as they build their own ships and participate in cooperative battles, fostering a strong connection with both the game and fellow players.