Next Space Rebels

About

Next Space Rebels is a single player simulation game. It was developed by Studio Floris Kaayk and was released on November 17, 2021. It received positive reviews from players.

In Next Space Rebels, become a space rebel by building and launching your own homemade rockets. With a growing community of like-minded rebels, design, customize, and share your creations, while navigating the challenges and dangers of a near-future political landscape. Your journey to space starts here.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

81%

Audience ScoreBased on 195 reviews

story7 positive mentions

stability9 negative mentions

Next Space Rebels offers a fun and charming rocket-building experience with a unique blend of social media elements, making it accessible for players who may not be familiar with complex physics.
The game features a wide variety of parts and encourages creativity, allowing players to build quirky rockets and complete unconventional challenges.
The integration of video recording and sharing of rocket launches adds an entertaining layer to the gameplay, enhancing the overall experience.

The game suffers from frequent bugs and performance issues, including freezing and loading problems, which can disrupt gameplay.
Many players find the heavy emphasis on social commentary and dialogue tedious, often feeling that it detracts from the core rocket-building mechanics.
The simplified physics and lack of depth compared to more serious simulators like Kerbal Space Program may disappoint players looking for a more realistic experience.

story
47 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
79%
6%
The game's story is a mixed bag, with some players finding it engaging and reflective of social issues like corporate oppression and internet privacy, while others criticize it as weak, cringe-worthy, and overly political. Many reviewers noted that the narrative can feel tedious and detracts from the core gameplay, leading to a desire to skip through cutscenes. Overall, while the story adds some depth and character to the game, it may not resonate with everyone, especially those seeking a more straightforward rocket-building experience.
- “For some people, the story may clash with the silly gameplay, being a commentary on social platforms, freedom of information and privacy on the internet, and giving you all kinds of moral choices to make, but for me it fits weirdly well.”
- “The story is, well, there, and it's a big part of the game actually.”
- “Interspersed are full-motion video cutscenes telling an overarching story of rebellion against corporate oppression.”
- “The story is weak and cringe, and I often dread when I have to watch another story video/cut scene.”
- “But you can't, you have to finish the story mode first so it's limited, and the story mode is annoying after a while.”
- “The plot of the game is both a bit tiresome and a bit preachy.”
gameplay
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
56%
19%
The gameplay is characterized by a mix of engaging mechanics that involve building and experimenting with rockets, alongside a narrative that offers social commentary, albeit sometimes clashing with the gameplay experience. While the core loop of assembling components is enjoyable and addictive, some players find the social media interactions tedious and the lack of logical mechanics frustrating. Overall, the game provides a fun, albeit flawed, experience that combines elements of visual novels and model rocketry.
- “The cast seem pretty solid and the plot doesn't take away from the core gameplay but helps direct it, in some ways more than KSP really did.”
- “The combination of various mechanics is incredibly addicting, and I find it incredibly hard to put down.”
- “The scoring system is easy to grasp and the gameplay is thoroughly fun.”
- “What exactly is the gameplay loop?”
- “The social commentary can be a bit much sometimes, and the social media mechanic can get tedious (there really needs to be a speed-up text message button), especially since some of the pre-made replies are just... off, more like you are playing someone else rather than yourself.”
- “Basic gameplay loop is slap stuff together until it works (see also: model rocketry) and click through a not-telegram while engaging in forced dialogue with minors and realizing that YouTube is bad (I mean... yes, but give the audience some credit).”
stability
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability has been widely criticized, with users reporting frequent freezes, crashes, and significant glitches that disrupt gameplay, such as loading issues and audio problems. While some players find the game interesting despite these bugs, the overall experience is marred by performance issues that can lead to lost progress and frustrating lag. Many suggest that these problems may improve over time, but they currently detract from the enjoyment of the game.
- “Frequently froze; the video aspect was fine until I realized that every time I restarted from the frequent freezes, I lost my videos.”
- “4 hours in and I have found 2 major glitches: the first glitch loads your rocket underground, and the second glitch makes it so the loading screen's background doesn't disappear. Also, the sound quality is kind of annoying because it keeps making a high-pitched chirp sound when loading areas.”
- “The game freezes, crashes, and stutters to the point you think your PC is about to blue screen.”
optimization
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
29%
57%
Overall, players report mixed experiences with optimization, highlighting significant stuttering issues that can detract from gameplay, especially on lower-end PCs. While some users with higher specifications enjoy smooth performance, many express hope for future updates to address these performance problems and improve the overall experience.
- “Can't say much about the performance; I'm well above the recommended specs, and it thus ran smoothly as expected.”
- “Also, the game literally records videos of your launches as you play, so if you have a bad PC, you might experience a lot of stuttering, which just wrecks everything for you later in the game.”
- “Let me start off by saying I am experiencing some rather annoying stuttering issues, but those issues have not taken away the pure joy I feel launching a teddy bear into the atmosphere with a jet engine.”
- “I hope there will be some performance and balance changes over time - some of the challenges are pretty, well, challenging.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is generally appreciated for its charm, particularly through its quirky combination of model rocket design and social media elements. However, some users feel that a different style of humor could have enhanced the experience.
- “Funny”
- “Combination of model rocket design, funky parts, and social media (in a funny way, in my opinion) all leads to the charm.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, particularly when striving for the good ending and engaging with the social media features. While the game evolves into more complex mechanics like 3D rocket building, many feel the effort required is not worth the payoff.
- “However, the grind to get the good ending can be a bit tedious, and the simplified physics can lead to some goofy moments.”
- “I know it expands into 3D rocket building later, but it’s just too tedious for me to bother playing.”
- “The social media part is rather tedious.”
monetization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization strategy heavily emphasizes the rocket building system in its advertising, but players find themselves spending more time on dialogue than engaging with the core gameplay feature.
- “They really push the rocket building system in the advertising, but you will definitely spend more time reading dialogue than doing that.”
- “The monetization model feels exploitative, as it constantly nudges you to spend money to progress.”
- “It's frustrating how many features are locked behind paywalls, making it hard to enjoy the game without spending extra.”
graphics
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The graphics are generally praised for their cool visuals and good design, contributing to a decent building system. However, some users feel that while the visuals are appealing, there is still room for improvement in overall gameplay.
- “The visuals are actually pretty cool, showcasing a decent building system.”
- “Good design and good graphics enhance the overall playability.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere in the game is marked by inconsistent rocket orientation, which can lead to frustrating moments when rockets unexpectedly flip during descent. Despite some stuttering issues, players still find joy in the whimsical experience of launching objects, such as a teddy bear, into the atmosphere.
- “Rockets' orientation is sometimes effectively hard-locked to the direction of travel in the atmosphere, leading to silly behavior where rockets instantly flip over when starting to fall down.”
- “Let me start off by saying I am experiencing some rather annoying stuttering issues, but those issues have not taken away the pure joy I feel launching a teddy bear into the atmosphere with a jet engine.”
music
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
100%
The music in the game is described as somewhat generic, providing a comfortable backdrop that supports creativity without being particularly memorable or engaging outside of the gameplay. The sound design is considered adequate, allowing the music to fade into the background effectively.
- “The music, while somewhat generic, provides a comfortable setting for creativity.”
- “The sound design is decent; the music is somewhat generic and not something I'd listen to outside the game, but it fades into the background easily enough.”
- “The sound design is okay as well; the music is somewhat generic and nothing I'd listen to outside the game, but it fades into the background easily enough.”
- “The music, while somewhat generic, does provide a rather comfortable setting for creativity.”