Ostranauts
- September 10, 2020
- Blue Bottle Games
- 23h median play time
Get on Steam"Ostranauts is a single-player Role Playing game with excellent gameplay, good graphics, and good music. Players join the cut-off solar system as an independent scavenger, managing a dysfunctional crew and ship to fend off bankruptcy and threats. Every choice made affects the game's outcome, with character customization and a rich, unique atmosphere."
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game has a unique and immersive atmosphere, reminiscent of shows like Firefly and The Expanse.
- The character creation system is engaging, allowing players to build a backstory that impacts gameplay.
- The ship salvaging mechanics are satisfying, providing a rewarding experience as players upgrade and customize their ships.
- The user interface is clunky and unintuitive, making it difficult for players to navigate and interact with the game.
- There are numerous bugs and performance issues that can disrupt gameplay, including crashes and game-breaking glitches.
- The game lacks a comprehensive tutorial, leaving players confused about mechanics and objectives.
- gameplay217 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 68 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The gameplay of Ostranauts is characterized by its complex mechanics and deep systems, offering a rewarding experience for players who enjoy scavenging, ship upgrading, and resource management in a space setting. However, many users note that the game suffers from a lack of clear tutorials, bugs, and clunky mechanics, making it challenging to grasp fully, especially for newcomers. While the core gameplay loop is engaging and has potential, it currently feels underdeveloped and requires significant patience to navigate its intricacies.
“It's a spaceship base-building real-time near-apocalyptic open-world empire-building solar-system simulator with a 'social combat' mechanic.”
“The gameplay loop as it is also leans into the setting - you're just another shipbreaker, feeble and unfit from a life of neglect living in 0g, and unless you spend precious time ironing out your flaws in character creation, you're just as fragile as anyone else.”
“The depth of gameplay mechanics allows for a high level of customization and strategic decision-making.”
“This game is barely functional and has no interest in telling you how its mechanics work or giving you a reason to want to learn how they work.”
“The general gameplay loop is flying to derelict ships to explore them and tear out any parts that are valuable to sell so you can pay off the mortgage on your own ship; however, the game is far too unpolished and obtuse to be worth your time.”
“While I certainly enjoy some aspects of the game, such as the flight mechanics and visual design, the truth is even for an early access title this is underdeveloped and nearly impenetrable.”
- story94 mentions
- 16 % positive mentions
- 80 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The game's story is primarily driven by character creation and environmental storytelling, allowing players to craft their own narratives through interactions and choices, though many feel the overall plot is currently lacking depth and coherence. While the procedural elements show potential for rich storytelling, players have noted that quests often feel random and disconnected, leading to a sense of aimlessness. Overall, the game offers a unique blend of survival mechanics and character-driven storytelling, but it requires further development to enhance narrative engagement and clarity.
“It's a fantastic experience for anyone who appreciates rich storytelling, tough decisions, and the dark beauty of life in space.”
“The interesting story is told through character creation, a few pop-ups in the early game, and by the world itself in which every single item and piece of station or ship has its own description.”
“The beginning: you start as a nobody, going through a really unique character creation/aging phase reminiscent of a classic text adventure where you build your backstory, navigating conflicts, learning about the world, earning experience and other things along the way, and once you're ready, you're dropped into whatever starting vessel you were lucky enough to get your hands on.”
“They don't appear to affect your story in the slightest.”
“If you want a specific narrative and storyline, it is not (at least not yet).”
“This game really has no gameplay as of right now, you can dock with a space station but character creation is very limited and I've yet to see any... well... actual story.”
- stability88 mentions
- 3 % positive mentions
- -2 % neutral mentions
- 99 % negative mentions
The game is currently plagued by significant stability issues, including frequent bugs, glitches, and performance problems that detract from the overall experience. Despite its potential and engaging gameplay, many users express frustration with game-breaking errors, save corruption, and unresponsive mechanics, leading to a general consensus that it is not yet ready for a full release. While some players find enjoyment in its current state, the overwhelming sentiment is that the game requires substantial polishing and bug fixing before it can be recommended.
“The game runs smoothly on the Steam Deck.”
“I haven't experienced any crashes or bugs during my playthrough.”
“The performance is consistently stable, making for an enjoyable gaming experience.”
“Between general instability, weird glitches, and performance issues, this game can be a hostile experience for all the wrong reasons. When you take into account that it's been in early access for 4 years and is expected to be released in 2025, you have to wonder what that full release will look like.”
“The game is a buggy mess on a lot of fronts right now, but I can definitely see it becoming a classic down the line.”
“This game has a lot of promise, but as it stands, it's far too buggy to even be in early access. This is pre-alpha state at best. I'm going to come back to this in a few months when hopefully some of the game-breaking issues have been fixed, but for now, I cannot recommend it.”
- graphics76 mentions
- 26 % positive mentions
- 58 % neutral mentions
- 16 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many players noting that while the retro pixel art style and unique aesthetic are appealing, the execution is often rough and cluttered, making it difficult to discern important elements in the game. Critics highlight issues such as extreme pixelation, poor readability, and a confusing user interface, which detract from the overall experience. Despite these shortcomings, some players appreciate the charm and atmosphere created by the graphics, suggesting that improvements are needed as the game approaches its full release.
“Graphically, the game is cute.”
“The art style itself is perfect for the setting and the style it's going for.”
“The graphics create a unique atmosphere, evoking a sense of isolation and the vastness of space.”
“There is no excuse for a lot of these issues in a game that's been in early access for over four years, or a game that expects to release to a 1.0 version in the next year.”
“The graphics are rough, which could be okay, but they need to spice it up more than they have; it's extremely pixelated to the point of 1995 bad.”
“Awful, awful, awful, headache-inducing, overcomplicated, overcluttered mess in the worst possible graphics style for a game like this.”
- atmosphere57 mentions
- 47 % positive mentions
- 46 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The atmosphere in the game is widely praised for its immersive and gritty design, effectively blending survival mechanics with detailed ship customization and realistic atmospheric systems. Players appreciate the game's ability to evoke a sense of isolation and tension, enhanced by ambient sounds and a compelling art style. Despite some bugs and complexities, the overall experience is described as rich and engaging, drawing comparisons to other notable sci-fi works and games.
“The detailed ship customization, intense scavenging missions, and gritty atmosphere create a unique blend of survival and strategy.”
“The ambient sounds, spaceship hums, and subtle musical cues contribute to the overall atmosphere, adding depth and authenticity to the game.”
“The atmosphere, mechanics, and writing of this game are all incredible, and I can't wait to see how it develops!”
“The game is kinda barebones right now, but it already oozes the same bleak and mysterious atmosphere that Neo Scavenger had.”
“I've died because I told my character to pry open a crate and he went to get a crowbar from a section of the ship that had no atmosphere without a helmet.”
“While I was exploring the station and selling the ship components we were able to scavenge, one of the levels to the station vented all atmosphere.”
- optimization31 mentions
- 10 % positive mentions
- 61 % neutral mentions
- 29 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is currently a significant concern, with users reporting frequent performance issues such as stuttering, lag spikes, and bugs, despite some progress in addressing these problems. Many players express hope that the developers will prioritize optimization before the full release in 2025, as the game has been in early access for four years. While some improvements have been noted, particularly with a debug tool, the overall experience remains marred by instability and poor performance, especially on certain platforms like Linux and Steam Deck.
“If optimization improves, I can see this being an amazing game.”
“The developers have made a debug tool, which solves a lot of the optimization issues.”
“Ostranauts is actively developed, and the development team is dedicated to addressing bugs and improving the game's performance.”
“Between general instability, weird glitches, and performance issues, this game can be a hostile experience for all the wrong reasons. When you take into account that it's been in early access for 4 years and is expected to be released in 2025, you have to wonder what that full release will look like.”
“Constant stuttering/lag, sometimes items will just disappear, sometimes saves will just break, sometimes ships will just rotate wildly or disappear, and sometimes NPCs will just die for no reason.”
“Update 11/29/2023: unfortunately, the performance of the game is still very poor and almost unplayable on Linux/Wine/Steam Deck.”
- grinding20 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious, with many expressing frustration over the repetitive tasks required for inventory management, salvaging, and navigating complex systems. While some appreciate the depth and potential rewards of the gameplay, the overall sentiment leans towards it being overly grindy and not enjoyable for those without significant time to invest. The game's mechanics, though promising, are often seen as unpolished and burdensome, detracting from the overall experience.
“Having to check everything's inventory is tedious.”
“I get that the game is attempting to be hardcore and an intricate simulation, but there is a point at which difficulty and intricacy stops being 'fun' and starts being 'tedious'.”
“The game is full of content, and at the moment most of those need a lot of grinding.”
- music18 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some praising its ability to enhance the atmosphere and immersion, while others find it lacking or annoying. Many players appreciate the high tension background scores and ambient sounds that contribute to the overall experience, though there are complaints about occasional interruptions and a need for improvement. Overall, the soundtrack is seen as a strong point by several users, with some rating it as high as 10/10, while others suggest it could be better.
“The overall atmosphere, with the music and art style combining very well.”
“The ambient sounds, spaceship hums, and subtle musical cues contribute to the overall atmosphere, adding depth and authenticity to the game.”
“10/10 for music and writing, even with a few very minor typos in select scenes.”
“The OST is not very good; it could use better music.”
“If I was feeling generous, I'd describe the in-game audio as annoying, the music as instantly mute-worthy, the UI as unintuitive, the voice acting as grating, and the overall art direction as just generally very ugly and unappealing in any way.”
“A high tension background music plays and my ship is beeping crazily as if there is no tomorrow.”
- humor11 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is highlighted by its clever writing, numerous easter eggs, and amusing dialogue, with players enjoying funny scenarios like absurd character interactions and unexpected outcomes. While some find the humor to be a delightful aspect, others feel that certain themes and gameplay mechanics detract from the overall fun, leading to mixed feelings about the comedic elements. Overall, the game offers a blend of humor that resonates with many players, though not without its criticisms.
“Fun, lots of easter eggs, funny posters, interesting dialogue, and creative outlets!”
“The writing is also very good and has the right amount of humor.”
“I love the logs with every detail on what your characters are thinking, most notably during social combats: it's very funny when my flirting goes wrong.”
- replayability10 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 30 % negative mentions
The game shows significant potential for replayability, with features like procedurally generated plots and deep systems that enhance the experience. However, it currently suffers from technical issues such as save corruption and UI bugs, which detract from its overall playability. While improvements have been noted in recent updates, players may want to wait for a more polished version before diving in.
“The game has endless replayability and nearly endless features to look forward to.”
“I really can't wait to see this game in a more finished state; if it has a procedurally generated plot across multiple celestial bodies, it could be fantastic and extremely replayable.”
“The ability to buy and sell ships opens up a lot more replayability.”
“Whilst this game could allow for a lot of replayability, it has problems.”
“This game has a ton of potential and when compared to its earlier builds, it is a lot more playable now... but it still has a ways to go.”
“It's barely workable; saves corrupt frequently, the UI gets buggy randomly, and I've had some black screen lockups. What the game is trying to deliver is pretty amazing, but if you don't want to contribute to what is currently definitely an alpha build, you will probably want to hold off purchasing until it is more playable.”
- monetization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization of the game is widely criticized as a cash grab, with users expressing a desire for options to filter out EA titles from their recommendations and advertisements on platforms like Steam.
“This game is still a cash grab.”
“I think we should start a petition to add a filter to opt out of seeing EA titles in your queue or on Steam home page ads.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players find the emotional aspect of the game compelling, as the atmospheric elements and narrative details uncovered through exploration create a vivid and immersive experience that evokes strong feelings, reminiscent of the investigative tension found in 'The Expanse'.
“The ship itself, its atmospheric composition and the files I obtained after hacking their 'phones' drew a very clear picture of what happened, which made me feel like that inspector guy from 'The Expanse'.”
