PULSAR: Lost Colony

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PULSAR: Lost Colony is a single player and multiplayer role playing game with a science fiction theme. It was developed by Leafy Games and was released on June 22, 2021. It received positive reviews from players.

"PULSAR: Lost Colony" is a sci-fi cooperative game where players take on roles such as captain, pilot, engineer, and weapons specialist to operate a space ship and complete missions. The game supports both single-player and multiplayer modes, with up to five players able to join forces in online play. Players will encounter various alien species, challenging space environments, and must manage resources and make strategic decisions to survive.

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90%

Audience ScoreBased on 7,130 reviews

story202 positive mentions

stability102 negative mentions

PULSAR: Lost Colony offers a unique cooperative experience where players can take on distinct roles aboard a spaceship, enhancing teamwork and communication.
The game features a vast galaxy to explore, with a variety of missions, factions, and ship customization options, providing a rich gameplay experience.
The developers are actively updating the game, adding new content and improving mechanics, which shows their commitment to the community.

The AI bots can be unreliable and often require significant customization to perform effectively, making solo play less enjoyable.
The game can feel repetitive over time, with missions and encounters lacking variety, leading to a sense of monotony.
The graphics and user interface may feel dated or unpolished, which can detract from the overall experience for some players.

story
1,194 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
78%
5%
The story in "Pulsar: Lost Colony" is described as intriguing but often poorly presented, primarily through lengthy text passages that can detract from immersion. Players appreciate the cooperative gameplay and the variety of missions, which include space battles and away missions, but many feel that the quests can become repetitive and lack depth. While the game offers a sandbox experience with multiple factions and potential for emergent storytelling, it currently lacks a cohesive overarching narrative, leaving players to create their own adventures within the game's universe.
- “The story is interesting enough to keep my attention session to session.”
- “However I later learned that its story line is not simple at all but a complex and highly fun story to explore with your 3 or 4 friends.”
- “But finding a mission is difficult, and it feels like wandering around aimlessly.”
- “This made it pretty hard to get immersed in the story, which was disappointing, because it seemed like a lot of effort went into writing an intriguing narrative.”
- “The story in this game is neat, with detailed and interesting lore, but it could be presented a lot better.”
gameplay
794 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
64%
6%
The gameplay of "Pulsar: Lost Colony" is characterized by its cooperative mechanics, allowing players to take on distinct roles aboard a spaceship, which enhances teamwork and communication. While the ship-to-ship combat and exploration elements are praised for their depth and potential, many players find the ground combat and overall gameplay loop to be repetitive and lacking polish, with a steep learning curve that can deter newcomers. Despite its flaws, the game offers a unique experience for fans of sci-fi and cooperative gameplay, especially when played with friends.
- “If you enjoyed Artemis Bridge Simulator or similar games, Pulsar brings that same team-based gameplay but amps it up.”
- “The gameplay is definitely at its best when you're flying through space yelling at your friends as you try to destroy an enemy ship while dodging fire and trying to keep your own ship from falling apart.”
- “Pulsar offers surprisingly deep gameplay that is easy to pick up, but takes time to truly become proficient.”
- “Unfortunately, Pulsar is so rough in everything from basic game mechanics to structured content that it simply leads to frustration and eventually disappointment.”
- “The gameplay when you're not on your ship is significantly worse.”
- “Excessively repetitive gameplay, extremely easy to exploit in, boring combat experience.”
graphics
580 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
58%
20%
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many players noting that while they are simplistic and often dated, they do not detract from the overall enjoyment and depth of gameplay. Some describe the visuals as reminiscent of older titles or even "Minecraft-like," but emphasize that the fun and engaging mechanics more than compensate for the graphical shortcomings. Overall, players suggest that those who prioritize gameplay over aesthetics will find a rewarding experience despite the lackluster graphics.
- “Love the game, the graphics and the playable aspects are amazing.”
- “Don't let the graphics fool you, pick the game up and give it a go.”
- “The graphics are fun and give the game a bit of a light-hearted feel, which goes well with a game featuring the ability to play as what is essentially intergalactic biscuit deliverymen.”
- “In about 1 hour, I found weird graphical glitches and I even managed to fall out of bounds.”
- “The graphics are low quality but there aren't really clarity issues.”
- “The graphics are not just simple but poorly made, as are the away party levels, the weapons, etc. Sure this game is early access, but this game has a long long way to go and I doubt the developers have what it takes to get there.”
stability
106 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
4%
96%
The game is widely reported to be quite buggy, with numerous glitches affecting gameplay, including freezing screens, graphical issues, and AI pathfinding problems. While these bugs can detract from the experience, many players still find enjoyment in the game, especially in multiplayer settings, and acknowledge that it is in early access with ongoing development. Overall, while stability is a significant concern, the game's potential and fun factor keep players engaged despite its flaws.
- “The game is very affordable, while still being a high-quality product (stable and not buggy) with great replayability.”
- “The game runs great and there is always something to do.”
- “The game is very affordable, while still being a high-quality product (stable and not buggy) with great replayability.”
- “The button labelled 'academy' appears to potentially be a tutorial but when I click it the screen just freezes.”
- “Very buggy, couldn't even complete the first mission without endless glitches just trying to get onto the elevator.”
- “Multiplayer connection was horrid and buggy to get started, spent much time stuck in infinite loading screens and master server connection error messages.”
humor
84 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in "Pulsar: Lost Colony" is largely dependent on playing with friends, as many players report that the game becomes hilariously fun when shared with a group, leading to memorable moments filled with laughter and chaos. While solo play can be less engaging, the interactions and antics among friends, including funny minigames and unexpected mishaps, create a comedic atmosphere that enhances the overall experience. However, the quality of humor can vary significantly when playing with random players, sometimes detracting from the enjoyment.
- “The best part of this game is the funny minigame you play in-between warps.”
- “We finally called it a day at 3 am in the morning, drunk, laughing our asses off, and just not believing how much fun we had being a dysfunctional Orville-like crew and doing quests around, cheering every time we blew up a colony-threatening asteroid in space.”
- “From the first moments to the last moments, we were laughing, arguing, cursing, sweating, and cheering.”
replayability
76 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
39%
57%
4%
The game boasts high replayability due to its diverse selection of ships, factions, and customizable campaign settings, allowing players to experience unique adventures with each playthrough. While many reviews highlight the fun of playing with friends and the variety of roles to master, some players express concerns about potential repetitiveness after extensive play. Overall, the game is praised for its depth and variety, making it a worthwhile experience for those seeking replay value.
- “The game also has an obscene amount of replayability, with 14 playable ships, 4 factions, lots of subplots, and 2 extra standalone campaigns.”
- “There are many different starships, factions, classes, and playable races to choose from when starting a new adventure in a randomly generated galaxy, all with their own unique playstyles which adds a ton of replayability.”
- “The replayability factor is high and as the game develops, I expect the already amazing experience will only get better.”
- “My final major criticism is the lack of replayability, which is really shocking for a game like this.”
- “It is way too repetitive, and after a while, it just becomes boring. Once you master every officer position on the ship and play them all, it becomes more of a chore, and $30 is too high for a game that doesn't have much replay value.”
- “The level of polish, balancing, and replay value on the game just doesn't seem to reflect the amount of time they've had to work on it.”
optimization
56 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
70%
5%
Overall, the game's optimization is a mixed bag; while it runs smoothly on lower-end systems and offers minimal bugs, there are notable performance issues, particularly in VR mode and on macOS. Some players report lag spikes and challenges on higher settings, indicating that further optimization is needed as the game is still in beta. Despite these concerns, many appreciate the game's core mechanics and variety, suggesting that it has potential for improvement.
- “They have optimized the game very well, with minimal bugs and jank (except for the unsatisfying combat) and are improving quite a few features for gamers with less than powerful PCs.”
- “A well optimized multiplayer spaceship crew simulation and elite-like!”
- “On the plus side, this makes the game run smoothly on toasters as well.”
- “VR mode of this game is extremely poorly optimized; I have trouble running this on the lowest settings on an RTX 2080 at 90Hz.”
- “I couldn't get any playable performance on my Broadwell laptop with Intel GPU, even with every setting at the minimum and resolution at 1024x768.”
- “There are some optimization issues, but this early in development one cannot expect optimized graphics.”
grinding
48 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
8%
29%
63%
Overall, players express mixed feelings about the grinding aspect of the game. While some find it excessively tedious and time-consuming, requiring a significant investment of time, others appreciate that the game does not impose traditional grind mechanics like loot boxes or paywalls. However, many agree that certain missions and activities can become monotonous, detracting from the overall experience.
- “Oh, did I mention this game isn't grindy and doesn't expect you to devote your life to it?”
- “No loot boxes, no tedious grind to have a playable character/ship.”
- “No paywalls, no grinding, no loot boxes, none of the 'typical' forced limitations that we've sadly come to expect from every game we buy.”
- “Too tedious for my taste, where everything is designed to be annoying and impractical for 'added challenge' (user interface, ship controls, ship layout, ship functions).”
- “This is a great game, if you're into this type of game it'll be an absolutely amazing experience for at least an hour at which point you'll find wanting to do anything in the game is either extremely boring (combat) or extremely tedious (hunting down NPCs).”
- “These just become tedious after a time because you're literally sitting on a screen clicking buttons every 10 seconds or so.”
music
46 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
39%
54%
7%
The music in the game has received positive feedback for its excellent soundtrack, ambiance, and overall contribution to the atmosphere, with many players expressing a desire to purchase it on platforms like Steam. While some users noted a need for more variety in combat music, particularly during on-foot sections, the ambient tracks were generally well-received. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a strong point of the game, though comparisons to other titles like FTL suggest room for improvement and expansion in the future.
- “Awesome soundtrack, art design, and ambiance.”
- “The ambient music is really nice!”
- “Other than that though, this is a solid game with excellent music and atmosphere.”
- “I turned off the music right away; it was very generic and canned.”
- “Music I got off by default as it distracts me.”
- “The only problems are small such as sound and music.”
atmosphere
38 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
53%
39%
8%
The game's atmosphere is generally praised for its visual appeal and immersive environments, effectively conveying a sense of adventure in a politically and physically devastated galaxy. However, some players find the sound design jarring, detracting from the overall experience, while others feel the game could benefit from more atmospheric depth and variety. Despite these criticisms, many appreciate the combination of graphics, mechanics, and music that contribute to a compelling atmosphere.
- “Although the graphics aren't anything special, the mechanics of the game and the atmosphere are more than enough to make you feel like you're really a vital crew member partaking in a dangerous but epic voyage through a politically and physically devastated galaxy.”
- “The atmosphere and style is great, and the sound design is very nice.”
- “Pulsar has one of the best atmospheres ever.”
- “Sound design is jarring to the point where a single jingle will blast on repeat, instantly slaughtering any suspense or atmosphere when exploring alien worlds.”
- “I feel like the game could absolutely use some atmosphere; it always feels too quiet, and not in a good way.”
- “It just pains me to know what myself and the community could provide this game: the much-needed punch-up to the atmosphere of the whole game.”
emotional
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional responses to the game are highly polarized; some players express intense frustration and disappointment due to gameplay mechanics and visual issues, while others find joy and a sense of community, particularly those with a pre-existing attachment to the Star Trek universe. Overall, the game elicits strong feelings, ranging from anger and physical discomfort to nostalgia and camaraderie among fans.
- “Fantastic game that's made me realize that an online community can be wholesome and actually fun to play with.”
- “Made me feel like Picard.”
- “This game made me feel as if I were really on Star Trek.”
monetization
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The monetization aspect of the game is viewed negatively, with users labeling it a "half baked cash grab." However, they also appreciate the absence of microtransactions, suggesting that the game offers a more straightforward purchasing experience without additional costs.
- “This game is a half-baked cash grab.”
- “This game is a half-baked cash grab.”
character development
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
While some players criticize the basic character design and technical issues, the chaotic multiplayer experience often overshadows these flaws. Many express a desire for more robust character development options and a complete re-skin of player characters to enhance the overall engagement and personalization in the game.
- “Really would like to see a complete re-skin of player characters and also a persistent character development feature.”
- “The character development feels very basic and lacks depth, making it hard to feel invested in the characters.”
- “There are significant issues with character progression, leaving players feeling unfulfilled and disconnected from their avatars.”