Sid Meier's Starships

55%
Game Brain Score Based on 1,375 reviews
  • gameplay
  • story
  • graphics
Sid Meier's Starships Game Cover
Starships condenses Sid Meier’s knack for turn-based strategy into a short, two-to-five hour burst of board game-esque tactics that’s as satisfying as it is approachable.
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"Sid Meier's Starships" is a strategy game that puts you in charge of a fleet of starships in a procedurally generated universe. Complete missions to protect planets from hostiles, build a planetary federation, and engage in tactical space combat. The game features full customization of starships and offers cross-connectivity with "Civilization: Beyond Earth".

  • iPad
  • iPhone
  • Mac OS
  • PC
  • Phone
  • Windows
  • Mobile Platform
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

55%
Audience ScoreBased on 1,375 reviews
gameplay50 positive mentions
replayability13 negative mentions
  • The game is easy to learn and quick to play, making it a good option for casual gaming sessions.
  • Tactical combat is engaging and allows for various strategies, such as using stealth and torpedoes effectively.
  • The graphics and overall presentation are appealing, providing a nice visual experience.
  • The game lacks depth and complexity, making it feel repetitive after a few playthroughs.
  • Victory conditions only apply to the player, allowing AI opponents to win through methods not chosen by the player.
  • There are numerous bugs and technical issues, including crashes and poor UI scaling on higher resolutions.
  • gameplay242 mentions

    The gameplay of Sid Meier's Starships has received mixed reviews, with many players noting its simplicity and lack of depth compared to other titles in the franchise. While some appreciate the accessible mechanics and enjoyable tactical combat, others criticize the repetitive nature, limited customization options, and overall shallow gameplay experience. The game is often described as feeling more like a mobile app than a full PC title, leading to a sense of disappointment for those expecting a more complex strategy experience.

    • “Smooth, accessible gameplay that feels rewarding.”
    • “Simple mechanics with a good variety of play options to keep it interesting game after game.”
    • “The gameplay is simple enough and the controls are easy to understand, making it enjoyable for casual players.”
    • “The game suffers from poor implementation, lackluster gameplay, and a lack of motivation to keep players engaged.”
    • “The gameplay is overly simple and limited for a Sid Meier game.”
    • “The mechanics of the battles are very simple and don't provide much need for innovation or strategy, and it quickly becomes a grindfest after 5-10 hours.”
  • story212 mentions

    The story in "Sid Meier's Starships" is minimal and lacks depth, primarily serving as a backdrop for the game's tactical missions rather than a compelling narrative. Players engage in repetitive mission-based gameplay, focusing on combat and gaining influence over planets, with little character development or overarching plot. While the game connects to the "Civilization: Beyond Earth" universe, it fails to deliver a rich story experience, making it more suitable for those seeking quick, tactical gameplay rather than a long, story-driven adventure.

    • “The story is about traveling the stars to find our lost brothers, yet when you play the game it's the same leaders from Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth.”
    • “This game is exactly what it's advertised and priced as: a space adventure game where you command a small fleet in exploring the frontier, putting down pirates, engaging in tense standoffs or small scale battles with the other players, establishing trade agreements, and bringing planets into your federation/empire/whatever, all through episodic missions with light storytelling.”
    • “While sharing story elements with Sid Meier's Civilization: Beyond Earth, this is not an empire builder game.”
    • “The game lacks that compelling desire its predecessors have to play and defeat it in all ways possible, or even explore the game or the world(s) within, because the interface is awful and the 'story' throws you into space to do unexplained busy work.”
    • “There is little to no story or character to the game, and the core gameplay is heavily lacking.”
    • “It's far too short to develop any type of attachment for the story or the people you're playing as or fighting against.”
  • graphics137 mentions

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the clean and colorful visuals while others criticize them as simplistic or outdated, likening them to those of older games. Many users note the lack of graphical settings and options, which detracts from the overall experience, while a few highlight the enjoyable art style and combat animations. Overall, the graphics are generally considered adequate for the gameplay, but they do not impress or stand out in a competitive market.

    • “The graphics are absolutely stunning.”
    • “The visuals are stunning as usual, and seamless graphics for the most part.”
    • “It's fun, easy to learn, relatively short to play, has multiple win conditions, and the graphics are nice to watch.”
    • “The graphics in general though, seem pixelated, and not in the good way.”
    • “The graphics are atrocious, worse than Sid Meier's Pirates, which is a game published over 10 years ago on computers slower than our current smartphones.”
    • “The graphics and interface are much more basic than I was expecting, and not in a good way.”
  • replayability59 mentions

    Overall, the game exhibits low replayability, with many players noting its repetitive nature and lack of depth. While some enjoy the initial experience, they find that the limited options and predictable outcomes diminish long-term engagement. Despite a few positive mentions of replay value, particularly for casual players, the consensus leans towards disappointment compared to other Sid Meier titles.

    • “Sid Meier's Starships is a good and replayable turn-based strategy experience that will certainly appeal to lovers of classic science fiction franchises and to those who appreciate the way the leader of Firaxis managed to make player choices relevant.”
    • “It's a great game with what looks like a lot of replayability.”
    • “It is a shorter game, but highly replayable, and so much bang-for-your-buck at $15.”
    • “The game is repetitive, has little complexity, has low replayability and no personalization whatsoever.”
    • “Incredibly lame, no replay value at all.”
    • “The replayability is low and the game can be lost with any of the win methods though all battles are won.”
  • stability23 mentions

    The game's stability has been widely criticized, with many users reporting numerous bugs, glitches, and crashes that detract from the overall experience. While some players noted that performance can be stable on higher-end systems, the prevalence of issues such as graphical glitches and unresponsive gameplay options has led to frustration. Overall, the game is seen as needing significant patches and improvements to reach a satisfactory level of stability.

    • “Not one crash, no glitches, no weird anomalies (granted it's not a resource hog).”
    • “Overpriced and buggy.”
    • “I really, really, really wanted to be able to recommend this game.... I honestly did, but as it stands right now the game is far too buggy, its rules too simplistic, its tactical combat far too imbalanced, and that results in an experience that is frustrating and extremely shallow.”
    • “It is very buggy, and very prone to random close outs during gameplay.”
  • optimization11 mentions

    Overall, the game's optimization is a mixed bag; while it runs well on lower-end systems and is generally polished with minor bugs, some players report it being resource-heavy and not performing smoothly on newer hardware. The engine is described as fairly optimized but not completely stable, with room for improvement in UI/UX design.

    • “Game feels polished (noticed a couple tiny bugs but nothing anywhere close to game breaking, I'm just picky on this because I'm in game dev myself), and is really well optimized.”
    • “This game is underrated by far; yes, it's a simple game but absolutely solid in AI performance and core mechanics.”
    • “It runs slowly and uses loads more RAM than its graphics could ever justify.”
    • “It's not optimized, UI/UX is badly designed.”
    • “They get the job done, though, and the engine's fairly optimized (not completely stable, but optimized) so even paper PCs will run it well.”
  • music11 mentions

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players finding it enjoyable and fitting for the space theme, while others note a lack of variety, mentioning that the soundtrack seems limited to a single song. Overall, while the audio and music contribute positively to the atmosphere, many feel that there is significant room for improvement in both variety and depth.

    • “The music is exciting & fits the bill.”
    • “Audio and music is excellent, bringing home those peaceful space traveling moments only to be shattered by battle-inspiring 'man your weapons' music.”
    • “Here's what it is: a simplified tactical space game with colorful graphics and impressive music.”
    • “The menus are tiny, gameplay options are limited (no multiplayer for instance), and as far as I could tell, the soundtrack consists of one song (I turned the music off after about an hour). The animations could be more detailed and varied.”
    • “The menus are tiny, gameplay options are limited (no multiplayer for instance), and as far as I could tell, the soundtrack consists of one song (I turned the music off after about an hour). The animations could be more detailed and varied.”
    • “The menus are tiny, gameplay options are limited (no multiplayer for instance), and as far as I could tell, the soundtrack consists of one song (I turned the music off after about an hour). The animations could be more detailed and varied.”
  • humor10 mentions

    The humor in the game is described as amusing but inconsistent, with players finding some funny moments and comments, particularly regarding the lack of a tutorial. While the game has its comedic elements, many reviewers feel that the humor does not compensate for its simplicity and technical issues, leading to a mixed reception overall.

    • “Also some funny comments pointing out that there is no tutorial and in the next sentence pointing out how simple the game is.”
    • “Funny little game.”
    • “The game lasted about five minutes with it laughing in my face saying: going through the tutorial noob... oh wait there is no tutorial, or any of the sort of helpfulness to get into the game.”
  • grinding10 mentions

    Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and slow, often leading to frustration during battles and unlockable content. Many reviews highlight that the grind can detract from the overall enjoyment, making the experience feel laborious rather than engaging. While some appreciate the strategic elements, the repetitive nature of gameplay and the necessity to watch every opponent's move contribute to a sense of monotony.

    • “At impossible, it gets tedious.”
    • “The unlockables from Beyond Earth are kind of tedious to unlock and make the game incredibly easy once they are unlocked.”
    • “And more often than not, civilization ends with a grinding game of attrition or accumulation of culture points that is simply not that much fun.”
  • emotional6 mentions

    Players express a mixed emotional response to the game, with some feeling a strong connection to the progression of their starship units and the significance of final battles, while others find it lacking in depth and emotional engagement compared to other titles in the genre. Overall, the emotional impact varies significantly among players, with some enjoying the experience and others feeling disappointed.

    • “These final battles as you attempt to capture homeworlds (or defend yours from an assault) often made me feel like I was actually doing something halfway important.”
    • “I distinctly remember that combat was fun and that I became emotionally involved in upgrading my starship units, much as one does in any game where units grow.”
    • “You know what, I like civ games but this one had some great emotional moments.”
  • monetization5 mentions

    The monetization aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with some users feeling it leans towards a cash grab despite being fun and affordable. While there are no ads, the overall sentiment suggests disappointment in the perceived lack of depth and value compared to other titles in the genre.

    • “There are no ads, which makes for a seamless gaming experience.”
    • “The monetization model is fair and doesn't pressure players to spend money.”
    • “I appreciate that the game offers optional purchases without affecting gameplay.”
    • “For some reason, I expected a little more than a quick cash grab from Sid Meier.”
    • “It is a pure cash grab.”
    • “I've seen better games done by advertising campaigns for some random products.”
  • atmosphere3 mentions

    The atmosphere in "Civ Beyond Earth" is praised for its depth and mood, creating a delightful and immersive experience. Players appreciate the strategic elements that enhance the game's challenging ambiance, making it feel more intense compared to previous titles in the Civilization franchise.

    • “Civ Beyond Earth is one of my favorite games, with a depth and mood/atmosphere that is delightful.”
    • “It's a little atmospheric, which is kind of nice, and strategic like Civ and Beyond Earth.”
    • “Other than that, the elements of strategy that I've seen throughout the Civilization franchise are there, and it's hitting you harder than last time for a more challenging atmosphere.”
    • “The atmosphere feels flat and uninspired, lacking the depth and immersion that I expected.”
    • “Despite the game's potential, the overall ambiance is dull and fails to engage the player.”
    • “The world feels lifeless, with minimal environmental interaction that detracts from the overall experience.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

Critic Reviews

56% average critic score

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Play time

5hMedian play time
9hAverage play time
2-14hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 12 analyzed playthroughs

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