Smugglers 5

About

Smugglers 5 is a turn-based space trading and combat game set in a vast, procedurally generated universe. As a captain of a spaceship, players engage in various activities such as trading goods, completing missions, and battling enemy ships. The game offers multiple factions to align with, various ship customization options, and a rich, engaging storyline.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

55%

Audience ScoreBased on 130 reviews

gameplay6 positive mentions

story4 negative mentions

The game offers a variety of play styles, allowing players to choose from different factions and professions such as trader, pirate, or bounty hunter.
It has a nostalgic charm reminiscent of classic space trading games, providing a fun and casual experience for players looking to kill time.
The turn-based combat system and random skill mechanics add a layer of strategy and unpredictability to battles.

The user interface is outdated and poorly optimized for modern screens, making it difficult to navigate and play comfortably.
The game suffers from numerous bugs and glitches, including crashes and issues with saving progress, which can lead to frustrating gameplay experiences.
Gameplay becomes repetitive and lacks depth, with limited meaningful progression and a grind-heavy experience that can quickly lose player interest.

story
31 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
77%
13%
The story aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players highlighting significant bugs that can halt progress, particularly in the main storyline. While some appreciate the RPG elements and the variety of factions, others criticize the plot for being simplistic and repetitive, lacking depth and engaging narrative. Overall, the game offers a basic framework for missions and exploration, but many feel it falls short in delivering a compelling story experience.
- “If you like space or pirate games, you should check this out; there are several different storylines and endings based on how you choose to play.”
- “The only good parts were the smaller flavor missions that appear when you visit planets and the variety of choices in the skill trees.”
- “I recommend starting with a backstory to guide you at first as it really helps, but once you understand the game, you see the possibilities are endless.”
- “The quests you can get are boring and straightforward.”
- “In terms of plot, this game names all its sectors things like 'New Ireland' or 'New Germany' or 'New Italy', but the story is unabashedly Amero-centric.”
- “Bad storytelling.”
graphics
29 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
76%
14%
The graphics of the game are widely criticized for being outdated and overly simplistic, resembling a low-quality, two-dimensional design reminiscent of late-90s titles. Many reviewers note the absence of graphics settings and a lack of visual appeal, suggesting that the game is better suited for players who prioritize gameplay depth over graphical fidelity. Overall, while the visuals may not meet modern standards, some players appreciate the game's content and mechanics despite its graphical shortcomings.
- “Behind the simple visuals and the easy to learn rules and interface, there is a lot of content hidden.”
- “They won’t win any prizes graphically, but they really make it up for it with depth, polishing, and gameplay.”
- “While not graphically appealing to today's standards, it makes up for it in depth and gameplay.”
- “It's old and graphics-challenged.”
- “The graphics can be boiled down into this sentence: "it's two jpeg images set on a black background with one of two basic overlay effects on them and no concern for consistency or integrity of the images themselves or the overlays."”
- “The big difference is the graphics, which are non-existent.”
gameplay
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
58%
17%
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its depth and addictive qualities, while others criticize it for being repetitive and lacking polish. Many users noted that the mechanics can feel cumbersome and underdeveloped, leading to a formulaic experience that lacks engaging end-game content. Overall, while there are interesting elements and a large map to explore, the gameplay often falls short of expectations, making it less enjoyable for extended play.
- “There are many ships, faction politics, a trade mechanic with a black market aspect, tons of skills and abilities, and a large map.”
- “They won’t win any prizes graphically, but they really make it up for it with depth, polishing, and gameplay.”
- “It's pretty simple in terms of gameplay, but it is very fun and quite addictive.”
- “Though eventually even such lofty ambitions lose their luster disappointingly quickly as gameplay becomes almost formulaic.”
- “Lack of a narrative hurts more than it helps in the modern era, strategic inconsistencies in gameplay and the fact that the game has largely been superseded in the genre by other titles.”
- “This game is also missing the end-game content so bad luck if you thought you might like to lead your own fleet or do anything cool, the game becomes rather bland after a couple of hours of gameplay with all combat being nearly identical with only a slight mix-up due to you only being able to use abilities when the RNG decides you can...”
grinding
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mixed experience; while the early grind can be enjoyable, the pursuit of significant rewards, such as earning 10 million credits for larger ships, becomes tedious over time. Combat mechanics contribute to this frustration, as players often face missed shots and unavailable abilities, leading to a repetitive experience. Overall, while dedication can lead to unlocking more content, many players feel that the grinding can become monotonous, especially for those who opt for certain character paths.
- “Early grind is fun, but earning 10 million credits for the largest ship is tedious unless you take the smuggler start.”
- “Sounds fun, but think more like old school NES Dragon Warrior style grinding, and watch out because every 5 battles will either be against a smaller ship with random chance on its side or an overpowered larger ship that will tear you apart.”
- “With enough dedication, you can eventually reach the higher ranks and unlock more activities, but you'll have to slog through a fair bit of early grinding, especially if you choose the civilian route.”
stability
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is widely criticized, with users reporting numerous bugs, glitches, and performance issues, particularly on modern systems. Many feel that the game is unfinished and not worth its price, citing frequent crashes and a clunky interface that detracts from the overall experience. Overall, players express frustration over the game's lack of polish and stability.
- “It's old and buggy, especially with modern systems.”
- “Please fix these glitches so I can stop feeling like I wasted my time and money... I don't have a lot of either.”
- “It is an unfinished buggy mess and not the latest version of this game.”
optimization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
The game suffers from poor optimization on larger screens, resulting in tiny visuals for resolutions above 1366x768. While it runs smoothly on lower resolutions and is lightweight for downloads, the lack of optimization for higher displays detracts from the overall experience.
- “It is very small, simple to download, and it requires minimal resources from the computer; it runs smoothly.”
- “Zero optimization for any screens bigger than about 1366x768; everything is tiny.”
- “It's so much more profitable than anything else that anything else is a waste of time in terms of optimization, but it's also rather dull to just keep running the same routes over and over.”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
67%
While some players find enough engaging features to warrant a few playthroughs, many criticize the game for its lack of polish and limited replayability, particularly in the campaign, where rigid skill paths and repetitive combat diminish long-term interest. Overall, opinions are mixed, with some suggesting it offers decent replay value for the price, while others feel it falls short.
- “There are some interesting features in this game, and for the price, it's worth the money - there is replayability and plenty of options to keep you engaged for a couple of run-throughs.”
- “The game offers enough details for replayability.”
- “Each playthrough feels fresh due to the variety of choices and outcomes available.”
- “That said, the game is extremely unpolished, combat gets old after a few hours, trading is boring from the very beginning, there is absolutely no replay value to the campaign, you can't mix skill types because you are forced to follow a set career and skill path (one of six), and the game tells you to buy the expansion every time you leave the game.”
- “There are some interesting features in this game, and for the price is worth the money - there is replayability and plenty of options to keep you engaged for a couple of run-throughs.”
music
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The music in the game is criticized for being excessively loud with no adjustable settings, leading some players to turn it off entirely. Additionally, there are reports of the music cutting out unexpectedly, which can be jarring for the experience.
- “The music is deafening, with no way to adjust the volume other than turning it off.”
- “The music tends to cut out at various random intervals, and I only really noticed it when it suddenly stopped.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express that while the game's complexity can initially feel overwhelming, it ultimately enhances the emotional experience by providing a rich array of possibilities that deepen their engagement and connection to the game.
- “I was a bit overwhelmed at first by all the details of this game, but it didn't take me long to realize that the basics are simple. What made me feel overwhelmed was, in fact, the possibilities offered here, and that is what makes this game great.”