Sol Trader

About

In Sol Trader, players engage in a procedurally generated space trade simulation, forging relationships and building reputations across multiple generations. Version 1.4 offers UI improvements, with notifications replacing pop-ups for a smoother experience, and introducing the swift Puma ship for tactical gameplay. The revamped tutorial and character-focused events enrich the immersive universe, making it a must-play for space trading enthusiasts.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

67%

Audience ScoreBased on 128 reviews

gameplay12 positive mentions

story6 negative mentions

The game offers a unique focus on relationships and social interactions, making it stand out from typical space sims.
The procedural generation of characters and their histories creates a dynamic and engaging universe.
The developer is responsive and actively working on updates, showing commitment to improving the game.

Gameplay can become repetitive and tedious, with long waiting times for events and interactions.
The user interface is clunky and confusing, making navigation and tracking of quests difficult.
There are numerous bugs and technical issues that hinder the overall experience, leading to frustration.

story
52 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
6%
82%
12%
The game's story is described as lacking depth, primarily revolving around repetitive fetch quests and interactions with NPCs, which can lead to frustrating gameplay experiences. While some players appreciate the potential for character-driven narratives and the immersive sci-fi setting, many find the mission system awkward and unengaging, often resulting in a focus on mundane tasks rather than compelling storytelling. Overall, the narrative experience is seen as inconsistent, with some players enjoying the freedom to create their own stories amidst the flaws.
- “While the UI can be confusing at times and definitely needs some work, the core conversation minigame and the impressive detailed story the game generates for each and every character weaves something that's capable of generating all sorts of space epics with you at the center.”
- “It's almost like an open-generated create-your-own-story novel, with aspects of RPG, space sim, and economics thrown in.”
- “I keep coming back to the game and my story in it because the game, for me, scratches the itch of actually being a person within a sci-fi world.”
- “There's no interesting story.”
- “To my disappointment, the game ended up being all about talking to people, getting them to trust and like you, so they ask you to do all sorts of missions for them, usually going back and forth between places or getting information about people they know.”
- “No matter where you are, the main gameplay mechanic is choosing an AI to talk to, so you can impress it in order to complete one of many boring types of missions.”
gameplay
48 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
67%
8%
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it repetitive and frustrating due to its reliance on tedious conversations and a lack of engaging mechanics. While the game's unique premise and social systems are praised, the execution often leads to boredom and confusion, making it challenging for players to fully enjoy the experience. Despite these issues, some players express a strange allure to the gameplay, hoping for future improvements.
- “But really the main gameplay loop here is flying around and talking to people - there are 1000 people in the universe and they're all somewhat simulated, they live and move around the universe and make their own friends and enemies - and as a space detective you will probably want to talk to most of them.”
- “Gameplay is kinda confusing, but fun once you get it down and figure out what to do.”
- “This game is about people, and most of the gameplay occurs through person-to-person interactions, so you need a drop or two of patience to enjoy this game.”
- “The gameplay loop is really repetitive and -it hurts to say that- boring.”
- “The results, however, are awkward and flawed gameplay that causes difficulty in completing missions or achieving goals.”
- “The gameplay is fairly shallow and repetitive, and there's a lot of waiting around either in space travel or waiting for time to pass in areas where you can't sleep.”
grinding
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, often leading to boredom. Mining requires significant investment in weapons, creating a frustrating catch-22, while missions frequently involve monotonous tasks, such as endlessly repeating conversations with NPCs who are often just aimlessly circling in space. Overall, the grinding mechanics detract from the enjoyment of the game.
- “Mining is tedious as you need lots of money for good weapons to afford to mine effectively in the first place; it's a perfect catch-22.”
- “Missions are absurd; they often involve finding people, which could be a fun mechanic, but often just leads to tedious repetitions of the same conversations 1,000 times until you realize the person you're looking for is just repeatedly circling in space, doing nothing, infinitely.”
- “It can be tedious at times, which can make the game feel even more boring.”
music
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The music in the game is described as very pretty and creates a nice ambiance, although it is often considered unobtrusive. While the sound effects are simple yet effective, some users noted that the visual elements, such as character designs, lack variety. Overall, the music contributes positively to the game's atmosphere.
- “The music also has a nice ambiance to it.”
- “The sound effects are simple but work well, and the music is very, very, very pretty.”
stability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is criticized for being plagued by glitches that create a clunky and frustrating experience, leading some players to question its value. While there is hope for future fixes, many feel that the current state is flawed, especially with the developer's focus on a new project. However, a few users suggest that despite the initial bugs, the game has the potential to become enjoyable over time.
- “These glitches that make the game very clunky and awkward to play could be fixed, and I hope they will be. But I see the developer is off to make a new game, so I guess we are stuck with this flawed game that is not really worth buying, unless you like frustration.”
- “A little bit buggy at the start, but it will bloom into being extremely fun.”
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The reviews indicate that the game's optimization is a mixed bag, with some users reporting smooth performance on high-end systems while others experience significant lag and frame rate drops on mid-range setups. Overall, the optimization appears to require further refinement to ensure a consistent experience across various hardware configurations.
graphics
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game offers limited graphics options, allowing only fullscreen or windowed modes, and features a default adaptive v-sync setting.
- “There are no graphics options except for fullscreen/windowed, and there seems to be some type of adaptive v-sync on by default.”

Buy Sol Trader

16h Median play time

13h Average play time

5-20h Spent by most gamers

*Based on 4 analyzed playthroughs

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