Space Engineers 2

About

"Space Engineers 2" is a sandbox construction game set in space, currently in Alpha stage. The game features a unified 25cm grid system, powerful building tools, and dynamic destruction. Creative Mode offers a vast universe to build and experiment in, with updates promising additional features and content in the future. Ray tracing, global illumination, and improved lighting enhance visuals for a more immersive experience.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

+13

82%

Audience ScoreBased on 1,950 reviews

graphics124 positive mentions

stability20 negative mentions

The new unified grid system is a game changer, allowing for more detailed and creative builds.
The graphics and lighting have seen a significant improvement, making the game visually stunning.
The performance is surprisingly smooth, even on lower-end hardware, and the game runs better than SE1.

The game is currently very bare bones, lacking many core features such as survival mode, multiplayer, and functional blocks.
There are no options for key remapping or mouse sensitivity adjustments, making the controls feel awkward.
Many blocks are non-functional, and the overall gameplay experience feels more like a tech demo than a complete game.

graphics
300 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
41%
57%
1%
The graphics in Space Engineers 2 have received widespread praise for their significant improvements over the first game, showcasing stunning visuals, enhanced lighting, and better overall performance, even on lower-end hardware. Many players noted that the game runs smoothly at high settings, with frame rates often exceeding 100 fps, and the new unified grid system adds to the visual appeal. However, some users expressed concerns about the game's current lack of content and optimization issues, suggesting that while the graphics are impressive, the game feels more like a tech demo at this stage.
- “Amazing visuals and outstanding building system good for the most detailed creative minds.”
- “The world is now even more realistic and immersive, with amazing graphics and details that take your breath away.”
- “The graphics are a vast improvement from the prior game, the unified and 25cm grid system revolutionizes building.”
- “This game is so graphically low quality when it comes to the background of space I almost immediately removed the game from Steam and refunded it. For 2025, this is terrible; I might as well be playing the first game.”
- “It's just a graphics showcase with most of the advertised changes (grid) testable. There is absolutely nothing to do other than smash the pre-made ships, which is impressive, but this is only showing off the graphics and physics, once again a tech demo.”
- “Menus feel clunky and look awful; graphics look like those Minecraft knock-offs on the Android app store and are not the quality I'd expect from a game on sale for £25.”
optimization
188 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
60%
7%
Overall, the optimization of the game shows significant improvement over its predecessor, Space Engineers 1, with many players reporting smooth performance and high frame rates even on mid-range hardware. However, some users have noted occasional performance issues, particularly with CPU usage and during complex interactions, indicating that further optimization is still needed as more content is added. As the game is in early access, there is optimism that ongoing updates will enhance stability and performance further.
- “The performance is significantly better than SE1; the player feels less sluggish and the ship control is significantly tighter without making bigger ships feel like toys like they do in some other games.”
- “I love how they did not compromise on performance in this upgrade.”
- “The performance alone blew me away.”
- “Graphics aren't optimized enough for smooth gameplay on a 3080 ti, so I'll just have to wait to get deeper into it.”
- “Aside from the weird mechanics, frame drops occur a lot and the game overall seems to be poorly optimized.”
- “There are performance issues especially as more destruction occurs within the same save, but this is nothing I don't see being improved on over time.”
gameplay
156 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
19%
78%
3%
The gameplay of the current alpha version is primarily focused on creative building with limited mechanics, resembling the early stages of its predecessor, Space Engineers 1. While the new building mechanics and graphics show promise, many core features are missing, making the experience feel more like a tech demo than a fully realized game. Players are advised to wait for further updates and additional mechanics before investing, as the current state lacks depth and stability.
- “The game is a phenomenal successor to its predecessor, introducing many new features and improvements that significantly raise the level of gameplay.”
- “The new building mechanics are smoother and more intuitive, which makes the creative process a lot more enjoyable.”
- “The unified grid system and quality of life building tools promise to take the solid creative gameplay of the original and take it to the next level, with incredible flexibility while building.”
- “Right now, you don't have very much content to choose from and most of the common mechanics are missing (like working buttons, doors, or in general things like interactable blocks) so right now the game is basically a tech demo where you can build simple stuff just to show off with the graphics.”
- “The game in its current state doesn't offer a lot of gameplay; I will definitely be going back to this review at a later date, but with the current state, I do not recommend buying it unless you are trying to support Keen Software House.”
- “There is almost no base-game mechanics; most blocks from base SE1 are missing, so you can't even rebuild something from your old world in the new SE2 sandbox!”
stability
30 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
67%
Overall, the game's stability is a mixed bag; while many players report smooth performance with locked 60fps on high settings, there are notable issues such as bugs in multiplayer, freezing during high-speed crashes, and a problematic damage system. The game is still in alpha, leading to some quirks and missing features, but players remain optimistic about future updates addressing these concerns.
- “The game runs great, frames are locked at 60fps and stayed at 60fps on my 2070 Super.”
- “It runs great as is at the moment, getting a smooth 60 fps on the highest settings and looks beautiful. In terms of playability, currently not much; my biggest note so far being the lack of key remapping.”
- “No idea if Keen will see this, but the game runs great at base medium preset on a 1080 Ti. I love the destruction and can't wait to build my first ship!”
- “The multiplayer is still a buggy mess with very glaring limitations on what it can handle; the single player 'survival' mode is completely barren of anything to do with the creations you make let alone anything to do with survival; and the creative mode is, again, a barren sandbox lacking anything to drive players to do anything other than build big/pretty ships and then smash big/pretty ships into other big/pretty ships or big space rocks.”
- “Unstable FPS, buggy damage system, 2013 gameplay almost exactly as SE was when it originally released.”
- “I refuse to pay 30 dollars for a broken, buggy, incomplete game from anyone else, so why would I choose to pay 30 dollars for a game with absolutely zero content.”
music
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
44%
39%
17%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with some praising the soundtrack as "wonderful" and giving it a perfect score of 10/10, while others criticize it for lacking the operatic quality of previous installments, comparing it unfavorably to a "doorbell chime on meth." Overall, the soundtrack is noted to enhance the gaming experience, despite some reported sound bugs.
- “Soundtrack 10/10.”
- “In terms of gameplay, it's almost identical to the SE1 alpha release 12 years ago, except with better building, graphics, and soundtrack.”
- “The sound was a bit buggy, but the music was great and the new sound effects were nice.”
- “The music is worse than SE1 and falls short, feeling less like operatic space music and more like a doorbell chime on meth.”
- “The music is worse than SE1 and falls short, feeling less like operatic space music and more like a doorbell chime on meth.”
- “The music is worse than SE1 and falls short, feeling less like operatic space music and more like a doorbell chime on meth.”
story
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
72%
17%
The game's story has received criticism for lacking depth and originality, with many reviewers noting that it feels repetitive and similar to previous installments. While some players express hope for future improvements in the campaign and narrative elements, the current storyline is seen as underwhelming and not justifying the investment. Overall, the consensus is that the story does not meet expectations and requires significant enhancement.
- “E a son début alpha et après beta now, hâte pour la campagne, scénario et survie, attente de lang, sous-titre de vos missions, contrôle des touches être modifiable à notre habitude ?”
- “---{ story }---”
- “While the game shows promise, I expected a more significant depth in the gameplay or storytelling to justify the investment.”
- “If you want a story mode, enemies, RPG, co-op, linear stuff, all the quality of life tweaks already in, everything served readily chewed up, not having to figure out how to make things work, then no, no it's not.”
- “Same ships with very little redesign from SE1; the ship is still slow as well on takeoff from a dead stop, but it does slow down faster... but the storyline plot is nonsense; it's the same as SE1, creative for the most part.”
monetization
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization strategy of the game has drawn mixed reactions, with some users labeling it a "cash grab" aimed at funding ongoing development, while others appreciate the transparency in its advertising. Critics express concerns about potential future DLC for essential features, while supporters argue that the game meets or exceeds its advertised promises in its current early-access state. Overall, the monetization approach appears to be a contentious point among players.
- “Right now, it's a cash grab to no doubt get more funding to keep dev work ongoing.”
- “This game is going to be another cash grab where all of the blocks are going to be DLC.”
- “Idiots gonna be idiots and say this is a cash grab or garbage.”
atmosphere
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
25%
25%
The atmosphere in the game successfully retains the essence of its predecessor, with familiar sound effects and controls that fans appreciate. Players note a smoother experience and improved performance, although some express a desire for enhanced atmospheric features like more powerful thrusters and better weaponry. The stark lighting and lack of environmental elements contribute to a unique, albeit unsettling, atmosphere that hints at significant potential for future updates.
- “They kept the atmosphere of SE1; most of the sound effects and controls I noticed were exactly the same, which I personally like having played SE1 so much.”
- “Game is capped at 200fps, plays well, and pretty much maxes out my GPU at medium to get 80fps to 200. Kinda unsettling as there's no planets or anything heavy to render. That being said, I can see heavy potential. The game is way smoother than Space 1 and gives off a better atmosphere.”
- “There's a single major light source (the sun) that, without an atmosphere, is exceptionally sharp.”
- “Game is capped at 200fps, plays well and pretty much maxes out my GPU at medium to get 80fps to 200. It's kind of unsettling as there's no planets or anything heavy to render. That being said, I can see heavy potential; the game is way smoother than Space 1 and gives off a better atmosphere. It feels like a game that will be very limited CPU-wise, but upgrading GPUs will see a heavy uplift in performance - review on RTX 2070s - CPU 5700X3D.”
- “(example: going into the atmosphere without your ship being relatively protected/ready)”
- “- They kept the atmosphere of SE1; most of the sound effects and controls I noticed were exactly the same, which I personally like having played SE1 so much.”
humor
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is highlighted by players enjoying the absurdity of crashing ships at high speeds and the comedic chaos that ensues, such as parts being flung around with a debug gun. Additionally, the community's reactions to the game's state, including playful jabs at overly defensive players, contribute to a lighthearted atmosphere despite the game's alpha status. Overall, the humor is a mix of slapstick moments and social commentary on player expectations.
- “It was also very funny that I crashed the game by crashing Big Red into a blue ship in the classic manner, but at over 600 mph this time, lol!”
- “Watching the destroyed parts get flung forward quickly with the debug gun is hilarious and awesome.”
- “Funny space game”
grinding
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
75%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious, particularly due to the unified grid system and the inability to customize key bindings. While the new building tools enhance the experience and make it more enjoyable, the need for better categorization of blocks is highlighted to reduce the repetitiveness of selection. Overall, grinding is seen as a significant time investment that may require excessive effort.
- “You'll need a second life for grinding.”
- “Building feels satisfying and snappy with the new tools, but blocks need to be broken down into further categories to make selecting an individual block far less tedious.”
- “The unified grid system is sweet, but very tedious, and the inability to change key bindings is lacking.”
emotional
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users express a strong emotional connection to the tech demo, likening the experience to the nostalgia of playing the original game for the first time in 2013. Despite its technical issues, the demo evokes powerful feelings reminiscent of past gaming experiences.
- “Even though it's just a tech demo, it made me feel exactly like booting up SE1 for the first time back in 2013.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users indicate that the game's replayability is significantly hindered by lag issues, suggesting that improving performance could greatly enhance the overall experience and encourage more playthroughs.