Space Rogue
- September 14, 2016
- Red Beat
- 23h median play time
Get on SteamSpace Rogue is a spaceship captain simulation game that offers strategic and tactical gameplay within a procedurally generated galaxy. Choose your path towards peace or piracy, engaging in ship-to-ship battles, customizing your ship, and recruiting crew members. With various game parameters to fine-tune, numerous random events, four playable ships, and a unique perks system, each playthrough promises a distinctive experience.
Mac OS
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features improved graphics and a colorful art style compared to FTL.
- Gameplay allows for exploration without the pressure of being chased, providing a more relaxed experience.
- The game includes a variety of random events and quests, enhancing replayability.
- The game is plagued by numerous bugs that can lead to crashes and game-breaking issues.
- Difficulty spikes can be frustrating, with some encounters feeling unfairly challenging.
- Crew management is limited, with no customization options for crew members or their roles.
- gameplay81 mentions
- 16 % positive mentions
- 78 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game has been described as a mix of familiar mechanics reminiscent of FTL, with some players noting it feels like a simplified clone that lacks depth and complexity. While there are positive aspects such as customization options and a variety of encounters, many reviewers criticize the game for bugs, repetitive mechanics, and a lack of engaging combat, leading to a grinding experience. Overall, the game offers decent graphics and a casual gameplay style, but it struggles to fully realize its potential compared to its inspirations.
“Arguably the best feature is the customization of various gameplay aspects at the cost of experience rate.”
“There are some differences in gameplay that may even make it superior, depending on your tastes.”
“Highly customizable difficulty is what I really liked in this game - you can adjust gameplay to your playstyle, competing for more ending scores and satisfaction.”
“Unfortunately, the gameplay mechanics are where it falls flat.”
“The removal of urgency turns the gameplay toward grinding.”
“Pretty much a rip-off of FTL, only with better graphics and worse gameplay.”
- graphics79 mentions
- 32 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many praising the improved visuals and colorful art style compared to FTL, while others feel that the graphical enhancements come at the expense of gameplay clarity and simplicity. Some players appreciate the polished and vibrant graphics, noting that they add charm to the experience, but others criticize the presence of graphical bugs and a lack of functional design that can obscure gameplay elements. Overall, while the graphics are generally considered superior to FTL's pixel art, opinions vary on whether this upgrade enhances or detracts from the overall gaming experience.
“The graphics are nice and there are some aspects that feel different than FTL in a good way, for example, the combat is more streamlined and resolves faster.”
“The colorful and fun graphics of Space Rogue have a certain charm.”
“The graphics are much more polished than FTL.”
“The graphics are a mixed bag.”
“It is a bad looking game with inferior graphics.”
“Long story short: Space Rogue is a poor copy clone of FTL and it doesn't improve on much of anything other than the graphics and sound, and unfortunately neither is a good change and actually makes the experience worse.”
- story77 mentions
- 4 % positive mentions
- 90 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The game's story is described as light-hearted and somewhat repetitive, with a few main objectives and numerous side missions that lack depth. While players appreciate the variety of missions and the ability to explore different scenarios, many feel that the overall narrative is underdeveloped and could benefit from more content and complexity. The mission-building tool adds potential for community-driven content, but its limitations have left players feeling frustrated and wanting more engaging storylines.
“It's a light-hearted sci-fi game where you guide your crew on your spaceship on various missions.”
“The game has more content than FTL in my opinion since there are multiple main quest lines you can choose when creating a game, and multiple ships to unlock and play through when you level up.”
“In some ways, it's superior to FTL due to more attention to storylines and more relaxed exploration.”
“The story is boring.”
“In this game, you are going through a simple storyline which probably took 1 hour to code, but can take you several hours to play through.”
“Just seems like other than completing the main quest that you are playing, there are no other goals to reach toward, no real end game or side content, I guess.”
- stability35 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game is plagued by severe stability issues, with numerous reports of bugs, freezes, and crashes that significantly hinder gameplay. Players frequently experience game-breaking glitches, particularly during critical moments like combat and save loading, leading to lost progress and frustration. Despite some potential, the game's current state is described as unplayable and in dire need of extensive bug fixes.
“The combat froze part way through the fight, and the save freezes on load, so my interest in the game has tanked.”
“Stay away from this buggy, unstable joke of a game unless you enjoy losing hours of progress over crappy coding.”
“It's in dire need of bug fixes, the game freezes during gameplay and can't be resumed.”
- music27 mentions
- 44 % positive mentions
- 44 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally described as nice and chill, providing a laid-back ambient atmosphere that complements the gameplay, though it lacks the standout quality of more acclaimed soundtracks. While some players appreciate the soothing and thematic elements, others find it generic or repetitive, with comparisons made to better soundtracks from similar games. Overall, the music is seen as a positive aspect, enhancing the experience despite mixed opinions on its originality and impact.
“The presentation is great and the music is awesome.”
“Nothing incredible but some nice laid-back ambient music that complements the space exploration on offer.”
“Soundtrack also impressed me and really added to the atmosphere.”
“The only pleasant aspect of this abysmal game is possibly the soundtrack and sound effects... other than that... thanks for nothing.”
“The music isn't half bad either.”
“The music (at least the initial title music) is repetitive and annoying.”
- grinding11 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game is criticized for its excessive grinding, often feeling more tedious than strategic, especially compared to FTL. Players note that the lack of urgency leads to repetitive battles and a focus on grinding for better stats rather than engaging gameplay. While some appreciate the leveling system and potential for future events to add challenge, many find the overall experience to be overly reliant on grinding with limited variety in missions and upgrades.
“The resemblance to FTL is uncanny, which is why I initially grabbed it, but somehow it manages to be more grindy than FTL.”
“The removal of urgency turns the gameplay toward grinding.”
“The battles can become tedious and repetitive once you've secured a good progress curve for yourself.”
- replayability9 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The game offers high replayability through its diverse perk system, allowing players to experiment with various playstyles and combinations. With numerous random events, different ship types, and a sandbox mode for personalized experiences, players can enjoy endless replay value reminiscent of classic titles in the genre. Overall, the game's design encourages repeated playthroughs, making it a compelling choice for fans of replayable gameplay.
“The perk system allows for a lot of replayability - you can spend hours combining perks that improve X but reduce Y and building new playstyles around it.”
“Great fun, lots of replayability, with various random events, different ship types, and missions.”
“Replayability from the streams I saw is endless; also, the sandbox mode is perfect to specify all kinds of stuff to get a very personalized experience.”
“Its like FTL but with a bit more fleshed out replayability.”
“It has lots of replay value, and if you're bored of FTL, it's a good way to re-experience the genre.”
“Replayability from the streams I saw is endless, also sandbox mode is perfect to specify all kinds of stuff to get a very personalized experience.”
- atmosphere9 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is characterized by a nostalgic 1950s aesthetic, enhanced by a fitting soundtrack and ship designs reminiscent of classic cars, creating a unique and immersive experience. While some users noted a lack of complexity in gameplay mechanics that could further enrich the atmosphere, the overall ambiance is described as relaxing and engaging, effectively complementing the game's narrative and arcade elements.
“Someone can argue about the last point, but Space Rogue made it very smooth with the transition of 1950s atmosphere - soundtracks, dialogues, and ship designs that look like cars from the previous century - pretty neat, if you can feel it.”
“I'm also a sucker for low-fi, so I really loved the visuals and soundtrack which provided that unique and relaxing atmosphere.”
“Soundtrack also impressed me and really added to the atmosphere.”
“Can't say they are perfect all around, especially planet and some ship designs, but it's roughly ok, fitting the atmosphere of the game pretty well.”
“Missing complexity: you cannot vent atmosphere to extinguish fires; no systems like ship doors, cameras, you don't have energy management (as someone mentioned) - little details that FTL had and worked great.”
“Also there's no manual door control, so you can't defeat boarders by flushing the atmosphere.”
- optimization6 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with users reporting choppy performance and various bugs, such as missing specialized engineers and movement issues on the map. While some players express hope for future updates to improve performance, the current state indicates significant room for improvement.
“Also performance streamlining and bug fixing.”
“There are still a few bugs such as when specialized engineers don't appear to be improving the performance of an area, or occasionally getting stuck on the map and not being able to move.”
“FTL fan, so I hope this can get an update on performance, and this game has great potential.”
“Choppy performance and optimization.”
“There are still a few bugs, such as when specialized engineers don't appear to be improving the performance of an area, or occasionally getting stuck on the map and not being able to move.”
“I'm having performance issues.”
- humor3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is characterized by a blend of serious and comedic elements, featuring funny stories and random penalties that add a lighthearted twist to gameplay. Players appreciate the amusing scenarios that arise from various mechanics, such as tilted ships and quirky crew interactions, which enhance the overall experience while maintaining a traditional sci-fi feel.
“Being a FTL fan myself, who explored it in various setups, got all achievements and killed that big fuggin battlecruiser in all possible and humorous ways, it was hard to pass on.”
“Serious and funny, but ultimately very traditional for sci-fi.”
“More appealing graphics, jobs, random encounters, planet mining, funny stories, random penalties (for example: for 3 turns your weapons do 30% less damage or for 7 turns your crewmembers do instant repairs), your ship is tilted, upgrade your weapons, upgrade your crew members, abilities/perks... this game has so much content!”
