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Space Rogue Game Cover

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Space Rogue is a single player real-time strategy game with a science fiction theme. It was developed by Red Beat and was released on September 14, 2016. It received mostly positive reviews from critics and neutral reviews from players.

Space 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.

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59%
Audience ScoreBased on 237 reviews
graphics18 positive mentions
story4 negative mentions

  • The game offers a unique experience with freedom to explore, unlike FTL's constant pressure.
  • Graphics are improved and visually appealing, enhancing the overall gameplay experience.
  • The random generation of sectors and scenarios adds replayability and keeps each playthrough fresh.
  • The game is plagued with game-breaking bugs that can ruin playthroughs and require restarts.
  • Difficulty spikes can be frustrating, with some encounters feeling unfairly challenging.
  • The mining system is tedious and often results in hull damage, making resource gathering frustrating.
  • story
    68 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game's story features a mix of main and side missions, with the main narrative varying based on player choices, but many players find the side stories repetitive and lacking depth. While the game offers replayability through different scenarios and ship unlocks, the limited number of missions and the inability to upload custom missions detract from the overall experience. Despite its potential for engaging storytelling, many reviewers feel it falls short, resembling a less complex version of its predecessor, FTL, with a need for more content and variety in 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.”
    • “I really enjoyed exploring the galaxies and completing quests without any real time pressure as it was in FTL.”
    • “In some ways, 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.”
  • graphics
    65 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics of the game have received mixed reviews, with many praising the improved visuals and colorful art style compared to FTL, while others criticize the graphical bugs and gameplay navigation issues. Some players appreciate the polished and vibrant graphics, noting that they enhance the overall experience, but others feel that the focus on aesthetics detracts from gameplay clarity and functionality. Overall, the graphics are seen as a significant upgrade, though not without their flaws.

    • “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.”
    • “Or graphic bugs that literally corrupt your playthrough...causing you to have to start a new game.”
    • “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.”
  • gameplay
    60 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of the game has been widely compared to FTL, with many reviewers noting that it borrows heavily from its mechanics while offering some customization options and improved graphics. However, criticisms include a lack of depth, repetitive mechanics, and bugs that hinder the experience, leading to a perception that it falls short of FTL's engaging gameplay. While some players appreciate the casual approach and variety of encounters, others find the overall execution lacking, resulting in a mixed reception regarding its gameplay quality.

    • “Arguably the best feature is the customization of various gameplay aspects at the cost of experience rate.”
    • “Great game, with its own twist on FTL-type mechanics.”
    • “A wide variety of weapon classes, drones, and 'cartridges' lends additional depth to gameplay as each type has its own strengths and weaknesses.”
    • “The removal of urgency turns the gameplay toward grinding.”
    • “Unfortunately, the gameplay mechanics are where it falls flat.”
    • “Bottom line, they seem to have taken FTL, beefed up the graphics, and simplified the gameplay.”
  • stability
    34 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    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 minor improvements, the overall consensus is that the game remains too unstable for a positive recommendation.

    • “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.”
  • music
    18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its chill and soothing qualities, while others find it generic, repetitive, or lacking compared to standout soundtracks from other titles. While a few users highlight the soundtrack as a redeeming feature amidst an otherwise disappointing experience, many agree it doesn't reach the heights of more acclaimed compositions. Overall, the music is seen as pleasant but not memorable enough to warrant a place in personal playlists.

    • “The presentation is great and the music is awesome.”
    • “I liked the music, style, and user interface experience so far.”
    • “I been playing this for 2 hours, I like it, it's a bit like FTL which I logged almost 200 hours on :D the music is chill, it's well balanced, being early access it's still fun :) if you're picky about games not being complete, wait.”
    • “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.”
  • grinding
    10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game is criticized for being excessively grindy, often feeling more like a repetitive stat-boosting exercise than a strategic experience. Players note that the lack of urgency diminishes the excitement, leading to tedious battles and a limited variety of gameplay choices. While some appreciate the structured missions and the ability to unlock upgrades, the overall grinding experience can detract from enjoyment, especially in later stages.

    • “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.”
  • replayability
    9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    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 with lots of replayability, featuring various random events, different ship types, and missions.”
    • “Replayability from the streams I saw is endless; also, the sandbox mode is perfect for specifying all kinds of elements to create 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.”
  • optimization
    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews, with users reporting choppy performance and various bugs, such as missing specialized engineers and occasional 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 (could be graphical), affecting the performance of an area, or occasionally getting stuck on the map and not being able to move.”
    • “As a FTL fan, I hope this can get an update on performance, as 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.”
  • atmosphere
    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere of the game is praised for its smooth integration of 1950s elements, including soundtracks and ship designs reminiscent of classic cars, which enhances the overall experience. However, some users note a lack of complexity in gameplay mechanics, such as the absence of features like manual door control and energy management, which detracts from the immersive atmosphere. Overall, while the aesthetic is well-received, there are criticisms regarding the depth of gameplay elements that could further enrich the atmosphere.

    • “It was all the FTL needed - arcade elements, longer and wiser storylines, multiple miniquests, and a deeper atmosphere.”
    • “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.”
    • “Can't say they are perfect all around, especially planet and some ship designs, but it's roughly okay, fitting the atmosphere of the game pretty well.”
    • “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.”
  • humor
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Players appreciate the humor in the game, particularly in the creative and often absurd ways they can approach challenges, such as defeating formidable enemies. The comedic elements enhance the overall experience, making it enjoyable for fans who relish exploring different strategies.

    • “As a fan of FTL, I've explored it in various setups, achieved all the accomplishments, and defeated that massive battlecruiser in every possible and humorous way. It was hard to resist!”
    • “The humor in this game is top-notch, with witty dialogue and hilarious scenarios that keep you laughing even during intense moments.”
    • “I love how the game manages to blend humor with strategy, making every encounter not just a challenge but also a source of amusement.”
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70%Critics’ scoreBased on 1 critic reviews
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23h Median play time
29h Average play time
15-55h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 5 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

Space Rogue is a real-time strategy game with science fiction theme.

Space Rogue is available on PC, Mac OS and Windows.

On average players spend around 29 hours playing Space Rogue.

Space Rogue was released on September 14, 2016.

Space Rogue was developed by Red Beat.

Space Rogue has received mostly positive reviews from players and mostly positive reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its graphics but disliked it for its story.

Space Rogue is a single player game.

Similar games include Trigon: Space Story, Distant Star: Revenant Fleet, Shortest Trip to Earth, Cosmonautica, Battlevoid: Harbinger and others.