September 30, 2019
Tortuga Team

Spaceland: Sci-Fi Indie Tactics

Mashing together Starcraft and XCOM, Spaceland is one of the most fun, turn-based strategy games out there.

77%Game Brain Score

story, gameplay

replayability, grinding

75% User Score Based on 178 reviews

Critic Score 90%Based on 1 reviews

Platforms

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About

Spaceland: Sci-Fi Indie Tactics is a single player and multiplayer tactical role playing game with a science fiction theme. It was developed by Tortuga Team and was released on September 30, 2019. It received positive reviews from critics and mostly positive reviews from players.

"Spaceland" is a Science Fiction Role Playing game that combines dynamic turn-based battles with rich storytelling. Create a squad of 7 space rangers, each with unique fighting styles, and explore the mysterious planet using an array of weapons and equipment. Experience sensational graphics, beautiful soundtracks, and engaging gameplay in this multiplayer or single-player adventure. The game is inspired by old-school tactics such as Incubation and Laser Squad.

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Spaceland: Sci-Fi Indie Tactics screenshot

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75%

Audience ScoreBased on 178 reviews

story23 positive mentions

grinding9 negative mentions

Engaging and accessible turn-based tactical gameplay that balances strategy and fun.
Charming visuals and a lighthearted narrative that keeps the experience enjoyable.
Short, punchy missions that allow for quick play sessions, making it easy to pick up and play.

Repetitive grinding for resources and upgrades can detract from the overall enjoyment.
Limited character customization and a simplistic upgrade system may disappoint players seeking depth.
Some missions are poorly balanced, leading to frustrating difficulty spikes and reliance on luck.

story
159 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
82%
4%
The story of the game revolves around a team of space rangers responding to a distress signal on a mysterious planet, leading to a series of tactical missions against hostile alien fauna. While the narrative is straightforward and lacks depth, it provides enough context to support the gameplay, which is structured around short, replayable missions with optional objectives. Overall, the story is considered light and somewhat cliché, with characters and dialogue that fail to engage players deeply, but it serves as a functional backdrop for the tactical combat experience.
- “The story begins when a team of space rangers responds to a distress signal on a mysterious planet, only to find themselves cut off from their ship and surrounded by hostile alien fauna.”
- “The overarching story is easy to follow and I liked the humorous exchanges in dialogue between the team members.”
- “Overall good art, great gameplay, music is nice, and the story, while not being too deep, still makes you wonder about what comes next.”
- “The story is awful.”
- “Characters are stereotypical and the story progresses blandly.”
- “After an hour of play, I felt no motivation to continue the storyline or look forward to another battle sequence.”
gameplay
61 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
23%
72%
5%
The gameplay is characterized by its accessible and straightforward mechanics, making it suitable for younger players and newcomers to tactical combat games. While it offers a solid turn-based system with strategic elements, many reviewers noted a lack of depth and complexity compared to similar titles like XCOM, leading to a fun yet somewhat shallow experience. The game excels in providing a polished visual atmosphere and clear mechanics, but it may disappoint those seeking more intricate gameplay options and character development.
- “The setup is familiar, but the Tortuga team leans into this familiarity with confidence, using it as a springboard for accessible but satisfying tactical gameplay.”
- “The simplicity of the mechanics allows players to focus on the battlefield itself rather than menus or layered resource systems, making the pacing brisk without sacrificing strategic decision-making.”
- “Even without very complex mechanics, Spaceland manages to offer interesting gameplay choices, putting different objective types, new abilities, or other variables in each mission, preventing the experience from becoming repetitive.”
- “The art and gameplay at the surface is really neat and polished, but after playing for some time you understand that there isn't a whole lot of depth to the game loop.”
- “If you're coming in looking for a simplified XCOM, you're probably going to be pretty disappointed; it's got the overhead/isometric thing going and you blast aliens, but there is no base building mechanic, no management of a large roster of randomized characters, no research of funky technologies, etc.”
- “But £14.00 for a PC game that offers a few hours of gameplay is a big disappointment.”
graphics
59 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
47%
48%
5%
The graphics of the game are characterized by a clean, colorful, and cartoonish art style that enhances the visual appeal and readability of the environments, ranging from alien ruins to volcanic caves. While many players appreciate the charming and polished visuals, some find them simplistic and reminiscent of browser games. Overall, the graphics contribute positively to the game's atmosphere and accessibility, making it suitable for a wide audience, especially fans of turn-based strategy games.
- “The environments help communicate the planet’s evolving mystery, shifting from derelict facilities to volcanic caves and overgrown alien ruins, each rendered in a clean, colorful art style that keeps maps readable and visually appealing.”
- “Highly slick and polished graphics, tactically challenging and work the modest purchase price!”
- “The game attracted with its beautiful and luscious graphics and is suitable for those who love turn-based strategy games.”
- “Very simple graphics and plot.”
- “It's as simplistic and childish as the graphics imply.”
- “Never cared for graphics on my potato, but I wouldn't play a mobile-looking game for the price that is asked.”
music
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
63%
21%
16%
The music in the game is generally well-received, with many players appreciating its ability to enhance the atmosphere and complement the storyline. While some tracks are described as beautiful and fitting, others, particularly the battle music, are criticized for being repetitive and monotonous. Overall, the soundtrack contributes positively to the gaming experience, though it may not be consistently outstanding.
- “Great music that accompanies you while you slowly unravel the story.”
- “The world map music is serviceable, and has an eerie yet calm vibe which is nice.”
- “In general, the atmosphere is exciting, and this is largely due to the musical accompaniment.”
- “The battle music is fine the first time, and extremely repetitive after that.”
- “During combat, the music can be too monotonous.”
- “Sounds and music are okay, not great.”
replayability
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
46%
27%
Overall, the game's replayability is viewed as limited, with many players finding the repetitive nature of missions and lack of random elements detracting from the experience. While some aspects, like completion goals and potential future updates, may offer a reason to replay, most agree that the current design primarily caters to completionists rather than providing engaging challenges for broader replay value.
- “Stages and battles are replayable and are designed that way, as you simply can't earn enough currency for all upgrades by just playing through the game once.”
- “Secrets on levels provide various information about the game world, and completion goals (time, turns, kills, survival) together enhance the replayability.”
- “Replayability of the game is primarily for completionists, and it's easy to achieve, as the missions I played involved completing the mission, defeating all enemies, and searching for collectibles on the map.”
- “Since you've already played each map multiple times, there's not a lot of replay value, other than starting over at a harder difficulty.”
- “It has zero replay value.”
- “Not much replayability at the moment, but I believe the devs are adding side quests and alternate endings, so that's all to the good.”
atmosphere
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
40%
20%
The atmosphere of the game is described as dynamic and immersive, with a nostalgic appeal that evokes fond memories of fantasy worlds and engaging storytelling. While some users appreciated the clean UI and musical accompaniment that enhanced the experience, others felt that the overall atmosphere fell short, particularly in comparison to older titles. Overall, the game's atmosphere is seen as a significant factor in its enjoyment, though opinions on its effectiveness vary.
- “The visual atmosphere was fun when it didn’t look like a budget title, the UI was clean if not a bit too simple, and the gameplay became a little more varied and challenging by the end.”
- “A cool atmospheric game that immerses you in the good old fantasy worlds from the books you loved so much as a child.”
- “In general, the atmosphere is exciting, and this is largely due to the musical accompaniment.”
- “However, I didn't get the atmosphere of the game.”
- “First of all, I really enjoyed 'Incubation' back in the days, even when its graphics were wildly outdated; it was the atmosphere created with it that always draws me back to this game once in a while.”
grinding
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, as extensive replaying of missions is often necessary to earn enough resources for upgrades and late-game items. While some enjoy the farming mechanics and the overall fun of the storyline, many express frustration with the requirement to repeatedly tackle levels, especially when precision and luck are involved. Overall, the grinding can detract from the enjoyment, making the experience feel more like a chore than a rewarding challenge.
- “Farming resources by replaying missions to afford upgrades can feel repetitive, even though the missions themselves are designed for replayability.”
- “Having to do many levels multiple times to get all the chips is tedious, especially on some levels which require precision in addition to some luck to get.”
- “Extensive grinding of already cleared missions is mandatory to unlock late-game items, because even completing all side-tasks will not grant enough money to get top-grade gear.”
optimization
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The game's optimization is commendable, with no reported performance or technical issues, allowing it to run smoothly at 1440p and 144Hz on high-end hardware. While progression is more gradual compared to similar titles, the incremental upgrades significantly impact squad performance and playstyle. Additionally, a performance standard is required to unlock the final chapter, emphasizing the importance of skilled troops.
- “The main story features 29 chapters, with chapter 29 locked behind a minimum performance standards barrier (you will need skilled troops for it).”
- “The game presents no performance or technical problems and runs without any issues at 1440p, 144Hz (RTX 2080 Ti, Ryzen 9 3900X, 32GB RAM).”
- “The main story features 29 chapters with number 29 locked behind a minimum performance standards barrier (you will need skilled troops for it).”
- “While this progression is more modest than in many genre contemporaries, the incremental upgrades meaningfully influence squad performance and help shape your preferred playstyle.”
character development
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
67%
Character development in the game is perceived as limited, primarily focusing on gear upgrades and basic skill-tree enhancements, with minimal lore and relationship depth. While the art and character design are praised, the overall narrative and character progression feel tacked on and simplistic compared to other titles in the genre.
- “Nice art and character design, basically a good product all around that's worth a look.”
- “The game plays out in a simpler manner compared to others of the same genre, for example, all the management mechanics customary to XCOM are not present here, and character development is rather limited, consisting only in upgrading gear and weapons, and also abilities in basic skill trees.”
- “The story, character development, and relationships are just tacked on, and there’s not much lore.”
- “The game plays out in a simpler manner compared to others of the same genre; for example, all the management mechanics customary to XCOM are not present here, and character development is rather limited, consisting only of upgrading gear and weapons, as well as abilities in basic skill trees.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is appreciated by players, particularly those who enjoy XCOM-style gameplay, as it adds a lighthearted touch to the challenging mechanics. While the game starts off easy, the increasing difficulty requires strategic thinking, which players find engaging alongside the comedic elements. Overall, the humor enhances the gaming experience, making it enjoyable despite some grammatical shortcomings in player reviews.
- “If you love XCOM-style games, this one is pretty funny. It starts off easy, but later it gets a bit hard, so you have to use your brain due to the ammo and other mechanics in the game. Once you get the hang of it, you'll really enjoy it!”
- “The humor in this game is top-notch! The witty dialogue and funny character interactions kept me laughing throughout my playthrough.”
- “I was pleasantly surprised by the comedic elements! The game balances challenging gameplay with hilarious moments that made me look forward to each new encounter.”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviewers suggest that the game's monetization model could be improved by offering it at a lower price point, such as £3.00, or making it free with microtransactions, which could enhance its appeal.
- “If it were available on mobile for £3.00 (or free with microtransactions), it could have been great.”

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90%Critics’ scoreBased on 1 critic reviews

Spaceland Review
Mashing together Starcraft and XCOM, Spaceland is one of the most fun, turn-based strategy games out there.
Godisageek.com
90%

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Spaceland: Sci-Fi Indie Tactics is a tactical role playing game with science fiction theme.

Spaceland: Sci-Fi Indie Tactics is available on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, Steam Deck, iPhone and others.

Spaceland: Sci-Fi Indie Tactics was released on September 30, 2019.

Spaceland: Sci-Fi Indie Tactics was developed by Tortuga Team.

Spaceland: Sci-Fi Indie Tactics has received positive reviews from players and positive reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its story but disliked it for its replayability.

Spaceland: Sci-Fi Indie Tactics is a single player game with multiplayer and local co-op support.

Similar games include Halfway, Druidstone: The Secret of the Menhir Forest, Breach & Clear, Warhammer 40,000: Mechanicus, Hard West 2 and others.

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