Starpoint Gemini 2

Starpoint Gemini 2 is sort of like a modern version of Freelancer, but the galaxy’s looking pretty lifeless these days.

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"Starpoint Gemini 2" is a single-player space action RPG that allows players to explore, battle, and trade in a vast open world. Customize your spaceship and crew, engage in tactical combat, and navigate a complex storyline set in a dynamic universe. With a sandbox-style gameplay and various side missions, this game offers a rich and immersive experience for space exploration enthusiasts.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

Reviews

62%

Audience ScoreBased on 4,438 reviews

story318 positive mentions

grinding208 negative mentions

The game offers a vast open world with plenty of ships to explore and customize.
Capturing enemy ships and using them for profit adds a rewarding gameplay mechanic.
The graphics and sound design create an immersive atmosphere.

The voice acting is poor and detracts from the overall experience.
The game suffers from numerous bugs and crashes, making it frustrating to play.
The mission difficulty is inconsistent, often leading to impossible challenges for players.

story
2,814 mentions
11 % positive mentions
79 % neutral mentions
9 % negative mentions
The story in "Starpoint Gemini 2" is often criticized for being weak and unengaging, with many players noting that the main narrative feels like a collection of text logs rather than a cohesive plot. Side missions tend to be repetitive and simplistic, lacking depth and variety, which detracts from the overall experience. While some players appreciate the potential for exploration and the freedom to engage in various activities, the lack of a compelling storyline and poor voice acting leave much to be desired.
- “The main story line is interesting.”
- “The campaign storyline is decent and worth playing, although I generally prefer to play these types of games in 'freelancer' mode.”
- “The story is decent, if nothing spectacular, but in getting away from that and forging a career for your captain, that's where the best of this game lies.”
- “Main story is mostly a bunch of texts in the quest log; side stories are simplistic and repetitive; game world is very static and uneventful; factions all look the same.”
- “The story is flat out bland and totally uninteresting, with a typical 'avenge my father who the baddies killed' revenge plot and the lack of true player enterprise in the sandbox gives you no reason to want to progress in this game.”
- “The story isn't engaging, and the voice acting is so terrible, I'm wondering if they just made random office workers do the lines.”
graphics
795 mentions
56 % positive mentions
41 % neutral mentions
3 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players praising the beautiful visuals and detailed ship designs, while others criticize the dated and glitchy aspects. Many appreciate the immersive space environments and vibrant colors, but note performance issues such as frame rate drops and crashes, particularly when transitioning between sectors. Overall, while the graphics are generally considered good for the game's age, they are not without significant flaws that detract from the experience.
- “The graphics are gorgeous!!!”
- “Gorgeous-looking space, pretty planet artworks, great activity variation - this is a game that allows you to relax and lose yourself in living out your power fantasy of exploring far reaches of space, trading, conquering, etc.”
- “The graphics are beautiful and it's a genuinely fun game.”
- “It is very buggy/glitchy, not to mention technically/graphically dated at this point.”
- “On top of that the music and graphics are 'meh', so there are no beautiful or mysterious space objects to admire, nothing to make the wait more tolerable.”
- “I bought this in early access and it did deliver what it promised but unfortunately you can tell the budget wasn't very high and the devs could have used more experience (unfortunate framerate problems make this game a little frustrating, as the graphics are ok, but not of such quality that you could ignore said problems.)”
gameplay
732 mentions
37 % positive mentions
58 % neutral mentions
5 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Starpoint Gemini 2" is characterized by a mix of engaging combat mechanics and a variety of ship options, providing a casual yet immersive experience. However, many players find the overall gameplay to be repetitive and lacking depth, with a significant amount of time spent on mundane tasks like traveling between missions. While the game offers solid mechanics and a lively open world, it suffers from issues such as poor mission variety, slow pacing, and a lack of meaningful progression, leading to a mixed reception among players.
- “The core gameplay is solid and, for what it is, fun.”
- “It's not too complicated, not too simplified, perfect mix of action and in-depth mechanics.”
- “Amazing graphics, captivating and addictive gameplay.”
- “The main issue is that the gameplay itself is boring: most of the time is spent waiting as you are flying somewhere (to or from the mission or exploring).”
- “The gameplay is terrible.”
- “Gameplay is extremely limited and repetitive, and many things just don't work.”
music
268 mentions
48 % positive mentions
50 % neutral mentions
2 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many players praising its atmospheric and immersive qualities, often describing it as beautiful and fitting for the space exploration theme. However, some users noted a lack of variety, leading to repetitiveness, particularly during combat and station interactions. Overall, while the soundtrack is a highlight for many, there are calls for more tracks to enhance the experience further.
- “The soundtrack is filled with ambient electronica and is a real highlight for me; scanning pulsars and exploring unknown reaches of space feels extremely gratifying and peaceful at the same time.”
- “The music really captures the vastness of the universe, making it almost surreal.”
- “Beautiful visuals combined with an amazing soundtrack set in a sandbox universe fully explorable make this space sim a must-have for freelancer fans as well as newbies to the space genre.”
- “On top of that, the music and graphics are 'meh', so there are no beautiful or mysterious space objects to admire, nothing to make the wait more tolerable.”
- “On the negative side, the game's ambient music lacks variety, so it gets annoying quickly.”
- “The soundtrack I turned off within 4 hours of gameplay; it's repetitive and annoying, and the sound effects could be better.”
grinding
210 mentions
1 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
99 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for being tedious and repetitive, with many players noting that a significant portion of gameplay involves performing monotonous tasks to earn money for upgrades and better ships. While some find the grinding enjoyable or relaxing, the overall sentiment leans towards it being a major flaw that detracts from the experience, especially for those who dislike repetitive gameplay. Players recommend this game primarily to those who appreciate grinding mechanics in a space setting.
- “This game was quite entertaining and not too grindy, worth a shot if looking for something different :)”
- “Nevertheless, like many open world games, it's very 'grindy' (lots of repetitive tasks to earn money, to get upgrades to do more lucrative repetitive things to make more money to upgrade more, etc.), so if that's not your jam, steer clear.”
- “This game has a big nasty flaw that holds it back - it's repetitive, grindy, and only has a few recycled fetch quests with little to no variation as the only substance behind the game.”
- “Game disappoints with lack of story and direction; it's purely grinding to fight higher 'levels' of ships.”
stability
140 mentions
9 % positive mentions
3 % neutral mentions
89 % negative mentions
The game's stability has been widely criticized, with numerous players reporting frequent crashes, glitches, and a generally buggy experience that hampers gameplay. While some users noted improvements over time and found moments of enjoyment, the overwhelming sentiment is that the game remains too unstable for a full recommendation, especially at full price. Overall, many players express frustration with the lack of polish and ongoing issues that detract from the gaming experience.
- “The content that is present is well done and relatively stable/bug free.”
- “Yes, it's not buggy at all for being early access; it's fully runnable as you can shoot asteroids, collect ore, travel, and of course, fight ships!”
- “Graphics are good, action is nice, the gameplay is smooth and mostly bug free.”
- “I generally liked the game up to the point where it was so broken and buggy that I could not finish the game due to unavoidable crashes to desktop that made it impossible to play endgame.”
- “So many glitches that it's not glitches, it's a broken game they couldn't be bothered to fix.”
- “Game freezes solid, and you have to bring up task manager to kill the process.”
optimization
112 mentions
27 % positive mentions
43 % neutral mentions
30 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting significant performance issues such as stuttering, lag, and low frame rates, even on systems that meet or exceed the recommended specifications. While some users have noted that the graphics are impressive and performance can be good on higher-end machines, the overall consensus is that the game requires substantial optimization to improve playability, especially for those with mid to low-end setups. Despite these challenges, some players still find the gameplay enjoyable enough to overlook the technical shortcomings.
- “The game's performance on my computer has been great.”
- “There are very few bugs, and the performance is outstanding.”
- “The game runs smoothly even on my laptop, has amazing graphics, and the spaceships look very beautiful and there are a great variety of them.”
- “One of the most poorly optimized games I have ever played. Sadly, tabbing out brings the game back to windowed mode, the sound effects in the pause menu are absolutely terrible, and some buttons in the options like 'mute when paused' don't work. Still quite fun though.”
- “Now all I keep getting is stuttering graphics, huge drops in FPS, annoying lags, weapon delays, and constant freezing. I have a 4.5 GHz dual-core machine and I can barely get 20 FPS in the game. It's gotten to the point that traveling from hex to hex is a chore, let alone combat. It's so hard to tell who is hitting or if you're hitting them. You can't manually control your turret without accidentally hitting friendlies, making everybody go hostile on you, and there's lag when entering spaceports and planets.”
- “Performance is terrible, even with all of the settings turned off or down (at least the settings that I can change; the game refuses to keep my changes on a couple of options).”
atmosphere
58 mentions
59 % positive mentions
34 % neutral mentions
7 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its immersive graphics, atmospheric music, and a sense of exploration, creating a relaxing environment that encourages players to enjoy the experience without feeling pressured. However, some players noted inconsistencies, such as issues with voiceovers and a lack of a vibrant, living universe, which detracted from the overall atmosphere. Despite these criticisms, many find the visual and auditory elements to be beautifully crafted, contributing to a compelling space exploration experience.
- “The atmosphere, sound effects, music, and graphics are all immersive and just right.”
- “It is very nice to look at and the music background/atmosphere is gorgeous; I can just listen to this game for hours.”
- “Love the music, the look, the feel; the entire atmosphere of the game is very well done.”
- “The main story has a ridiculous voice over most of the time, sometimes just dialog (not sure if it is a bug that voiceover is not playing because the music gets muted anyway) and sometimes just a text popup – atmosphere = 0.”
- “Story is not interesting at all, the atmosphere in the universe doesn't feel alive.”
- “This game lacks any atmosphere and feeling of a space-traveling universe.”
replayability
48 mentions
33 % positive mentions
58 % neutral mentions
8 % negative mentions
Replayability in this game is a mixed bag; while some players find it highly engaging due to the variety of ships, missions, and open-world exploration, others criticize it for becoming monotonous and lacking depth in combat and mission design. The potential for replayability is enhanced by customization options and mod support, but the overall experience may not sustain long-term interest for everyone. Players seeking a rich, varied experience may find it lacking compared to more established titles in the genre.
- “Endless replay value and more ships to choose from than you will ever even see in one playthrough.”
- “With a wide variety of ships and missions, as well as Steam Workshop integration, there is a great deal of replayability.”
- “Highly replayable, adaptive, and immersive, SG2 allows the player to take on the universe as the captain of one of a large number of customizable ships.”
- “Replayability is hurt by lack of simulation options, inability to shape conflict, and shallow combat mechanics.”
- “I guess the replayability and scope of what you could do got a tad monotonous in the end.”
- “If you enjoy having games, especially games with open world, that has a lot of replayability, don't buy this game.”
humor
34 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is largely derived from its voice acting, which many players find so poorly executed that it becomes laughable, eliciting a mix of amusement and frustration. Players also enjoy the quirky scenarios, such as the outlaw mechanics and humorous character portraits, contributing to an overall lighthearted experience. While some aspects of the game may be criticized, the comedic elements, particularly in voice delivery, are often seen as a redeeming quality that adds to the game's charm.
- “The voice acting is the prime criticism and will have you either rolling on the floor laughing or wondering if you should consider muting the voices.”
- “And if you go outlaw... it's hilarious... once you can land on an outlaw planet, failing to smuggle on that planet moves your rep more towards outlaw (just like failing to smuggle on 'good' planets), making outlaw factions (including that planet) more friendly... lol.”
- “The voice acting made me laugh so much and they didn't even get the subtitles right.”
emotional
12 mentions
67 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
33 % negative mentions
Overall, players find the emotional aspect of the game lacking, citing a boring storyline and a lack of character connection due to inconsistent accents and pronunciations. While some express enjoyment in the gameplay, many feel it fails to evoke a meaningful emotional experience, leaving them feeling disconnected and repetitive in their missions.
- “It was a heart-warming surprise, and I can't wait until we get a total conversion mod for Starpoint Gemini 2.”
- “I knew I wanted to play a game that felt huge and expansive, but I didn’t want to play a game that made me feel like a small fish in a huge pond.”
- “It has a boring storyline and a bunch of missions, all very similar, which you need to run over and over again to get better ships so you can run the same, but tougher, missions over and over.”
character development
6 mentions
17 % positive mentions
33 % neutral mentions
50 % negative mentions
Character development in the game is perceived as rushed and lacking depth, particularly following an overly lengthy introduction. Reviewers express a desire for more unique traits, improved progression, and better storytelling to enhance the overall experience.
- “The initial character development feels rushed, especially after the long and verbose introduction.”
- “Could have been greatly improved with more unique elements, better character development and progression, better story writing, better voice acting, and just more imagination.”
- “(Unlikeable) the initial character development feels rushed, especially after the long and verbose introduction.”
- “Character development: -”
monetization
4 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The monetization approach of the game has received mixed feedback; while some players appreciate the developers' commitment to early access and player satisfaction, others are frustrated by intrusive advertisements for new content that are difficult to dismiss. Overall, the game is seen as a positive example in contrast to many early access titles that prioritize profit over player experience.
- “Got to a screen advertising new content that wouldn't close.”
- “It's also so refreshing to see devs who use early access properly and actually care about their players and give them everything they want, unlike 95% of other early access devs who just go for cash grabs and never fully release their game.”