Starship Rubicon

About

Starship Rubicon is a single player arcade shooter game with a science fiction theme. It was developed by Olive and was released on December 12, 2014. It received positive reviews from players.

Starship Rubicon is a modern take on the classic space shooter genre. It's a smart and challenging rogue-lite that features a unique control scheme, pixel art remixed with NASA photographs, and an existential crisis about who is REALLY the monster.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

Skip User Reviews

89%

Audience ScoreBased on 35 reviews

music5 positive mentions

stability3 negative mentions

The game features a unique and interesting ship customization system that allows for a variety of playstyles and strategies.
It combines elements from classic games like Asteroids and FTL, providing engaging gameplay with a good mix of humor and creativity.
The graphics and music are captivating, enhancing the overall experience and making it enjoyable to play repeatedly.

The game has significant technical issues, including crashes on launch and broken controls, particularly on Windows 10.
Some players find the game to be short and lacking in content, leading to a feeling of incompleteness.
There are reports of inconsistent AI behavior and issues with enemy encounters, which can detract from the overall gameplay experience.

gameplay
11 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
46%
27%
The gameplay of Starship Rubicon is a blend of classic asteroids-style mechanics with modern rogue-like elements, offering fluid and intuitive controls that keep players engaged for both short and extended sessions. It features ship customization, RPG items, and a lively soundtrack, creating an atmospheric adventure that is both fun and easy to grasp, while still providing enough depth to maintain interest. Overall, players appreciate the game's replayability and the enjoyable mix of genres it presents.
- “Features an atmospheric adventure, a pleasant, lively soundtrack, and arcade gameplay with elements of building and modifying your ship components.”
- “It's a fun little game blending asteroids with rogue-like elements, with a neat ship customization mechanic and great retro graphics and music.”
- “The exciting gameplay has an adventurous streak and is enhanced by some seriously delightful sci-fi music and sound design.”
- “Core gameplay not working correctly.”
- “At its base, this game uses asteroids-style gameplay and controls.”
- “It's like a modern take on asteroids; the controls are simple, the gameplay is simple, yet has enough finesse for you not to just fall asleep at the keyboard.”
music
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
71%
29%
The music in the game is widely praised for its atmospheric and lively qualities, effectively enhancing the overall experience with a captivating soundtrack that complements the gameplay. While some users noted that the sound effects could be dull, the standout music, including memorable themes, contributes significantly to the game's adventurous and retro feel. Overall, the combination of great music and sound design elevates the game's engaging arcade and ship customization elements.
- “Features an atmospheric adventure, a pleasant, lively soundtrack, and arcade gameplay with elements of building and modifying your ship components.”
- “The graphics and soundtrack are top-notch, and really help set the mood.”
- “The exciting gameplay has an adventurous streak and is enhanced by some seriously delightful sci-fi music and sound design.”
graphics
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
57%
The graphics in the game are described as functional and basic, yet fluid and effective in enhancing playability. While some reviewers find the graphical style refreshing and captivating, others note that it may not be visually stunning at first glance, with retro elements that complement the overall experience. Overall, the graphics contribute positively to the game's atmosphere and enjoyment.
- “The graphical style is refreshing.”
- “Both the graphics and music are really captivating.”
- “The graphics and soundtrack are top-notch, and really help set the mood.”
story
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
34%
33%
The story is considered simplistic and somewhat cliché, serving primarily as a backdrop for the game's focus on space shooting mechanics. While the plot may be thin, it offers thought-provoking elements and hints at a deeper, sinister narrative, complemented by the ability to create custom missions and ships.
- “Storytelling is good, but it focuses on being a pure space shooter, which it does really well.”
- “Between missions, you're sent to sort of an overall sector map.”
- “The plot is thin and somewhat cliché.”
- “The story is simplistic, but thought-provoking and hints at something sinister afoot.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
Players highlight the game's high replayability due to its procedural generation of maps and sectors, ensuring a unique experience with each playthrough. The combination of rogue-like elements, RPG items, and customizable gameplay further enhances its replay value, making it an engaging choice for those who enjoy varied gameplay experiences.
- “If you enjoy highly customizable and replayable games, this one is for you.”
- “The game itself is nice; take some rogue-like elements, RPG items, asteroid gameplay, and a huge replayability, mix them all together, and you get Starship Rubicon.”
- “All in all, there's a lot going on for this game, and I think there's plenty of replay value; naturally, everything is procedural when it comes to the maps and sectors, so each game will be different.”
- “If so, you will like this highly customizable and replayable game.”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users report significant stability issues, indicating that they often find themselves troubleshooting problems more than the developers do.
- “I am spending more effort troubleshooting this than the developers are.”
- “The game crashes frequently, making it nearly unplayable.”
- “I can't progress due to constant bugs and glitches.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game features a charming sense of humor, enhanced by a funny AI companion that adds to its appeal. Players appreciate the lighthearted tone and entertaining elements, which complement the engaging ship customization and retro space shooter gameplay.
- “The game has a good sense of humor, and the customization aspect, like the rest of the game, is simple but rewarding.”
- “You have a funny AI companion throughout the whole experience, adding more charm.”
- “It's a cute, entertaining asteroids-style Newtonian space shooter with some roguelike elements, a bit of humor, a nice spacey and retro vibe, and an easy-to-understand but actually rather interesting ship customization system.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's atmosphere is characterized by an engaging adventure complemented by a lively soundtrack, creating an immersive experience. Players appreciate the blend of arcade gameplay with ship-building and modification elements, enhancing the overall ambiance.
- “Features an atmospheric adventure, a pleasant, lively soundtrack, and arcade gameplay with elements of building and modifying your ship components.”
monetization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviewers appreciate the game's monetization model for being free of microtransactions, ads, and intrusive features, allowing for a seamless and enjoyable gaming experience without external pressures or interruptions.
- “Bug-free, no motion blur, no microtransactions, no telephoning home, no ads, or other annoying and 'influencing' elements.”