The Spatials

About

"The Spatials" is a real-time strategy game with simulation and management elements. As the captain of a space station, you'll build and customize your base, manage your crew, and explore the galaxy in search of resources and adventure. Expect quirky humor, retro-futuristic aesthetics, and complex strategic challenges.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

71%

Audience ScoreBased on 236 reviews

story20 positive mentions

grinding25 negative mentions

The game combines base building, resource management, and exploration in a fun and engaging way.
The graphics are colorful and charming, contributing to a light-hearted atmosphere.
The humor and references to sci-fi culture, particularly Star Trek, add a unique charm to the gameplay.

The tutorial is lacking in detail, making it difficult for new players to understand the mechanics.
Gameplay can become repetitive, with missions feeling similar and lacking variety.
The user interface can be clunky and confusing, leading to frustration during gameplay.

story
191 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
83%
7%
The game's story is loosely structured around base building and away missions, with players managing a crew to explore various planets and complete repetitive objectives like defeating enemies or gathering resources. While the humorous dialogue and Star Trek-inspired aesthetic add charm, many players find the missions monotonous and disconnected from a deeper narrative, leading to a sense that the story is more of an afterthought than a driving force. Overall, the gameplay offers a mix of lighthearted themes and character progression, but lacks the engaging storytelling that could elevate the experience.
- “I love the cute storyline you follow through visiting specific planets in star systems.”
- “The game has a wonderfully Star Trek aesthetic to it, the interface makes me warm and fuzzy inside, and the away missions are a nice game element that is rare if nonexistent in similar games.”
- “The missions are fun, but trying to manage the characters, character skills, character inventories, character contract missions, characters in embassies, and characters needed for production is not fun especially through all the various menus with slightly different interfaces.”
- “Finally, the missions just feel disconnected with the story they're trying to convey.”
- “It seems that the story is an afterthought more than anything.”
- “The missions are also almost identical in nature, so it gets repetitive very quickly.”
gameplay
54 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
78%
6%
The gameplay is characterized by a mix of intuitive mechanics and simplistic design, making it accessible yet often repetitive and lacking depth. While some players appreciate the casual and relaxing nature of the game, others criticize the unsatisfying gameplay loop, inadequate tutorials, and a lack of challenge. Overall, it offers a blend of strategy, management, and RPG elements, but many feel it falls short in providing a compelling and varied experience.
- “However, this one plays differently; it has all the functions a game like this has, but it is much easier to navigate, understand the mechanics, and the gameplay is much more intuitive than I expected.”
- “It's got a lovely premise and theme, and the gameplay mix between game modes (strategy and tactics) is very well balanced.”
- “The gameplay is straightforward, easy to learn, and enjoyable.”
- “The tutorial is cheap, the gameplay is not intuitive, the UI could really be done better.”
- “There is no real challenge, and no depth to the gameplay.”
- “Everything you 'unlock' is basically the same exact thing as the thing you just had, so the base gameplay you will experience pretty much in full at the first solar system.”
graphics
49 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
47%
45%
8%
The graphics in the game are generally described as colorful, cute, and reminiscent of retro styles, with a charming aesthetic that aligns well with its light-hearted tone. While many players appreciate the simple and fun visuals, some criticize the lack of depth and customization options, as well as performance issues related to the graphics. Overall, the art style is seen as a strong point, contributing to an enjoyable gaming experience despite some technical shortcomings.
- “The graphics are nice and friendly, and the game runs well even on my older and outdated laptop.”
- “Pleasant, isometric 3D graphics - very nice and colorful, with plenty of goofy looking guys and animals.”
- “I love the adorable graphics and light-hearted humor.”
- “The game works okay in full screen but lacks the minimum set of graphic customization options you would expect from a PC game.”
- “The graphics aren't anything to write home about and they even hinder your performance as objects obscure many things (no transparency from what I could tell, come to think of it) and the isometric view makes it difficult to gauge position when building.”
- “Your station ends up being not aesthetically pleasing at all.”
grinding
25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and repetitive, often leading to a sense of stagnation rather than progress. While some appreciate the depth of resource management and crew dynamics, many feel that the lack of variety and engaging mechanics makes the grinding feel more like a chore than an enjoyable challenge. A few players noted that the game improves over time, but the initial grind can be off-putting for those not fond of such gameplay.
- “You never feel like you're actually advancing, and that you're just grinding.”
- “This game is just tedious and not even in the fun way.”
- “The grinding is really obvious too - enemies are just 'pirate (lvl 10)', weapons are 'phaser (lvl 10)', the buildings & activities have different names, but it's obvious that each level is just an improved version of the previous level.”
music
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
62%
24%
14%
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players praising the atmospheric and stylish soundtrack that complements the sci-fi theme, while others find it repetitive and annoying over extended play sessions. Many appreciate the unobtrusive nature of the music, although a few felt compelled to turn it off due to its composition or irritating sound effects. Overall, the soundtrack is described as decent to excellent, enhancing the game's ambiance but potentially becoming grating with prolonged exposure.
- “The soundtrack is not intrusive nor prominent (unless you blast that sh!t on max volume) and if you close your eyes, you might just find yourself drifting somewhere in space and chilling in your capsule - try it.”
- “The excellent soundtrack is amazing.”
- “Wonderful music to fit the whole sci-fi theme.”
- “The music and sound are below par; I had to turn the music off within the first minute as the composition was absolutely horrendous.”
- “The soundtrack is not intrusive nor prominent (unless you blast it on max volume), and if you close your eyes, you might just find yourself drifting somewhere in space and chilling in your capsule - try it.”
- “I turned off the music because I wanted to play my own, but for the short amount of time I had it on, it was enjoyable.”
humor
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is a mixed bag, with some players appreciating the light-hearted puns and amusing mission dialogues, while others find it bland and lacking in consistency. While the game features moments of clever humor and entertaining graphics, it can become repetitive and mundane over time. Overall, the humor adds a charming touch, but its effectiveness varies among players.
- “I also appreciated the humor and subtle jabs at the Star Trek franchise.”
- “Funny storyline, enjoyable challenging combat, relaxed base building, bagelheads, good balance of action and management.”
- “Spatials is flipping hilarious and adorable.”
replayability
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
29%
43%
Overall, the game offers significant replayability due to its randomly generated solar systems and varying difficulty levels, which encourage players to adapt and explore different strategies. While some players find it repetitive, many appreciate the depth and potential for extended gameplay, making it appealing to both casual and avid gamers. However, comparisons to similar titles suggest that there are more engaging options available for those seeking high replay value.
- “Great replayability - all the systems in the game are randomly generated, making you adapt to the start that you are given.”
- “Also, planets have difficulty levels, and clearing a higher difficulty will increase the resources a planet produces per period, so there is replayability even after completing the first levels.”
- “With the number of similar games out there that are infinitely more playable, I cannot recommend this.”
- “Honestly, this game has a lot of depth, and after 6 hours of playing, I still feel like I'm only 1/4 of the way to the end game (maybe?). There is a lot of replayability, unless you don't like the grind and repetitiveness.”
- “The replayability comes from the randomly generated solar systems, resources, and base-building.”
optimization
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
60%
Overall, the game's optimization is a mixed bag; while players report no significant performance issues such as crashes or frame rate drops, the graphics can obscure gameplay and hinder planning due to a lack of transparency. Many users feel that the game could benefit from further optimization to enhance the building experience and overall clarity.
- “Haven't run into a single performance issue yet, no crashes, fps drops.”
- “It could use some optimization, but there has never been a perfect game.”
- “The graphics aren't anything to write home about and they even hinder your performance as objects obscure many things (no transparency from what I could tell). The isometric view makes it difficult to gauge position when building.”
- “The game doesn't allow you to do much planning or optimization.”
- “This could use some optimization.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, users report that the game is generally stable, with few significant bugs or glitches. While some players note minor issues, they still find the game enjoyable to play.
- “Nice game - a little buggy but fun to play.”
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The atmosphere is enhanced by a stylish and atmospheric soundtrack that complements the gameplay without becoming intrusive or annoying.
- “The atmospheric and stylish soundtrack enhances the overall experience without becoming annoying.”
- “The game creates an immersive atmosphere that draws you in and keeps you engaged.”
- “Every detail contributes to a hauntingly beautiful atmosphere that lingers long after playing.”