Underspace

About

Underspace is an open-world sandbox RPG with a Lovecraftian twist, described as the spiritual successor to Freelancer. It offers a rich plot, expansive gameplay, and stunning visuals with a multi- and single-player experience. However, it is plagued by optimization issues and bugs, despite its vast setting of 114 handcrafted star systems, 204 stations, and 533 quests to explore.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

84%

Audience ScoreBased on 514 reviews

story18 positive mentions

optimization12 negative mentions

Captures the nostalgic feeling of Freelancer while adding new elements and a Lovecraftian twist.
Frequent updates from the developer show commitment to improving the game and addressing community feedback.
Offers a vast universe with plenty of exploration, quests, and unique encounters, including giant space monsters.

Currently suffers from performance issues, including low frame rates and poor optimization.
The user interface and controls can be confusing and unresponsive, making gameplay frustrating at times.
Voice acting is mostly AI-generated, which detracts from immersion and can be jarring.

story
166 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
11%
84%
5%
The game's story is generally regarded as intriguing and engaging, featuring elements of cosmic horror and a rich lore that captivates players. However, many reviewers note significant issues with clarity and structure, leading to confusion in mission progression, compounded by bugs and incomplete voice acting. While the narrative has potential and offers enjoyable moments, it suffers from disjointed quest design and a lack of polish, leaving players hoping for future improvements and expansions.
- “But the story is intriguing and the main conceit of shooting giant eldritch abominations in the face makes me happy.”
- “The game's story has some incredible moments that, in my opinion, elevate it above Freelancer's rather unoriginal plot, and the background lore surrounding the universe and the people and things within it is wonderfully deep and fascinating.”
- “The story and characters really took me by surprise; it felt quite professional while the gameplay loop and feel of combat (especially in first person) has held my attention the whole way through and will continue to do so.”
- “The game itself is very confusing; I've completed one main mission and got an achievement for it that only 22% of players have.”
- “Quest and mission logs are unclear.”
- “The quest/missions structure is rather disjointed, leading to much confusion as to where and what to do after the first couple of missions.”
graphics
108 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
76%
7%
The graphics of "Underspace" have received mixed reviews, with many players noting that they are reminiscent of older games, particularly "Freelancer," and often fall short of modern standards. While some appreciate the game's unique aesthetic and atmospheric lighting, others criticize the visuals as dated and lacking polish, suggesting that improvements are needed as the game is still in early access. Overall, the graphics evoke a nostalgic charm for some, but many agree that they require significant enhancement to meet contemporary expectations.
- “The game's visual style is phenomenal, and while I've seen some complaints about graphics, I feel that Underspace is a shining example of aesthetics over fidelity, especially when it comes to lighting which can lead to some absolutely breathtaking set pieces.”
- “Although the graphical fidelity is not comparable to photorealistic UE5 masterpieces, it creates a certain aesthetic that feels natural – and one that is made all the more engrossing when you see the eldritch appendages and things beyond alien that lurk in the chaos of underspatial storms.”
- “I like it, but then I still play 90s Doom so I'm tolerant of older graphics as long as the artistic style is solid - and Underspace manages a good visual appeal pretty well for all its clunky models and low-res textures, making great use of the sort of fog obscurement popular at the time and leaning into the limitations of a low poly, low distance style to get the best out of a close, almost claustrophobic kind of deep space.”
- “The graphics are... well, they are not very good.”
- “At most it's a 2010 game in terms of graphics but with 2024 system demands.”
- “Currently the graphics are worse than in Freelancer, AI voice of protagonist in dialogue from TikTok and YouTube shorts.”
gameplay
88 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
67%
3%
The gameplay of Underspace is a nostalgic homage to Freelancer, featuring solid mechanics, immersive exploration, and a variety of new features that enhance the experience, such as ship customization and crafting. While some players find the gameplay straightforward and engaging, others note that it can feel a bit rough around the edges and overly reliant on genre tropes. Overall, the game successfully captures the essence of its predecessor while introducing unique elements, making it enjoyable for fans of space sims.
- “Good gameplay, there are many new features compared to Freelancer, like many new slots for different gear for spaceships, and exploration of space stations on foot, bringing more immersion.”
- “The gameplay is fairly straightforward and easy to pick up (albeit skill is required so get your aim on!) and the ambient leaves you speechless (seriously, go explore some places and bask in the glory).”
- “The worldbuilding is strong, the flying mechanics are very well-done, and dogfights are surprisingly precise - to the point where you can't rely on targeting reticles on the screen alone and actually have to engage your brain's spatial thinking to predict enemy maneuvers and take into account their current speed and ship tonnage.”
- “The game is so desperate to throw genre tropes at you that you stop noticing them after an hour or two and only view them in mundane mechanical terms ever after.”
- “There is little to no voice acting, some interiors are platforms floating in the void bereft of walls or collisions, every ship in each manufacturer’s line-up looks essentially the same, the 'records' area remains sadly static even as great revelations occur during the campaign, and some gameplay systems are merely foundations for future content (like ship customization, crafting, and bars).”
- “Gameplay feels like it's in alpha stage right now.”
music
62 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
77%
10%
The music in the game has received largely negative feedback, with many players describing it as repetitive, poorly fitting the space theme, and feeling like placeholder tracks. While some appreciate the menu music, the in-game soundtrack often disrupts the atmosphere and fails to match the serious tone of the narrative. Overall, there is a consensus that significant improvements are needed to enhance the audio experience and better align the music with the game's setting.
- “The music you get hit with at the menu screen is amazing.”
- “It is a low-demanding (can play on potato), fast-paced (you won't snooze) space dogfight with awesome music, great story, and just a huge amount of stuff to do.”
- “Atmosphere, music, and story so far is well written.”
- “The music is horrid though.”
- “Music has nothing to do with a space game and it was annoying as hell, but it was the controls that broke the deal.”
- “It doesn't fit; it doesn't support any sort of atmosphere build-up; again: I understand music taste is subjective, but this is just bad... I'm sorry.”
optimization
32 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
9%
53%
38%
The game's optimization has been widely criticized, with players reporting severe performance issues, including frame rate drops and frequent crashes, particularly on older hardware. While some users note minor improvements and potential for future patches, the overall consensus is that the game is currently plagued by bugs and subpar performance, especially given its retro aesthetic. As it is still in early access, many hope for significant optimization updates to enhance playability.
- “It's early access, the WIP voices are machine-generated but functional, and, like others have reported, there are some performance issues that'll take rounding out.”
- “It is early access and there's a fair amount of bugs and unoptimizations, but given that it's a single developer doing it, what's here is what you want if you want a full space sim.”
- “Till now I've played a bit more than what the demo had to offer, so far performance has improved a lot from before.”
- “I've had this game on my wish list for a while now, it looks amazing in the videos here on Steam and the reviews have been mostly positive... but... it's so disappointing. For a game that pitches itself as a successor to Freelancer, I didn't even manage to get to space before giving up after the frame rate dropped to 5 fps and the game continually crashed. Like some of the other reviews are noting, the performance of something that looks this dated is incredible, and not in a good way.”
- “I'm frankly sick of playing this game because of the constant bugs and poor game optimization.”
- “As for optimization, I will say right away that it was not and is not here.”
atmosphere
22 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
50%
14%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its depth and immersive qualities, with players enjoying the lore revealed through exploration and sidequests. While the graphics may not impress, the iconic early 2000s 3D aesthetic contributes to a unique ambiance, particularly during storm encounters and nebula explorations. However, some reviewers noted a lack of soundscapes and a mismatched soundtrack, which detracts from the overall experience.
- “The universe of Underspace has a great atmosphere, and it's fun to discover more and more of its lore through side quests, NPC dialogue, in-game news bulletins, and simple exploration.”
- “The lonely, awe-inspiring atmosphere of cruising through a forgotten system with no infrastructure, and noticing a patrol route into a thickly dense, cloudy nebula that nobody returns from.”
- “For me, the atmosphere is still lacking in terms of soundscapes, like vocal voices, voices in space when ships are communicating with each other, and the soundtrack is not matching at all for a space sim.”
- “While admittedly unimpressive in terms of graphics, this game offers a really deep and respectable atmosphere of its world - conveyed even without proper voice acting.”
- “I don't know if you could really pull an atmosphere like this off by going for anything other than an early 2000s 3D look; it's iconic in its own way and massively impacts how the universe is presented.”
stability
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is a significant concern, with numerous reports of bugs, glitches, and unresponsive missions that hinder gameplay. While some players appreciate the creative content and potential for improvement, the current early access state is described as largely unplayable due to these issues. Overall, many reviewers advise against purchasing the game until these stability problems are addressed.
- “In its current early access state, the game is largely pointless to play as it's full of glitches and bugs, such as missions not updating, mission objects not spawning, and missions not completing when they should.”
- “This game is buggy, janky, and clunky at the best of times, but it won't be for long and most problems I've faced are visual, UI, and quality of life based.”
- “Weird glitches here and there—like when you save, sometimes your ship is locked and you can't move... so you have to press escape twice in a row to get it to work again.”
humor
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is widely praised for its offbeat and subtle wit, with players enjoying clever writing and amusing scenarios, such as a marauder's dramatic last words. The game's design choices, like the use of hotkeys for navigation, are seen as a humorous critique of traditional game mechanics. Overall, the humor adds a delightful layer to the gameplay experience, appealing to casual gamers and fans of quirky comedy alike.
- “The writing is also surprisingly good and funny in an offbeat way, and the eldritch horrors in space is a fun twist.”
- “The hotkeys to warp around stations to key points is a hilarious slap in the face to the big-budget station designers who think walking endlessly through vast empty locations and riding trains to nowhere to talk to people who sound idiotic is something we'd actually want to do.”
- “A marauder screaming 'I have a family' while exploding is pretty funny.”
emotional
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players report a strong emotional impact during intense moments, particularly highlighting the first storm encounter, which evokes feelings of vulnerability and danger, leaving them unsettled and immersed in the experience.
- “I was genuinely not expecting to be so unsettled by the first storm you actually fight in; it truly made me feel small and in great danger.”