Out There

I actually played two games this weekend. Since a lot of people are busy playing Mass Effect: Andromeda or Zelda: Breath of the Wild, I decided to backpedal with a couple of games recommended by a few of my friends. FTL (Faster Than Light) is an awesome space combat adventure game where the majority of what you do depends on the roll of the dice. Will your decision come out positive or negative? Will you be able to survive with the consequences. So when someone told me that there is a game out there that does the same thing I figured I would give it a shot. What did I think?

Out There
Positives: The game is polished. The artwork is nicely drawn and easy on the eyes. The interface is actually well thought out. Finding a way to balance between keeping your fuel, oxygen, and hull levels makes the game a challenge. Learning an alien language is a nice touch. Finding new ships in outer space is cool. The random encounters and the amount of lore put into the game makes the whole experience worthwhile and highly replayable. I love the fact that there are 4 different endings depending on your decisions in the game.
Negatives: I like the idea of replenishing your oxygen in a breathable atmosphere and ore to repair your ship but your ship's fuel sinks so much that traveling between just a couple of solar systems without finding one gas planet to scoop up hydrogen or helium immediately calls forth a game over. This can happen at any point of the game. I also found it hard to justify the tiny inventory that requires me to dismantle and rebuild my devices after every jump to hyperspace. This was more irritating than intuitive.
Overall: I cannot recommend this game. It is short and more-than-less unforgiving. The only time you know you have succeeded in the game is if your circumstances stay positive. However, 90% chance you will run into that one problem along the way that ruins your experience and prevents you from accomplishing your goal despite doing everything right.

 

5-10-2017