Space themed 4x strategy game StarDrive harkens back to the golden age of RTS and space colonization in a new and improved way
Exploration is a key component of the gameplay and I liked how simple it was to send a scout ship out to explore the galaxy on its own without needing player intervention even if the AI was a little skittish at times passing the same areas twice. You can even manually control ships for when precision needs to come in to play, but unless you have the game at 5x game speed or more it’s quite slow and tedious to maneuver.
Expanding your empire is one of those easy to learn but difficult to master concepts in that to colonize a planet you simply need to click colonize and it will send a ship directly to do that, but controlling every aspect of your empire as it grows becomes increasingly more complex and you will need to effectively manage all your assets, imports and exports in order to thrive. Also the research and development tree is deep and varied, but often feels too straightforward and can be rather easy to get to the end of a certain skill tree quickly.
The actual planets themselves vary greatly from arctic tundra’s to swamp lands and mineral rich or poor which seems pretty standard for a game like this. The layout for the planets are a grid system where you can place buildings on habitable land or build a biosphere to allow you to place on previously uninhabitable parts. It’s a simple and effective way to manage the planets and deciding between how much you want to export/import military, food or economic provisions is not overwhelming.
Where the game truly shines and focuses on is the combat and extermination portion of the game which will most often take up the bulk of the gameplay time. Before even starting on the actual combat, the customization options for ship design are immensely deep and complex with a wide variety of weapons and shields to add to your own fighter. Also where you place the item comes in to play as well, so if you place all your turrets on the side of your ship and that is where you take the most damage then you will be in danger of losing those parts easily so there is a strategy to how and where you place armour, weapons and other items. The actual combat itself is incredibly detailed and engaging as you will have to devote almost your entire attention to it in order to succeed. Ships can be placed in formation and given specific orders, but battles can often become hectic and overwhelming causing the player to pause often and readjust.
