Into the Stars

Into the Stars is a fun adventure with a bit of everything (strategy, action, adventure). It would be just a bit better with improved UI, though. Regardless, it's certainly worth a look.

Into the Stars is a gorgeously-rendered sibling of FTL, featuring all the tension of collecting resources and fighting space aliens with none of the tedious micromanagement.

Fugitive Games has created a unique twist for typical space strategy games, and what they have will appeal to many looking for something that isn’t Elite Dangerous or a typical real-time strategy game set in space.

Replayability is primarily to be found in the exploration of the star system laid out for your quest but I can imagine this would only stay entertaining for a while and only true completionists are likely to keep playing over and over again to uncover all they can.

Into The Stars offers up a slow-paced but atmospheric space-themed survival sim, combining the gameplay elements of The Oregon Trail and Civilization with roguelike mechanics.

Into the Stars is a creative and unique game which nevertheless manages to disappoint. The combination of complicated gameplay with a distinct lack of direction means that only the truly determined will likely get far with the title – but it just isn’t interesting enough to warrant the investment from most.

When Into the Stars hits its stride and you feel like Admiral Adama leading a desperate race to save humanity, it's a tense and rewarding thrill. Unfortunately, combat never matches the tension of survival, as the cruelty of the game's RNG system can bring your breakneck race to the finish line to a screeching halt.

Into the Stars, despite some lack of variety, isn’t boring. Even for being a bit repetitive, it provides urgency, difficulty, relief and frustration in-game that runs pretty flawlessly.

In theory (and when it runs without problems) Into The Stars is an interesting fight for survival in space somewhere between Wall-E and FTL. But bugs and the weak presentation drag you back down to Earth.

Conceptually, Into The Stars had the potential to be a compelling spin on a formula established by the immeasurably superior FTL, but across the board, it is littered with uninspired and dull design choices.

Those who enjoy managing resources and exploration, may find something that deserves their attention, but poor U.I, lame combat, and Anime league pacing is going to leave many wanting more from the experience. Bad? No. Bland? Yes!

To add insult to injury, we’re towing a city with thousands of colonists, and it’s paramount to build them all kinds of morale-improvement buildings. They’re the last hope of humanity – and they will get depressed and start to rebel if they don’t get a new VR entertainment center! Too bad it’s not an option to just hurl these guys straight into the nearest star. [Issue#208, p.50]

A little Startopia, a little Bridge Commander, a little Don’t Starve, a lot of FTL. But it’s all so awkwardly strung together, so charmless, so spreadsheety, so plodding, so dry.

Into the Stars is a subpar and incomplete product but if you’re the kind of player who has the will to put in a steady investment of time and effort to probe its every nuance and deeper subtlety you might just get that pearl.

A lovely face paired with an empty head is a cliché, but I'm not going to waste a better metaphor on a game this dull.