Space Engineers

 PC
User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 107 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 68 out of 107
  2. Mixed: 25 out of 107
  3. Negative: 14 out of 107

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  1. theirrelephants
    Nov 24, 2015
    6
    Very fun game, great building and space simulator that's pretty much unrivaled in that regard.

    Utterly ruined by the optimization that makes RAGE look well done. Put three 980s together and maybe you can run it on high settings with no lag. All I know is that I have a 550 gtx and get 10-30fps on low settings on a game that has graphics that wouldn't look out of place on a decade old    Very fun game, great building and space simulator that's pretty much unrivaled in that regard.

    Utterly ruined by the optimization that makes RAGE look well done. Put three 980s together and maybe you can run it on high settings with no lag. All I know is that I have a 550 gtx and get 10-30fps on low settings on a game that has graphics that wouldn't look out of place on a decade old game. Makes it pretty much unplayable.    … Expand
  2. Hawqer
    May 28, 2021
    5
    Good concept, but poorly executed. The building system is way too restrictive and combat is laughably crap. Survival is pretty meaningless and servers are bad, not only that but the game is poorly optimized and devs make every major update a DLC. Better buy Starship Evo.
  3. jimbobslimbob
    Dec 10, 2014
    8
    Great little game that shows immense promise as it develops into a mature full-game. Space flight and building feel fluid and intuitive. It's kind of like Minecraft mixed with Freelancer. Still in early access as I write this review but already shaping up to be a winner. The psychics are brilliant - there is nothing quite like smashing 2 huge battleships into eachother and watching theGreat little game that shows immense promise as it develops into a mature full-game. Space flight and building feel fluid and intuitive. It's kind of like Minecraft mixed with Freelancer. Still in early access as I write this review but already shaping up to be a winner. The psychics are brilliant - there is nothing quite like smashing 2 huge battleships into eachother and watching the carnage.

    Jimbo Rating: 8/10 (early alpha review)    … Expand
  4. RononDex
    Dec 5, 2014
    3
    The game itself is not too bad. I backed the game in the very early days when only creative was available. Lot has been done since then and I am hosting my own dedicated server.

    However the reason why I give such a poor writing is their update policy and bad quality of work. They release an update every thursday and introduce another game breaking bug every 1-2 weeks that make you grasp    The game itself is not too bad. I backed the game in the very early days when only creative was available. Lot has been done since then and I am hosting my own dedicated server.

    However the reason why I give such a poor writing is their update policy and bad quality of work. They release an update every thursday and introduce another game breaking bug every 1-2 weeks that make you grasp your hair and think "Wth are they thinking when they code and test their software". I am a software developer and know that no code is perfect and that bugs happen. But this is just hideous. They do no testing at all. I mean every 1-2weeks you get an update that makes the game unplayable. They could at least fir eup the game and check if it still works. After this weeks update again 80% of all dedicated servers went offline due to the game breaking bugs.

    And the sadest part about this is that they simply do not care as new customers still keep throwing their money at them. Every developer that would release such faulty code to the public on a weekly basis would get fired immedatily in any software company I know. Also they would't get any job so easy soon, as this gives them a really bad record. What keen is doing is just poor madness. I am done having to fix their bugs on my server and inside my save files every week to keep the server running. This trend has to stop and I am not willing to support any company that follows this pihlosophy.    … Expand
  5. Ryzoft_Stipe
    Jan 26, 2015
    10
    Nice physics, combat and quite easy to build. Your experience is even better with a lot of mods. However, the game is unoptimized, and movement is clunky, but what it lacks in those departments is made up in great features.
  6. StopHarvesting
    Oct 25, 2015
    2
    Date: Oct. 25, 2015
    Days since game was released: 732
    I literally created an account just to write this review. That’s how disappointing this game is. ~~~Singleplayer~~~ 1) Bugs: Space Engineers is, without question, the buggiest game I have EVER played. This isn't an engineering simulation in space - it's a simulation in frustration. 2) Update Bugs: Space Engineers usually    Date: Oct. 25, 2015
    Days since game was released: 732

    I literally created an account just to write this review. That’s how disappointing this game is.

    ~~~Singleplayer~~~

    1) Bugs: Space Engineers is, without question, the buggiest game I have EVER played. This isn't an engineering simulation in space - it's a simulation in frustration.

    2) Update Bugs: Space Engineers usually updates every Thursday. Sounds like a good thing, right? WRONG. Each update adds more bugs on top of the mountain of pre-existing bugs. Your ship may have worked Wednesday, but on Thursday it literally blows up in your. Suddenly doors, lights, landing gears, rotors, pistons, etc will not function at all.

    3) Production: There are about 8 developers working on Space Engineers. Rather than hiring people to fix the glaring problems, they split their development team to create "Medieval Engineers" - a spinoff. Keen Software House (the company behind the game) has already done this once before with a previous game called "Miner Wars" - that game failed, and was left in an unfinished state. This company has a track record, and they have not learned from their mistakes. The company's founder (Marek Rosa) seems to have literally ditched all of his unfinished games in order to pursue his dream of creating Artificial Intelligence. No, I am not joking. Google it.

    4) Developers: Honestly, the developers are amateurish. In one of their latest updates they broke lights, oxygen, and asteroids. Keep in mind you are in space... how much can you accomplish in darkness, unable to breath, and unable to mine material because an asteroid is literally invisible.

    5) Frame Rate: This game is a poorly optimized resource hog. It will freeze on you. It will sputter every few seconds, or when an object is rendered. It. Will. Feel. Like. This. Every. Time. You. Try. To. Do. Anything.

    6) Progression: The game has literally no progression or story. There is no point behind anything you do. You mine rocks in order to build bigger ships to mine even more rocks. Yes, you can crash your ships into rocks, but believe me: that gets really old, really fast.

    7) Gameplay: This is not a 'game'. It is tedious. There is no progression through technology. There is no point in any of your accomplishments. So you built a big ship... Now what? There is literally nothing to do with it besides float around in space - same as you were doing before you built it.

    8) Mods: At least the mods make the game ok, right? No. The mods for this game are like piling Band-Aids on a festering wound. Every weekly update breaks most of them.

    9) Community: Space Engineers is remarkably toxic for a PvE game - and I know toxic: I used to play League of Legends. They will attack you for giving feedback, sharing opinions, and reporting bugs. The forum moderators shutdown or censor anything that isn’t positive.

    ~~~Multiplayer~~~

    1) Netcode Optimization: The code behind multiplayer is abysmal. There is no other word for it. It is clearly a hacked-together attempt at network creation by half a dozen amateur game developers. Most servers drop the sim speed 50% in order to compensate for the complete mess that is multiplayer. In other words, everything runs in SLOW MOTION. The game is already incredibly tedious, now it is 2x more tedious!

    2) Bugs: All the same bugs from Single Player, plus more! Enjoy!

    ~~~The Future of Space Engineers~~~

    1) Ladders: The developers can't even figure out how to implement ladders. They have publically admitted ladders may never be included because they “just can't figure them out". Have fun building huge staircases inside your ships.

    2) Planets: The developers intend on adding planets to the game in the future. They said these planets would be procedurally generated, but in their latest Dev Stream, one of the developers let slip this is not the case: all planets are hand-made. Someone off camera literally told him to leave the stream, to which he whispered: "What? I didn't do it..." (he knew he was in trouble). So there you have it folks: Public Relations deception.

    ~~~Conclusion~~~

    Don't waste your time, or your money. If this game were free (and you had no standards) then I'd say go for it. As it is, it isn't worth a dollar, much less the $25 they ask for the 'privilege' of playing the buggiest game known to mankind.

    Don't bother listening to the fools who continuously chant "The game is in Alpha: what do you expect?" You know it's bad when the fan boys only argument is "Your expectations are too high" - basically admitting the game is currently crap.

    The fact of the matter is, Space Engineers is not yet a game. It should never have been sold to consumers, or marketed as a game. There is no gameplay. There is no point in anything. If you thought MineCraft had no end-game, you will be shocked by Space Engineers.    … Expand
  7. NotToddHoward
    Nov 28, 2015
    1
    I bought this game a week ago because of its promising yet simple premise; play as a Space Engineer.

    What I got was one of the most buggy and poorly optimized games I have ever had the displeasure of purchasing. The game runs at a constant 7FPS on my computer ON LOW SETTINGS when my hardware is above its recommended settings. It crashes at the main screen too when I do something simple    I bought this game a week ago because of its promising yet simple premise; play as a Space Engineer.

    What I got was one of the most buggy and poorly optimized games I have ever had the displeasure of purchasing. The game runs at a constant 7FPS on my computer ON LOW SETTINGS when my hardware is above its recommended settings. It crashes at the main screen too when I do something simple like try and find a server to play on.

    I mean really why is this game so poorly optimized? It doesn't even look that good graphically yet it runs awful on low settings?! Come on.    … Expand
  8. Striped_Monkey
    Sep 23, 2014
    10
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Fantastic game
    The game is a sandbox game kinda like Minecraft only based in space with tons of awesome features it try's to maintain a 75 year gap in between what the tech is currently and now. The game itself is fun but not for those on the lower end on the PC scale. Fantastic graphics and wonderful collision graphics.    … Expand
  9. Bobbo
    Dec 7, 2014
    10
    Imagine Lego's in space where each block has it's own mass so linear and rotational inertia is simulated. It's got weapons, rotors, pistons, damage deformation, collisions where linear and rotational momentum is as conserved as it's gonna get without supercomputers. Or if you wish to enter survival mode each block has it's own required components to manufacture, and those requiredImagine Lego's in space where each block has it's own mass so linear and rotational inertia is simulated. It's got weapons, rotors, pistons, damage deformation, collisions where linear and rotational momentum is as conserved as it's gonna get without supercomputers. Or if you wish to enter survival mode each block has it's own required components to manufacture, and those required components are built from ore which is mined from vessels designed by the player that can be as big as a 1-drill miner to a CPU melting 500 drill miner, and those components have to be welded into place, or blocks can be grinded back down into their basic components. It's Legos for adults. SPACESHIP SPACESHIP SPACESHIP SPACESHIP!!!!!!!… Expand
  10. exoduss
    Oct 14, 2015
    1
    This is a horrible game it freezes up all the time. It hates pc's with multi core cpu's and you have to repair the .cfg file because it can't tell if you use dx9 or dx11 there are so many bugs in this game its not funny. Don't think about multiplayer it can be a nightmare
  11. 350gamesSince94
    Jan 31, 2015
    6
    Space Engineers is the type of game that will tickle your mind a bit on how vast it is, making it rather buggy due to the overachieving nature that has ruined some experiences. I only recommend this unoptimized technical feat to people who don't mind building while owning high end gaming computers. If you are looking for a living breathing environment full of aliens and NPC's, prepare toSpace Engineers is the type of game that will tickle your mind a bit on how vast it is, making it rather buggy due to the overachieving nature that has ruined some experiences. I only recommend this unoptimized technical feat to people who don't mind building while owning high end gaming computers. If you are looking for a living breathing environment full of aliens and NPC's, prepare to be deeply disappointment as its main focus is entirely geared towards massive scale space constructs with a super cool collision engine.

    They attempted to give this game a spin by adding a survival mode purposely making it harder to build your masterpieces by introducing randomly generated inanimate objects, and nothing else to surprise you. Space mining is possibly the only thing you could get out of single player. Multilayer is the way to go if you are looking to create a unrealistic Recreation of any fantasy ships you could possible imagine with a crew of real humans. There is no Dedicated servers yet, but don't get your hopes up considering the Dev's primary focus has splintered towards the new siege engineers.

    Long term I noticed a sharp increase in price considering this is a really late review done, a marketing tactic that only mine craft really executed well. The game has gone a long way and is snailing along with bare bone updates that may suggest you need mods to float your boat to epic proportions.

    Overall as a sandbox game, its pretty impressive for the first hundred hours, but after that it requires a friend or a unbreakable joy of endless mining + construction for it to be worth the raised price at $27.00 (I got my copy at $5.00 when it was on sale, and that the base price increased $17.00 since alpha release).

    Oh yes, and don't forget the bugs and the general technical issues that plagued so many. I recommend waiting for it to go on sale only if you have dedicated gaming computer that is high end and custom. Otherwise avoid this game like its radioactive stuff that you will probably never get to play because you cannot afford the equipment to run it.

    Its a 6 at best if you don't follow my recommendations and even lower than 3 if you use any equipment not suitable for this resource hog, as I personally believe the makers of the game seemed to move on to a different game rather than focus on making this project great.    … Expand
  12. olibumman
    Nov 9, 2014
    10
    very good gameplay and mechanics with updates every thursday, it's definitely worth getting ad putting some hours into it with people uploading items ships and cool constructs to it.
  13. Jammiemann
    Jun 7, 2015
    10
    So space engineers, its just good. its complex and its simple at the same time, if you want a big ship that has everything in it you could possibly need you can, or you can have a small ship with the essentials and a station to land at, in fact you can have almost anything you want in it. Build, mine, search for salvage and one of the best workshop communities on steam. what really isSo space engineers, its just good. its complex and its simple at the same time, if you want a big ship that has everything in it you could possibly need you can, or you can have a small ship with the essentials and a station to land at, in fact you can have almost anything you want in it. Build, mine, search for salvage and one of the best workshop communities on steam. what really is nice about the game is the developers. Keen are just great, weekly updates and a weekly hotfix, they listen to what people say and what people want and they do it. IMPORTANT! this is still an early access title so dont expect it to be 100% perfect, there is no proper AI yet (you will have to read up on that to long to write up on here), and no objectives yet, They recently added in scenarios to play through so high hopes of a very very good space builder.… Expand
  14. Douglas
    Dec 3, 2015
    10
    Its a great game. Everything is possible. You learn new things everyday. Huge re-playability, amazing and huge community around it. Also Workshop is available with thousand of mods. This game is really really good. I recomend.
  15. Skipnipper
    Dec 8, 2015
    10
    A great PC title, early Alpha days yet but more entertaining hours here than you will find in all the recent console conversion premium games put together.

    Minecraft in space, addictive as they come, fantastic game and I really hope the Dev keeps up the good work!
  16. Zafeer
    Jul 7, 2015
    8
    While not perfect this game is super fun. The dev team cranks out new content every week and not just minor bug fixes. I love where this game is going in survival mode. Thoughtful design and fun multiplayer.
  17. Morphik
    Dec 27, 2014
    10
    At the time of writing this review Space Engineers is on Alpha update 01.062.

    Space Engineers is a great space sandbox game with a very dedicated development team behind it. What some people are not putting in their negative or mixed "reviews" is that the game is in Alpha, which means buggy code and glitches. KSH has put in a lot of effort to squash those bugs and unlike other early    At the time of writing this review Space Engineers is on Alpha update 01.062.

    Space Engineers is a great space sandbox game with a very dedicated development team behind it.
    What some people are not putting in their negative or mixed "reviews" is that the game is in Alpha, which means buggy code and glitches. KSH has put in a lot of effort to squash those bugs and unlike other early access games, they actually listen to their community and take the feedback very well. This game is a diamond amongst coal as far as early access goes (even some AAA titles *cough* Ubisoft *cough*).    … Expand
  18. Jonathan123ii
    Apr 12, 2015
    9
    Great early access sandbox game out there, it truly stands out to be the best example of early access games, every Thursday the developers release a new patch with new mechanics or new blocks which can change the game entirely, even though you might look at a video and you think it's quite boring, I can assure you that it's not, the game's design is amazing, I've not came across any bugGreat early access sandbox game out there, it truly stands out to be the best example of early access games, every Thursday the developers release a new patch with new mechanics or new blocks which can change the game entirely, even though you might look at a video and you think it's quite boring, I can assure you that it's not, the game's design is amazing, I've not came across any bug yet in the game except engine flaws, such as something I call "net-code", such as the server-side part of the game.

    I enjoy seeing every Thursday a new update, last week from when this review was made, they added a vacuum effect to the atmosphere in ships, they gave something the community wanted, which you don't see much in other games.

    The development team is very organized too, they share the game with another team in the same company to make something called medieval engineers which I have not played yet, but they share the mechanics cross game.

    Truly one of the best sandbox games out there, there's a lot of things which can be done in this game.    … Expand
  19. GeekNerdHybrid
    May 14, 2015
    9
    This game is an awesome space sandbox. If you like KSP, get it. If you like MC, then get this game. Its really fun, but the graphics and bugs could be worked on.
  20. Lockleed
    May 27, 2015
    10
    Space Engineers is a sandbox based game where you can basically build whatever starships and stations you might dream up, and then take them out to play. Most of the survival portion of the game focuses on asteroid mining and construction, though in multiplayer combat is rampant as well. This game is alpha at the time I'm writing this, but even so its the best space based constructionSpace Engineers is a sandbox based game where you can basically build whatever starships and stations you might dream up, and then take them out to play. Most of the survival portion of the game focuses on asteroid mining and construction, though in multiplayer combat is rampant as well. This game is alpha at the time I'm writing this, but even so its the best space based construction sandbox I've played, and continues to add and improve with every update. Its features are constantly growing as the developers plunk in a new update every week. You've still gotta bear in mind its Alpha and in development, so bugs and an un-optimized multiplayer can bog things down. But generally speaking, whatever problems this game has, tend to get fixed down the road. The game has a heavy modding community, and if the vanilla game doesn't please you, there's more than enough user content to make up for it. And if you're bummed that its just space... the developers have recently begun teasing with screenshots of planets big enough to have an atmosphere, and an optimized multiplayer.… Expand
  21. Stasenga
    Feb 6, 2021
    10
    В этой игре легко не разобраться, но стоит приложить немного усилий как игра становиться очень интересной и затягивающей одни чертежи из workshop чего стоят
  22. LuckTrapper
    Mar 1, 2022
    0
    no politics in games! the developer hosts questionable political events on the steam page of the game!
  23. senorcarbone
    Apr 24, 2016
    9
    This is perhaps my favourite game so far during the last 5 or 6 years. I adore the building capabilities it offers, the sequence of thoughts it forces you to make in order to survive in space, the unique feeling of void and no-gravity. It is wonderful and it can engage people do wonders. I haven't felt so creative in a game since I first played Minecraft, and I am a very active gamer,This is perhaps my favourite game so far during the last 5 or 6 years. I adore the building capabilities it offers, the sequence of thoughts it forces you to make in order to survive in space, the unique feeling of void and no-gravity. It is wonderful and it can engage people do wonders. I haven't felt so creative in a game since I first played Minecraft, and I am a very active gamer, going through at least two new games a month in average.

    Presentation
    The presentation is cool but not great yet, both UI and In-game graphics wise. There is a lot of potential here and I count on the creators to make this of unmatched quality. It can use a bit of polishing and performance optimisations especially when it comes to planets. I mainly enjoy asteroids game play more, planets are a bit boring and bloated apart for being laggy. They also reminded me of the reason I gave up on ARK Survival. In general there is a lot of attention to detail paid in this game but it can be even better. For example, I don't want to be able to listen to motors and noises within the emptiness of space. Where does the sound travel on if there is no air?

    Mechanics and Gameplay
    The mechanics of the game are GORGEOUS. I truly love its gameplay, roaming with my spaceships and jetpack alike and utilising inertial dampeners. It feels very smooth and kind of real.Building is awesome, I love the fact that you can place design placeholders and then build your creations incrementally. I love creating vehicles and improving them over time. Blueprints are also welcome. This game basically implements a lot of the mechanisms people wished to have in Minecraft in a rather elegant way. The sci-fi theme also helps a lot to put all these rational components into context.

    More people need to play this. It is a very satisfying and FUN game for creative minds. I haven't played multiplayer yet but I heard it has issues. In any case I am really curious to see how it will evolve.    … Expand
  24. Stormshadow2k
    Dec 15, 2020
    4
    While it is fun to collect rescourses and build ships and bases for a while, you quickly run out of stuff to do in this game. The developers give you a framework and tools to play with - but thats it. There is no actual game here. If you want actual content you have to turn to the mod community. Multiplayer is marred by lots of bugs, rubber banding and glithces. All planets are totallyWhile it is fun to collect rescourses and build ships and bases for a while, you quickly run out of stuff to do in this game. The developers give you a framework and tools to play with - but thats it. There is no actual game here. If you want actual content you have to turn to the mod community. Multiplayer is marred by lots of bugs, rubber banding and glithces. All planets are totally void of life, no npcs or PVE challenges.… Expand
  25. gamingforfun365
    Jun 4, 2015
    7
    This game is very great and realistic, but it becomes boring, repetitive, and frustrating once one progresses because of both its lack partially of tutorials and its lack mainly of a variety.

    VERDICT: Were I thou, I would probably rent Space Engineers first before buying it.
  26. rareredrocks
    Nov 16, 2015
    8
    The game is a fun little thing. There is much to do and see- especially with yesterday's addition of planets. There are also A.I. enemies that will attack your base. There are multiple types of ships you can build- such as an atmospheric plane, a star fighter, station, probe, drill, star ship, rover, etc. Multiplayer is very well rounded and the game is mostly well optimized. However,The game is a fun little thing. There is much to do and see- especially with yesterday's addition of planets. There are also A.I. enemies that will attack your base. There are multiple types of ships you can build- such as an atmospheric plane, a star fighter, station, probe, drill, star ship, rover, etc. Multiplayer is very well rounded and the game is mostly well optimized. However, glitches, clunky movement, and a steep learning curve keep this one from full marks. I recommend for Sci-Fi fans, KSP fans, and those who want to built their own X-wing and put it in their own U.S.S Enterprise.… Expand
  27. mrspear
    Apr 30, 2016
    5
    This game has so much potential but it is absolutely ruined by the fact that it is so laggy when you log in to multiplayer for example for when you are playing with your friend and then you can not move
  28. AkitoAK
    Jul 16, 2020
    7
    Very fun game to play, the building aspects are phenomenal..
    But there are a lot of things to be fixed in the game, bugs and all..
    The number of paid DLC is increasing slowly, hopefully they will use the money to fund fixing of the game breaking bugs..
  29. PanMrkvicka
    May 24, 2020
    7
    very good with friends but as a game it has many flaws. **** optimization..
  30. apokalipto
    Aug 13, 2023
    9
    Very good game. I enjoyed playing this game a lot. I strongly recommend this.
  31. JackPlack
    May 13, 2022
    7
    Maybe creative mode is ok, but all survival mission or campaign have wrong design. There is lot of irritation when there are no simple tools for wheel vehicles (scrap mechanic has more clever possibilities). Constructing and repairing things is annoying a specially when 10cm of asteroid, invisible from far and attached do rest of rock by some invisible connection is destroying hull. AlsoMaybe creative mode is ok, but all survival mission or campaign have wrong design. There is lot of irritation when there are no simple tools for wheel vehicles (scrap mechanic has more clever possibilities). Constructing and repairing things is annoying a specially when 10cm of asteroid, invisible from far and attached do rest of rock by some invisible connection is destroying hull. Also too much bugs other kinds, but wrong game rules are bigger problem.… Expand
  32. Hiaolong
    Jan 6, 2022
    10
    Ну как бы аналогов нет, поэтому за неимением чего-то похожего игра нормальная, Единственный ее минус для меня - это сетевой код, Если бы сервера стабильно могли держать по 50-60 игроков в онлайне хотя бы, цены бы ей не было и сервера бы восстали из пепла.Ну как бы аналогов нет, поэтому за неимением чего-то похожего игра нормальная, Единственный ее минус для меня - это сетевой код, Если бы сервера стабильно могли держать по 50-60 игроков в онлайне хотя бы, цены бы ей не было и сервера бы восстали из пепла.
  33. Nepen1he
    Mar 10, 2022
    0
    games out of politics, juegos fuera de la politica, jogos fora da política
  34. Jollyolfun
    Nov 18, 2022
    5
    im not sure if i like it or not. played for a very shorty amount of time and it was pretty okay
  35. BatuMahir
    Apr 14, 2023
    10
    Tek kelimeyle yaratici keşif uzay macera enğlence sonsuz alan mükemmel ama daha çok yildiz sistemi ve karadelikler nötron yildizi sistemleri olsaymis mukkemmel olurmus

Critic Reviews

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Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 0 out of 1
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 1
  3. Negative: 0 out of 1
  1. Game World Navigator Magazine
    Jun 26, 2019
    67
    Over six years of Early Access, developers added to Space Engineers a lot of options and objects, including entire planets. There’s only one thing that’s still missing: meaningful gameplay. [Issue#238, p.40]