Star Control: Origins

 PC
User Score
5.9

Mixed or average reviews- based on 114 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 55 out of 114
  2. Mixed: 19 out of 114
  3. Negative: 40 out of 114

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  1. barren_sky
    Sep 21, 2018
    5
    Notice how most of the 10/10 scores are from users with new accounts with just this one game reviewed?
  2. Danfritz
    Nov 5, 2018
    6
    "A lack of navigational tools, dull resource collecting, and oversimplified space battles all conspire to knock the game down a peg. Star Control: Origins serves up a lively galaxy worth exploring, but sometimes the commute can be a killer." It's a quote and it sums up the whole game.
  3. angelkurisu
    Sep 21, 2018
    6
    On the surface, this looks pretty good. Solid art, great music, some snappy voice-acting, and occasionally hilarious writing. When you dig deeper, it's not *bad*, but it does feel very lacking in areas. The lander is frustrating, buggy, and a massive time-sink. Combat is okay, but not nearly as interesting as SC2. Lots of ship configurations just feel completely worthless. A lot of theOn the surface, this looks pretty good. Solid art, great music, some snappy voice-acting, and occasionally hilarious writing. When you dig deeper, it's not *bad*, but it does feel very lacking in areas. The lander is frustrating, buggy, and a massive time-sink. Combat is okay, but not nearly as interesting as SC2. Lots of ship configurations just feel completely worthless. A lot of the writing is great, but there are frequent cringe-inducing bad moments. It's enjoyable enough to finish, but it does start to drag after the repeated "get 1 type of good - oops, you sold it?" quests.

    It is very okay. Not amazing, not bad, and probably more interesting to SC veterans than newcomers.    … Expand
  4. ShiArch
    Sep 23, 2018
    7
    Pros :
    1. Music is nice,art style and humor.
    Cons: 1. Bugs in lots of quests making you unable to finish them. 2. Horrible resource grind. Absolutely boring. 3. Ship upgrades are organised terribly. 4. Lack of polish everywhere. Could have used 6 more moths of work at least. 5. Galaxy is dull. 6. Can't even buy resources. So if you need 100 of a resource but have only 95 of it    Pros :
    1. Music is nice,art style and humor.

    Cons:
    1. Bugs in lots of quests making you unable to finish them.
    2. Horrible resource grind. Absolutely boring.
    3. Ship upgrades are organised terribly.
    4. Lack of polish everywhere. Could have used 6 more moths of work at least.
    5. Galaxy is dull.
    6. Can't even buy resources. So if you need 100 of a resource but have only 95 of it then go around wasting hours instead of a neat option to buy the 5 resources at high price. How could they possibly miss it.
    7. No resource marker or radar. Waste your time looking for stuff.
    8. Has steep difficulty curves which are sudden sometimes.

    Why I gave it 7? Because I used cheatengine and gave myself unlimited money. As soon as I stopped grinding resources the game became much more fun. I finished it in approx 20 hours with decent exploration. Despite numerous bugs I had fun chiefly due to good writing.    … Expand
  5. ptm2007
    Sep 29, 2018
    6
    It was ok, I liked the appearance of the planets and some of the races but the story was a bit underwhelming. For the most part it was quite pretty. Space combat looked out of place with the rest of the game, very arcadey whereas the rest was not (for instance there are powerups in space combat but nowhere else). I enjoyed most of the playthrough I did, but I probably won't return to itIt was ok, I liked the appearance of the planets and some of the races but the story was a bit underwhelming. For the most part it was quite pretty. Space combat looked out of place with the rest of the game, very arcadey whereas the rest was not (for instance there are powerups in space combat but nowhere else). I enjoyed most of the playthrough I did, but I probably won't return to it to try alternate approaches to things. I wish it had been better.… Expand
  6. awoland
    Sep 25, 2018
    7
    In general, "Star Control: Origins" has turned out to be a very good sequel to the original series. It should be noted that Stardock succeeded in an important thing - to preserve the spirit and atmosphere of the original Star Control. Even visual stylistics and graphics are maintained in the original style. But still I believe that Stardock should have added and some modern technologicalIn general, "Star Control: Origins" has turned out to be a very good sequel to the original series. It should be noted that Stardock succeeded in an important thing - to preserve the spirit and atmosphere of the original Star Control. Even visual stylistics and graphics are maintained in the original style. But still I believe that Stardock should have added and some modern technological visual effects for the new incarnation of Star Control. Without them, the game looks too archaic. In this form, it is certainly attractive only to fans of the original opera Star Control.… Expand
  7. akarnokd
    Jul 30, 2020
    7
    I never played any previous Star Controls and picked up the game thanks to the Ars Technica extened interview with the creators.

    What I liked: - the music - resource gathering - most of the story - the animated and voiced hail screens - many of the UI conveniences What I disliked: - combat, especially space combat with that vectoring-thrust mechanic - massive framerate drops    I never played any previous Star Controls and picked up the game thanks to the Ars Technica extened interview with the creators.

    What I liked:
    - the music
    - resource gathering
    - most of the story
    - the animated and voiced hail screens
    - many of the UI conveniences

    What I disliked:
    - combat, especially space combat with that vectoring-thrust mechanic
    - massive framerate drops due to particle effects on planets
    - no easy way to see what new tech unlocked
    - the star system/hyperspace drifting
    - some form of list or indicator showing all planets in the system
    - the "realistic" lighting of planets that made many of them just blend into the background
    - no indication what planets I cleared
    - point of interest markers not removed
    - the Kzanti that hail you all the time and no option to just shoot them immediately or make them go away for good    … Expand
  8. Drakman
    Aug 12, 2020
    7
    I was a huge fan of the original games, and Origins definitely reminds me of those games. Disappointing that Stardock and the original devs couldn't work together for a proper Star Control game. Ship combat needed a bit of work. But the personality and feel of the game is there. Overall I was pretty happy with it.

Awards & Rankings

69
#69 Most Discussed PC Game of 2018
77
#77 Most Shared PC Game of 2018

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
75

Generally favorable reviews - based on 16 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 8 out of 16
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 16
  3. Negative: 0 out of 16
  1. GameStar
    Feb 3, 2019
    72
    Quirky and entertaining space adventure for patient people with a lot of patience, patience and above all patience.
    Read full review
  2. GameStar
    Feb 3, 2019
    72
    Quirky and entertaining space adventure for patient people with a lot of patience, patience and above all patience.
    Read full review
  3. Game World Navigator Magazine
    Dec 21, 2018
    80
    Origins is a surprisingly good successor to the famous trilogy. There’s a big galaxy to explore, choices to make and memorable characters to meet. Dialogues are great, and arcade parts are simple, yet fun. Together, they make a game that will easily keep your interest for a week at least. [Issue#234, p.54]
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