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. ShadyAlligator
    May 2, 2022
    3
    The gameplay is a repetitive grind. Combat gets repetitive quickly. Exploring planets is boring.

    Even the art style feels like this would have been an iPhone free-to-play game, except for the story. They try to rehash a lot of SC2 and even copy the first few hours of story. A lot of the writing is awkward. Maybe it's just nostalgia, but the original games had a certain magic. This    The gameplay is a repetitive grind. Combat gets repetitive quickly. Exploring planets is boring.

    Even the art style feels like this would have been an iPhone free-to-play game, except for the story.

    They try to rehash a lot of SC2 and even copy the first few hours of story. A lot of the writing is awkward. Maybe it's just nostalgia, but the original games had a certain magic. This feels like your dad wanted to show you how to REALLY dance.

    Just cringe. Refund.    … Expand
  2. theirrelephants
    Oct 12, 2021
    8
    I enjoyed it, and had zero bugs unlike a lot of the other posters.

    Good writing is marred by the absolute trash that is the lander 'gameplay' portions, of which there are far, far too many. I probably would have given this a 6 or 7 instead of 8 if I hadn't cheated a little by looking up the stargate locations ahead of time. Spending forever running around the overhead map would have    I enjoyed it, and had zero bugs unlike a lot of the other posters.

    Good writing is marred by the absolute trash that is the lander 'gameplay' portions, of which there are far, far too many.

    I probably would have given this a 6 or 7 instead of 8 if I hadn't cheated a little by looking up the stargate locations ahead of time. Spending forever running around the overhead map would have been admittedly INCREDIBLY tedious.    … Expand
  3. Keimpe
    Feb 7, 2021
    8
    Picked it up in the sale and i really love it. It resembles SCII maybe a bit too much, but as fans of the original i can imagine why they went for that. The planets are a bit of a chore eventually, but the music makes up for that. Love the races, love the gameloop. In the beginning the game doesn't run that well, but give it time and eventually the shaders are fully loaded. Recommended!
  4. 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.
  5. 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
  6. Anamnesis
    Jul 8, 2020
    2
    I was also a founder for this game and have great love for the franchise. UQM was a high water mark to measure against, a very simple game with easy mechanics that would be a cinch to emulate today, made by a small crew on a tight budget. It was clever, witty, fun, and filled with fast, tight gameplay. It had heart, soul and heaps of imagination despite its meager roots.

    SCO has its    I was also a founder for this game and have great love for the franchise. UQM was a high water mark to measure against, a very simple game with easy mechanics that would be a cinch to emulate today, made by a small crew on a tight budget. It was clever, witty, fun, and filled with fast, tight gameplay. It had heart, soul and heaps of imagination despite its meager roots.

    SCO has its moments. Story is alright, character animations are good, voice acting is fine. But it ultimately feels like an unfinished product halfway through development, and the most interesting aspects of UQM are the ones that were most neglected.

    Discovering different types of critters in UQM was one of the most fun aspects of exploring planets. There were a few dozen critter types and there were an interesting variety of them. In SCO, you can count the number of critter types on one hand, and the galaxy has been copy pasted with this small selection. Same set of creatures everywhere you go, and nothing breaks immersion and the suspension of disbelief like seeing the same creatures on EVERY SINGLE PLANET. It's like you're exploring the same planet over and over again for hours. Structures are so boring that a six year old could build something better in Minecraft.

    Consistency problems with voice acting. Casual encounters in space are sometimes just written text, while others have voices. There is no consistency in how these are handled, it's just a crap shoot as to whether or not aliens actually speak to you or if you have to read their text messages.

    UQM's melee was snappy, intense, and short lived because of the close quarters combat. SCO combat feels like a game of fly fishing because the arenas are enormous and do not behave the same way. You spend a lot of time positioning for attack and not much time attacking, or having your movement slowed or stopped by the environment. It is not bad combat, it's just not great. UQM combat gives the same rush today as thirty years ago, while this feels like it is still in testing even as a finished product.

    Lander gameplay is repetitive, a concern during development that remained unresolved upon release. They failed to address the tediousness. There were big plans to differentiate planets distinct geological features, bodies of water to jet across, etc. None of that was even attempted. I know because I watched the game evolve and can testify that what you see in the final release barely evolved from what they had early on in development. Lander mechanics are not suited to racing across terrain; it frequently gets lopsided as a result of poor game mechanics, not lack of player skill. Feels like the environment and vehicle were designed by different teams who never were asked to meet and make it fun to play. There are so many other games that they could have taken inspiration from. Could have added a jet pack to leap over obstacles and reduce the amount of time to travel a long distance. I guess that sounded like work so they went and had lunch instead.

    UQM had tight lander gameplay; you were always in pursuit or retreating. You could land and take off within a minute or two. You could choose to land near a specific area to reduce travel time. SCO feels like all the same ideas but in slow motion, with little going on during landings to make them interesting or beyond different planet surface textures. You cannot choose where to land, increasing travel times. So it's largely a resource grinder without much combat grinding, all while staring at boring scenery that never changes because they've rubber stamped the game with the same art, models and textures a thousand times.

    The crime here is that there was a ton of conceptual art produced by some talented artists at Stardock for many different types of creatures and environments during development. I was looking forward to just going to different planets and seeing all the visual splendor of each unique location. Absolutely none of it was developed, and I know because I read all the developer diaries and played the betas.

    The excuse is that they just “had to scrap” so many great ideas. Yeah, no, not buying it. There was documentation of development setbacks, creative direction changes, and multiple iterations on the same ideas. A lot of effort that amounted to nothing. This game was not given appropriate time and resources. And to insult the intelligence of players with excuses about scrapping development ideas is the height of hubris when there are many examples of action exploration games from small studios that have pulled this off.

    I decided to give it some credit for at least being playable. The kicker is that the director of Stardock spends a lot of time in online communities and message boards defending himself, which he can do until he's blue in the face. At the end of the day, this is still an unpolished and unmemorable product that plays like a giant beta test, and it's really a damn shame.    … Expand
  7. 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.
  8. Terrier
    Oct 20, 2018
    8
    As a fan of Star Control.

    Minus: 1) Most old aliens are gone. Plus: 2) Now, it is easy to track the conversation. Star Control has lots of conversation and you must pay attention to it, so if you miss something important, then you are screwed. Now. it has a log. And there is more, if you click on the log, then it points you to where you must go, so if you miss something important    As a fan of Star Control.

    Minus:
    1) Most old aliens are gone.
    Plus:
    2) Now, it is easy to track the conversation. Star Control has lots of conversation and you must pay attention to it, so if you miss something important, then you are screwed. Now. it has a log. And there is more, if you click on the log, then it points you to where you must go, so if you miss something important then you could read it later.
    3) The new graphics.
    4) It is not a remake but a new version. The story is surprisingly better than the old games.
    - It's epic.
    - It has lore. However, the old lore is gone.
    - It has twists.
    5) The landers minigame is better., way better. In the previous games, the lander minigame was frustrating at best.
    6) Some comments say that the galaxy is boring. How is it boring?. This game is about aliens and exploration, and the galaxy is filled with surprises:
    - new aliens, some are part of the story and others have their own side-story.
    - minerals, ok, this adds a bit of frustration, Francium mainly.
    - you can find some ships, weapons, building, some aliens that think that you are a deity and so much more.
    - There are several kinds of planets and more. I think there are about 8-10 times x diversity x size x harshness, so the combinations of different planets are huge.
    7) The music is cool too. Some tunes remind me of Captain Future.
    8) The game is hard.
    9) The aliens have a backstory and they have their own reason, they are not just unidimensional characters.
    10) It has comedy.

    Star Control (including this version), isn't a perfect game. However, this version is the best one.    … Expand
  9. clarky
    Oct 4, 2018
    2
    I played it for a few hours, then i quit out of it to see what I was actually supposed to be doing. The movement is tedious, the fuel stuff is tedious, the resource part is tedious, the UI is terrible. etc etc etc.
  10. jinxcase
    Oct 3, 2018
    8
    Pros
    -So much to do
    -Lots of ship upgrades
    -Fun & interesting world/universe
    -Easy to play

    Cons
    -Interface is clunky
    -Lots of fetch questing
    -Slow Progression
    -Game Engine is buggy

    Would play again.. or more. Sense of urgency is real. Caught myself putting in 6-12 hours per session.

    Highly Recommended
  11. moondoggie
    Oct 1, 2018
    0
    Shame that it's called Star Control because it pales compared to Star Control 2 or even Star Control 3!

    + Good art
    + Decent voice work

    - Buggy engine that crashes in weird ways... hello black screen of death!
    - Most of the races are just copies of the SC2 races
    - Story line is boring at best
    - UI is god awful
  12. 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
  13. Yco
    Sep 25, 2018
    9
    Very high production values (including writing). Faithful remake of a classic title. Great world-building and also very well designed universe population and macro economy. Polished and impressive game.
  14. 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
  15. Fabsusu
    Sep 24, 2018
    4
    This isn't a terrible game. It has its moments and fun bits, but dang does it ever fail to be what it aspires to be. Star Control 2, a game from 1994, had better combat than this, better writing, it had more interesting mysteries, it had twice the amount of content such as alien races, dialogue, size of the galaxy, playtime etc.

    The thing that was expanded here is the grindy resource    This isn't a terrible game. It has its moments and fun bits, but dang does it ever fail to be what it aspires to be. Star Control 2, a game from 1994, had better combat than this, better writing, it had more interesting mysteries, it had twice the amount of content such as alien races, dialogue, size of the galaxy, playtime etc.

    The thing that was expanded here is the grindy resource collection, which forces you to spend copious amounts of time on planets collecting resources in an extremely boring minigame, wheras in the original landing on planets and taking off again would be accomplished in a much smaller amount of time.

    Yes, you can avoid the grind, but then you don't get to outfit your ship because upgrades are expensive as hell.

    This game doesn't quite suck. It's addictive and a good 20 hours worth of fun. But it's a far cry from brilliant, the story is superficial and boring.

    It's a bit like a good piece of fan fiction for the original game, but it doesn't deserve the name.    … Expand
  16. psymin
    Sep 24, 2018
    9
    I am really enjoying the music, the visuals and the overall "feel" of the game. They did a great job of capturing the feel of SC2.
  17. fezzik21
    Sep 24, 2018
    10
    I'm really enjoying it. For me, it captures the feeling of the Star Control 2 I remember from being a kid. Particular shout out to the voice acting, which is always dicey for these things, but so far has been spot on.
  18. TDDraco
    Sep 24, 2018
    10
    I grew up on Star Control, literally. I was six in 1990 and spent much of my youth playing SC1 and 2.

    Fortunate enough to be able to become a Founder on SCO, i have watched the game grow and progress over time. Star Control Origins is a rich universe filled with aliens of many different varieties with fast-paced ship to ship combat thrown in. You can be a peaceful Federation-like    I grew up on Star Control, literally. I was six in 1990 and spent much of my youth playing SC1 and 2.

    Fortunate enough to be able to become a Founder on SCO, i have watched the game grow and progress over time.

    Star Control Origins is a rich universe filled with aliens of many different varieties with fast-paced ship to ship combat thrown in. You can be a peaceful Federation-like explorer or take a darker route and engage in piracy. Whatever path you choose, your goal is to save Earth.

    With many years of galactic expansion planned out by Stardock, plus the upcoming player-made universe support, SCO has a lot of promise in its future.

    Seriously, check it out.    … Expand
  19. Funnytom
    Sep 24, 2018
    9
    If you liked star control 2 then you will like this. A real throwback to the old days of wandering a galaxy trying to solve mysteries. Docked 1 point as the resource gathering can be a bit grindy.
  20. The_Dengsta
    Sep 24, 2018
    4
    THIS IS A NON-SPOILER REVIEW.

    I was a "Founder" backer of this game and have finished the game, as well as having played very much of it in beta. I never felt strongly enough about a game to write a review on metacritic before now. Star Control: Origins had promise, but it's marred by blatant attempts to copy the first few games. What's original, fresh, and innovative in this game is    THIS IS A NON-SPOILER REVIEW.

    I was a "Founder" backer of this game and have finished the game, as well as having played very much of it in beta. I never felt strongly enough about a game to write a review on metacritic before now.

    Star Control: Origins had promise, but it's marred by blatant attempts to copy the first few games. What's original, fresh, and innovative in this game is generally great, but the developers spend too much time trying to prove they're making a "true sequel to Star Control" as their CEO loves to endlessly rant about when talking **** about Paul Reiche III and Fred Ford. But this game isn't a sequel. Or a prequel. It's a standalone Star Control game that on its own would make a good Star Control if it weren't for all its problems.

    But the problems with this game aren't the fault of his most hated evil "SJW" conspiracy on Twitter, or the fault of the creators of Star Control (oh darn, Stardock! I said it! I called Paul Reiche III and Fred Ford what they are!). They are the fault of a development team that spent too much time copying the first two games and wasting precious development time inserting ****y ripoffs of the Arilou and Melnorme to try and support their aggressive trademark claims. A developer who decided that a long campaign of lawsuits over some cover art and retweets, public **** talking to other game developers and threats to shut down the fan community was more important than just making a great game. If all that effort was spent on fixing SCO's problems, it would be an easy 8 or 9.

    POSITIVES:

    ~Star Control gameplay!
    ~Lots of stuff to explore
    ~A big variety of ships and more than one kind of ship per species (big improvement from other SC games)
    ~Some cool, funny and creative species

    NEGATIVES:

    ~Except for a twist at the end (which is vaguely reminiscent of Star Control 3), the overarching plot follows the exact same beats as Star Control 2. The species may be mostly original but the overall plot certainly isn't.

    ~Tries too hard to copy other Star Control games. Precursors, Arilou, Melnorme (sorry, you renamed them "Maelnir" now).

    ~The lander gameplay just sucks. It's boring, awkward to drive, and the cartoony art style means the terrain is exaggerated and hard to navigate sometimes. And despite what the developers and their brainless fanboys keep replying to Steam interviews with, you DO have to do a LOT of this to get anywhere in the game. It's the only real way to make money unless you want to hopelessly grind enemy ships for a pittance of Resource Units.

    ~The art style is cartoony. The other games had some cartoony moments, but this is World of Warcraft sort of cartoony. It's grating and makes the game feel corny and stupid, which is annoying because the game generally ISN'T those things.

    ~Battles are fun, but the arena is way too big and the AI is really, really boring to fight. Most of your time in combat will be spent flying around and not actually doing much.

    ~The writing is very inconsistent. For every great joke, line of dialogue or intriguing piece of writing, there's 10 bland, "look at how funny I am" moments. It just feels amateurish - most of the writing in this game desperately needs several more passes to get to a level where it's good, but I guess the developers were too busy posting in forums, chat rooms and social media about how evil the creators of Star Control are for retweeting some tweets that had "Star Control" in them. Spend more time on your game, improving the ****y dialogue, and less time blasting fans for their opinions.

    Overall, Star Control: Origins comes across as a game with a lot of missed potential. What's original about this game is generally great, but the developers spent too much time trying to re-create a Star Control 2-like experience. They should have focused more on their strong point - the creativity and original things that THEY created - and more time revising their dialogue. And less time ripping off what other people created just so they can boost the strength of their trademarks.

    Maybe if they had of done that, the gameplay problems wouldn't be so glaring. But that's a what if. The reality is that this game is decent, but it's not worth full price. I wouldn't pay any more than $15-20 for this game. Wait until there's a sale, because the game just isn't worth the money.    … Expand
  21. 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
  22. Noviere
    Sep 23, 2018
    0
    Utter garbage. Tries and fails to capture what made the series great. This is not the Star Control you are looking for.
  23. NICKALLENRP
    Sep 23, 2018
    10
    Star control 2 is my favorite game of all time and I pre-ordered this the moment I had the chance. I did not get to play the beta but having played for about 10 hours I must say I'm pleasantly Surprised how fun this is. It gives me a bit of the taste of Star Control 2. It's a fun game And I hope the community continues to put out new content for it.
  24. marvel212
    Sep 22, 2018
    8
    The name of this game fit this game perfectly. This game is more like a reboot of star control 2 with different story line. It has everything what the original star control 2 had. I don't know if the magic is there but I find myself wanting to explore the galaxy as I did with original star control 2.

    It's all there. Funny scripts, resource collecting, space exploring, evil aliens    The name of this game fit this game perfectly. This game is more like a reboot of star control 2 with different story line. It has everything what the original star control 2 had. I don't know if the magic is there but I find myself wanting to explore the galaxy as I did with original star control 2.

    It's all there. Funny scripts, resource collecting, space exploring, evil aliens who want to destroy Humans. I am still only few hours into the game. So far it sticks to the original star control 2 adventure. This game will make original star control 2 lovers very happy.    … Expand
  25. Dagfinn
    Sep 22, 2018
    0
    Not a real Star Control game. Avoid.

    This is nothing like the amazing Star Control 2: The Ur-Quan Masters. Everything is a dull slog. Exploring, combat, conversation, the works.

    The game also has incredibly long loading screens that take forever for some reason.
  26. MosesZD
    Sep 22, 2018
    10
    This game captures the original Star Control atmosphere. The writing is excellent, the story does fan-service AND stands on its own. I've got about 30-hours into the game and I am having a great time.

    BE WARNED: The game doesn't hand-hold you. And too many people seem to FOOLISHLY BELIEVE YOU NEED TO HARVEST ALL THE PLANETS. It's not 'Gather Craft', and if you FOOLISHLY DO    This game captures the original Star Control atmosphere. The writing is excellent, the story does fan-service AND stands on its own. I've got about 30-hours into the game and I am having a great time.

    BE WARNED: The game doesn't hand-hold you. And too many people seem to FOOLISHLY BELIEVE YOU NEED TO HARVEST ALL THE PLANETS. It's not 'Gather Craft', and if you FOOLISHLY DO THAT, the game will become quite tedious. And it's YOUR fault.

    Rather, you harvest rich planets, check planets out for 'unknown objects' (tech, side quests, resources) but mostly do quests and forge alliances to progress in the game.    … Expand
  27. 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?
  28. Skotos90
    Sep 21, 2018
    10
    Star Control: Origins meets it's expectations for those who are looking for a great space adventure. Origins is full of witty dialog, interesting aliens and an overall fun game.

    Exploring the planets and moons really gives you feeling of traveling in space. As your lander crests over a land mass on a moon you may encounter a breath taking view of a nearby planet or your space ship    Star Control: Origins meets it's expectations for those who are looking for a great space adventure. Origins is full of witty dialog, interesting aliens and an overall fun game.

    Exploring the planets and moons really gives you feeling of traveling in space. As your lander crests over a land mass on a moon you may encounter a breath taking view of a nearby planet or your space ship hovering out in space. Or you may simply be surprised to find an interesting artifact that recently crashed.

    The aliens you meet can be scary, silly, eccentric or just down right moist (play the game to understand what I mean). I haven't finished the game yet but look forward to meeting all the aliens and discovering their interesting personalities.

    Stardock has done a great job putting together this reboot to the Star Control franchise and I look forward to many more to come.    … Expand
  29. Darkin20
    Sep 21, 2018
    8
    A rather faithful recreation of the original Star Control 2 (StarCon2) with a lot of updated ideas and tech.

    If you even liked the original, you will love this one. If you never played the original... you might not love it. There is a lot of grinding and exploring which I think is rather realistic. You need to go to many planets in hopes of finding something interesting on maybe one.    A rather faithful recreation of the original Star Control 2 (StarCon2) with a lot of updated ideas and tech.

    If you even liked the original, you will love this one.

    If you never played the original... you might not love it. There is a lot of grinding and exploring which I think is rather realistic. You need to go to many planets in hopes of finding something interesting on maybe one. Can get a little tedious but that just makes when you find something extra satisfying.

    Where this game really shines is with the story. Meeting just about every species is a riot. I find myself very involved and laughing out loud a lot. Once you really get exploring, this is where the real fun begins.

    I just wish the combat was smoother but I guess if it was, purists might complain.    … Expand
  30. TsukasaHiiragi
    Sep 21, 2018
    4
    + Star Control!!
    + Large Galaxy to explore
    + Lots of collectables + Build your own ships - Large Galaxy is boring to explore - Lander gameplay is very boring and tedious - Can't take the story too seriously - Ship configurations are mostly useless fluff - No classic aliens like Ur Quan Again, with the paid and/or company reviewers giving 10s...when it clearly doesn't deserve    + Star Control!!
    + Large Galaxy to explore
    + Lots of collectables
    + Build your own ships

    - Large Galaxy is boring to explore
    - Lander gameplay is very boring and tedious
    - Can't take the story too seriously
    - Ship configurations are mostly useless fluff
    - No classic aliens like Ur Quan

    Again, with the paid and/or company reviewers giving 10s...when it clearly doesn't deserve it, This isn't the Star Control you was looking for, I'm sure you're going to see many glowing reviews from veteran SC fans, I myself was a fan of the original back in the 90s and with that, is the reasons why I'm being more harsh rather than writing a bias positive review.

    First off, the start of the game is very slow paced - your starting ship as you can imagine is pretty much empty of gear/weapons and gadgets which leads you to the near never ending resource collection grind on planets which is buggy and exceptionally boring, your lander is essentially made of paper and is destroyed far too easily.

    The ship to ship combat which is the big draw is pretty much the same as previous games just with added extras such as power-ups, its nothing amazing but it works and this is the core of the fun aspects of the game, everything else is too boring or drawn out and quickly becomes tedious. The galaxy is large and expanse but ultimately feels like a chore to explore because everything is slow and cumbersome early in the game.

    The artstyle is fine, but the writing is weird for a game trying to be somewhat serious but when you get space slug aliens who want to constantly hug you, and give you a free "cuddle drive" any immersion doesn't work, Feels like it was written for Android/IOS devices rather than a full blown PC release if I'm being honest. Music/voice overs are fine, no issues.

    Overall, this game is going to be a matter of taste and if you can stomach the long grindy nature of the campaign mode. If your interested for the nostalgia factor, then fleet battles is the way to go.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

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

Critic Reviews

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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.
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  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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