I had this game on my wishlist for probably over a year and after reading a lot of positive reviews I was invested in finally sitting down for a whole evening getting my hands dirty and trying to learn the game with the hope that it would something that I could lose myself in for a long time. However, after playing over the tutorial and the early game for almost three hours I had absolutely nothing to show for it.

First I had to dig up the manual to find out what the races and personalities meant. Then, after playing through most of the tutorial I repeatedly died to a training drone (!) because my starting ship was not cut out for it. Then I realised that the game had left my starting equipment on the station without telling me I had to equip it before leaving and managed to beat the tutorial by repeatedly docking to repair mid-combat. Finally, I got into the game proper and can find no indication in the game or in the manual as to how to make enough credits to even keep up with the cost of repairs.

I desperately wanted to be able to get into the 'rhythm' of this game so that I could enjoy what appears to be a cornucopia of varied content, but it fought me every step of the way. I am honestly amazed that this experience is not reflected in more of the game's steam reviews. These people must have infinite patience.

I had this game on my wishlist for probably over a year and after reading a lot of positive reviews I was invested in finally sitting down for a whole evening getting my hands dirty and trying to learn the game with the hope that it would something that I could lose myself in for a long time. However, after playing over the tutorial and the early game for almost three hours I had absolutely nothing to show for it. First I had to dig up the manual to find out what the races and personalities meant. Then, after playing through most of the tutorial I repeatedly died to a training drone (!) because my starting ship was not cut out for it. Then I realised that the game had left my starting equipment on the station without telling me I had to equip it before leaving and managed to beat the tutorial by repeatedly docking to repair mid-combat. Finally, I got into the game proper and can find no indication in the game or in the manual as to how to make enough credits to even keep up with the cost of repairs. I desperately wanted to be able to get into the 'rhythm' of this game so that I could enjoy what appears to be a cornucopia of varied content, but it fought me every step of the way. I am honestly amazed that this experience is not reflected in more of the game's steam reviews. These people must have infinite patience.