Awesome game!
Brilliant mix of 90s quests (hey, LucasArts and Sierra;), elite-like space sandbox games (Elite itself, Frontier, Space Rangers, SPAZ etc.) and roguelike shoot-em-ups.
Funny and very addictive story and characters. Protagonist is styled like Indiana Jones))
And... MUSIC. Beautiful synthwave/retrowave/electronic vibes! (you can add your own music as well)

You HAVE to buy this gem if:
• you were born in 80s,
  
• you know what "Space Quest", "Monkey Island" mean,
  
• you want to feel those feelings from childhood again.

Buy this game right now!

"3030 Deathwar Redux - A Space Odyssey" strongly resembles a freeware game released in the 90's by Ambrosia Software: "Escape Velocity." This new title builds on Ambrosia's concept with a passion, expanding gameplay while adding lots of modern production value.

The soundtrack is phenomenal, every track an earworm. Best music in a game since Hotline Miami. Perfectly composed and tailor made for an interstellar-faring game.

The writing is literate and clever, without trying to take over the experience. Dialogue and narration are easy skim for game objectives and click through, but also quite creative and thoughtful at times. As a technical writer, I'm pleased to see such masterful execution. Like the music, this element of the game takes a passenger seat, to better help you navigate the real experience, which is...

...casting around the universe's milky nebulae. Running out of fuel between solar systems and making it to the next station running on fumes. Ending up on the wrong side of the celestial tracks, and slinking away from predatory pirate ships. All these great experiences of the imagination I got to have as a kid, done up for a new generation.

Props to the makers of this game, and thanks for practicing your craft so masterfully!

I never write reviews.

This game is amazing. The terrible 90's graphics, the 80's music, the trading, mining, salvage, pirate fighting, yes please. More.

I was sad to see the creators didn't have other games I could buy next

If you are looking for a fun open-galaxy sandbox game to play around in, THIS IS IT!
If you are a fan of games similar to Escape Velocity, then you are in for a treat with this one.
Great visuals, hilarious dialogue, fun story, pop-culture, tons of customization features, this game has it all.
This game is like finding your classic dream car in a junkyard, then having it restored to a thousand times better than original. The developers have put some serious work and love into this game, and it shows.

TLDR; BUY THIS GAME!

Recipe: How to Create a great 2D Space Exploration Game
Ingredients:
1 cup of creative and active Devs
1 cup of Elite
3 tablespoons of 90'S Lucasarts Adventures flair and humour
4 teaspoons of Space, Pirates and Zombies
4 tablespoons of great Soundtrack
3 teaspoons of customization options
Put all the ingredients in a bowl and stir together until you have 3030 Deathwar Redux. (Don't forget the workshop topping!)

Meet John Falcon, a mixture of Indiana Jones and Han Solo and help him getting through his adventure.
You are free to choose your path - will you be a trader? Hunt down Pirates? Space Taxi Driver?
As it's an open world 2D Elite exploration game, you don't have to choose.
The visuals are very well done and together with the great soundtrack (Instrumental + The Kyoto Connection), the game delivers a great retro-esque atmosphere.
The gameplay is really fun and as the game offers loads of customization options, the fun doesn't stop after you played through the initial quest. I am not through the game yet, as I am on my way saving money to get an even better ship plus upgrades.
The devs are very active and responding, adding new features and getting rid of bugs all the time.
For this reason, 3030 Deathwar Redux gets my vote for the "Labor of Love" Award 2018. I hope the devs will continue their journey through space with us, so I can nominate this game in 2019 also!

The Kyoto Connection sums it up nicely in one of their songs:
♫You need to play this game if you want to stay alive♬

3030 Deathwar Redux (DWR from now) is an open-wold sci-fi space opera title in which you will impersonate John Falcon, a spaceship salvage expert, and undertake over the top adventures featuring extravagant characters to help him get back to his former glory.

The center of all your activities will be the space station, there is at least one in each of the numerous systems on the map. Here, you can access a Trade Terminal, enabling you to trade goods you found, buy weapons and upgrades for your current ship, access the ship catalog to get a new ride, make repairs, and even buy amenities such as magazines you can actually read. Then you also have the Job Terminal, where all the available quests in that station are listed, divided in various types, such as assassination, transport, taxi, space garbage cleanup, container towing, and many more. Each space station also features a Lounge, where you can talk to unique NPCs, some there just to banter, while some others will become contacts and start secondary quests, or trade unique items.

Once left any station, the vastness of space will be open to you. DWR features a realtime map, where all systems and places are in the same chunk, without any loading times except to enter stations or space derelicts. Distances between things are often huge, that's why most ships are equipped with a warp drive that consumes more fuel when used, but is also essential in traveling between sectors. Dangers will be routine, as nebulas, space anomalies, stars and pirate ambushes will just be some of the dangers you will encounter while warp traveling. The interface to navigate all this and get an idea of where you need to go is decent enough, so you will unlikely get lost or stuck.

Aside from questing and jobs, there are also several careers you can engage, such as miner, trader, bounty hunter... there will be specific ships to better suit the needs of each career, but this doesn't mean a miner can't fight, or a bounty hunter can't mine. Player freedom is absolute in DWR. There are no skill trees or anything like that, only your ship, the equipment and your piloting skills will be what makes a difference. Of course, you can also become an outlaw pirate and kill everyone in sight if you wish to do so.

All of this sounds really awesome, and it is, in part, but what I really found DWR lacking about, is game pacing. The game and its contents themselves are not bad at all, but the general pace of quests, combat, dialogues, felt a bit too slow and clunky, and this partially limited enjoying what otherwise has been an all around solid title.

Liked this review, and want to see more of the same quality? Check out Tamaster's Review Archive to see all my Reviews in a single, convenient location.

General Gameplay
Generally, the gameplay of DWR will be divided into Exploration, Dialogues and Combat. Exploration is performed on a persistent realtime galaxy map, is completely free roaming from the start, and features all sorts of unexpected discoveries and encounters around the various sectors. An interface around your ship will advise about what kind of objects are close to you, while the zoomable realtime map is useful for knowing what is where.

Dialogues with station NPCs are surprisingly varied, featuring a good amount of content, and many tales to listen to, some with even some useful information in them. There are no RPG-like choices or checks to pass, as NPCs will simply tell you what you ask them, without any specific requirement in most cases, unless quest related.

DWR also features a minigame of sorts: when boarding a derelict ship the game becomes a side-scrolling shooter, and you will control our fellow adventurer, wrecking abandoned ships apart to loot what may be left inside.

Overall I found the gameplay of DWR to be pleasant as many other space-opera games, the only disappointment being the pacing of it, which was a bit too clunky and slow.

Story
The story will not be very elaborate, but not minimal either. There is a decent amount of content to it, and characters you encounter have good personalities and realization. Side quests and just station banter add a lot to the lore content of the game.


Combat System
Combat is simple enough, but hard to master. WASD to move your ship around, and space to fire: dodging bullets while also hitting the enemy is paramount, while also dealing with inertia, ship module damage, and eventual missiles or enemy turrets. Personally, I found the control system for combat to be not very good, as it is very hard to hit enemies, while foes, being computer controlled, have a marked advantage in accuracy. This said, combat is certainly passable, but not the best.


Content & Pricing
Depending on your play-style, money farming methods, and just how much you want to explore, this game can last between 12-15 to 20-25 hours. For a base price of 14.99€, i'd say it's worth the money if you are a fan of sci-fi adventures and space opera games, while for everyone else, you can aswell wait for a sale.


Balancing & Challenge
Some weapons and ships are quite unbalanced, a shining example being the Ion Cannon, the most ridiculous weapon in the game, delivering insane damage at a relatively affordable price. Combine it with an auto-aim turret, and you have the perfect recipe for death. Overall the balance is not bad at all, delivering challenge and engagement steadily enough. Challenge rating is Medium.





Graphics
Well done pixel art, purposefully low-res graphics, give out a unique style exuding originality from every pore. Good effects, and a lot of little details that summed up, make a big positive difference in quality.


Sound
Exceptional soundtrack, with some of the tracks sticking in your head for days on end. Decent sound effects.


Performance & Stability
Nothing to report.


AI
Enemy AI will use attack patterns relative to their equipment and ship type, expect different styles of enemies as you progress.


Quality of Life
Interface and menus do the job alright, without any major issue.


Bugs / Issues
Nothing major to report, the game is polished good and proper after many updates.



Deathwar Redux is definitely an original space-opera adventure that will be the joy of any fan of this type of game, and also for anyone looking for an adventure different from the regular ones you are used to. While far from being perfect, its charming style and varied situations made me develop a strange love-hate relationship with this game, one that in the end, didn't leave any bitter taste.

I love this game. It's a 2d Space game with a serious sort of LucasArts vibe and you can do almost anything. Want to mine asteroids? You can do that. Space pirate? That's an option. Just want to run jobs for the local consortiums? Yup, that too. Bounty hunting? Sure, why not? Is there a good story here? Sure is! Do I have to follow it? Nope, it's literally an open world for you to explore.

I've never seen a game like this and it's currently on sale for the Steam Autumn sale. This is the best thing I've picked up in a while and it was dirt cheap and a ton of fun to play. :)

(NOTE: This is only my experience, Apollogies if i drifted of somewhere within the review)

The first time i played the game i had no clue what i was doing not gonna lie, and after a few hours i just gave up.

But i recently got back into it and tried 2 ways of playing the game

1. Abandoning the Campaign
2. Concentrating on the Campaign

-------------------------------------------

This is my experience
(NOTE: This is only my experience, Apollogies if i drifted of somewhere within the review)

-------------------------------------------

1. Abandoning the Campaign
Your Free.
You do what you want, how you want to and when you want to do it.

First thing i did was build up to 100k and buy a ship with decent cargo space.
(Doing multiple deliveries/ taxi lifts from one station to the next. MORE income LESS TRAVEL)

Afterwards i salvaged DERILECT ships (White Dots)
(CAUTION: There is a chance that you will encouter delerict pirates, THEY WILL TRY TO KILL YOU).
This is a great way to MAKE MONEY and the UNLOCK NEBULA MAP.
Whilst salvaging i also mined for the most expensive products in that system.

In to time i had 300-400K+ which i used to buy the next best cargo ship worth 300k.
With the new ship i had 110t of space and Turrets which made defending against pirates which was a piece of piss.

After that i concentrated on killing pirates and doing bounty jobs where i got 20-60k per Head. You also get to sell the PIRATES bodies which cost around 7k + the cargo they drop.

At this point i had around 2m worth of upgrades on my ship with which i went to "PLAY" some MoneyBall. There are 6+ pirates playing moneyball at all times with bounties 2-60k+ Per Head. After i got around 800k i bought a ship for 1m+.

OH MY GOD
I felt like a king, dashin around the vast dark space, sizzling pirates, crumbling asteroids, dominating the different systems.

>>>>>
I enjoyed this style of play alot more because it didnt feel like i was restricted to taking a certain path and i could switch to the different jobs quickly and effeiciently.

-------------------------------------------

2.Concentrating on the Campaign
Your locked down.
You do what your told to, you go where they tell you.

I WILL NOT BE EXPLAINING EVERYTHING IN DETAIL AS I DID BEFORE.
==NO SPOILERS==

>>>>>
The story was wonderfull and some of the plot twist are amazing, you always have a good laugh, especially from the stupidity of some characters.

It felt kind of pushy as you were always told what to do and at some points especially towards the end of the campaign it felt like the NPC's were uselses as you never got help in battles or recieved enough funds for the jobs you did.
You do get given a ship at one point and recieve 1.5m compensation after you finish the campaign.


=====================================OVERALL========================
It really is an amazing Space sim, the retro feel and the music drags you inside and makes you feel like one within the game. Hours will fly past when you get into it.

And £10.99 is a BARGAIN

9/10

Although i wish there was something else in the game like Larger bounties for pirates, Maybe even a Bounty Show where you could go on bounty hunts and look for different people.

But i feel like this would only work if you were able to land on all of the planets as this would largly increse the exploration and the NPC's in the game which would make it perfect to be a Bountie Hunter.


Im very satisfied with the game what the developers have done with it.
Simply put its..

PURE

TL;DR Do you want a sandbox top-down 2D space adventure game? Do you like a game that offers you the choice of how you make your money, even if the gameplay itself is not very deep? Are you looking for a game that offers different ships, weapons and upgrade options? Do you like the 80's aesthetics with neon lights and 80's-like music? Do you like cheesy writing and playing as a futuristic Indiana Jones?
Then this game is for you. It's basically a 2D Freelancer-lite.
Moreover, it is the most fleshed out top-down Elite-like game that I've played.

Positives
+ open-universe
+ story with good character and cheesy writing
+ different career options (trading, mining, combat, scavenging or delivery)
+ different flyable ships
+ different weapons and upgrades
+ good soundtrack (personal taste)
+ neon-80's aesthetics (personal taste)
+ side events and other efforts to make the universe seem more alive

Negatives
- despite the variety in career options the individual missions tend to become repetitive which makes the game prone to open-world fatigue syndrome
- the game is not hard; therefore the sense of accomplishment becomes smaller compared to something more challenging
- basic loot/rewards
- basic character animations
- minor bugs

Long review below.

I sunk many hours in the original 3030 Deathwar before development on Redux started. The game has you playing as John Falcon, an Indiana Jones/Han Solo-inspired space pilot who got himself stranded without a ship by dealing with the wrong people. You need to take some jobs and make money to get a new ship and find the guy who double crossed you. But that changes when a bounty is placed on your head for a crime you didn't commit.

3030 Deathwar is a 2D top-down Elite-like game: an open sandbox universe with almost 40 different star systems where the player is free in the way he makes money. You can make money through trading, bounty-hunting, scavenging, mining, package delivery, taxi jobs, and reconnaissance. Or you can be a pirate and blow ships up to get their cargo. Early on when you're low on cash you can do some delivery and taxi jobs to upgrade to a better ship. Scavenging derelicts is a nice option that's been added in Redux. Bounty hunting can be hard depending on your bounty. Though after upgrading my ship's guns, the combat didn't pose much of a threat. Mining can be pretty profitable if you've upgraded your ship to scan an asteroid's contents. I've never dipped into reconnaissance or trading. The latter being because I can't bother remembering or writing down the value of goods in every system to determine what is a viable trade route. The game tries to help you by indicating which wares are expensive or cheap to buy at the station you're in. While the career options are diverse, the gameplay itself is not deep. For me, this made it easier to get bored with the game and put it down for a while. Maybe it was open-world fatigue. After a while all delivery missions look the same, all mining expeditions look the same, all scavenging expeditions look the same etc.
Which brings me to the part where this game needs attention. The reward system is one area where I see room for improvement. Sure, giving cash for completed missions is fine. But what if there were mission-givers that offer you either cash OR offer a certain ship upgrade (maybe at a reduced price) where you can choose your reward? This gives the player more choice and varies the reward system. The derelicts. They're pretty interesting and you can get some valuable stuff from them, but at the same time the risk of going into one is not high which makes repeatedly looting derelicts eventually become boring even if the loot is high value. I've never encountered huge dangers when going into them. Only some simple critters that attack and can be easily killed.
I think this game can take some valuable pointers from Freelancer. Freelancer had these derelict ships in high-risk areas, which contain high-class loot, like experimental weapons or some extremely valuable cargo. If this game had something like that where there were these small derelict ships in some areas where there was a lot of environmental hazard, then it would make looting them not only lucrative but also exciting. But it must come at a high risk and real danger to your survival, otherwise it will feel like the game is just showering you with overpowered weapons for very little effort on your side. Who knows what that derelict C590 holds? Maybe new weapons for my ship? Proceed to fly into that patch of nebula that constantly damages your ship systems, find the derelict ship, shoot it, recover the items and split out with just enough health left that you can fly to safe port and equip/sell the loot. This makes the exploration more fun as well.
It all comes down to a balanced risk-reward system and right now the risks are too low and the rewards do not feel very lucrative in my opinion. This leads to the looting feeling repetitive, where even finding a stash of valuable ore won't feel like you've achieved something special. The game's universe is big enough to warrant deeper, more fun mechanics but they're just not there right now which can make the gameplay feel a bit shallow beyond the early-game adventuring.
The game lets you decide how you play and progress. You can stick to doing the main storyline, which will inevitably have you take on different side missions to prepare you for the next part. Alternatively, you can ignore the storyline completely and roam free as long as you want. There are many different ships, weapons and upgrades. Some ships are geared toward combat, some are more geared toward passenger transport while other ships are suited for trading. The ships have different speeds (both for regular and split/fast travel), turn rates, cargo space, passenger cabins, weapon mounts, turret mounts and missile mounts.

The original game's music has an ambient space-y style that blends in excellent with the game. With the Redux version, the developer added in music from The Kyoto Connection. It is electronic music that has cues taken from 80's pop music with distinct Japanese influences and actually fits very nicely in the overall atmosphere of the game. Good choice from the developer and props to the artists on the music. You can download the music for free from The Kyoto Connection's homepage. There's an option to keep the original 3030 Deathwar's music for those who prefer that.

There's lots of attention to detail in this game. There are little side events you can encounter like Moneyball in which you can participate for a quick buck. There are trade ships that pass by and ask whether you're interested in buying their wares. There's interesting information on certain datadisks in the game which you can buy on stations: some give you tips on how to be a good miner, some are purely there for world-building purposes. There are little details like kicking people on space stations. You can buy a drink at the bars. There's an Easter egg where you can find the game's developers on a station. You can do the Kessel Run.

If you like 3030 Deathwar Redux, then you might also want to look into Escape Velocity: Nova, Transcendence, Flatspace IIk, Endless Sky and NAEV.

3030 Deathwar is an excellent revival of classic top-down space sims like Escape Velocity. I say revival because unlike many "remake-like" games that hold their source material in overly-reverent regard, warts and all, 3030 breathes new life into the best and most exciting parts of the EV series and dumps everything that doesn't work.

The basics are still there: Start with bad ship and no money. Do jobs. Make money. Get better ship. Do more jobs. Make more money. Get better ship. Start hunting pirates for fun and profit. Start buying out the local market and flipping cargo for easy profit. Do some story missions and build your reputation. Get better ship. Shoot everything that makes eye contact. Demand tribute. Take over a planet or five. Get better ship. Own a personal galactic armada. You get the picture.

I've played a lot of Escape Velocity. I grew up with a Mac in my house, so Ambrosia SW games defined that era of PowerPC gaming for me (such as it was). There is a lot about that original gameplay loop that is drilled into my brain. 3030 updates virtually every one of the core mechanics to make this game feel modern and responsive, while retaining the massive open-universe do-what-you-want scope that made the original EV so enticing.

For instance, one specific detail that absolutely does it for me: in EV, the Bar was an interaction on nearly every station that let you meet weird characters and advance plot points. However, running on a 60 MHz Performa meant that most of the plot went down via text boxes. 3030 takes that underloved system and moves it front-and-center - each station has a fully interactive Bar with dozens (hundreds??) of looks, background characters, drinks, and dialogue trees. The end result is that you're not just making a binary choice with a block of ASCII or delivering the idea of a package to a rewards screen - you're meeting in a seedy, derelict dive with your contact for better-paying work. It's a huge boon for immersion and gameplay depth.

3030 is a winner across all the checkboxes that matter to me. The soundtrack is fantastic, the visuals are rich and almost elegant in self-imposed 90's low-memory-ugliness, there is an astounding amount of snappy dialogue hiding behind even mundane characters, the derelict EVA-suit mechanic makes exploration and looting feel compelling, extra-spatial nebula complicate the act of getting from point A to B just enough to keep you on your toes, there is a story with characters I almost immediately cared about, the options menu is so interesting as to warrant its own entry, and hot dang, it even manages to be funny without falling into farce or cringe.

I will update this review as I get further into the endgame, but this game is an awesome surprise and scratches a long-forgotten itch. It sounds trite, but playing 3030 makes me laugh and smile. Highly recommended.