This game has a combination of good and rare qualities that others don't. There really are very few games like this: Serious, story rich, choices matter, combat-optional rpg's with mature art styles and philosophical dilemmas. There might be one or two games like this made per year, if we're lucky.

What I really love about this game is that it is an interesting journey that doesn't waste my time, aside from avoidable turn-based combat (which I'm not a fan of and always takes too long). The story and plot are interesting and believable. The sci-fi details aren't too outlandish or fantastical. The music is outstanding. The graphics are beautiful.
There are many different playstyles but I'm guessing it caters to less aggressive options, as that was a smooth ride for me.

Some people didn't like the sneaking, which surprised me because I loved the sneaking system, although there weren't too many chances to use it. I was fine with this frequency as there is at least one part where sneaking can be incredibly impactful to the story.

More than anything, I think this game suffers from the same issue as its predecessor Age of Decadence as both are so dreary and loveless. I actually started the game and immediately stopped because of this. This game has more positivity when talking to the commoner NPC's, and the faction leadership are understandably conniving, but even in a sci-fi post apocalyptic wasteland, I'd expect that people hang on to hopes and dreams and find some ways to have joy. If there's one thing JRPG's have that western RPG's don't, it's the inspirational positivity of heroism and actually creating a better world after winning.

The realism of the game is much appreciated and there is a decent variety of enemies, equipment, upgrades, and shops. The combat is mystifying to me because all the guns seem to have similar statistics, with very small differences but the shotguns still seem to have different outcomes that I'd expect from a shotgun.

The game also may be open to allowing you different choices, but it is a linear game. You have very limited options to determine *when* you make your decisions and many times your dialogue choices will immediately set you on that course with no options for deciding differently or quitting that questline later on. This was a bit suprising to me and made me a bit afraid of choosing dialogue, knowing I probably won't be able to go back and ask about that other idea.

The companions are also pretty bare-minimum, which I'm fine with but most people seem to like companions more than the plot and story of the actual games, so if you're enamored with people rather than purposeful activity then this game may not be for you.

The game is very basic, which is a shame as there is so much potential in it.
The story line is about three factions fighting for control over the colony ship you have grown up on, you don't get much options into who your companions are, and the combat is very drab, even though you level up a certain fighting style it doesn't feel like you have actually got stronger or much more accuracy. The sub-machine guns are overpowered too, so if two enemies have them usually that's a team wipe on turn 2.
I will give there are many ways to go about situations, passively or agressively. Which stops having to play out combat scenes that are unwanted. Some you cannot avoid, so make sure your always prepped if you do get the game.

I rate this a 5/10

Great story, balanced difficulty. Worth every penny.

Another solid game from Iron Tower studios, i'd say the learning curve is rather steep, but once you "get it", it's pretty cool. It's cool before that too, but also a bit overwhelming :)

Very good. Very fun. Good writing. A bit clunky but overall excellent.

Colony Ship is a solid isometric RPG in the classic Fallout style. The graphics are great and it runs like a top. The story is old-school generation ship stuff that is more or less sci-fi comfort food since Heinlein, and has a fair amount of different endings. Problems can be solved multiple ways, and there seems to be a possibility of a pacifistic run (I talked my way through most things, including the entire ending sequence). If it has a weak point, it's the combat, but as just mentioned, you can often avoid it. Exploration of the ship is interesting but not overwhelming, and I played the entire game in a few days, which is refreshing.

A hard-as-nails, but rewarding cRPG that was well worth my time. I loved the settings, characters and setpieces. I also liked the sense of humanity this game had that Age of Decadence lacked.

A couple critiques are that the combat is great, but it doesn't give you many opportunities to learn it's systems, you might need to restart a couple times, and the characters were great, but could have used some more dedicated side-content for the party members.

I would love for these creators to make more games, with bigger budgets. I genuinely think they could be up there alongside Larian if they were given a proper chance, buy this game!

Did not expect to have this much fun with the game.

If you liked the developer's previous game (Age of Decadence), you will like this one too.
The depiction of how a generation ship would work after hundreds of years in space is actually quite interesting, and it does not have the cliche "good faction, bad faction stuff" that plagues a lot of games of these settings.
That being said, this is actually a good game even for non-niche hardcore RPG enthusiasts, as it gives a lot of options to resolve most questlines. And combat is doable even if you do not super-spec for it.
You can also go through most of the game without firing a single bullet if you so wish, and the design for you to do that actually makes sense in context!

I think CRPG's that hard-reward what your character build is something the world needs more of. While there is plenty of 'RPG's around, there isn't that many that make it so playing a specific style is rewarding, and often depend on a mixture of skills so that you get to 'engage' with everything. Colony Ship is not a game of the later's style, and while its not the 'biggest' crpg of 2023, it deserves attention.