Please be advised that I reviewed the early access game (at the time of writing!). I mention this because as a vivid participant of the Steam community I've noticed several players sometimes getting confused over this, so I figured I'd mention it explicitly.

Especially because at the 5th of August 2020 Eleon Game Studios (= developers of Empyrion) have made an impressive achievement: Empyrion - Galactic Survival is no longer an EAG game but has become a fully legitimate "finished" game.


You know what makes this such a great game (in my opinion obviously)? The fact that you can see that it has been carefully designed to provide a solid gameplay experience. For example... when you start the game your escape pod crash lands onto a planet. After the crash you get out and the computer systems reset themselves, detect that things are seriously bad and thus it initiates an emergency survival protocol; your PDA will provide you with steps to undertake in order to increase your chances of survival. Of course what's actually happening here is that the game has started a tutorial session to help us learn the basic gameplay. The thing is though: it makes perfect sense, also from a storyline perspective.

And the developers really thought this through... See, I'm a die-hard Minecraft player and discovering & collecting resources? Yah, I can enjoy that. So when the tutorial told me that I had to collect 5 flower instances (or something similar; please forgive my current inexperience) I was already way ahead! Apart from picking flowers I had already mined plenty of minerals (copper, silicium,...), tore down parts of an abandoned structure (which got me steel & iron plates and some small electronics), got a lot of crushed rocks, etc.

So would the game really force me to pick some flowers again? Nope! You can easily skip certain steps if you want to. Of course you do get a warning that its a better idea to carry on but if you insist: no problem. And that is proof of a carefully designed tutorial.


I really enjoyed some of the similarities between these games. For example: your personal 2x2 crafting grid (Minecraft) vs. your survival constructor (Empyrion). The crafting table (Minecraft) vs. the portable constructor (Empyrion). And of course the trusty pickaxe from Minecraft vs. the multi-use survival tool in Empyrion... Of course both games are nothing alike, don't get me wrong here, but for a veteran Minecraft player such as myself these small similarities really made me feel more confident about this game.


So here I was... on a regular planet (or so I assume) and I had just managed to build myself a small base: I set up a tent near a large construction (which I started salvaging), placed my portable constructor and portable heater (to help keep me warm during the nights) and slowly but steadily I was really making progress. I had collected plenty of resources, managed to craft myself a motorbike to make it easier to move around the planet and I even began constructing a little more advanced mechanics such as a motor in order to try and repair a nearby vehicle. All in all: having a good time.

And then I opened up my map and noticed that I could "zoom out" (sorta). The tab next to the map showed me the solar system I was in, cool! And there were multiple planets surrounding a main star. I'm pretty sure that I'll be able to visit those planets as well, once I managed to build some kind of spacecraft.

So then I noticed yet another tab next to the previous one... wait... is that.... the map of a whole milky way?!. Ayups! Who needs a single solar system if you can have several, each with their own collection of unique planets to discover and explore? (mind blown :) ).

This is yet another example why I came to admire this game so much: it doesn't tease. See... another "similar game" will show you planets in the sky as some kind of bait (that's my impression at least) in order to make sure that you'll be constantly aware that there is still more to discover in that "other game". I never understood that mechanic to be honest... why? The only reason I could come up with was that there's simply not enough to do on a single planet alone so the "other game" had to tease its players to try and lure them into seeking out more.

Well... Not so much for Empyrion, and definitely not on the starting planet. You're on an Earth-like environment with a normal sky full of clouds and visible stars at night. The focus is fully on the here and now, which I think is the way it should be.


I am convinced that this game can suck you in and keep you happy for many hours to come. That is... if you're into the idea of landing on a planet, collecting tons of resources, crafting your own gear, collecting more resources and enhance your exploration efforts, start building your own base and then... maybe.. expand your horizons towards other planets...

And that's not even addressing all the stuff you can do while in space.. like building whole space stations....

This game is seriously extensive...

I can tell you this.... I'm seriously impressed with Empyrion, for me it's like "Minecraft in space & on steroids" and so far I am having a great time. Awesome graphics, a very convincing & solid gameplay and crafting mechanics, friendly towards new players (so many games manage to mess this part up horribly!), and really... the sky isn't even the limit ;)

For me this game is a classic in the making.

On a strictly personal note... Forget about "No Man's Sky" (which almost costs three times as much!) and instead save some money (and tons of frustration) and get this game instead. That's just my personal and honest opinion on the matter.

Thanks for reading!