As you explore the galaxy of The Ur-Quan Masters, you will eventually meet the Pkunk, a toucan-like species of mischievous but benevolent aliens. They offer a history -- perhaps true, perhaps invented -- of the cruel, spider-like Ilwrath:

In their last lives, the Ilwrath were all shining beings of pure light and blissful love. They had reached the pinnacle of spiritual evolution and could go no further. They were perfection. And then, somehow they got just a tiny bit better and WHAM, they were all of a sudden totally evil. Wouldn't you know it, get too perfect and you wrap right around to evil. That is why we Pkunk strive to be perfect but always do little bad and annoying things to keep from ending up like the Ilwrath.

The Ur-Quan Masters (née Star Control II) is a game that reached the pinnacle of Spacewar! evolution and could go no further. (Its immediate sequel, alas, follows the fate of the Ilwrath.) The design, art, sound, coding, and writing are perfect. The game transforms decades of space opera source material (from novels like Brin's Uplift Universe, TV shows like Star Trek, movies like Forbidden Planet, and many more) into an interactive experience full of fun and wonder. It owes a tremendous debt to Starflight and other games in the genre; but it is, in effect, the perfect ending to that genre. Fittingly, its greatest legacy is found not in further similar games (there was nowhere left to go) but in other classics, be they games like Fallout or TV shows like Babylon 5. Our own games, from Primordia to fallen Gods, would not exist without the impact Star Control II had on me as a kid.

What more to say? The ship-to-ship combat is so varied and well-balanced that my friends and I spent hundreds of teenage hours on it (yielding many dozens of teenage bruises from infuriated losers). The main game is even better. Somehow, it achieves that rare coupling of the thrill of exploration with narrative drive that still yields hits today (e.g., Breath of the Wild). The story is epic and funny, full of memorable moments and lingering mystery. And all of this is accomplished with 320x200 pixels and 256 colors -- in no small part thanks to an amazing musical score that creates urgency, humor, and horror whenever needed.

It's phenomenal. Of course, I have no idea what it would be like playing it for the first time in 2024. But playing it for the most recent time -- I am sure not the last time -- in 2024, it still transports me into the fantasy of being a star captain facing overwhelming odds with nothing but a sense of adventure and crew of misfits. Give it a try, and maybe you'll be transported too.