Colony Ship: A Post-Earth Role Playing Game
Iron Tower Studio
It is the Year of Our Lord 2754…
You will never feel the sun’s warmth under a blue sky, never hear the wind in the branches of a tree, and never swim in the ocean, all because you had the misfortune to be born on the Ship, chained to a fate you didn’t choose. You have never seen Earth and you’ll never see Proxima Centauri either. You’re doomed to live and die on the Ship in the name of the Mission, like your father before you, like his father before him.
The Ship is old. She had already been twenty years in service when she was rechristened Starfarer – a pretty name for a retrofitted interplanetary freighter. No one is certain the Ship will actually reach its destination, and nobody much cares, since no one alive now will live to see it. Might as well get on with your life and try to make the best of it.
As a science-fiction nerd, nothing makes me more excited than crafting my own digital space operas. One of the things that’s great about Colony Ship so far is that this is a game that harkens back to the classic isometric computer role-playing games (CRPGs) of old. It’s a turn-based affair that will test your leadership skills as you attempt to bring success to your futuristic party of travelers.
Although Colony Ship is still in Steam’s Early Access period, it already shows a ton of promise. One of the most impressive things about it is that the game’s narrative does so much with such a limited environment. That in its own right is pretty impressive—how it sets the scene like any good book while teaching you the core mechanics like any good game.
Proxima Centauri is the Nearest Star
In Colony Ship, you play as a character born on a spacecraft torn apart by civil war. While there’s a journey to the star Proxima Centauri in progress, survivors will never see it.
You can imagine what kind of strife that would cause within the ranks. And thus sets the game’s dark tone. The bleak visuals of craft and characters really resonate with that downtrodden, narrative-laden feel. As you can imagine, the sprawling vessel is basically a large, condensed town traveling through the stars at a slow pace while keeping its residents alive with its various life support systems.
The game, as mentioned, is in early access right now and it can definitely use some work with regards to its gameplay mechanics. The world-building and lore are nothing short of brilliant, but the experience is somewhat hindered by the difficulty of its combat system. The end of the game can also arrive rather quickly—from making what would seem like irrelevant decisions. These elements sometimes make Colony Ship feel more frustrating than frightening.
Although Colony Ship definitely gives off CRPG vibes, it also features the difficulty of a Dark Souls game. Whether this is intentional or not, a better player experience may have come by lessening its difficulty. However, due to Colony Ship’s fantastic story, characters, and environments—there is a lot of potentials for the game to be nothing short of amazing.
Key Features
Skill-based character system, with feats and implants.
Tactical turn-based combat, featuring standard, aimed, and weapon-specific attacks.
Multiple quest solutions, mutually exclusive questlines, and a branching main storyline.
10 recruitable party members with different personalities, agendas, and beliefs (only 3 available in the first chapter).
3 main factions and a score of lesser factions and groups
A large arsenal including melee weapons, firearms, energy pistols, grenades, and futuristic gadgets like the Energy Shield, Reality Distortion Generator, and Cloaking Field.
Different environments to explore, from the Engine Room and Hydroponics to the dystopian cities of the Habitat and the Mission Control ruined decks (only the Pit, Armory, and Hydroponics are available in the first chapter)
For Colony Ship to play at a decent framerate, you may just want to invest in a superior gaming rig:
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