Review: Spacebase Startopia for PC is a mech of a city sim
Spacebase Startopia, a city sim – resource management RTS game developed by Realmforge Studios and published by Kalypso Media aims to reinvigorate the twenty-year-old title with a modern entry. The original game, Startopia, is a critically acclaimed title that launched back in June of 2001. If you have played games such as Surviving mars, any of the Anno games from Ubisoft, or any other resource-based city sim management game for that matter, you’ll be quite familiar with how Spacebase Startopia plays out.
One of the unique aspects of the game is having to manage three different decks of the ship that all require unique needs. One focusing on the core structures of the base, another focusing on entertainment and relaxation for the citizens, and a third one on obtaining resources. Oh, and there is also a real-time strategy aspect to the game as well, where you have to defend your base from pirates, nasty bugs, and other players and bots if you so wish.
Spacebase Startopia also provides multiple modes to experience the game. You can play through the campaign either solo or through co-op, run a few custom matches through the free play mode, or go head to head against others players in multiplayer.
Spacebase Startopia
The Good
- Fun variety of aliens as citizens with unique needs
- Very few and minor technical issues
- Excels as a solo experience
The Bad
- Real-time strategy gameplay is very plain
- Not a lot of replayability
- Minor Motion Sickness
Spacebase Startopia: What’s good
Source: Windows Central
Category | Spacebase Startopia |
---|---|
Title | Spacebase Startopia |
Developer | Realmforge Studios |
Publisher | Kalypso Media |
Genre | City Sim Resource Management RTS |
Minimum Requirements | Windows 10 PC |
Game Size | 10GB |
Play Time | 40.2 hours |
Players | Single/Multi/Co-op |
Launch Price | $XXX |
Your space station has numerous different types of aliens that love to stop by for a visit, all requiring specific needs that have to be met to keep them happy there. Although for some reason, most of them enjoy being put into forced paid labour by some mysterious all mighty being only minutes after they arrive at the station. You gotta make a living though, right? And what better way to suddenly be employed by some psychopath hell-bent on creating a self-sustaining space base by also eliminating any threats that may stand in the way on board! Let us not forget the A.I. that is supposedly helping you, yet is obviously just expanding their space base empire to dominate the galaxy with… uhh, eco-friendly and self-sustaining space stations.
All that aside, Spacebase Startopia does a great job making sure you are always staying busy. The constant checking of the three decks can seem a little irritating, but in most games there comes a few moments where you tend to just sit there and idle for a while until the next big thing happens. This isn’t the case here. No matter what, there is always something to do to progress forward or something that needs to be maintained to keep your aliens happy. Let’s be honest though, a quick visit to the space cat cafe is probably the best way to lift anyone’s spirits.
No matter what, there is always something to do to progress forward or something that needs to be maintained to keep your aliens happy.
Spacebase Startopia: What’s not good
Source: Windows Central
There is an option to help mitigate this in-game, though it doesn’t seem to change anything notable. Add in odd camera angles and the round shape of the ship, it can be a struggle to play. The ring shape of the ship and restricting the camera to the ceiling of the ring instead of allowing a higher overview will be one of the biggest causes of motion sickness in Spacebase Startopia. Considering you are constantly jumping around the ship, managing three different decks all with specific needs while at the same time building troops for the RTS gameplay can become overwhelming.
The real-time strategy aspect of Spacebase Startopia itself is also quite bland. There is very little to it, to the point where it could simply just not exist. You can only build three different types of mechs, and a simple drone that polices your station and helps out in combat. Sure, you can go into the research tree and upgrade them, but that really doesn’t do a whole lot sometimes. It’s obvious that each specific mech is designed to counter a specific type of enemy, but the artillery mech pretty much trounces them all. You can win a game if that is the only mech you built.
Spacebase Startopia: Should you play it?
Source: Windows Central
Spacebase Startopia is a game that will satisfy any city-sim fan if they are willing to stick to single-player or simple co-op, or you are looking to fill that nostalgic need. Considering the original version of this game is twenty years old (where did the time go!?) Spacebase Startopia fits right in as a modern city-sim with this revitalization from developers Realmforge Studios. It’s certainly not one of the best PC games you’ll play. It’s also not the greatest city-sim resource management type game that also has RTS elements, but it’s not the worst either. There are enough different ways to play the game that anyone can find an area of the game that they can enjoy.
Spacebase Startopia
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