Deck & Conn Review Summary

Immersive and fun with a nostalgic retro sim feel, yet it suffers from shallow content, a poor tutorial, unfinished bugs, and no mid-patrol saving.

Game is fun and immersive: Players consistently describe the game as fun, immersive, and engaging, with strong gameplay and a captivating experience. This is the most frequently mentioned positive aspect.

Nostalgic retro sim feel: The game successfully evokes nostalgia for 90s submarine/naval sims and MicroProse titles, with a retro aesthetic and old-school gameplay. This is a key selling point for many players.

Excellent tutorials and onboarding: Reviewers praise the tutorials and checklists for being helpful and well-designed, making the game easy to learn without being overly handholding. This is a notable strength.

Good value for price: Multiple reviewers feel the game is well worth its price, offering good value and fun for the cost. This is a common sentiment among players.

Deep and rewarding combat: Combat is highlighted as well-executed, with strategic depth, tough but fair challenges, and satisfying mechanics like energy management and railgun accuracy. It is a standout feature.

Lack of content and depth: Many reviews describe the game as shallow, with limited content, few mission types, and systems that feel superficial. The game is often compared to an early access or unfinished product, with little to justify the price.

Poor tutorial and onboarding: The tutorial is criticized for being vague, missing steps, and not explaining controls clearly. Players struggle to find basic functions like the dock button or MAGS switch, leading to frustration and wasted time.

Unfinished and buggy state: Players report numerous bugs, crashes, and softlocks, indicating the game is not polished for full release. The lack of developer acknowledgment and unannounced patches add to the feeling of an unfinished product.

No mid-patrol saving: The inability to save during patrols is a major frustration, causing lost progress on crashes or exits. Players emphasize the need for a save option, especially in longer missions.

Slow and tedious gameplay: The turn-based system and ship movement are described as extremely slow, with long waits between actions. This makes patrols and combat feel like a drag, especially when multiple ships are involved.

Patrol missions are core: The game centers on patrol missions, with a campaign mode that involves patrolling and combat. Players engage in patrols that can have different random events, and the gameplay loop involves spawning, traveling, patrolling, and returning.

Tutorial and checklists: The game includes a tutorial with checklists and an encyclopedia, covering most processes needed to operate the corvette. Tutorial assignments guide players through complex procedures, and checklists are used as aids throughout the game.

Ship upgrades and progression: The game features a progression system with ship upgrades, ship classes, and direct upgrades without sidegrades. Players can fully upgrade their ship after gaining enough reputation from patrols.

Turn-based space tactics: The game is a turn-based tactics game set in space, with one step equal to one game hour. It is described as a light turn-based naval-style space simulation, emphasizing strategic decision-making.

Procedural campaign and missions: The game has a procedurally generated campaign with handcrafted missions and a mission generator. This provides variety and replayability, with patrols offering different random events.

Performance varies by hardware: Some reviewers experience no crashes and note the game runs well on low-end hardware, while others request optimizations. This suggests performance is inconsistent across systems.

Crashes occur during gameplay: Multiple reviewers report crashes, including mid-patrol and before engaging enemies. These crashes disrupt gameplay and may indicate stability issues.

Cannot recommend in current state: Multiple reviewers advise against purchasing the game right now, citing its recently launched and unfinished condition. They suggest waiting for updates or major changes before considering a purchase.

Worth the price for some: A few reviewers find the game easily worth its price, especially for fans of immersive sims, tactics, or space combat. They recommend it for those who enjoy the genre and don't mind 2D pixel graphics.

Lack of content hurts value: Several reviewers note that the game lacks sufficient content to justify its price, even when discounted. This is a common reason for not recommending the game at its current price point.

Refund or wait for fixes: Some reviewers have refunded the game or plan to revisit it after major changes, particularly if issues like lost progress are resolved. This indicates a wait-and-see approach until the game is more polished.

Watch for ongoing support: One reviewer suggests monitoring whether the developer provides ongoing support before deciding to buy. This reflects uncertainty about the game's future updates and longevity.

Community fair range: $12.00 - $15.00.

Session length: 1.5h.

Endgame: 3.0h.

The game has a steep early learning curve due to a vague tutorial and obscure controls, but players report it becomes enjoyable once they get past that hurdle, with one citing 70 minutes to reach that point.

Reported time to anchor: 1h 10m.

Friction: Vague tutorial that tells you nothing; Obtuse instructions like 'follow the checklists'; Hard-to-find buttons (e.g., dock button); First mission can involve long waits due to slow turn-based movement; Early patrols are repetitive and boring.

Unlock drivers: Completing the five tutorial assignments; Learning the controls and interface; Getting past the initial learning curve.

Immersive Sim Devotee: Slow, methodical, role-playing, appreciating narrative and environmental detail. Motivation: Atmospheric immersion and old-school simulation depth. Stance: buy.

Tactical Combat Enthusiast: Strategic, mission-focused, optimizing ship loadouts and fleet coordination. Motivation: Engaging tactical space combat and strategic coordination. Stance: buy.

Content Hungry Explorer: Explorer, completionist, seeking all content and tweaking difficulty. Motivation: Desire for more content, customization, and replayability. Stance: sale.

Full release not early access: Reviewers point out that the game is a full release, not early access, which makes its current state more disappointing. Many feel it should have been labeled as early access.

Developer abandoned previous game: Multiple reviewers note that the developer abandoned their previous game, Objects in Space, while it was still unfinished. This raises concerns about the long-term support for this new title.

Game lacks content: Reviewers consistently mention that the game feels light on content, especially for its price point. The campaign and mission variety are also criticized as insufficient.

Potential for future updates: Several reviewers express hope that updates will redeem the game, acknowledging its potential. They believe the developer may continue to improve it based on feedback.

Compared to Objects in Space: The game is frequently compared to the developer's previous title, Objects in Space, with some reviewers feeling this game is inferior. This comparison often ties into concerns about abandonment.