Star Command Galaxies Review Summary

Charming aesthetics and fun gameplay: The game is praised for its charming pixel art, engaging humor, and overall fun factor. Many reviewers appreciate the retro feel, appealing graphics, and enjoyable core concept. The game also incorporates Star Trek references and witty dialogue, enhancing the experience.

Deep crew and ship management: Reviewers highlight the addicting gameplay loop centered around crew management, ship upgrades, and strategic combat. The game offers a high degree of customization for ships and crew, providing players with freedom in how they approach tasks and missions. It also offers more freedom than similar titles like FTL.

Active development and bug fixes: The developers are actively working on the game, releasing updates and fixes to address bugs and improve stability. Reviewers note that the game is now in a more playable state after significant rework and bug fixes. This ongoing development is a positive sign for the game's future.

Improved over original Star Command: Reviewers familiar with the original Star Command on mobile are excited about this game's development, seeing it as a significant improvement and expansion of that experience. They appreciate the polished interface and new features not present in the mobile version. The game builds upon a well-regarded foundation.

Improved stability and performance: Reviewers generally liked the game after initial crashes were resolved, noting smoother performance compared to earlier states. Some were fans of the iOS version. However, the points are vague and lack specific details about the gameplay itself.

Game is buggy and unplayable: The game is plagued with numerous bugs, glitches, and stability issues, many of which are game-breaking and can halt progress. These issues range from UI problems and missing sprites to corrupted save files and tutorial crashes, making the game virtually unplayable and frustrating.

Unfinished, lacking content/polish: The game feels unfinished, lacks polish, and has been in development for a long time without significant improvements. Reviewers express concern about slow development, lack of content, and the possibility of the project being abandoned, especially compared to other similar titles.

Poor UI, control, settings: The game suffers from a poorly designed and clunky UI, control issues, and broken settings. These issues make navigation difficult, hinder gameplay, and contribute to a frustrating user experience.

Poor crew AI/pathfinding: Crew members exhibit erratic behavior, poor pathfinding, and unresponsiveness to commands due to flawed AI. This leads to characters getting killed, inefficient resource use, and an overall frustrating management experience.

Uninspired, unbalanced combat: Ship combat and close-quarters combat (CQC) are uninspired and unbalanced, lacking tactical options and challenge. Boarding battles feel crowded, and crew members struggle to hit targets, making combat repetitive and unsatisfying.

Core gameplay: manage ship and crew: The core gameplay involves ship management, crew recruitment/management, resource allocation, and real-time strategic combat. Players explore a procedurally generated galaxy, complete missions, trade, and upgrade their ships and crew. The game blends elements from FTL, XCom, and Space Base DS9.

Strategic ship combat and boarding: Ship combat involves managing energy, shields, and weapons, and boarding enemy ships for resources. Unlike some similar games, destroying a ship requires its complete destruction even after boarding and eliminating the crew.

Crew needs: automatic vs. manual: Crew members automatically manage their needs (eating, sleeping) when not in alert status, but require manual management during alerts. This creates a need to balance automation with player intervention during critical moments.

Mission structure and urgency: Missions are structured with FTL-like jump node paths and saves are only allowed between nodes. Some missions are timed, adding urgency to exploration.

Tactical cover in ground missions: Ground missions feature a cover mechanic, allowing for tactical troop relocation when discovering ships/stations.

Overwhelmingly loud music: The music is reported to be overwhelmingly loud, which may detract from the player experience.

Persistent graphical glitch: A minor graphical bug causes floor pixels from destroyed ships to persist across different maps.

Wait for sale/full release: Many reviewers suggest waiting for a sale, a full release, or significant updates before purchasing the game. This recommendation stems from concerns about the game's current state, which is often described as unfinished, buggy, or lacking in content. Some reviewers express hope for future improvements but advise caution in the meantime.

Consider superior alternatives: Some reviewers suggest that players who enjoy this type of game should consider alternatives like Space Haven or FTL. These alternatives are often described as more polished, feature-rich, or better examples of the genre. Some reviewers recommend the mobile game Star Command as a more polished alternative.

Support the developers: Some reviewers suggest purchasing the game to support the developers and their ongoing work, even if the game is still in early access or has known issues. This recommendation is based on a belief in the project's potential and a desire to contribute to its development.

Future diplomacy updates: Future updates are planned to expand diplomacy options and improve gameplay. Reviewers believe that the developers will patch the game in the future.

Consider language barrier: The game's reliance on English text may pose a barrier for some players. This language limitation could restrict the game's accessibility and appeal to a wider audience.

Aims for 'Star Trek' experience: The game aims for a Star Trek-like experience, involving crew management, galaxy exploration, and combat. However, some features like planets and alien races are temporarily unavailable or limited, with plans for future updates to expand content.

Supporting the developers: Some reviewers express support for the developers and their project. However, this feedback lacks specific details about the game itself.

Major update in July 2018: A significant update on July 10th, 2018, drastically changed the game. Reviews prior to this date may no longer be accurate.

Limited language support currently: Currently, the game only supports English, but the developers plan to add Spanish, Russian, and German language options in the future. The characters speak in a Simlish-like language.

Space stations offer missions/crew: Players can visit space stations to acquire missions and recruit new crew members, adding to the gameplay loop and progression.