So, I went into Hardspace: Shipbreaker not really knowing what to expect, but man was I blown away. This is a sci-fi game and even though it is in early access it is a game that is a ton of fun. Playing as a deep space ship salvager is a dream job that I never knew I wanted until now!
How to Download Hardspace: Shipbreaker
You can download the game by clicking the Download button at the end of the review where you can follow a link to Steam. We have been informed that PS4 and Xbox One version should follow up later.
The Game Review
The premise of the game is a lot of fun. You take a job working for a very “interesting” company called, LYNX. You may be a billion in debt, but they will give you the “advanced” tools you need to help you pay that off and have a fun and rewarding career in the process. I love the little bit of story that we get in this game and the whole thing has a very tongue in cheek kind of feel to it.
The idea of the game is that you are in outer space and there is a ton of wrecked and abandoned spaceships out there. These ships are just floating around with millions of buck’s worth of tech, cargo, and so on inside. This is where you come in as you are tasked with getting all the good stuff so that the LYNX company can make some serious money.
Each “level” has you approaching a ship with your fancy spacesuit in the first person. You have various equipment such as a tether that you can cause to pull things to you and send them back to be processors. You also have a tool that is like the slicer from Dead Space. This is what you use to break up parts of the ship to get the glorious high-end tech.
You only have 15 minutes to get as much stuff as you can. This means you have to work fast and smart! You are given a work order so you have to get certain items. However, you can also get other stuff too which will give you extra money as well as help you upgrade your items as you go. You can also throw stuff in a furnace to melt it down so it can be repurposed which can also earn you some money.
Each ship has a different layout and you have to think about what you are doing. You can die in many ways such as tethering something to yourself so it hits you in the face or even blowing up a fuel cell! When you die, you are brought back to life thanks to the cloning tech LYNX has, but they do this at a cost!
I found the game to have a lot of personality and this is most evident in your dealings with LYNX and the stuff left behind on the ships. You can come across data logs that you can decrypt and then check out to get an idea of who were the people who were on these ships before they were abandoned.
Even though, Hardspace: Shipbreaker is still in early access this is a truly fantastic game. I found myself spending hours with this game as it is so addictive. It is one of those games that is accessible to pretty much everyone, but everyone will probably go about each level differently. Above all else, this game is just a ton of fun and well worth checking out.
