Spaceflight Simulator is currently an Early Access title on Steam that is being both developed and produced by Stefo Mai Morojna and was released on the 18th of February 2022. With a title like Spaceflight Simulator, you can probably hazard a guess as to what the gameplay entails, and to put it simply, you’re going to be a rocket scientist. Thankfully, the game is a lot easier than being a real rocket scientist, though, as it would probably end up being quite a struggle to get any of these rockets into outer space.
How to Download Spaceflight Simulator
You can download the game from Steam. Click on the Download button at the end of this review If you like space sims, check out also our review of Kerbal Space Program, No Man’s Sky, or EVE Online.
The Game Review
Gameplay
When looking at this game, it’s easy to make the connection to Kerbal Space Program – a game that is quite possibly the first, if not, the most popular rocket-building game ever made. Instead of being 3D, however, Spaceflight Simulator takes a different approach and aims to be in a 2D perspective instead and it surprisingly works pretty well. The game is still just as complex as something like Kerbal Space Program, despite having lost a whole level of axis.
The actual gameplay itself has you picking and choosing from a vast array of components to piece together one, singular rocket. You’ll need to connect cones, thrusters, and all sorts of other components to a cockpit to see just how well your rocket can perform out in space; providing it can make it that far.
Once the rocket has launched, you’ll be in control of the trajectory of the rocket, along with the thrusters to ensure that it travels in the right direction.
Half of the fun with these types of games is seeing if your ridiculous rocket designs will ever make it out of orbit, let alone to a distant planet.
Unsurprisingly, it’s a lot easier said than done and can lead to a lot of trial and error to see if your design will finally work out. The freedom to do what you like with your design is where the majority of the fun comes in, but it can quickly get a tad tiresome if the trial and error aspect of the game starts to get frustrating.
Graphics
Looking at the game from a visual perspective, Spaceflight Simulator definitely leaves a lot to be desired. Even at first glance, it’s painfully obvious that the game’s graphical fidelity is not its best asset.
A lot of the visuals, UI choices and overall design of the rocket pieces all seem like placeholder elements that should be replaced as the game gets further along in development. This is always a possibility, considering that the game is currently in Early Access as of writing, but the likelihood of the visuals getting any kind of overhaul is fairly unlikely.
For the most part, it’s all just kind of minimalistic and simplistic, but it doesn’t seem to lend itself to the game’s overall style and just gives off the impression that it is lacking one instead.
Audio
The audio with this one is a bit of a mixed bag in all honesty. It’s not to say that the audio is always bad, as when the audio is actually there, it’s pretty good – especially the sound of the rockets flying through the atmosphere.
Other than that, though, there are very few sounds that actually get produced by the game, so there’ll be moments of just pure silence. Normally, this would add atmosphere to a game similar in vain to this one, but it just gets tiresome not hearing anything at all once you’re out of propulsion fluid.
Conclusion
Overall, Spaceflight Simulator knows exactly what it wants to be – it wants to be the 2D Kerbal Space Program and it accomplished that feat incredibly well.
Yeah, the game is a little rough around the edges, especially when it comes to the simplistic visuals and the rough audio. But, the main star that is the gameplay can be a lot of fun if you find yourself getting sucked into the loop with Spaceflight Simulator.
