Hardspace: Shipbreaker Image
Metascore
82

Generally favorable reviews - based on 33 Critic Reviews What's this?

User Score
7.7

Generally favorable reviews- based on 36 Ratings

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  • Summary: Equipped with cutting-edge salvaging tech, carve & slice spaceships to recover valuable materials. Upgrade your gear to take on more lucrative contracts and pay your billion credits debt to LYNX Corp!

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Hardspace: Shipbreaker - PC Release Date Reveal Trailer
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 28 out of 33
  2. Negative: 0 out of 33
  1. May 24, 2022
    100
    A great game with loads of playtime that I’m going to keep returning to for a long time to come. If only to work off my debt.
  2. Jun 2, 2022
    95
    With its incredible gameplay loop, Hardspace: Shipbreaker is as unique as it is addictive. A handful of minor bugs do little to hold back what is an incredibly immersive and rewarding experience.
  3. Jun 9, 2022
    90
    Hardspace Shipbreaker does everything it wants to do, and does it well. The shipbreaking is fun, tactile, and rewarding. The story is humorous, thoughtful, and engaging. And the music is relaxing and thoughtful.
  4. May 24, 2022
    80
    Hardspace: Shipbreaker is an intricate anti-puzzle game that delivers a searing commentary on corporate abuse.
  5. Jun 28, 2022
    80
    Hardspace: Shipbreaker is what happens when passionate developers and artists set out to create a “worker simulator”. Blackbird Interactive came up with a fantastic idea for a game, made it real using an excellent physics engine and wrapped the whole thing in stunning graphics.
  6. Jun 7, 2022
    80
    If you’re a fan of simulator-like games, and want something a little more different and fantastical, it’s well worth giving Hardspace: Shipbreaker a try. It can feel very much like work at times, but there’s also something strange therapeutic about it. After all, it’s rewarding doing a good job, right?
  7. Jun 3, 2022
    60
    Hardspace: Shipbreaker makes disassembling giant spacecraft piece by piece fun for a bit, but due to a lack of variety in its puzzle-like objectives it soon devolves into hard labor.

See all 37 Critic Reviews

Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 9 out of 12
  2. Negative: 1 out of 12
  1. May 26, 2022
    10
    Kind of indie experience at some point but really cool if you re hooked in this 4d gameplay. I really enjoyed the characters, music, thematicKind of indie experience at some point but really cool if you re hooked in this 4d gameplay. I really enjoyed the characters, music, thematic around Union and of course gameplay. This is not for everybody and there is a strong vision/message behind this one. You don’t often see this kind of game, very hard to classify. Expand
  2. Jun 10, 2022
    10
    You'll see a number of people objecting to the story in Hardspace: Shipbreaker. This is because the story, from the very beginning, satirizesYou'll see a number of people objecting to the story in Hardspace: Shipbreaker. This is because the story, from the very beginning, satirizes and mocks the abuses, excesses, greed, and doublespeak of corporations. People who believe that corporations are righteous entities that are more important than people *hate* this. The story is heartfelt and human and relevant to today's situation, and the voice acting (with perhaps the exception of Hal) is some of the best I have ever heard in a game.

    That said, there isn't any choice the player can make with regards to the story; the story progresses as you achieve the certification ranks. Each time you level up, you are presented with upgrades to your shipbreaking kit and snippets of the story the next morning (though sometimes the story pieces come at the end of the work shift rather than at the beginning).

    Early on there isn't any time pressure to help you learn, so sessions can last 20-40 minutes or so. After you get the hang of things, though, each "work day" is limited to 15 minutes, so you can play this game in bite-size pieces.

    The core gameplay loop is super fun. See to your gear, choose a ship, get to work taking it apart, and if you don't finish then you can go back to it the next day. Finishing a ship with as little waste as possible is the key to earning the highest amount of rewards in the smallest time.

    The sound design in this game is amazing. There is an upgrade for your suit that simulates sounds happening around you. Not only does this help give you auditory context clues to your surroundings, but it also leads to satisfying feedback for the work that you do. The soundtrack is fantastic! It's down-home Americana without lyrics, and there is a dynamic music system to add high-tech drama when you're doing something dangerous.

    There were a couple weird things that happened, such as things behind me or to my side that exploded when I was using the cutting laser on things in front of me, or getting killed when shutting down the fuel supply in a ship's thruster and the frame of the engine splits apart while you're inside it. But all in all, the physics work great and in a realistic way.

    I highly recommend this game to everyone- especially if you're an AnCap.
    Expand
  3. May 27, 2022
    10
    A fantastic and original game. It's so much fun to take these spaceships apart meticulously and manage to get a perfect salvage score. TheA fantastic and original game. It's so much fun to take these spaceships apart meticulously and manage to get a perfect salvage score. The graphics are great, the gameplay has enough variety to keep it interesting, and it even has a decent story. Another hit from the amazing Blackbird Interactive! Expand
  4. Jun 21, 2022
    9
    positive: setting / story / characters / music (though repetitive) / polished game-play
    negative: too short (I played through the career in
    positive: setting / story / characters / music (though repetitive) / polished game-play
    negative: too short (I played through the career in about 30 hours) / not many ships
    Expand
  5. Aug 22, 2022
    9
    I N N O V A T I V E !
    Finally I found something completely different from the usual, also: 0 bugs, simple but fun story and some customization
    I N N O V A T I V E !
    Finally I found something completely different from the usual, also: 0 bugs, simple but fun story and some customization options.
    Expand
  6. Jun 13, 2022
    8
    This game is very unusual: a specialist game that aims to do one thing, and do it extremely well in the form of spaceship salvaging. As a StarThis game is very unusual: a specialist game that aims to do one thing, and do it extremely well in the form of spaceship salvaging. As a Star Citizen player awaiting the salvage mechanics in that much larger game, I was therefore extremely interested in a game that would specialise in this - and it really does not disappoint. The team at Blackbird have done a fantastic job of making a space job feel like hard labor, but at the same time it requires thought, planning, and is very rewarding (and relaxing if you turn off the pointless timer and oxygen drain, neither of which is realistic for a job like this).

    Overall, I love this game for its purity. The plot of a dystopian megacorp and worker attempts to form a union, and collecting components for your own side build ship are all adding to the fun, as to collectibles, stickers and upgrades. It’s a game that knows what it is, and does it really well. It’s a game I will undoubtedly come back to regularly for years even once I’ve completed. It’s a solid 8/10 from me, it shouldn’t be judged as more or less than it is.

    Only requests would be to add in a co-player for dual cutting, VR support, and enabling free movement around your hab rather than it being fixed views. Other than that, it’s excellent - oh, and shoutout to the musicians as the music with this game is fantastic and really adds to the enjoyment and immersion with the country theme. Space cowboy ship breaking is my new favourite pass time.
    Expand
  7. May 25, 2022
    4
    Good core gameplay undermined by a dull, terribly-implemented story with bad, unskippable dialog and other shoddy features like the Hab thatGood core gameplay undermined by a dull, terribly-implemented story with bad, unskippable dialog and other shoddy features like the Hab that detract from the game rather than adding anything.

    If the last year of updates are any indication, this game will continue to get worse rather than better.

    A good game ruined
    Expand

See all 12 User Reviews

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