Spacebase Startopia is a next-generation reboot of an amazing, 20-years old sci-fi strategy game, with the same approach to gameplay but a fairly renewed graphics style, perfectly fitting the funny dark humour that pervades our star bases. It’s incredible how Spacebase Startopia manages to look modern even today: further proof that good ideas never get old.
A good management game, empowered by a very unique comedic sci-fi setting. Campaign isn't the greatest and a little bit more content would have been great, but all in all a nice return for the classic 2001 Startopia.
Editing this review for grammar...
A gem, among so many games today that in my honest opinion, are not complex enough to enjoy. My interest in the original Startopia classic from the early 2000's is much like my rating for the new Startopia II experience released Oct 23, 2020 about twenty years later. Just like the original, the second release takes a day to learn, but I would say years to understand how to reach a 95% station rating.I would rate both games a 10 or above. Had I been the programmer for Spacebase Startopia, or Startopia II as I like to call it, I would have added only one pro to the pros / cons list I will list for your below, and that is that service buildings should have an option to change the cost / per service on the 2nd floor Fun Deck. The original had this, and I loved that feature. What the original didn't have and Startopia II brings to the table, diserves not a 10 but an 11 on the scale. A soundtrack, dare I say, even better than the first game, with real instruments for some tracks, 'a factory feel' for the 1st floor Production Deck of music tracks, and synthesizer songs and drums & bass for some of the best electronica 'techno' feel for the 2nd floor, and lastly the 3rd floor Bio Deck with a tranquil set of tracks sound similar to the original bio deck -- leave little to desire from the music. The music to me was the least of the fascinations, so let me share some more details.Aside from the background music, the miniture sprite animations of each individual alien person on the space base, and not only that, but their animations inside or with buildings they interact with, leave nothing to the imagination, except watching them from time to time meticulously, and guessing what will happen next! With over 36 unique buildings, about 20 of these on the Fun Deck alone, you may find yourself asking if you can ever get bored with the animations? I feel after playing for nearly 4 years now, the answer is no, I am still enjoying watching them go about their day on on this station resort! If the following spurs your interest with great animation, very interesting interactions of new and similar buildings from the original, and balancing the economy of income to you as the space base owner, and the alien's enjoyment to want to stay in your hotels on the 2nd deck, or take off in their shuttle to return a few days later, the challenge is set out for you: Help them work to stay on your space base, but give them enough enjoyment and relaxation on decks 2 and 3, and you will find yourself with an 80 or higher percentage station rating.That is not all. No, there is more, much more, but to keep this review as concise as I can I will add only one more part which is one of my favorites: The wars. I do miss the Kasvagorian warriors from Startopia original, however, there is something else that was added to Startopia II which I would have done nothing different about had I designed this game! Mechs! Yes, indeed. They have introduced mech warriors to be a robotic AI team controlled by you on your side to fight the opposing space base commanders.Pros:The same gameplay and animations + better animations than the original.More challenging with the station rating than the original.Mechs are not for the faint of heart and are easily brutally fun! For the soft-hearted, choose a non-violent breakthrough.Aside from the classic start of free play, there is a quick-start option which at start unlocks two starting production deck rooms and lots of basic technology, the first 10 seconds.Cons:The services buildings cannot have manually adjusted **** trader ship Star Dock is not without its bugs.Need I say more?Want to play with us online as friends or 1vs1? Yes we play most days of the year. Join us by searching for Spacebase Startopia on **** bad I couldn't rate this eleven, because it disserved that. You will find that people who rate it less don't really enjoy complex games. If you want a challenge, if you want to have wars, or win in a peaceful way, look no further but to hang out with our group online in our Discord. Begin by writing in our Reddit to get invited.
That's not to say Spacebase Startopia is a bad game, it's just something of a disappointment. At best, it feels like a remake that makes a few missteps. It's a forgery at worst. If you really want more Startopia but can't stand to look at its dated graphics, there's definitely something for you here. Otherwise, you're better off docking with a different donut.
Spacebase Startopia is a decently comical management simulation that looks back at and expands on the original Startopia. With a wide number of buildings and areas to develop, aliens to satisfy and even hire, there's a fair amount to do. Spacebase Startopia isn't without its issues, such as too much forced 'comedy' and a campaign that drags like a marathon, but you're still likely to have a good time if you like management sims.
Spacebase Startopia has cutesy and cartoony xenos milling around, but that’s all it has going for it. From questionable mission objectives and monotonous micromanagement, to audio hiccups, technical woes, and a lack of direction, it’s a simulation of the doldrums of alien life.
So very disappointing. The original Startopia is one of my favourite games of all time - criminally underrated upon release. When I saw this announced I was delighted, as it seemed an open goal to introduce it to a new audience.
Unfortunately, this is a mess. It's been "consolised" - this is a PC game through and through and all the mechanics used to make it viable for a controller has hamstrung it severely. Graphically, it's a shambles - not mechanically, but visually. A neon monstrosity with no soul; the original still stands up better despite being 20 years old.
The original is still on Steam - pick it up. It's 100x better than this, a true unique masterpiece of the RTS genre.
Give Kalypso a classic, and they will **** the soul out of it and leave a hollow skeleton of even the most original ideas, and fill it with bugs, terrible humor, bizarre control schemes, and better graphics, meaning that you get modern day performance issues for ps3 era quality.
Their idea of adding content is adding micromanagement since additions to the AI or the simulated environment is hard, and their missions have all the charm, depth and excitement of a shopping list for a store that only sells one product. And of course there are the obvious holes in the game that can be filled with DLC in case it succeeds, but looking at the reception this one will be burried without support after three weeks.
If you are nostalgic, play the original. If you are curious, play the original. If you are neither and have too much money, give it to an animal shelter, but not this publisher.
talk about a boring game there's only like half a dozen things you can build and it gets old REAL FAST. the camera is just terrible and what idiot thought it was a good idea to right click to select everything! don't waste your $! i didn't even last 2 hours before i refunded it on steam LOL
the ONLY thing good about this is the soundtrack is has some groovy tunes just get that separate and forget about the game
Starts out interesting but becomes convoluted as more tasks are demanded without even anything close to a hint on how to achieve these tasks..Having to think for yourself is one thing , but this game requires very complex actions and that you completely figure them out yourself through hours of banal trail and error...Also performance tanks once 5 sections are open...
Anyone buying this game should know about the original game called "Startopia", which was made 20 years ago, but is still available on steam. That game, at 20 years ago, had better graphics than this modern release.
Yeah, the modern release has higher resolution textures and poly counts. But what good is that when they're all generic, uninspired, and use a palate that can only be described as "Rainbow diarrhea".
Gone was the clever wit, gone is the quality voice acting (as well as the quality writing), gone is the charm. Gone are the engaging mechanics. What is left is something that...well, Even for a Kalypso Remake, is more of an insult to the name it is trying to cash in on.
Worst of all, they have the chutzpah to charge $50 USD, and that just for the "Standard Edition". I'm looking forward to the future DLCs that cost $20 and consist entirely of a 3 reskins and a new song.
Don't buy this. If were hoping for something that was worthy of the original, you won't find it here. If you came across this, and thought the concept sounded interesting, STILL Don't buy this. Go and buy "Startopia" instead., It's still available; you can get it on GoG or steam for a tenth of the price, and it is in every meaningful way a much better game.
SummarySPACEBASE STARTOPIA is an original mix of economic simulation and empire building strategy paired with classic RTS fights. In addition to the single player Campaign and Skirmish mode, there’s also a competitive and co-op multiplayer mode for up to 4 players. And as if maintaining the 3 Space Station Decks, entertaining the 8 Alien races ...