Black Sun
In this game, you fly a space ship through an open world. Your sidekick is an AI assistant who understands your text-written commands and helps you to steer the ship, survive heavy space combat or to find the next gas station.
"Space is a terrible place. The kidnapping of my brother and the Captain’s death didn’t make it easier. Thank god, there is Hopper."
You play Eli, a young man stranded on the antique star freighter Lucky Beggar. You don’t like space yet here you are.
Features
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Text freely in natural language with your AI assistant Hopper: let her fly the ship, get her help during combat or ask for a market analysis to maximise your trading profit. She knows a lot - including terrible space jokes.
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A large 2D open-world universe containing numerous solar systems, space stations and ships to discover. Large means astronomical and impossible-to-fly-through. Be grateful if the jump engine works properly.
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Find your kidnapped brother while making interstellar friends and enemies. An over 5-hours long cinematic storyline is waiting for you!
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Enjoy epic space battles with hundreds of ships.
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You decide how you pay the bills for fuel and supplies: be a smart trader, solve rewarding quests or take missions from shady people in the space pub.
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Your ship is a temple. Repair it, get upgrades and don’t fly it into asteroid fields. Those dents stay.
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Put on the headphones, fasten your seat belt and relax: one hour of orchestral soundtrack - originally composed just for this game!
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Modding encouraged! Most of the game’s content is freely changeable by using a beginner-friendly script language and images. Add your own quests, ships or places. Teach new commands to the AI assistant.
Read More: Best Top-Down Artificial Intelligence Games.
Heat Signature
Tom Francis is quickly becoming one of my favorite humans, and I don’t even like humans.
Heat Signature is one the “main” games that Tom Francis aka Pentadact aka Suspicious Developments. He’s behind Gunpoint, Heat Signature and the upcoming Tactical Breach Wizards. He has done some other stuff like Floating Point and Morphblade but those are a bit more niche, at least in my opinion.
Unlike other space rogue-like/lites where you’re the overseer of a crew and typically deal with resource management as well as real time or turn based combat strategies; Heat signature pits you as a single mercenary out to liberate the galaxy or more accurately, to fulfill contracts for money and glory.
– Real player with 70.6 hrs in game
Read More: Best Top-Down Sci-fi Games.
NEW REVIEW (the old one is down below):
The game has changed a lot since my old review and as far as I can tell, only for the better.
First I will list all the content, that was not there back then: Contractors (Defender, Jammer, Tracker, Predator), Jammer doors, Clients, Reinforcements, Ship teleporters, Stealth shields, Character traits, possibly more.
Foremost I want to honor the decision to replace self-charging devices with those that only recharge when visiting a station, limiting the resources during a mission, so that each usage has to be thought through way more carefully. The only self-charging devices are the crash and acid traps, but those are far more tricky to use properly than the beams.
– Real player with 54.5 hrs in game
RULES OF GRAVITY
Take over the tasks of an astronaut in “RULES OF GRAVITY” either alone or with a space friend. Explore space and repair the space station, because you don’t know what else is coming.
Visit our Discord for regular updates and insights into the development.
FAQ
Singleplayer or Multiplayer?
Both! You will be able to play missions either alone or with a Space friend.
Controller-Support?
Yes, you can play with controller or mouse and keyboard.
Read More: Best Top-Down Adventure Games.
Space Pirates and Zombies
GAME TYPE:
2D Space Combat
Proberly THE best Top down space shooter you can get! When you unlock the capital ships you feel in a fight like Capt Kirk himself.
Even after all these years, this game is still my personal favorite when it comes to 2D space action. But not only the combat, also the ship building elements, upgrades and story make this a fantastic game. I also like the visuals - the colourful space looks beautiful! And the humour… oh my god! This game is so funny!
– Real player with 235.0 hrs in game
While I’m a bit late into the game of reviewing SPAZ, writing it anyway couldn’t hurt. Space Pirates and Zombies is a action-strategy space shooter with elements of random generation. While you have some control over how random it is, it only serves to increase or decrease the difficulty in the long run.
Gameplay: The gameplay is pretty solid. You pilot your ship around with WASD keys, and shooting your weaponry with the mouse. What makes it special if that you don’t point and shoot, but the direction of your ship controls where your shots are. If you place a weapon on the front of your ship, expect it to shoot forward until the higher class ships which have rotating turret mounts that do just that. Even then, anything other than lasers will still need to lead the target, as nothing is hitscan. This makes shooting more skill based.
– Real player with 120.7 hrs in game
Gratuitous Space Battles
If you get this game, get the complete pack. If you already have this game, get the Campaign module. Without the Campaign aspect, the game is very limited and ultimatey you won’t have much to do.
But with the campaign, while it is VERY limited to just building fleets and maintaining them (with no other 4X concerns; all structures are pre-built in any given system), it becomes a completely different game. Since the fleets are uploaded from players, you’ll always hit new interesting configurations for specific systems; add in all the special per-system rules that you need specialized ships and the concern of maintaining supply lines for your fleets, and it becomes a pretty engrossing game that requires far more planning and leaves you with the threat that the next attacking fleet might have your number with a counter.
– Real player with 632.0 hrs in game
Never thought that creating ships to blow alien ships up for no apparent reason or logic whatsoever could be so fun! :D
What you basically do is to design ships which, when deployed in battle, will help defeat the enemy fleet. Every victory you win will give you a credit like reward called Honour. You use this ‘Honour’ to buy new shiny gadgets or weapons that blaze nice looking beams of death onto your enemy.
There is no actual story line. The game is basically composed of about 14 setups (counting the tutorial battle aswell as an additional 9 setups when including all the DLC’s, which brings the number up to 23) which all offer a different challenge along with a certain species to go against. This means that just because your ship designs and the fleet you deployed were successful against a certain race in such a scenario, doesn’t mean that you will be as successful in another scenario with a different species. Not to mention certain scenarios having something called ‘Spartial Anomalies’ which can affect how well/poor your ships perform in terms of their weapons and defences.
– Real player with 308.3 hrs in game
REVO
REVO brings back vibes I have not felt since the late 80s and early 90s.
This is a fantastic space shooter! If you liked games like Galaga back in your day, then this game is for you.
-Shoot up space ships of varying styles and difficulties
-Unlock new weapons by defeating bosses
-Earn tech points to gain more lives
-Gain ammo by killing enemies
-Conserve Ammo because you can run out of it (If this happens there is an ammo supply drop)
-Beat the game and unlock hard mode.
-Fantastic Soundtrack
– Real player with 6.0 hrs in game
When I was 11 my uncle had a Galaga machine in his basement. I spent a whole summer trying to beat my Dad’s high score. I’m a professional streamer now, but that is one of my most cherished gamer memories. Revo takes me back to that summer. It’s the first game since geometry wars to capture that feeling. My Dad would have loved this game and when I play it I feel like I’m still trying to beat his Galaga score. That really means a lot to me.
– Real player with 3.0 hrs in game
SpaceBlocc
SpaceBlocc is a colorful minimalistic spaceship building game. A mysterious world you have to escape before it destroys you.
BUILD YOUR SHIP
Choose among 7 different parts to build your ship. By correctly managing your weight, thrust, and energy available you will be able to travel a different speeds. Slow and fast both have their advantages and disadvantages. Too slow and you will get destroyed by asteroid rains. Too fast and you won’t have time to destroy obstacles before colliding with them.
UNLOCK NEW PARTS
You start with only the minimum. Unlock new parts as you progress through the game. These parts are required to advance to next levels, and obviously will make your ship stronger.
RESCUE LOST ASTRONAUTS
Rescue astronauts that were a bit too bold. Some are just out there ready to be picked up. Some decided it would be fun to have to be rescued in more dangerous areas.
Spaceship for Newbies
STORY
The planet Xanar is a big deposit of junk and debris. In an attempt to change this situation and reduce the amount of trash on the planet, a team of engineers and scientists developed a spaceship made entirely of scrap, which can be controlled by pressing one button!
You’re the test pilot of this spaceship. Can you fly it through the obstacles in outer space?
ONE BUTTON MECHANIC
Maneuver the spaceship through different zones and obstacles - like asteroids, laser beams, and more - with only one button!
ART STYLE
Fantastic pixel art visuals, which include explosion effects, delicate clouds and enchanting constellations.
EXPLORE NEW SYSTEMS
Pass through portals with your spaceship, reach new systems, and discover new adventures!
ENVIRONMENT MECHANICS
Laser beams, alien portals, and slow zones… Which of these will seal your fate?
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72 unique and challenging levels!
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6 systems, each with their own thematic mechanics. Can you make it through?
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One default spaceship and a second one as a reward for those who are able to finish the game!
Star Sonata 2
I cautiously recommend this game only if you can look past its shortcomings. I have been playing since ~2008 when I was only 12yr old.
The Good:
There is something about this game that can get you addicted like no other. The player base is very close (admittedly also rather small) and everybody knows everyone else and that makes the community very strong. You can create your own team join a team (aka clan, faction, country) and take control of start systems and use the resources within them to build ships, weapons, space stations, and become an industrial powerhouse. But you better be prepared to defend what you own. Much like a country in real life, your team could become a true superpower with all the fame and infamy that comes with it. You can exercise your hard and soft power as you see fit. Politics are very real in this game and I love it. Likewise, if you upset too many players they may declare war against you. Every solar system you own and space station you build is at risk. In a worse case scenario you could lose all of your territory, all of your industry, and be forced to surrender which almost always results in the death of said team. This is something I really like about this game. You have a lot of freedom and the choices you make can make you insanely rich, respected, and powerful. But you could lose it all.
– Real player with 4273.5 hrs in game
TLDR - A decade+ after the game’s initial launch there is still nothing else quite like Star Sonata on the market today.
The game is heavily influenced by the Star Control series and combines 90’s style arcade action with MMO character development and an almost limitless item progression that rivals many modern MMOs. It has in-depth base building that is basically a whole different game unto itself where you can make money doing colonies, making gear, selling industrial commodities and more. The PvE content is typically fun and offers a variety of solo and group style engagements.. The PvP and team vs team combat probably needs the most improvement but the game doesn’t really revolve around those.
– Real player with 3859.9 hrs in game
This Means Warp
Play solo or work together with up to 3 crewmates as you make your own destiny in a procedurally generated universe. Purchase new weapons/systems for your ship, battle increasingly challenging enemies, and choose your path through a wide array of varied and dangerous encounters. The stakes are high - if your ship is destroyed, it’s game over!
1-4 PLAYER WITH ONLINE CO-OP
Embark on your perilous journey alone and recruit some allies along the way, or meet/make friends in both local and online co-op!
EVERY GAME IS UNIQUE
With randomized maps, items, enemies and encounters the game is different every time you play. Adapt your strategies and take advantage of a huge variety of upgrades, weapons, and systems in order to survive!
CHALLENGING, HIGH-STAKES COMBAT
Keep your guns, shields, and systems firing while tactically disabling your enemy’s. Letting your guard down for even a second can be fatal - if your ship dies, there are no second chances!
KEY FEATURES
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Huge selection of systems and strategies - Adapt your strategy as you build up your ship’s systems, with unique and varied items that can change the course of battle
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Deep, strategic combat - Think on your feet in hectic, real-time battles. Target specific enemy systems, change tactics on the fly, and keep your ship in one piece!
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Procedurally generated maps and enemies - Experience the unexpected in randomized galaxies with a varied mix of combat and non-combat encounters
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Dynamic story - Experience a narrative that adapts to your choices, developing differently every time you play
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Recruit your crew - Explore with a crew of other players, or befriend a varied cast of AI characters as you progress