Into the Stars

For anyone who has ever watched a space adventure, there's always a sense of wonder and excitement as you imagine what it would be like to sit in the captain's chair of a massive spaceship, exploring the stars, fighting off alien threats, and making the hard choices that define what it means to be a leader. Into the Stars gives players the chance to live out that fantasy on an epic scale. Rather than simply clicking on a location and instantly popping up there, you'll take the wheel of the Ark 13, maneuvering through space, dodging hostile patrols, and easing into orbit above new planets to gather resources and carry out special missions. It's a gorgeous, peaceful, and even calming view from the outside, one that belies the frantic chaos usually going on in the ship's bridge.

Commanding the last hope of humanity isn't easy. There are constant alerts, alarms, and the like going off, warning of issues that require your immediate attention. Maybe a critical system on the ship is failing. Or it might be an uprising of the citizen populace on the ship. Or it might be a showdown with Skorn patrols preparing to fire on you. Whatever the issue, you need to prioritize your efforts, assigning some crew members to take care of the onboard issues while sending others out on missions to gather resources, make diplomatic relations, and recover materials and equipment to keep the Ark 13 running in top shape. It's a persistent challenge and a bit of a juggling act to keep track of the ship's needs while still progressing toward Titus Nova, but the game does a phenomenal job of keeping that challenge balanced and never tipping over into frustration. Much as in real life, there are difficult decisions to make in the game, and not every event is going to go your way. But, in the end, if you think through the problems put forward, you'll make progress and, most of the time, be left with a real sense of accomplishment.