BETWEEN THE STARS Demo Impressions on Steam

The Kobayashi Maru is famous among Star Trek fans as an impossible test for star fleet cadets. Against impossible odds the trainee must decide whether to rescue the namesake vessel from an endless horde of enemy ships. The training exercise is impossible and always results in failure. The prologue for Between the Stars presents a similar premise.

After exploring game mechanics, fighting a few pirates, and upgrading your ship the Republic fleet captain James Scott is thrust into a life or death struggle against the treacherous Children of the Sun. As the cult-like faction destroys a Republic station full of your top brass you’re tasked with a simple objective, survive. Against endless waves of heavily armed frigates I somehow persevered, utilizing nukes, Gatling guns and more; mowing down Sun ship after Sun ship. Yet, with the space station collapsing under enemy fire, when it seemed like I might just win the day, the game crashed. Curse you Kobayashi Maru!

Occasional pre-launch bugs aside, Between the Stars offers a compelling mix of space combat, exploration and customization. Jumping out of hyperspace into the prologue the game wastes little time bringing you into the action. As my imposing, yet damaged, Republic destroyer flees an earlier engagement my AI system runs us through the controls. The universal WASD control scheme makes its appearance, pushing the ship in certain directions. While mostly intuitive, turning is done using the QE keys, and led to some early confusion. Various weapons modules are bound to the number keys and shooting/viewing is done with the mouse.  Most interestingly, players can divert power to the engines, weapons and shield systems using the keyboard directional arrows according to the situation. Learning these keys proved vitals as three enemy ships entered my periphery.

Combat in Between the Stars is fast and fun. Switching all power to weapons and shields and activating my various special weapons I made quick work of the first enemy, easily blasting through its shields. As my guns ground to a stop I quickly realized weapon emplacements overheat under heavy use. As laser bolts crashed into my shields, bringing my frontal defenses to dangerously low power, I shifted to present my undamaged flank towards the fire. Having bought some time, I maneuvered behind one of my foes and blasted into his less powerful rear shields. As the pirate vessel exploded into flames I noticed my guided nuke had refreshed. Using my cursor to draw a bead on the remaining ship, the blast destroyed it in a fiery conflagration. Combat over and with several space hulks floating aimlessly I took the opportunity to loot them, turning up what can only be described as mini loot boxes full of resources before turning to the rest of the demo.

The rest of the prologue set up mechanics that one might assume are integral to the main game. After docking at the nearest friendly base, I was given a new smaller, but nimbler ship. Replete with cloaking technology I found the change of pace refreshing. After explaining to the station leader how I was attacked I was sent to examine the disappearance of civilian ships in the area. Thus, began a point by point investigation of the surrounding asteroid field, investigating interesting points on the map and ferrying an incredibly annoying cargo ship captain around which made up most of the hour-long session. At certain points investigating an empty hulk or non-responsive space station triggered interesting miniature text-based adventures that resulted in game changing events. While the voice acting, and story weren’t anything to write home about, they were competent enough for setting up what is promised to be a roguelike game.

Perhaps most interesting for my experience with Between the Stars was the robust customization system. Each ship carries with it several empty modules wherein one can drag and drop various weapons or enhancements into place. I spent a good deal of time tinkering with my frigate, replacing guns with shield generators or nuke missile bays. By collecting crafting materials from enemies, you can assign crew to create newer, more advanced emplacements, further developing your playstyle. I for one am excited to find the best combination of these modules.

Between the Stars presents an exciting foray into roguelike space action sims. Unlike many similar titles this game is both accessible and action packed. The setting is surprisingly beautiful, shadowed and rendered for a smaller, Kickstarter funded game. I found the combat and exploration to be incredibly enjoyable. Indeed, the whole experience felt like a three-dimensional FTL, another excellent, and dirt cheap, space game. Coming out in the first quarter of 2019, keep your eyes out for Between the Stars.

Between the Stars is slated for release for PC via Steam on Q1 2019. You can play the Demo right now for free.

You can find out more information about the game by joining the official discord channel here https://discord.gg/hhUMZMX and following both @isolatedgames as well as @alexpoysky on Twitter.