Developer: Lunheim Studios
Publisher: Lunheim Studios
Platform: PC
Tested on: PC
Space Station Tycoon – Preview
All sorts of pilots wander the galaxy and it’s up to you to figure out what will bring you the most success. This can be done by opening up shop in the most unlikely place imaginable; space. Build, expand, and make a profit, and eventually allow your business to bloom among the galaxy’s stars with Space Station Tycoon – available now on Steam, in Early Access.
There isn’t really a story that is highlighted in the gameplay; or, at least, it didn’t stand out. This by itself, isn’t a big deal for a Tycoon game. However, according to Space Station Tycoon’s Steam page, there is a hidden background story that can give the game’s setting a bit of context:
“It’s the year 3000 AD. Humanity has spread its reach across the stars, created a booming economy, and now seeks entrepreneurial spirits to stake their claims. Come all you tycoons, for now, is the time to take action and build your own space station. It won’t be easy, you’ll have to fight off space pirates, attract demanding customers to your services, and risk financial ruin on the markets. But if it was easy, why wouldn’t everyone do it?”
In terms of the graphical prowess of this small title, we can easily say that the game looks phenomenal and it has such a pretty futuristic aesthetic to it. This is made especially true thanks to the color-use, bright lights, and the purple-hued stars-filled galaxy that we can easily stare at for hours. The objects and buildings in the game are also good-looking and nicely detailed. The UI on every screen is so neat and clean which is so important for a Tycoon game. A cluttered UI can mess up the experience from the get-go and give players too much pressure to discover all the available options. Now, having ‘too much to handle and explore’ might be something you’d expect from a game such as this. It’s hard to achieve, but Space Station Tycoon delivered by creating an orderly and clear UI. The only negative point that can be mentioned in terms of graphics is how people look in-game. There’s something nostalgic to having Runescape-like figures in your game, but it kind of breaks the immersion from the rest of the visuals.
The sound design here doesn’t really stand out or anything. It’s what you expect from any other game in the genre. Although, it is worth mentioning that the soundtrack matches perfectly with the game’s setting, thus creating the right ambiance. The synth-wave background music and sound effects are futuristic, spacey, and overall suitable to go hand in hand with your gameplay.
Space Station Tycoon is like any Tycoon game that many are familiar with. Think games like Zoo Tycoon or Rollercoaster Tycoon, and you basically know what to expect. As you might already know, those games are mainly focused on construction, management, and business simulation. You start up a small business, make it grow by expanding your facilities, and manage your finances until you accomplish your goal. In Space Station Tycoon, this isn’t any different for the most part.
You start the game with the basics that come with these types of games. You choose things like your difficulty settings, the amount of starting money, the number of AI business competitors, the option for natural disasters to occur, and your general space station customization, such as the name, logo, and its colors. Overall, it’s very fun for us to be able to personalize our own station!
As you can see, there’s quite a lot to look at in this game. Business management means keeping an eye on your customers’ needs, staff, money expenses, profit, stock, business expansion, along with other events in this game, such as pirate attacks and natural disasters. It is very much recommended to turn on the tutorial for your first playthrough. The game guides you through the beginning step by step and makes the gameplay so much more understandable for future playthroughs.
Honestly, this is all exciting at first. There’s a lot to discover and to keep an eye on. It takes a bit of time and fiddling around to understand the in-game mechanics, the economics, and how the market works. But; you’ll eventually get there. Unfortunately, the gameplay discovery stops after a few hours of playing. You understand basically all the different aspects of the game, money is flowing, your business should be blooming, thus there’s barely any challenge left. The game also lacks end goals which other Tycoon titles do have. While goals in these other games are often also a bit vague and put you on track for a fairly long-distance goal, it would motivate players to have a goal in this title as well. We feel it’s all quite nicely handled, but without any goal, you just end up clicking away, achieving nothing. After a while the bigger picture starts to feel pointless, and that’s not really what you want to be feeling when playing a game such as this.
Conclusion
Space Station Tycoon has good potential but still needs a lot of growing to make it big like many other Tycoon games. The graphics and sound are great for an indie game. Unfortunately, the gameplay is a bit like the empty void you’d encounter in space. It lacks depth and satisfaction in the long run, which makes a time-sink such as this a bit ‘useless’. The game’s simple enough to play casually, and exploring the first few hours can still be entertaining. Keep in mind, the game is still in Early Access and can still evolve to become a proper gem, but it also can turn into another bland project. Truly, this one can still swing both ways. As for now, we cannot fully recommend the EA version at its current price.
Space Station Tycoon – Preview,
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