14 DAY TRIAL // I should be investigating the source of a mysterious signal but I am more interested in the resource variety offered by this asteroid field. I am currently hovering up as much oxygen and helium as possible until I get a signal that my own air supply is running low. Once the beeps come I have time to get a few more resources before boosting to the ship.
There I will process some of my bounty and, maybe, feed some of it into the analyzer for some research. It’s a good idea to also do a quick check of the important systems and make sure that there’s enough fuel in the engine. I will then actually seek the signal and see how it pushes the story forward.
I also plan to make sure that I build at least one big extra room for my ship and strip mine the rest of this system. Who knows what’s out there and it’s always better to head out with a solid reserve than to suddenly face s shortage.
Oddyssey: Your Space, Your Way is developed by Weird Fish and published by 505 Games. It is in Early Access on Steam. The title is a survival science fiction experience with a focus on exploration.
The story setup images that Earth becomes uninhabitable, with humanity choosing to build an Ark that will re-create humanity on a suitable world. Unfortunately, someone miscalculated and the ship is low on fuel and off course. A few lucky or unlucky astronauts are revived to explore, get the necessary resources and try to get humanity to a new home.
It’s a thin narrative setup but it meshes well with the mechanics. Gamers get a universal tool to pick up resources and another to build both rooms and resource processors. Helium will become fuel, carbon and oxygen can be combined to get food, and so on. An analyzer can invent new tech as long as it eats app the appropriate resources.
The idea is to keep the ship stocked up with everything it needs and explore new systems while dragging the Ark behind you. Characters will get hungry or get irradiated, so make sure to keep them in the best possible shape.
The core narrative might be pretty predictable but is enough to keep players pushing to new areas while building up their ship. Creating a new room, which involves feeding materials to each floor tile wall, is a little too long. Maybe offer an option to drop all required resources in one go to speed things up.
The game can be played with up to four players in cooperative multiplayer, which has the potential to create both highly functioning teams that can serve the Ark and chaos moments when everyone is trying to do different things.
Oddyssey: Your Space, Your Way might have a pretty serious premise but the presentation is very blocky and cartoon-like. It’s easy to identify resources and build extra rooms. The constant chirping of the M.O.M computer can get annoying so turn that down in the options but keep the music up because it works well with the sci-fi theme.
Conclusion
The mechanics are pretty standard for a space survival experience and the game offers a clear sense of progression. It can also be a little tedious at times. Oddyssey: Your Space, Your Way has a good foundation and I’m interested in seeing how the full launch expands on its ideas and what weirdness deep space can deliver.
A preview key was provided by the publisher
