Space Menace is a Sci-fi RTS where you play a captain who will eventually decide the fate of the world/universe. Whichever faction that does take over the world depends on who you choose to ally with.
In the universe of Space Menace, there are 2 main factions apart from the Pirates (denoted as Red on the Starmap), they are the Athon Federation (Orange) and the Dracorian Empire (Blue). Both are opposing forces of one another, adding in the Pirates, it is essentially a 3 way fight.
Free To Choose
At the start all 3 are neutral to you. You’re then essentially free to do missions for either the Athon and Dracorian at the same time if you wish. Missions come in 3 types, Intercept, Defend the Station and Pirate Hunting.
3 Things To Do
Defend the Station has you defending a station of either of the 2 main factions and you will fight off against the other faction. Intercept is the opposite and Pirate Hunting is exactly what it says. So doing either Intercept and Defend the Station will increase your Reputation for the faction who gave you that mission. Pirate Hunting is the same but your reputation for the Pirates will reduce.
Failure is an Option
Each mission has 3 difficulty types, all will reward you according to their level and the enemies you face will scale according to it as well. One thing in common is all the missions will have a time limit for you to complete them. Failing to do so won’t have you penalised for it.
A Station For Everything
Missions are given at sectors that have a Station and it is listed under the Job Board. Also at the station, you can buy and sell weapons, utilities and ships. There’s a small amount of utilities and weapons that are available in game which will help better your ship/s via the load out tab after you’ve purchased or looted it from destroyed ships.
Power is Everything
As an RTS, Space Menace is simple to pick up and play. Attacks are done automatically so all you have to do is pick where to move your ship and adjust whether you want your ship to use weapons or shields or to have them off to conserve power. Power is needed to fire weapons and to jump between sectors.
3 Step Process
The gameplay loop is very simple in that it is basically pick a mission, go to a location, do the mission (destroy enemies and stay alive) and then once that’s done you can upgrade or sell stuff at the station. Rinse and repeat. Initially it can get monotonous while grinding for money in order to upgrade your ship. But once you have enough money to buy your second or third ship, things will pick up faster in terms of progression.
Blurry, Needs Focus
Aesthetically Space Menace looks good enough, with its animation & audio (albeit repetitive) is up to par with everything in that regard. However the way the game looks, especially the UI and the text and such, has a sort of glow effect to them which can make some player’s eyes hurt as it makes things seem blurry and unclear. This might be depending on the individual but one that is very noticeable and new to me.
Final Thoughts
Space Menace might be one of the most accessible RTS out there as the gameplay loop, mechanics and skills needed (or lack of) makes it an easy pick up and play type of game. It is simple in nature and can have that effect of “just one more turn/mission” on the player. However due to its simplicity, it may not be for everyone, especially those who are looking for something deep and challenging.
Purchase Space Menace on Steam!
Hailing from a small Island. Huge football fan. Drinks too much tea.
Survival, Roguelikes, Turn-based or Indie games in general are my go to genres but I like to dabble in all kinds of genres. I tend to have a soft spot for Shmups and Hidden Object Games once in a while.
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