Tin Can is time pressure maintenance and repair FPS game set aboard a space rescue capsule. The premise of the game is that the player is aboard a large space craft that is about to explode and has 60 seconds to board the ‘tin can’ (rescue pod) with whatever can be grabbed and thrown into it. Once in the rescue pod, a button closes the hatch and launches the pod. The player will then contend with all sorts of problems that will randomly crop up, or not; it is literally possible to be rescued and no major problem occurs that require attention in some scenarios. What goes wrong truly does seem to be random, but there are scenarios where scripted problems occur.
Tin Can has several options for graphics and sound. For graphics, the main options are about the quality level, but without detailed settings configuration being shown. The music can be volume adjusted as well as the effects. The keys can be remapped, including using the keypad, which is always appreciated as a left-handed player. Tin Can has a VR mode that is a work in progress and this mode is very immersive. One important menu item is the manual, this will launch a browser with a PDF document. The manual is also available in the game as an object, and it is vital. Situations occur where referencing the manual will be necessary, these are things like error codes and descriptions of various system in the pod.
As mentioned earlier, the goal is to be rescued, although there are many game modes and scenarios. There is a sandbox mode allowing the player to explore the systems without worry of a problem. There are also four tutorials to work through that will explain the basics of the game. The basic idea is that many of the system has parts that are interchangeable, and the player may need to rob Peter to pay Paul. In more advanced scenarios (longer running), the player may be able to scrap unneeded parts into repair components and repair a critical object using a special repair system on board. There are numerous things that can go wrong, and initially it is likely that new players will not have enough understanding of the systems to fix them in time, but with a few play-throughs of short scenarios and the tutorials, it will all begin to come together. The tutorials introduce the player to the main pod systems; power, computer, oxygen, CO2 scrubbing, and cabin pressure/temperature. There are several more.
Tin Can requires some patience early on, and it seems that the developers have taken this into account by making the various system interfaces and parts fairly easy to work with. Tin Can has three main ways to play, Rescue, Challenges, and Ranking. The Rescue mode of play are scenarios ranging from surviving 6 minutes to 30 minutes before rescue. Challenges appear to be Rescue modes that are customized scenarios with specific challenges. Ranking is a hard-core mode where the player tries to survive as long as possible, before inevitable doom. Tin Can is a fairly novel game, somewhat reminiscent of “Keep Talking and Nobody Explodes”. There are a few bugs and glitches, parts could be pulled out of a system that wasn’t open and the game doesn’t like to end when exiting (Steam had to be force closed to show the game as launchable again). Tin Can is in active development, so these problems will likely be fixed over time. Tin Can is recommended for players that like survival games or anything set in space.
Jacmac is an ancient gamer that loves open world, strategy, FPS, and tactical sims, but will play almost anything.
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