Spacebase Startopia – Review Thread

Game Information

Game Title: Spacebase Startopia

Platforms:

• PC (Mar 26, 2021)
• PlayStation 4 (Mar 26, 2021)
• Xbox One (Mar 26, 2021)

Trailer:

Developer: Realmforge Studios

Publisher: Kalypso Media

Review Aggregator:

OpenCritic – 69 average – 43% recommended – 14 reviews

Critic Reviews

33bits – Euyen Esquefa Pons – Spanish – 80 / 100

Spacebase Startopia is a remarkable game and a good successor to the 2001 version. But perhaps it lacks dynamism in its games, where we will spend many minutes throughout the game just waiting for the objectives of the level to be completed. But whoever wants to find a game with a good sense of humor, challenging on several occasions and with a campaign of several hours, can calmly enter the Startopia space station.

Digitally Downloaded – Matt Sainsbury – 2.5 / 5 stars

Spacebase Startopia is not completely without merit, but it does lack in charm and depth, and simulators need one or the other (and preferably both) else they're in big trouble. With that being said there is a very specific audience for this game; it works as a competitive simulator where you learn the perfect order for doing things and then execute on that to cruise through to easy victories. In almost any other context, however, Spacebase Startopia lacks the creative whimsy and data-driven depth that we usually expect from a great simulator.

FingerGuns – Toby Andersen – 7 / 10

A unique and complex gem, Spacebase Startopia is an engaging and constantly interesting take on the management genre. The Sims in space is selling it very short, because it is much much more. On console however, it’s intricacy and scope are its undoing, causing severe slowdown, frame-rate issues and regular crashes. Its campaign is a fun set of tests, but free mode (just running your station without parameters) is easy to get completely engrossed in.

GamePitt – Rob Pitt – 8.5 / 10

For a remake of a 20-year-old game, Spacebase: Startopia looks and feels very modern, providing hours of strategic entertainment with its resource management and economic simulation. The game may look complicated and overwhelming but, as long as you play the tutorials first, the controls and mechanics make it very easy to play on the console. You can play the campaign solo or with online friends, as well as lose many hours in the Free Play mode (again, solo or online). I’m disappointed the trophies weren’t more creative, and with the performance within the native PS5 version upon launch, but considering these were my only complaints and they didn’t affect my enjoyment of the game, it’s not a big deal for me.

Gaming Nexus – Eric Hauter – 7.4 / 10

Spacebase Startopia is a reasonably fun management/strategy game, slightly too complex to play with a controller. Though genre veterans will not find much challenge here, Spacebase Startopia is unique and cheerful enough to make it worth a look.

God is a Geek – Chris White – 7 / 10

Spacebase Startopia is a complex management-sim, but once everything clicks there's plenty of fun to be had. It'll take time to learn everything, and the camera can be annoying, but it's still enjoyable.

IGN Italy – Claudio Chianese – Italian – 7.6 / 10

A good management game, empowered by a very unique comedic sci-fi setting. Campaign isn't the greatest and a little bit more content would have been great, but all in all a nice return for the classic 2001 Startopia.

Killa Penguin – Jake Arias – 7 / 10 stars

Even after a dedicated tutorial and several early missions that function as another tutorial, figuring out Spacebase Startopia often feels like playing an obtusely old-school game without the benefit of a manual. That underlying complexity is also its greatest strength, however, because it allows the game to have a sense of constant discovery. At one point, I screwed up my early construction and left no room for the teleporter you need to move your hardier security mechs between decks, which came back to bite me when some bug-like creatures on another deck attacked. Around the same time, however, religious extremists planted a bomb, so I grabbed it and dropped it next to the bugs. This wouldn’t have eliminated them in most games. It worked here.

PC Gamer – Fraser Brown – 63 / 100

Spacebase Startopia is a missed opportunity to meaningfully build on a classic, but it's still an entertaining management sim.

Push Square – Jenny Jones – 5 / 10

Spacebase Startopia doesn't have quite the same charm and humour of the original 2001 classic. The campaign missions are short and fairly repetitive, and the combat feels really basic. It's a shame, but even with an online multiplayer mode, this shallow simulator is not a particularly engaging experience.

The Games Machine – Paolo Besser – Italian – 8.6 / 10

Spacebase Startopia is a next-generation reboot of an amazing, 20-years old sci-fi strategy game, with the same approach to gameplay but a fairly renewed graphics style, perfectly fitting the funny dark humour that pervades our star bases. It's incredible how Spacebase Startopia manages to look modern even today: further proof that good ideas never get old.

Video Chums – A.J. Maciejewski – 8 / 10

It may not be for hardcore simulation fans but folks like me who enjoy a more arcade-style sim experience will find Spacebase Startopia to be quite a delightful gem of a game. Plus, it's downright hilarious!

Wccftech – Chris Wray – 7 / 10

Spacebase Startopia is a decently comical management simulation that looks back at and expands on the original Startopia. With a wide number of buildings and areas to develop, aliens to satisfy and even hire, there's a fair amount to do. Spacebase Startopia isn't without its issues, such as too much forced 'comedy' and a campaign that drags like a marathon, but you're still likely to have a good time if you like management sims.

cublikefoot – Chase Ferrin –

Spacebase Startopia may have some fun core gameplay, but the numerous design and technical issues on top of it really make it a tough sell, especially when some of those are outright softlocks.