Space Engineers

Zach Goodier

*NOTE* This game is an early access title, so this review is not meant to judge the final game (obviously), but the current early-access version.

Space Engineers is a game available on Steam that puts players in the role of an astronaut.  You have no explicit goal or story, you simply mine resources from asteroids and use those resources to construct machines and equipment.  Obviously, this is a strongly Minecraft-inspired game, but it takes it a step further with improved graphics and the ability to create unique vehicles and functioning structures. 

"Space... The final frontier..."

So in terms of premise, just copy and paste from Minecraft.  However, there is a twist here that gives this title a chance at greatness.  Improved graphics do make this look nice, but there are other titles out there for that.  The big twists to note are the zero-gravity environments and the expanded construction options.

Detailed creations based on sci-fi are all over the Steam Workshop. I highly encourage you to check them out.

Zero-gravity seems a lame hook, at first, but it quickly defines the entire feel of the game.  If you create vehicles, you must create thrust not only forward, but backward, and the same goes for both up and down.  Inertia is a major factor in the game’s physics, and momentum has resulted in more deaths/destruction in my play-throughs than anything else.  Power is always in issue, as well, with reactors needing material, otherwise the lights all go out.  O2 is another issue, but once you create a medical station you can automatically refill on oxygen whenever you return to base. 

The UNSC has arrived to resupply our astronauts. 

The construction options are where this game really starts to take off, with the ability to create small, nimble craft, or massive dreadnaught-style ships, which can be for both fashion and function.  Massive automated drilling platforms, warships with functioning weapons systems, all of it is just a workshop visit away from your Steam library.

The ability to crash into things is both a pleasure and a cause for constant caution when navigating the asteroid fields.

However, all of this doesn’t give Space Engineers the same level of depth and charm that Minecraft carries.  Minecraft is a game of wonder and exploration, full of life and variety.  Space Engineers is almost the polar opposite, filled with the emptiness of space, as well as a lack of that wonder that filled the world of Minecraft.  It quickly becomes a void (go figure) which lacks the variety that Minecraft has.  You quickly realize that you inhabit a world simply made of asteroids, and various minerals that you need to build, with little sense of wonder to carry you beyond the horizon.

You can BUILD great things, but the environment itself provides little else aside from Ore X or Y, making the prospects of exciting exploration somewhat limited.

Long story short, go check this game out, but for $20, it’s no real competition for Minecraft, but that doesn’t mean it isn’t worth checking out.  The Steam workshop gives you access to a whole community of builders who can help you explore the wonder of what you can build in this game, things that look better and actually function, something that most Minecrafters can’t boast.  Still, the world (or lack thereof) does hold this title back from being considered an “improved” take on the Minecraft formula.  The world itself lacks much of the wonder that you might expect.  Instead of using its’ space setting to explore new worlds, moons, nebulae, and new, un-thought-of phenomena, this simply drops you into the asteroids to dodge rocks and try to work your way to those precious materials.  There are features such as meteor showers and potential factions in multiplayer, but overall, I’ll mostly be sticking to good old Minecraft when I feel like creating something.

Good:

-Solid graphics for a spiritual Minecraft copycat.

-Crafting allows functioning ships and stations, all customizable to your heart’s content.

-Zero gravity physics feel very realistic and offers both help and hindrance when playing.

Bad:

-Lacks the sense of wonder that keeps Minecraft players always crossing new horizons. 

Scully Rating: 7 out of 10