Solar 2

Zach Goodier

Solar 2 is a very simple game that puts the player in control of an asteroid drifting through space.  As an asteroid, you must collide with other asteroids in an attempt to grow larger and build yourself up to planetoid size, then, you consume asteroids and other planetoids to grow into a full planet.  Then, as a planet, you grow buy consuming smalls planets, and asteroids to eventually grow into a star.  And this process goes on until you become a black hole, and devour everything in your path, beside larger black holes, until you grow to sufficient size to consume all matter in the universe, before exploding again and restarting as a small asteroid.  This is essentially all there is to it.

So, why buy it?  Well, that depends on what you want from a $10 Steam game.  This is a somewhat addictive nature to this game, despite its simplicity.  You also get to do challenges when you finish, giving you missions to destroy particular objects, or ships, as you attempt to complete them and continue to grow.  And despite how simple it sounds, there is a bit of a trick to it when you get to the middle stages, having to worry about asteroids damaging your planet while trying to consume them to become stronger.

The visuals are surprisingly nice, but not overly detailed, with ships and such being represented by simple shapes that just fire shots that look like they came straight from classic Space Invaders.  Still, becoming a black hole gives you a remarkable feeling of power as you begin sucking up nearly everything in your path.

Overall, this game has no story, no character, it just starts you out as a small hunk of rock moving across the cosmos, and gradually builds you up to the ultimate force of destruction, until you ultimately recreate the universe, and start anew.  To say this game is worth $10 might be a bit of a stretch, though, since replay value is non-existent and the game itself isn’t all that long.

Good:

-Simple, for when you’re in the mood for some light gaming.

-A satisfying buildup from small rock to black hole.

-Challenges add some variety to keep things more interesting as you drift through the emptiness of space.

Bad:

-No replay value, despite the cyclical nature of the game itself.

-Not all that long, which can call into question the $10 price tag.

Scully Rating: 7 out of 10