Rebel Galaxy Review

Galaxy Quest …

Rebel Galaxy has been on my radar for a while. With naval-style combat and a rocking soundtrack; it certainly goes against the space-sim grain. But is it any good?

Storyline:

Rebel Galaxy starts you off chasing after your missing Aunt in a bit of a run-down ship; but soon you discover there’s a sentient AI aboard your ship which half the galaxy decides they quite fancy. But if you don’t fancy the main storyline, which is mostly an opportunity for a few free ship upgrades and a reason to explore the galaxy further, then each station has its own missions; there’s also nothing stopping you from starting out life as a trader and going down that route either.

Gameplay:

Rebel Galaxy is a 3D game, but played out in a 2D plane, making it much more accessible than many fully 3D space-sims. Controlling your ship is simple as a result, and it makes finding waypoints and navigation around the dozen-or-so different systems a doddle. I wish fast travel was, well, faster, but it’s one of my very few complaints.

With procedurally generated star systems, missions and bounties, as well as an ever-changing economy, the main quest is almost a distraction from the Freelancer portion of the game. There’s nothing very new to the way that Rebel Galaxy goes about the way it does things, but it does do them simply, and very well. Everything is based on cash – as long as you are earning it (which just about any activity you complete does), then you can upgrade all the hardpoints on your ship, buy a new one, or start trading in more rare and exotic items.

You’ll inevitably run into some trouble along the way, and the combat system really shines. There’s so much variety to it, if nothing else. It plays out in a tactical, naval fashion, where broadsides cause the most damage. But your ship setup plays a huge role in the gameplay. You can have weapons that snipe from a distance, trying to stay out of range of other vessels. Or you could boost in and blast other ships apart with devastating close-range weapons, or even ram them. You can hire mercs to help you out, and ally yourself with different factions so that their vessels come to your aid, and get special missions from them.

There’s also secondary systems like turrets and missiles which add to the dynamic of combat too. Obviously, there’s no ‘end’ to Rebel Galaxy if you’re happy building up your pile of wealth. But if you’re more interested in the story, then there’s still a good 20-hours or so of content to get through, which is very generous for the price.

Presentation:

Rebel Galaxy’s style is brilliant. They’ve made their star systems interesting and varied, but the ship designs, alien races and space stations are particularly inspired. For a game at this price, without any kind of license attached to it, the attention to detail is simply superb. The cut-scenes, whilst simple, work really well, and the character designs are all impressive.

But it’s the sound track that really draws attention. Rather than the usual space opera, there’s a rocking Southern-style soundtrack. You hear the term ‘space cowboy’ every so often; Rebel Galaxy is the epitome of this. The cues for the different pieces are also really well done. In fact, it’s one of the best uses of music in a game for years.

Conclusion:

Rebel Galaxy is a really neat little game. It’s full of a fantastic style, and the concept of Assassin’s Creed Black Flag style naval combat in space works really well. Coupled with a neat upgrade system, and you’ve got a simple game with loads of subtle nuances and ways to play. It’s by no means perfect, but it shows the continued resurgence of the space game (yay!), and is easily the most accessible and playable game for newcomers out there on console, whilst still threatening much bigger budget games like Elite for breadth and depth. Rebel Galaxy comes very highly recommended.