Star Control: Origins
Welcome Aboard Welcome to Star Control, Captain! You’re here because you’ve shown exemplary service, aced all your flight exams, and – most importantly – passed all the sanity tests. Humanity has learned that it is not alone in the universe and that we are hopelessly outmatched by alien civilizations seeking to destroy us. You have been selected to command Earth's first and only interstellar starship to accomplish this – try not to break it. It was expensive. Your mission: Save humanity, Captain. At all costs and by any means necessary. A Vast Universe Set in the year 2088, humanity has discovered it’s not alone in the universe. Worse yet, it is catastrophically unprepared to deal with what's out there. In response, Star Control is formed and the player is selected to command the crew of the U.E.S. Vindicator. Star Control: Origins takes place in a huge living universe just waiting to be explored.
Game Discussion
Steam User 12
I am so mad that the fake Star Control game is actually decent. It can't touch Star Control 2 and the story makes no sense in context with the Ur-Quan stuff but as a stand-alone game, I am enjoying traveling a galaxy that I don't have memorized.
Steam User 6
A really good "sequel" to star control II. Keeps a lot of what made the original great.
However the space battles are worse. somehow they didn't grasp the asymmetry design of the ships from star control II. Star controls II ships are all so different with unique abilities.
So far, most of the ships of Origins are samey. samey lasers. Star control II will always be replayable because of that feature. also found the power-up drops to be immersion breaking, plus they are pointless.
Once i'm done with the origins fun story and engaging enough rpg mechanics, i won't be back to play ship vs ship battle. rather do that in Star Control II.
Steam User 9
I liked it though it's basically a kinder, gentler version of Star Control 2.
There is no time limit to your goals. Yes, the main enemy will expand its territory over time, but you can always take it back when you feel ready to do so.
There is a random alien that attacks you like the Slylandro Probes but they aren't as aggressive and dangerous. Overall the game is not as challenging, but there are some optional fights that are pretty deadly and take you by surprise if you stumble into that star system.
A few of the alien races are too similar to the ones in Star Control 2, though there were a few like the Phamysht and the Mukay that were pretty funny and interesting.
The landing segment is different from SC in that it's 3D. Mining in either game gets boring fast, but the 3D terrain takes longer to navigate so it's worse overall.
This game's version of "Super Melee" is quite fun. The ships are easy to control and there are powerups scattered across each map. Instead of the screen looping, you're set in an arena with a deadly outer zone. This can be useful for whittling down heavily armored ships. Because this game is newer, I found the ships easier to control and had a better time. There is also a large variety of ships and most of them are useful.
Overall, if you like Star Control 2 you will probably enjoy Star Control: Origins, though it won't blow your mind.
The DLC is ok. It doesn't have as many voiced parts and it feels unfinished. However, you get access to some powerful hybrid ships that make the final missions easier.
Steam User 4
gotta love it! good sense of humour combined with some space adventures and blowin up some bad guys :D
Steam User 3
Recommended for fans of space exploration and adventure. It is fairly unique in its blend of storytelling and combination galaxy and planet explorations as well as ship duels. I could also recommend you look into Rebel Galaxy, Mass Effect, or Galaxy on Fire 2.
+Visuals
+Music
+Story
+Variety of unique races, ships
+Exploration
+Some meaningful choices
+Options, key rebinding
+Fully voiced
+Writing/humor
+Variety of ship parts/upgrades
-Resource collection can be tedious
-Difficult to see/compare available upgrades
-Lacking direction at times
-Slow movement
-Clunky battle and planet controls
-Can't deactivate AI autobattle when selected
-Can softlock some battles due to AI
-'Fleets' only fight 1 ship at a time
-Some achievements are broken (Lose fleet battles)
Steam User 2
I never played any of the old star control games, so I can't draw parallels, and I'm coming into this with no particular expectations.
I've seen several reviews complaining about graphics and writing. For me graphics are not critical - I found them perfectly serviceable, but there wasn't anything impressive there. The character designs and art were decent to my eyes, they just chose to make it cartoon-y, which was fine with me. The writing was certainly silly but I found it amusing rather than offensive like some did. The overall story was decent in my opinion and the different interactions were fun to navigate.
The gameplay was enjoyable overall, but not spectacular. Exploration was fun, and there was something to do in most star systems, of which there were many. Upgrading the ship was enjoyable, though not particularly challenging - exploration being the primary requirement. Collecting resources was a bit tedious, but you don't have to spend a lot of time doing it. Combat is easy to find and offers similar rewards for the same time spent. I still preferred to collect resources for my cash, because combat wasn't particularly fun to me either. It wasn't terrible but running away from the enemy ship and taking shots from far away is the easiest way to not lose ships, and that takes forever. The variety of ships and weapons was pretty good but i do wish they were a bit more maneuverable/easier to control/aim
Overall I thought the game was decent, though not exceptional in any way.
Steam User 4
Very nice exploratory game.
I love the design.
I played start control II being my first game and when I looked for more, I came across this game on steam.
Totally worth every penny.