Star Control: Origins

First of all, SC2 is one of the greatest games of all time. It is in my top 5.

I enjoyed the sheet out of SC1 before that.

So, when I was reading reviews how this game compared to SC2, plus with all that legal nonsense with Toys for Bob, I was skeptical. But, having just beaten the game I can honestly say that I am impressed!

I am impressed how close they got to a genuine 'remake' of SC2. I am impressed how this version felt fresh, fun, flushed out, fairly easy to interface with, and many more positive things that dont start with F.

This game actually improved on SC2 in many way. It would and could never beat the writing, but it was an very close attempt! I lol'd more than once and I'm grumpy. I enjoyed picking random star systems to explore. I don't do that on UQRM replays, so it was fun to do that again. I actually used some of the starcrafts that I found. Again, that's another thing I don't do on SC2 replays.

Animations were great. Space battles felt interesting, if a bit easy. Color scheme was nice. I enjoyed this more than the MOO remake.

This game was a lot of fun and I was blown away how they followed the formula and not only saw it through, but actually improved upon it in many ways. Nice job guys!

Negatives -
FAR too easy. I think I died once and I was fooling around basically trying to die.

The ship improvements are vague at best. There was a purple sensor slot at the front that I never figured out what to do with. Plus, I had sensors already, but they were at the engines? It was a convoluted mess and seemed very rushed.

Because of the handholding, I never really learned the races. All I had to do was click on the star it recommended to visit and then auto-pilot, then look for a !. I made friends with everyone this way and I don't really know what I was doing, because there was no need.

Also, I'm not sure if there is a way to mess stuff up or not. It seemed fairly linear, but that was on one playthrough.

Overall, 8.5/10

I am old enough to have played the original Star Control and Star Control II, which I loved. Star Control: Origins did not disappoint. It is a brilliant update on the original while keeping everything that makes me so nostalgic for it. Having the entire game voice acted is brilliant. The writing is great, very funny at times. The aliens each have their own unique character and personalities. The story is excellent with a cool swerve that I won't spoil. I would definitely recommend anyone try out the game.

I do have two criticisms of the game however, but maybe these are just because I have only played the campaign and not the other modes. First, there is little in the campaign to motivate you to use any of the alien ships rather than your own flagship. After a few modifications, your flagship is better than anything else available to you. Plus, these ships don't seem to have quite the unique abilities and tactics that made SC and SC II melee so addictive. And second, the resource gathering portion of the game can become boring and repetitive. However, its pretty much the same resource gathering system as the original games, so its not a criticism unique to this installment.

I very much to see additional campaigns for this game or a sequel soon. A very worthy successor to the Star Control legacy.

Star Control 2 was of my favorite games back in the 386 era. Despite the controversy at this games release. It is a worthy Star Control title, I enjoyed it, and I wish there was more. It's hard for me to judge this game alone without the rear view nostalgia of the original games so take this as a biased review. It's clear Stardock respected the original game and had something to add.

As a teen, I spent countless sleepless nights glued to the screen playing Star Control 2. Along with games like Starflight, it sparked a love for a very specific space exploration RPG niche, a genre that felt ignored for far too long. While we did get Star Control 3 back in the day, I, like most fans, wasn't a huge fan of it. Star Control: Origins finally steps up to fill that massive gap while we all wait for Free Stars: Children of the Infinity.
Because of real-world legal battles, the game features a almost entirely new cast of alien races (though a few familiars like the Arilou make an appearance). Honestly, though? It works out for the better. Starting fresh means you get to experience genuine "first contact" moments with strange, unknown species, which is exactly what this genre is all about. The Spathi will always be classic, but the Tywom aren't too shabby either!
A huge chunk of the fun is landing on strange, often dangerous planets to gather resources. The planet lander controls are fantastic; it might not be the Mass Effect Mako, but it handles its own incredibly well and feels great to pilot.
Let's be clear: this isn't a AAA title. You aren't getting groundbreaking, cutting-edge graphics or a multi-million dollar Hollywood orchestral soundtrack, but it doesn't need them. It’s a beautifully colorful, fun game with a highly satisfying story that never takes itself too seriously.
If you are a fan of old-school space exploration RPGs, I cannot recommend this enough. It’s just plain fun.

This is a thumbs up, but a very weak one.

Never played the originals. There's just not enough meat in core gameplay to sustain 20+ hours. Game gets very repetetive. Also the credits soon lose any meaning as theres not enough money sinks, I got over 300k by the end.

The various bizzare aliens you meet are often hillarious (including the voice acting) and there is a lot of various alien ships that join your fleet, to try in combat.

No bugs or technical problems were encountered worthy of mentioning.

A nice short game. To be clear, its a RPG and not a 4X or RTS game. It has a short storyline but it progresses at a nice pace. The different accents of the different races was a nice feature. Loved that the Mysterious ancient starbases were Australian! I felt there were a few missed opportunities. Apart from the first officer, none of the other crew members really played a part. Also there were so many different resources you could find, but outside of buying the logs and a few small missions, they werent used for anything and there wasnt anything to distinguish between them.

i wholeheartedly reccomend this game, it was a bit pricey sure but it was the first star control game i ever played and reinforced my love for sci-fi, even if the game is a little goofy