I got HardSpace: Shipbreaker during early access before the Javelin was in at all and before most of the bugs were fixed. Having just finished the released version of the game I feel comfortable recommending this game in its released state.

Gameplay is for the most part the same throughout with small challenges added on that over all slow you down. Some might even need some problem solving skills to get around. The biggest of these will be pressurisation of compartments in the ships. There are other hazards like fuel lines and electrical hazards yes but those (sadly in my opinion) have been toned down in the final release to be less likely to cause a full ship destroying explosion so a mistake or two will be costly (maybe even killing you) but unlikely to completely remove the value of the ship.

Pressurised sections of the ship though will provide some headaches as in higher tier ships you will very often find non functioning air vents meaning you will have to get creative in venting air. Now a cool way of doing this in the beta was tethering things from outside rushing in and making quick cuts. Causing the whole outer hull to launch into the processor. Now however venting near the outer hull will 9 times out of 10 cause that bit of hull to break into pieces which really slows things down as it is a royal pain to clean up.

At its core Hardspace: Shipbreaker is just a physics simulation with a goal and some hazards which makes for some real relaxed gameplay. You can also turn on Ace of Spades by Motorhead in the background and launch yourself all over the bay and through the ships with your grapple, cutting like a madman trying to finish a whole Gecko (one of the larger ships) in a single shift. Yes that can be done if your a good shot with the splitsaw and your tethers but my record on the early access was 2 shifts and after release 3. Over all its pretty open for you to play in what ever flavour suits you that day.

The Story is not some grand narrative. This I think works in the games favour though. This is not a story about one man fighting the alien horde to save humanity, its not a story about revenge, its not even about love. Its a story I think many a blue collar roughneck will know and resonate with somewhat. Its about people just trying to get by in a world where indentured servitude is a very real thing that happens.

You will see some say "the story is uninspired and boring". Well ya....most of our life stories are and I think that is what they were aiming for with this iteration of it. The bit that really nails it all together for me is the music and Weaver the foreman. The music is top notch for me but that is subjective and after over 100 hours of it I have grown a bit tired of it. But I will never skip that intro scene.

"Each day he steps into the yard, to earn his wages working hard. I pray to the stars and heaven above, to return my daddy to those he loves. If there comes a time he and death meet, bless the next cutter that takes his seat."

This is a prayer every wife and child of a miner, driller, fisher and every other highly dangerous blue collar job that makes our lives better say every day when they go to work. Even if no one else appreciates that thank you to everyone who worked on this game to put this tribute to the blue collar working man (yes and woman) in the medium I love.

An important note this really isn't a game that stands on story alone and if your not grabbed by the gameplay the story isn't going to be some grand amazing narrative that keeps you around. More like an extra helping of food you like, if you don't like the food to begin with the extra bit ain't gonna keep ya around.

I know a few people like Weaver, the old dog of their trade that do their best to steer the young bucks in the right direction and I believe both (the Dev and later the Pro) voice actors did a great job at portraying this. The other actors do pretty well too. Nothing that stands out as a bad in writing or voice acting to me. There is some things that hint to a different direction they were planning on taking the story but for now it seems they have abandoned that idea. I am sure we will see more to do with that in the future if the game sells well.

The few hiccups i did run into were only that the game freezes for half a second when switching to a fully upgraded scanner for the first time in a shift.

TLDR

What? you didn't read that? Really? I spent like an hour and some writing this for you.... and it takes like a minute to read.....two tops...go back and read it please? no?! Sigh fine. :P

The game is solid now with 99% of the bugs gone and the few that are there like double spawning is only a minor annoyance. It is good fun to boot up when you just wanna relax and cut up a ship for an hour, the story is a great tribute to the working man and the music/atmosphere is awesome.

$45 CAD is a bit more than what I payed and would most likely have payed if I didn't own it already but I don't think its completely unreasonable for the 30-50 hours you will get out of a single play through if your just taking your time. Right now its $35 CAD and that is a good price id say so if it looks interesting try it out.

Good luck Cutters.

I got HardSpace: Shipbreaker during early access before the Javelin was in at all and before most of the bugs were fixed. Having just finished the released version of the game I feel comfortable recommending this game in its released state. [u]Gameplay[/u] is for the most part the same throughout with small challenges added on that over all slow you down. Some might even need some problem solving skills to get around. The biggest of these will be pressurisation of compartments in the ships. There are other hazards like fuel lines and electrical hazards yes but those (sadly in my opinion) have been toned down in the final release to be less likely to cause a full ship destroying explosion so a mistake or two will be costly (maybe even killing you) but unlikely to completely remove the value of the ship. Pressurised sections of the ship though will provide some headaches as in higher tier ships you will very often find non functioning air vents meaning you will have to get creative in venting air. Now a cool way of doing this in the beta was tethering things from outside rushing in and making quick cuts. Causing the whole outer hull to launch into the processor. Now however venting near the outer hull will 9 times out of 10 cause that bit of hull to break into pieces which really slows things down as it is a royal pain to clean up. At its core Hardspace: Shipbreaker is just a physics simulation with a goal and some hazards which makes for some real relaxed gameplay. You can also turn on Ace of Spades by Motorhead in the background and launch yourself all over the bay and through the ships with your grapple, cutting like a madman trying to finish a whole Gecko (one of the larger ships) in a single shift. Yes that can be done if your a good shot with the splitsaw and your tethers but my record on the early access was 2 shifts and after release 3. Over all its pretty open for you to play in what ever flavour suits you that day. The [u]Story[/u] is not some grand narrative. This I think works in the games favour though. This is not a story about one man fighting the alien horde to save humanity, its not a story about revenge, its not even about love. Its a story I think many a blue collar roughneck will know and resonate with somewhat. Its about people just trying to get by in a world where indentured servitude is a very real thing that happens. You will see some say "the story is uninspired and boring". Well ya....most of our life stories are and I think that is what they were aiming for with this iteration of it. The bit that really nails it all together for me is the music and Weaver the foreman. The music is top notch for me but that is subjective and after over 100 hours of it I have grown a bit tired of it. But I will never skip that intro scene. "Each day he steps into the yard, to earn his wages working hard. I pray to the stars and heaven above, to return my daddy to those he loves. If there comes a time he and death meet, bless the next cutter that takes his seat." This is a prayer every wife and child of a miner, driller, fisher and every other highly dangerous blue collar job that makes our lives better say every day when they go to work. Even if no one else appreciates that thank you to everyone who worked on this game to put this tribute to the blue collar working man (yes and woman) in the medium I love. An important note this really isn't a game that stands on story alone and if your not grabbed by the gameplay the story isn't going to be some grand amazing narrative that keeps you around. More like an extra helping of food you like, if you don't like the food to begin with the extra bit ain't gonna keep ya around. I know a few people like Weaver, the old dog of their trade that do their best to steer the young bucks in the right direction and I believe both (the Dev and later the Pro) voice actors did a great job at portraying this. The other actors do pretty well too. Nothing that stands out as a bad in writing or voice acting to me. There is some things that hint to a different direction they were planning on taking the story but for now it seems they have abandoned that idea. I am sure we will see more to do with that in the future if the game sells well. The few hiccups i did run into were only that the game freezes for half a second when switching to a fully upgraded scanner for the first time in a shift. [u]TLDR[/u] What? you didn't read that? Really? I spent like an hour and some writing this for you.... and it takes like a minute to read.....two tops...go back and read it please? no?! Sigh fine. :P The game is solid now with 99% of the bugs gone and the few that are there like double spawning is only a minor annoyance. It is good fun to boot up when you just wanna relax and cut up a ship for an hour, the story is a great tribute to the working man and the music/atmosphere is awesome. $45 CAD is a bit more than what I payed and would most likely have payed if I didn't own it already but I don't think its completely unreasonable for the 30-50 hours you will get out of a single play through if your just taking your time. Right now its $35 CAD and that is a good price id say so if it looks interesting try it out. Good luck Cutters.