SPACECOM

The enormity of space – all those planets, within solar systems, within galaxies, within a potentially infinite number of universes; it’s overwhelming just to think about. Yet, the existential dread of confronting one's irrelevance in the face of an unfathomable, uncaring world has got nothing on trying to play strategy games. How do I gather resources? Why can't I see the whole map at once? What do you mean I can't fortify my barracks during the build phase? Add a space theme, with all the silly planet names and inscrutable units of measurement that entails, and you’ll be out colder than the dark side of the moon.

Thankfully, SPACECOM keeps things fairly straightforward. A top-down combat game oriented around territorial control, success in SPACECOM is predicated upon invading or destroying planets. Invading a planet earns the player access to whatever facilities it has to offer, though doing so requires overcoming any enemy defences stationed in its vicinity. Destroying planets is easier, but renders them useless for the remainder of the battle. Balancing these priorities is what gives rise to different strategies. Though the former is likely to secure greater amenities and mobility later in the game, it’s a slow, resource intensive process that puts the player under a lot of initial risk. The latter, however, lets the player snatch the upper hand early on, but with the caveat of leaving themselves open to more robust assaults.

Traversal is equally simple while also allowing for various strategic approaches. Ships can navigate automatically to any planet on the map so long as it’s within the player’s area of visibility, including planets located within an opponent's territory. This means that the player is free to skip straight to the more important targets or even to mass fleets behind enemy lines, but not without a cost: ships suffer attrition damage when traveling in enemy space and will be wiped out completely if left there too long. Adding another layer of sophistication to ship navigation is the ability to intercept opponents’ flight-paths. If two fleets meet one another at any planet they'll automatically enter into combat. This mechanic makes it possible to subdue an enemy’s manoeuver by just casually sailing battleships across their trajectory, helpfully indicated by flashing arrows. A slight drawback is that the player is thus precluded from changing course mid-flight which can be pretty frustrating when you make a genuine mistake. It’s particularly unfortunate then, that certain other design decisions make it fairly easy to do just that.

Matching the restraint of its systems and mechanics, SPACECOM’s visual design is appropriately minimalist but without the same clarity or elegance of execution. Aside from looking like a bland homage to Asteroids, the game’s aesthetic of abstract lines and shapes doesn’t hold up too well when you zoom out from the playing field, at which point all three ship types are represented by the same tiny triangle. Especially baffling is choice to use a very light grey as one of the possible player colours given that neutral, unoccupied territories are drawn in white, an oversight which functions almost as a stealth bonus for the player in question. The controls also suffer from the game’s commitment to simplicity: right-click is used to both scroll the map and assign destination markers which invariably leads to accidents when things get frantic.

More than these quibbles however, which could easily be addressed with a patch or simply grown accustomed to over time, the real problem with SPACECOM is its distinct lack of purpose. Much like thinking too long about space, you may be left wondering what it’s all for. Sheer competency isn’t enough to justify the player’s attention and SPACECOM – with its sterile veneer and pastiche fictional world – has little to say beyond a familiar exploration of risk and reward dynamics, and a regrettable way with words when it does; “I don't know if it's not us who are not the rebels now” reads a briefing from the mission mode, essentially a tutorial for multiplayer.

Strategy games thrive based on engaged and dedicated communities and it appears that SPACECOM doesn’t make a compelling enough case to warrant a healthy fanbase, especially given the wealth of more intricate and conceptually interesting competitors out there. At the time of writing there were just six other players logged in to the game's server and we’d yet to encounter a player count in the double digits, all in all suggesting that even if you do find yourself drawn to this accessible, if somewhat dry strategy game, you’ll likely find yourself alone in an indifferent universe.