Star Control: Origins

Star Control: Origins was an absolute joy for me. Its story and characters were utterly charming and unique. Its combat is a ton of fun. Exploring the galaxy and trekking along the surface of planets, while not much of a challenge once your lander is fully upgraded, does get tedious, but once you are picking up valuable elements and leaving the less rewarding materials behind, it becomes less nece...

It’s nearly unheard of for a company to pick up the rights to a game franchise and actually do the damn thing justice, but here we are with Star Control: Origins. The adventure is fun, funny, and all together engaging. I’m probably as surprised as you are that the game is actually this good. Thankfully, Stardock really seems to have the same reverence and respect for Star Control as its biggest fa...

I recommend giving this game a try if you love space exploration and some funny interactions with aliens. Being able to roam around on planets has been a new and interesting experience with all the different weather effects. Also to be noted and as you can see from some of the screenshots, this game has some beautiful artwork as well as great music. With so many different customization options thi...

Remaining true to its roots with engaging ship to ship combat but shifting the gameplay to a more narrative focused exploration game, Star Control: Origins excels at it's prime directive. As we push out from that core loop there are elements that can drag on, but the central experience is where it stands tallest, incorporating a playful tale with entertaining delivery around excellent two dimensio...

Last month we got a glimpse at the first chapter of Star Control: Origins. With some great voice acting and some interesting possibilities that preview gave, there was reason to be hopeful that the resurrection of the series would be a good one. Interestingly enough, it’s the second long-dormant series to make its return this week alone. Will Star Control: Origins be the return older players had h...

The Star Control series has mostly faded from public memory, a two-decade gap between games will do that, but there’s a good chance you’re familiar with some of its offspring. Strands of Star Control DNA can be found in a number of modern spacefaring adventures, particularly Mass Effect, and now the series is returning to (hopefully) influence a new generation of starry-eyed successors.

Star Control: Origins does a great job of creating a new universe and stocking it with a diverse range of weird and funny aliens to fight in intense arcadey space battles. But everything you’re forced to do on a planet’s surface is boring at best and an annoying chore at worst, and that kills a lot of momentum. Because of that, I didn’t really start to click with Star Control: Origins until the la...

Origins grinds away the clever fun it should have embraced.

Captain your ship. Explore the galaxy. Throw away the lives of your crew on foolish adventures!