
Colony Ship is a turn-based, party-based role-playing game set aboard a generation ship launched to Proxima Centauri. The game features a detailed skill-based character system, multiple ways to handle quests, choices & consequences, and branching dialogue trees.
Most likely between $2.5M and $7.1M. On 8 games checked against developer-reported sales, our median error is 11%. How we estimate →
| Store | Price | Score | Revenue · chart |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam | $39.99 | 88% | approximately $4.2M |
| GOG | $15.99 | 88% | — |
Matched by title. Prices and chart positions are each store's US storefront; Epic charts worldwide. * critic score.
Reviews
Themes across 932 recent reviews and how positive each mention is. A keyword signal, not full sentiment analysis.
positive critical· bar length = how often the theme comes up
Reviews
I wanted to like this game, I really did. It had a lot going for it and reminded me strongly of Fallout 1 & 2 (thought this game was a bit clunkier.) I finally decided to throw in the towel though about 75% through. There is no overhead map to refer, and no quest markers to point you in the right direction. The level designs are so clunky that finding your objectives is just an exercise in frustration. For me I have to give this a thumbs down, though I am conflicted on it because of some of the other aspects of the game that it gets right.
The only good Fallout game that neither Avellone nor Cain worked on. If you're reading this and you're a crypto millionaire, buy 40000 copies so I can get a sequel.
This game is great, in theory, practically it is so frustrating, I hardly found the will to finish it. Let's evaluate different aspects. Interface: - there is no tutorial on what is what, even hovering over some stats will give you cryptic explanations - shown calculations doesn't make sense, I finished the game without knowing how armor exactly works Navigation: One of the most frustrating part of this game. Thematically I understand everything is crammed and too many things in one screen, but I don't understand why they didn't put ANY guidance anywhere about where the people you look for are. not even the ship module is visible, the only hint is literally "talk to <random name you don't remember>". I guess they tried to mimick old games where there is no mission pointers, but instead just made it extremely hard to navigate. I had to check internet every other mission to find where things are, how the mission progresses etc. This includes the main story. Skill Progress: Oh boy, the other frustating part of this game. I played the normal mode, but the difficulty kept getting increased, with no increase in my abilities. The progression part is a farce. the whole game i was able to level up 4 times and you just get a feat every time you level up. you can't increase your skills, other than using that skill, you can't increase your stats, other than implanting yourself twice, which gives 1 bonus each. So that makes it very bad game design. If you chose a skill that is useless to tag in the character creation, you can NEVER reset it. Whole game I tried diplomacy, whole game i failed, because if you don't tag them, you never succeed, you keep failing just to increase your skill, but since the game requires more skill, you never catch up. Same happens with science skills. There is just no way to increase some skills, no way to make use of them if you don't tag them. If you want to avoid combat, you should have tagged all non-combat skills, which is impossible because you can tag only 2-3 and there are 9 skills. the whole sneaking part is a joke, you use it maybe twice the whole game. your companians can take some (none of the social ones for some reason), but again you have no idea in the beginning. So that brings us to unavoidable Combat. Combat: Most frustating part of this game. I played the normal mode, but the difficulty of combat kept getting increased, with no increase in my abilities to fight. Even my followers who has nothing but combat focus, got pretty weak towards chapter 3. I had the best equipment, full combat focus, but still game throws at you super soldiers that are better (and i don't mean 10% better, double, triple better) in every way, better evasion (my super dex guy has 50, they have 95 evasion), better to hit change, they basically never miss, better penetration, better armor (which should decrease evasion but no). If you try to counter that with consumables, they use them too! and for free! for you there is only limited amount of each consumable in the game, if you use 1 too many, you'll run out. and you do run out. just an example you find in total 3 grenades against robots, you encounter at least 5 combat you need to fight against robots. And don't let me even mention the "downing" mechanics. basically once your follower is downed, they have 3 turns to die forever. you have to kill everyone in 3 turns with 1 less follower. For some reason first aid is too "cliche" for this game, so they didn't add it. this means you have to save scum, because once your follower dies you have no replacement. i found in total 2 followers + 1 special temporary one (which leaves you when you most need it) the whole game. So that means you don't want to fight, because you die, you can't sneak, you can't talk your way out of it, you just get stuck? Nope they found the solution for it, mess up the story: Story Well story is pretty standard, there are different ideologies different factions, you side with one. classic. but the problem is, if you want to stuck with your decision you have to fight everyone else, which is also classic, if you could. but you can't, because you are weak, not social enough, not nerd enough, so when you get bullied by others you just cave. not because you are convinced, but because it is impossible to survive. I don't know how many times I had to switch sides to just avoid impossible unavoidable combat. Which makes your decisions don't matter at all. you just go whatever developers throws at you, you have no choice. Overall, the game had potential but developers made so many bad decisions, such imbalanced progression, it become a terrible game in the end.
The combat is way too imbalanced. Pretty much all encounters start at point blank range and iniative decides way too much
Для всех, кому понравилась предыдущая РПГ студии - Age of Decadence - и раздумывает, брать ли Colony Ship, я бы порекомендовал взять. Игра наследует многие фирменные черты AoD, а также привносит несколько улучшений: - Появился выбор сложности и постоянные напарники со своими навыками. Одним из минусов(для части игроков по крайней мере) была возможность запороть билд и намертво встрять на середине игры. Лёгкий уровень упрощает тактические бои, которые остались такими же хардкорными и крайне зависимыми от снаряжения и расходников. Напарники же позволяют распределить небоевые навыки типа убеждения, взлома и т.д. между всеми членами отряда, что позволяет при грамотной прокачке получить весь контент за первое же прохождение(у меня почти получилось). Напомню - в AoD персонаж у вас один и распылять очки навыков крайне не рекомендуется, создать относительно универсальный билд можно, но только зная, что делать. Сюжетные проверки навыков щадящие на любой сложности, пройти игру до конца хотя бы на одну из концовок вы сможете точно. - Осталась возможность пройти игру без боёв полностью. Это ограничит исследование, но возможность есть, даже ачивки за это присутствуют. - Графика, хоть это в РПГ далеко не главное, значительно улучшилась. Если AoD выглядела как что-то из палеозоя на момент выхода, то в Colony Ship довольно приятная картинка. - Русификатор имеется(фанатский). Первая глава переведена очень хорошо, но чем дальше, тем хуже, скатываясь чуть ли не в промт ближе к концу. Однако играть можно. - Появилась механика стелса. Хоть он и не свободный, а является отдельным энкаунтером для определенных квестов, это привносит разнообразие в игровой процесс. Сам стелс больше похож на головоломку - требуется понять правильный порядок действий. - Игра довольно короткая(вследствие бюджета, конечно) и не требует сотни часов на прохождение. Считаю это плюсом, т.к. небольшая продолжительность поощряет реиграбельность, которая также осталась. У меня ушло 30 часов с полным пылесосингом всех локаций. Повторное, скорее всего, будет в 2 раза короче. - Одной из отличительных черт AoD был очень необычный сеттинг - совмещение мыслей о римской империи с технологическим постапокалипсисом. Местный Sci-fi, конечно, послабее, но отнюдь не шаблонный, изучать мир колониального корабля всё ещё интересно. Атмосфера безнадёги и разрухи также на месте. Если кратко, то земляне много-много лет назад запустили колониальный корабль, чтобы построить новую жизнь на пригодной для этого планете, потому что на Земле стало жить невыносимо. Конечно же, всё пошло не по плану: за годы путешествия сменилось несколько поколений экипажа корабля, тех, кто помнит Землю, уже не осталось, а администрация корабля начала править настолько жесткой рукой, что привело к бунту, который привёл к повреждению многих систем, смерти большей части компетентного персонала и утрате вообще какого-либо понимания, как управлять кораблем и где он вообще находится. - Экономическая прогрессия очень грамотная: если в большинстве рпг к концу игры скапливается куча денег, которую некуда тратить, то тут деньги никогда не теряют актуальность, а расходники на классической сложности пригождаются всегда, т.к. сложность боёв также не проседает. - Опять же, как и в AoD, квесты имеют несколько концовок и вариантов прохождения. Откровенно плохих или хороших концовок почти нет, серая мораль правит балом. Сама игра также имеет несколько концовок. ОДНАКО есть и ощутимые минусы: - Игра сильно проседает после второй главы(их 4), как и русификатор. Очевидно, что разрабам не хватило времени и бюджета(AoD разрабатывали ооооочень долго). Доп квесты в 3-й главе единичные, в последней главе их нет вообще. Финал как будто бы вовсе не доделан - проходишь через несколько пустых комнат, где нет вообще ничего. Как будто разработчики планировали туда что-то добавить, но не успели. Концовки представлены по классике слайдами и их тоже маловато, не хватает, к примеру, слайдов для спутников. - Хоть реиграбельность в отдельных квестах есть и весьма ощутимая, прохождение за разные фракции почти не отличается. Так или иначе по основному сюжету придется делать одинаковые вещи. Если в AoD были уникальные предыстории со своими уникальными стартами, тут такого нет. Если AoD предлагал действительно уникальные квесты и локации для разных фракций(хоть и также ограниченные первыми главами), то тут я такого не заметил, попробовав разные варианты. - Игра старой школы и крайне рекомендуется исследовать каждый угол. Это не минус, я такое люблю. Однако в игре куча мест и проверок навыков, которые можно будет пройти только спустя часы геймплея - к этому моменту очень легко забыть, что ты хотел вернуться к двери, которую не мог открыть фиг знает когда. Проблема есть и в AoD, но тут масштаб ещё больше. Очень не хватает карты как в метроидваниях, где показано, какие комнаты ты зачистил и возможность ставить метки, надеюсь, в следующей игре это добавят - это было бы самое важное QoL улучшение для игр студии имхо. - Текста в квестах мне иногда не хватало. Понимаю, что вкусовщина, но иногда выдача квеста выглядит уж очень простенько - "Привет. Мне надо то-то и то-то. Делай.". Кому-то, может, понравится, что нет излишней графомании. - Опять про текст: убрали маленькие текстовые квесты :( В AoD это скорее следствие нехватки ресурсов на определенные сегменты и механики, поэтому пришлось тот же стелс делать текстом. Однако круто же получилось - атмосферно и винтажно, жаль, что отказались. - Хоть тактические бои и хардкорные, требуют от игрока включать голову и не жать кнопки на рандоме, разнообразия и фишек не хватает. Боевые локации одноуровневые, очень тесные и не однообразные. Настолько тесные, что простреливаются с одного края до другого из многого оружия, особенно к концу игры. Смысла в снайперках вообще не увидел. Укрытия на многих боевых локациях вообще отсутствуют - просто чистое поле. Улучшение боевки также напрашивается в следующей игре.
Great RPG, although the learn-by-using stat system is a bit flawed. You will probably reset your character after the first attempt at the game, once you realize how the stats system works
A masterpiece, through and through. For all its faults, Iron Tower's previous game, Age of Decadence, was a rough but well meaning, highly atmospheric RPG, with all the right bits and bobs to keep you hooked. It had challenging combat, interesting characters, and a subversive narrative of Gods, Demons, and the grim mortality of a Roman-style civilization on the brink of destruction. It was ugly, rough, and kind of jank - a microcosm of the type of world AOD was set in. An ancient era civilization caught up in its own dark age, with its greatest mysteries lost to the sands of time. Colony Ship eschews that vibe for a more scifi-feel - but it is just as brilliant, if not more so. There are no more spears or swords here. Now, it's guns, shotguns, laser rifles, and grenades, and you're expected to fight for every scrap of money, ammunition, medical supplies, and experience you can get. Each fight you take demands the use of limited resources, and careful manipulation of the game's mechanics to survive. It can be mentally taxing, Fights take a while, and a bad fight can quickly spiral out of control. But that feeling of triumph once you pass through a difficult section never gets old. I look forward to their next game with great relish, because they have proven yet again that they know their craft well.
Too my surprise and disappointment in this developer in whom purchased past game by them... feels as if they gave up and cut corners on this game. The map is very nice and the story tell is ok, but the combat is lazy and shallow from apart from there other tittles. I highly highly recommend Not to purchase this at full price which is $40 but wait for a deep sale...which is when I purchased this tittle....They advertise all the cool little things they put into game but the combat and pacing is unforgiveable... I expected better from Iron Tower Studios. But if you buy this I highly recommend you "CUSTOM the default difficulty" to make combat tolerable...DO NOT settle for the defaulted options of "Hero or Underdog". One is way too easy and the other is frustratingly unbalanced And You will Not be able to change settings once you Start a New Game. So choose wisely!
Beautiful graphics, great camera, good dialogue, and interesting story. Unfortunately like others have said the combat balancing is off, even on easy/hero mode. The enemies are better equipped, very accurate, and outnumber you in closed spaces. If there was a lot to do on the side and you could come back to these encounters, it would be fine but unfortunately in the beginning there is no escaping big combat encounters unless you are meticulous or you have high speech or sneak abilities.
TLDR: Difficult turn based story game that has a gritty and realistically written story. Colony Ship is one of those games where you both are the main character, but are not. You are exactly as strong as everyone else. There is no power scaling, and levels don't give you more health. The quickest way to win fights is to be smart in how you approach them. Your party could be incredibly powerful and still fail in a fight that a group of naked inept scientists would win because they brought an emp grenade, gas masks, or thermal optics. You have quite a large variety of ways to play it, with different endings. Your typical solutions to problems being smoothing them over, backstabbing someone, killing everything that talks back, or sneaking around. What is good is you can do all of these in the same playthrough. I beat the game as a skill monkey, and honestly, clearly didn't have to be one. Realistically if you want to see all the content, you need to have high charisma on your main character. And by high I mean 7 or 8, which is quite easy. Everything else can be passed onto your allies quite easily, and only in debates/arguments do you need your character to use his persuasion. I would like to say you don't need it as you can play by just killing everyone you can't talk out of things but that would lock you from a lot of things and positive outcomes. My only gripe is that at the end of the game I was so powerful and kitted I felt sad that I didn't have any big fight or anything waiting me like the encounter in their previous title. I would also complain that there is a set of armor you can get that is extremely difficult to obtain skill check wise, but it is just bad. Almost impossible to wear without major penalties so you need to be built to wear it. Then, it is actually worse than other armor combinations you have at that point. Enforcer visored helmet + combat gas mask gives 100 percent thermal, 100 percent toxic, 100 percent visual resist, and gives bonuses to random combat stats. Meanwhile, the helmet you can wear from the combat suit does none of those things. Not only this, but you have already beaten every major fight at the point you obtain it. I got it and I had actually 1 fight left in the game that didn't require you to wear the gas mask. This is a really minor flaw though, as it is end game, and doesn't really matter at all. The rest of the game balancing is really good actually. People complaining about the ai being stronger are just not good at this type of game. You actually work off of the exact same mechanics and stat blocks the enemies do. You aren't even outnumbered usually, and even if you were, 90% of encounters are ended by throwing flash + poison grenades. You could probably win this entire game with just consumables honestly. The question would just be how much money you have to pay per encounter. Though, is it weird that you can win a fight against robots by throwing expensive EMP grenades? Also, because I saw people saying that they get filtered at the detroit gang fight. 1. Save Smiles at the ambush 2. Use the thermal goggles found in the factory on whoever is your highest DPS and throw smoke (it's the earliest 100 percent thermal, so you can smoke spam and easily win the entire fight without even taking cover.)