Planet Scanner

I had fun! [spoiler]I couldn't save them [/spoiler]

This game tries to be one of those Iron Lung style scary busywork games and I do quite like that as of yet unnamed genre, but this isn't the best execution on the premise. The difficulty is strangely frontloaded. I lost my first run due to buying the wrong upgrades, but when you get the upgrades that give you more money, the gameplay quickly stops mattering. I enjoyed looking for the perfect planet to get me the most money, but after a few rounds, there was no way I couldn't make the requirements. The spooks are also too drawn out, with the game overstaying its welcome. I thought it would end way earlier than it did. All in all, I wouldn't recommend it.

fun little job sim in space, easily 4-5hrs of time out of it. Other reviews said 1-2hrs but that's for suuuuure underselling the length.

Gostei bastante do jogo, é muito bom. Apenas esperava que tivesse múltiplos finais. Não gostei muito da forma como termina.

Fun and short "job simulator" sort of game, where you man a planet scanning station and search for planets with specific traits that will maximise the amount of profit you make for the company. The story is delivered to you in-game emails, and a sort of social media and news feed, detailing the happenings around the galaxy, all while you spend your time looking for planets with increasing demands and profit quotas. It starts out quite slow, as you only need to scan, upload, and make sure you hit your targets, but as you go along, you unlock a couple of other tools that then become a requirement to use, and make the game a little more hectic. You can mitigate some of this by buying upgrades with money you get from working. The more money you make for the company, the more money you get, which then lets you buy upgrades that let you work faster.... in order to get more money. You can determine how much each planet trait is worth by checking the planetary stock market, and making sure you try to get a combination that's worth a lot. Once you are given the other work stations, it can get a bit tricky trying to manage what you need for a day vs also meeting your profit goal, but a bit over halfway you SHOULD have enough upgrades that it becomes a bit of a non-factor, and you can upload whatever and focus on specific traits when you need them. What also makes it hard, is you are charged for rent, food, and water, and if you miss your quotas or don't upload planets with specific traits, you incur a penalty which really chunks down your money. And if that happens twice, it's game over. But once you manage that, and get into the flow it's fun. The visuals and music are charming, although there's not much to see at times. I also liked the randomly cycling news bits and social media feed which added a bit of life and fun things to look for while playing, and using a bit of money to decorate your scanning station is a nice touch. Overall I would recommend if you have a few bucks to spare and enjoy a focused and atmospheric job sim.