Empyrion – Galactic Survival
Eleon Game Studios
Empyrion – Galactic Survival is a game that I used to play a lot of back in 2016 with a small group of friends. We all liked the way that it gave a sense that you were really tiny, mere specs in a massive universe (or as we came to find out later, solar system). It was so fun when you began a game because you’d be shooting down to a world in a jettisoned escape pod, choose your landing site, and hope for the best.
After grabbing all of the supplies out of your escape pod, you’d have to secure a good spot for building a base and start gathering the requisite materials to achieve that goal. Of course, there were always ornery critters that you’d have to contend with while carrying out all of those things, but it usually wasn’t that much of a big deal. If you were successful in establishing a base, you could begin construction of land vehicles such as hovercraft, or your very own spaceship.
The thing that was special about Empyrion came down to that first time you jumped into the cockpit of your very first ship. You really didn’t know what was going to happen. My buddies and I always wondered if we’d put our ship’s components together correctly in order to impress one another during the grand, debut launches that we’d hold.
But over time, Empyrion’s lackluster graphics seemed to wear out their welcome. Actually, it wasn’t so much the visuals as the game’s smaller scale. We soon discovered that you could literally run around the circumference of a world in about thirty minutes (in real time). The solar systems were also pretty small, and consisted of anywhere from 4 or 5, to I believe a maximum of 16 or so planets. So, we stopped playing.
Well, lo and behold, about a year and a half rolls by and I discover that Eleon Game Studios has really been hard at work. These are the right kind of indie developers that the gaming world needs these days—ones who obviously love their digital creations and would rather die than give up on them (okay that was probably a little overboard).
Probably the most exciting thing about the new 8.0 (experimental) Update is the new larger planet sizes. We’re not talking about just adding a little more turf here and there. What we’re talking about jumping from 8x4km to 64x32km in size, which equals planets that are 64 times larger. Correspondingly, the change in planet size is also reflected when you look at them from orbit.
Other exciting new changes include the random generation of solar systems, procedural terrain generation, more diverse biomes, diverse underground layers (strata), improved terrain textures, dense vegetation, improved AI behaviors, and (gasp) much more. Simply put, 8.0 has given us space survival fans a window into what Empyrion can really become.
After cajoling a gaming buddy of mine into starting a new game with me (of this new version if Empyrion), we found a moderated populated PvP (PvE is also available) and jumped right in. You still begin each game slicing down through the sky in escape pods, but boy, we were not prepared for the truly massive scale of the new planetary sizes. You can really get a sense of this by viewing a planet from above.
We landed next to each other and quickly scrounged around in our damaged escape pods for the usual survival tools. Big surprise there—all you begin with now are a few rudimentary items instead of all of the hand-holdy equipment you used to get.
Since you now begin with a basic survival suit, cold is much more of a problem which in turn can affect your stamina. You also get hungry faster in the beginning while you’re running all around, trying to search for food and basic resources. As a matter of fact, my buddy and I both died of hunger multiple times before we could even get a decent foothold on our starting world.
Also, alien critters are much harder to ward off in 8.0. You can fashion a basic survival tool but it’s not good for offense. When we found ourselves being chased by hungry varmints, all we could do was basically zap them a few times in order to keep them at bay until we could scramble away. And if you encounter the giant spider-like creatures, run. Once those suckers get on your tail they’ll chase you to the ends of the earth…or…er…alien planet.
The base and shipbuilding are generally the same, although with much better textures and newer models, so Empyrion veterans should be at home there. It’s still a blast to design your first base from the ground up, and arm it will all sorts of weapons. And constructing ships is probably one of the best facets of the game—one that simply can’t be matched in other, similar games. It’s the perfect match of sim and arcade and doesn’t sway too much in either direction.
So, if you’re looking for a great science fiction survival and crafting game that delivers just the right amount of immersion and detail, try the latest 8.0 version of Empyrion – Galactic Survival. I’m pretty confident that you won’t be disappointed.
SCORE: 91%
Empyrion – Galactic Survival features outstanding graphics that make its space survival gameplay truly shine. However, you want to have a pretty beefy gaming PC or gaming laptop in order to play it at a decent framerate. So, you may just want to invest in a decent gaming rig:
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