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Rebel Galaxy Review

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Rebel Galaxy, developed by Double Damage Games, is a space combat and commerce simulator now available for Xbox One. The game received largely positive feedback on Steam and Windows 10, but how will it translate to consoles?

Well, if you enjoy grinding, exploring, and trading, you will love how it translates to consoles. This is a game that requires large investments of time and patience, with the payoff being a much more enjoyable gameplay experience in the end.

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Things begin with you traveling to meet your aunt, who has important information for you. When you arrive at the designated meeting place, she is not there. Thus you begin a journey of exploration and acquisition, with the (starting) goal of finding her. The main story will get you about 20 hours of play time, depending on how much exploring you like to do.

When I started Rebel Galaxy, I almost shut it off after about 10 minutes. Your initial ship starts out very underpowered and downright clunky. Your first combat engagement will likely make you want to turn the game off as well. Your initial weapons essentially have the same effect as spitting on a fire, but the point is to make you realize how underpowered you are and motivate you to begin the real core of the game: the grind.

Ultimately, there are four things to do in the game – mining, trading, combat, and the main story quests. The main story will reward you with upgrades on occasion, but like many other open-world grindy games, it is a lot of go here, do this, turn in, then go somewhere else and repeat. As I stated, this is not unlike a lot of other games in this genre, but if you are not a player that is highly motivated by acquiring new gear, you might find this to be highly repetitive.

Mining requires a beginning investment of just under 30,000 credits. You can mine without making that investment by just using your ship’s weapons, but you will only receive one unit of whatever you are mining for. Once you have acquired materials through mining, you can engage in trade throughout the system to build your wealth. Players that are intrigued by the “buy low, sell high” stock market themes will find this very enjoyable. However, if you find a great price on something you want across the system, you will need to drop everything and head there, as the price can be very different once you have arrived.

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Beacons, which are randomly located around the map, are a great way to obtain new bounties and find mining locations. Once located, they require a simple button combination that has to be completed before the timer expires. Bounties are combat heavy and will not get you great loot, but will reward you with currency.

Along with regular beacons, there are distress beacons throughout the system as well. When you help someone else, not only will you know you’re a great person but you’ll get some currency and a 5-point increase in faction points. In addition, they will sometimes reward you with placing contraband in your cargo hold, but beware – if you get stopped at a militia outpost and surrender the contraband, you will get a 4-point decrease in faction points. In this scenario, you will have the option to bribe, fight, or surrender the cargo.

Gaining faction points in the game will help you access certain faction-controlled points on the map with little opposition. This can prove to be very beneficial, but don’t expect to be able to execute a Machiavellian plot to play factions against each other for your gain. Simply put, Rebel Galaxy just isn’t THAT deep. Factions do, however, add an extra layer to the game that makes you strategize a little more.

Without question, the biggest tip I can give to anyone playing Rebel Galaxy is to employ mercenaries. Mercenaries can be obtained in the first system you explore for credit amounts ranging from 1,600 to 16,000. They prove to be very useful in combat, and can even serve as a distraction when you’re outgunned. Simply let them engage the enemy first, then get far enough away to be able to go to warp. Once you engage warp, they will show up behind you and follow you.

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Visually, Rebel Galaxy has a decidedly arcade feel to it. Don’t expect the same graphics you would see from Destiny, etc – you will be disappointed. However, the look of the game often adds to its charm, and serves to help differentiate it. When you add in the very Wild West-like voice acting and tone of the game, the graphics and presentation seem very appropriate and actually help you get immersed in the world. A fair comparison on this front is how the Borderlands series employed different visual presentations to the same effect.

I didn’t find myself dying to go on every side mission I could get my hands on in Rebel Galaxy. For me, the loot just isn’t good enough. Unlike a game such as Destiny, where the endgame is acquiring cool loot, the point of Rebel Galaxy is to acquire overall wealth, which in turn makes you more powerful. Despite the arcade feel of the game, there is a lot to do in Rebel Galaxy – if you enjoy the grind. While it is definitely worth a play through for gamers that love this sort of game, it just doesn’t grab me as much as Bungie managed with their fine piece of art. To be fair though, it doesn’t cost what that does either, and the fact that Double Damage Games is a two-person studio makes their end product pretty impressive.

If you enjoy the grind in games and get the warm fuzzies from things like acquiring equipment, loot, and wealth, Rebel Galaxy is worth the financial and time investment for you. If you are the type of player that usually wants to just get through the main story and move on with life, this is a game you should probably pass on.

Tyler
Tylerhttp://www.thirdsungaming.libsyn.com
Host/Executive Producer of The Gaming Hub Podcast, which can be found right here on The Xbox Hub. When I'm not working, I love playing and talking about games. I also enjoy hockey and baseball.

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