Avorion - Modular Space Mayhem!
I bought Boxelware's Avorion in 2017, it was an early access game that was touted to be 'Minecraft in space' but that description is a disservice to what's at play here. Avorion is so different and special in it's own way that it scratches an itch, an itch I didn't know existed. Like, 1800 hours of scratching, that's alot. Crafting, fighting and upgrading your own custom made vessel(s) makes a dangerously addictive game-play loop that few games come close to, maybe that's a good thing. Let give some insight as to why this game is so dope, homie.
Shipbuilding
It's no mystery here, the first biggest appeal of Avorion is the fact I can build my own ship(s). It's not just cosmetic, but the placement of thrusters, engines, shield generators and armor all affect the way my fleet will look and handle. It's like I'm my own evil empire, amassing a fleet to overtake the galaxy. Even if you're suffering a little creative dry-spell, it's possible to load pre-built ships from the steam workshop into the game. So I can pit Star Destroyers against the USS Enterprise, the building system is really that good.
The building system is really open ended too. Just pop your ship into the editor and scale it's size, add or remove blocks. The fact you can retro fit aging vessels from your fleet to meet new demands adds thes real-world geeky naval management to Avorion. Save a template and make a uniform strike group, designated battleships and carriers, sometimes managing the ships is more fun than flying them.
Pirate hunter
What's an armada without a conflict? Avorion is full of both hostile Xsotan aliens and pirates. Lay waste to both with extreme prejudice, either as part of a mission or just out of sheer hatred. You'll be dishing out payback for all those times they destroyed your ships or stations. Killing pirates is the business and business is booming!
Combat in Avorion is a little slow and floaty, but flying your ship close enough to unleash a barrage of chaingun, bolter, or other weaponry is visceral and satisfying. Engines burst, parts come flying off, and loose ores will float to your ship while you serve cold, hard justice to the criminal element. All in a days work.
Looting is fun
After turning enemy fleets into veritable scrapyards all manner of shiny objects will auto-float to your battleship. Among the guns, lasers, and loose ore, you'll also find ship upgrades, objects that can be slotted into your ships for all manners of stat boosts. All upgrades and guns have a color tier rating system with juicy purple being the most epic, though I'll settle for orange too. As for the unwanted upgrades and guns, they can either sold or combined for randomized stats.
Stumbling upon a Research Station gives the opportunity to combine several near-rarity items. It's randomized, so the one resulting item could be either a massive fail, or a gamebreaking treasure. The randomicity of it all adds yet another addicting element to the shoot and loot cycle of space warfare.
Worth a look
I hope that this post helped shed some light on a hugely unknown game and help draw attention to it. I've put Avorion on the back-burner for a long time. but the game is constantly being updated and has some dlc set for release. I think it's a pretty good value for the price, at 25cdn it's given me lots to play. Until next time, Cosmonauts
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