Sometimes, I look at my constituents in Cities Skylines 2 and I think ‘yes, I would like to blast you into outer space.’ If it’s not garbage collection they’re complaining about, it’s traffic, or bus routes, or that taxes are too high, or that the weather is too warm and it’s melting the ice cubes in their cocktail. I want to take the whole city and just eject it into the stratosphere. Space Station Designer lets me live out that dream (albeit with a more optimistic and humane tone). A strategy game set in the deepest reaches of the big black, it feels like Cities, mixed with Manor Lords, mixed with space. Published by Slitherine, the label behind Warhammer 40k Gladius, if this sounds like your thing, you’re in luck – a demo just went live.
At the start of Space Station Designer, you’re approached by four of the world’s biggest superpowers: The USA, Russia, China, and the European Union. Each wants you to construct a space station on their behalf and offers different incentives. Sign up with the US and you start the game with more cash, for example. Once you’ve picked an ally, you launch your first core module and, after that, it becomes a strategy game of collecting resources, managing astronauts and staff, and gradually expanding outwards.
As well as building the ideal space station, you’re responsible for forging new and better supply lines between the Earth and the cosmos. Random events will disrupt your progress and the morale of your staff will fluctuate depending on their assignments. Ultimately, you want to climb the tech tree and push beyond the exosphere, exploring into mid and then high Earth orbit, and eventually establishing a station close to The Moon. Your contract, however, is only for 50 years, so although you can explore and experiment with new designs, you need to balance your creativity with practicality.
While we’re waiting on a release date, Space Station Designer has a new beta that lets you try the campaign, sandbox, and no-limits free builder modes. Developer Polar Motion says the beta contains about 24 hours worth of total material, so there is plenty to explore. If you want to try it out, head to the game’s official Discord here.
Otherwise, try some of the best space games, or maybe the best simulation games available today on PC.
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