Suit up, marine, it’s time to defend humanity’s space stations against alien incursions. The trade and profits must flow, so get to it, private! The Galactic Space Guard demo has you clearing one of these stations from the vermin of space. While not a looker graphically, as it visually looks like a 90s MTV music video, the twist on the turn-based combat makes up for it.
Polygon space
Now, I don’t want to overpraise Galactic Space Guard too much, as it’s pretty darn basic in every sense, but there is no denying it has mood. The twist in the turn-based combat is that you shoot the guns by yourself from a third-person view, much like Phoenix Point—but a tad snappier and weightier. The weapons feel punchy and satisfying to use, quickly turning the aliens into smelly green goo. However, the aliens are numerous and easily swarm (think mass Xenomorphs).
It creates a tension-filled atmosphere, and as soon as you set your military boot on the station, you know you are in for some shit. The aliens will literally be coming out of the god-damn walls to snack on the heads of the poor marines. Look out for the Alpha alien—do not let that bastard get close! So for a game having the bare essentials, it’s actually very atmospheric. When I played, I was reminded of the original X-com from 1994, as the lives of your soldiers can easily get snuffed out if you make a mistake.
Other than this, there seems to be a lot of different weapons, with plenty of items to use in combat, like placing mines for ambush, or injecting your marines with some kind of serum for more action points. Stats and leveling also play an important role, and instead of gaining dynamic stat increases from doing, you pick what you want to level up. However, it doesn’t play too much of a role in the demo, since it’s only one short mission—but during a bigger campaign this and loot will surely be crucial for success. The only thing I felt really missing is a way to kneel, so marines can shoot over, instead of through each other, which happened to me. I’m a poor commander.
If you enjoy X-com-like games, in setting and mechanics, I highly recommend that you give the demo a go!
Thanks for reading.
– Thomas
I just want to thank Kabas and Taka-Haradin puolipeikko from RPG Codex for the tip!
Tom's Gaming Vault 