First Impressions
Space Wreck

By Chris Picone, 06 December 2022

I've been keeping an eye on Space Wreck for a long time, because it strikes me as being "Fallout-inspired" in spite of the space setting (and in any case I'm an absolute sucker for any isometric RPG), and I really love the game's unique Floyd-Steinberg art style.

Aside from the fact that your initial quest is to, literally, go and find a fuel chip, Space Wreck really does feel a lot like original Fallout. There are some clunky bits here and there; the AI isn't amazing and although the writing's mostly pretty good, the whole "English as additional language" thing does shine through. Mostly, though, Space Wreck's a solid RPG experience. The world and characters feel alive with plenty of personality and lore, and although I haven't had a chance to fully experience the game's choice and consequence yet (it does feature multiple endings), you're definitely left to play the game and solve your problems as you please. It's a decent length, too - the length appears to be the major complaint I've seen so far, being billed at 4-6 hours, but the game's mechanics are very tight which means it's also very replayable. I opted for a nerdy mechanic/hacker-type, which means I'm able to sneak around and fiddle with computers and break into places I'm not supposed to be, but it also means no one wants to speak to me so I can't talk my way into or out of anything and I'm also useless in a fight. Essentially, I could go back and play again with a range of different characters and have a totally different experience each time. The game's wide rather than long, and I like that in an RPG.

So, my first impression? If you're a fan of the old-school isometric rpgs, this is a very faithful addition to that genre. I'm not far enough in yet to know where the story's going to take me but I'm thoroughly engaged just exploring this dystopian space future and surviving, and loving how open the game is in terms of its "8 solutions to every problem" philosophy.

Links:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/1063540/Space_Wreck/