MINIMUM: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: Windows 7 / 8 / 10 64-bit Processor: Dual Core Intel or AMD processor Memory: 4 GB RAM Graphics: Intel Integrated 520 or equivalent DirectX: Version 11 Network: Broadband Internet connection Storage: 26 GB available space Sound Card: DirectX Compatible Sound Card RECOMMENDED: Requires a 64-bit processor and operating system OS: Windows 7 / 8 / 10 64-bit Processor: Quad-core Intel or AMD processor Memory: 8 GB RAM Graphics: Video card with 2GB of video memory DirectX: Version 11 Network: Broadband Internet connection Storage: 26 GB available space Sound Card: DirectX Compatible Sound Card

Despite Stardock being known for its 4X strategy games, Star Control: Origins draws inspiration from completely different genres. The fourth Star Control game ever released is an action adventure with RPG elements, which is set in a completely different universe.

Star Control: Origins isn't a prequel or a successor of the other three Star Control games released in the '90s, so don't expect to meet any of the old characters or races. The best way to describe Origins is a combination of Mass Effect 1's resource gathering and No Man's Sky exploration systems.

Stardock is trying to appease to as many gamers as possible with Star Control: Origins, which is why the game borrows elements from multiple genres. Not a bad thing of course, just a bit harder to describe gameplay-wise.

Although Star Control: Origins is only available on the PC, Stardock is exploring the possibility of bringing the title to other platforms (PS4 and Xbox One), so if you're a console player, don't despair yet.

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Story

I sincerely didn't know what to expect from Star Control: Origins, but I was hooked after an hour or so. I think the best way to describe Stardock's latest game is a light-hearted “space opera,” or better, think Star Trek meets The Orville.

The first alien race you meet in space, the Tywoms, are, coincidentally, the most benevolent toward humans. All they want is to shake our hands and offer us massages. In return, they're willing to share their technology with us, and even become the first allies we get in the upcoming fight against the tyrannical Scryve.

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Despite that every new alien race you encounter during your explorations are humorously presented, there's a serious plot hiding behind. Star Control: Origins doesn't have a time limit rule, so you can explore at your own pace. More often than not I felt like Captain Picard deciding whether or not to help an alien race, or, in other case, how to approach a hostile alien race.

There are tons of quests throughout the game, which can be solved in different ways. Help an alien race and they will remember in the future, and the same goes if you're attacking them repeatedly. The writing is exceptional in Star Control: Origins, something that I did not expect to say about a Stardock game.

I reckon that I haven't yet played a game that's more funnier than Star Control: Origins. Each conversation with an alien is a hilarious sketch, and there are no exceptions. To give you an idea of how serious Star Control: Origins takes itself, I should mention that you won't have to look too much to find a certain Tesla that's been sent to space.

Gameplay

I believe this is the weakest aspect of the game since it can become repetitive and tedious after a while. And the worst part is that you definitely need those resources for at least half the game, so there's no way around it if you want to continue to upgrade your ship or have enough money to fuel your expeditions in various parts of universe.

Aside from that, you're free to parley explore hundreds of galaxies and thousands of planets, much of them under Scryve's rule. Although you start with a single main objective – finding allies powerful enough to help you fight the Scryve who threaten to obliterate the humans for the simple fact of existing, you soon enough find many other threats throughout the universe.

Your ship's movements are taking into consideration gravity, so it might feel awkward to control at first. The moment your ship nears a planet, it will automatically scan it and offer you a report with what resources you can gather and if there are any “unidentified structures” that you can explore.

There is combat in Star Control: Origins, but each battle takes place in some kind of arena from the top-down view. Before the battle commences, you can choose a ship from your space fleet (if you have more) to open up the combat. Each ship has two different weapons that use energy, which replenishes fast enough to allow you to spam one of them for a few seconds. The combat system is very simple to understand, but a bit harder to master since different weapons/ships leave room for a myriad of tactics.

Ultimately, Star Control: Origins is not about combat (although you have to be ready for it at any moment), but about exploration, meeting new races and establishing a solid network of allies.

The Good

Exceptional, well written dialogues

Interesting plot

Massive universe to explore

Plenty of alien races

Simple but hard to master space fleet combat system

Excellent music and voice acting

The Bad

Resource gathering system can become tedious

Some technical issues

Conclusion