The Star Control games are all about dealing with alien races: Putting up with their nonsense, convincing them to be pals, begging them not to shoot you, or shooting at them, as the situation requires. With every encounter, you make an impression, and as the new Star Control: Origins trailer makes clear, it's not always going to be a good one.

That's not necessarily a problem, though. An impression doesn't have to be good to be useful, and sometimes a stick will get you farther than a carrot. "You don’t have to be a white knight to save humanity," Stardock said. "In fact, you don’t even need to be nice. Your mission has always been to save humanity by any means necessary. How you do it is up to you."

And if your thoughtless, wildly inappropriate behavior leaves a species or two looking at you contemptuously as "dangerous, murdering humans," well, who cares as long as you get what you want, right?

Star Control: Origins comes out on September 20 on Steam and GOG.