Base One Review

Developed by Pixfroze and published by Blowfish Games, Base One is a unique space station simulation game. Upon launch, the player is presented with a beautiful and tranquil main menu that perfectly sets the tone of mankind’s journey into the unknown. Like that journey, the game is both enjoyable and frustrating all in the same breath.

The main menu presents two options, the campaign and a custom game mode. Campaign mode is split into four episodes, the fourth listed as planned DLC. Each episode has four to five missions that revolve around teaching the player more about the various aspects of managing a space station. The only exception is the first mission which is explicitly labeled as the tutorial, which feeds the player information through text boxes with little time to process or discover mechanics. Base One has voice acting for the NPCs that set up the basic setting for the game as well as your objectives; however, it comes across as soulless. 

The custom game, or free play, operates as expected, allowing the player to build a station without objectives. It offers several default difficulty modes and various settings to further customize the experience. The settings include options such as starting money and the abundance of natural resources that can be found on the map.

The basic gameplay consists of building modules onto the central control center that every space station starts with. Each module typically has a job that it performs, such as collecting solar energy or working as a research facility to unlock more technology. In order for most modules to be accessed safely by the residents of the space station, however, they must be supplied with both heat and oxygen. Both of these resources are supplied by an item that is built inside the life support module; other modules typically have various items that can be built within them.

A second layer of management exists in the form of the various space station workers. Each one has 9 different stats that track how hungry or tired the characters are. There is even more to track, however, as each one has two personality traits, typically one negative and one positive. These traits will affect the relationships between them and the other characters on the station, which makes them important to stay on top of. These characters can change over the course of Base One, typically gaining more skill for their profession or even unlocking perks that may apply additional personality traits. 

The multiple complex layers of management would make for a decent, although ambitious spaceship simulation game. The problem lies in how the game runs. The first problem is the AI for your residents will often get stuck so that they will simply stand around and do nothing even if they are about to die from not serving one of the many stats they have. The second issue is that the game is very slow, which is only made worse by the first issue when it comes to building modules and items. Also, instead of simply left-clicking to place a module or item, you click and hold. You also have to move your mouse back down and re-click on the module or item if you wish to build more than just one. It all just makes playing Base One a greatly frustrating experience.