Starsector is a sandbox space strategy game where you command a starship fleet and have an absolute freedom of doing whatever you want. Be a pirate, smuggler, colonist, mercenary, or boss of the whole system, universe is literally the limit. There is A LOT to absorb in this game, total and complete sandbox freedom can be overwhelming, you will need to complete many tutorials this game will offer when you start playing. You can explore the galaxy you're in with other factions, you can become their ally or enemy, it's all up to you and the choices you've made through out the game.
Your fleet starts small, but with time it will increase in size and become a force to be reckoned with. There are a lot of ships in this game, there seems to be an endless number of new ones coming your way and they get really big. All those ships require maintenance after battles, your fleet requires fuel to travel large distances, resource management of your fleet is the key to survival in this cutthroat universe. Without profit you will not be able to buy supplies and fuel, without those key resources your fleet will become lost in space in some far star sector, trust me there will be mistakes when you try to play this game for the first time.
As a fleet commander you will gain experience points which you can then place into different skill trees like combat, leadership, technology and industry. When you destroy other fleets they will drop a lot of loot which you can trade and make a profit on normal markets which take a cut, or in black markets where you can earn more money but you will be hunted if you sold any contra bands like AI cores, drugs and similar illegal goods. You can use many tools on your disposal to avoid patrols by going dark and using your afterburners if someone is tailing you. You can also colonize many suitable planets and start producing your own goods and you can create a trade empire.
Starsector can offer you many hours of great space sandbox gameplay. This is a huge feat that is accomplished for a game that only needs 250Mb of disk space. If you like space sandbox games with endless freedom this might be a game for you. Score: 90/100!
