Starborn Anarkist

You start out with a clunky ship but as you find ship parts you upgrade constantly until you are a killing machine. Extremely addictive to try out each weapon and combinations of weapons to find the ultimate layout. I've finally unlocked the final mode that allows you to use the entire grid to build a monster ship... Worth far more than they are asking... I was late to the party but thank goodness I didn't miss it. Really well done game... Congrats to the devs. Should have been promoted as apples game of the week (or month!)

Some of the weapons are pretty useless, like the ball and chain. After playing through for a bit you get better and better weapons, it’s got a good system for getting parts; blowing up bosses. The upgrades/weapon switching mechanic is mediocre. Every time you switch, the weapons are shields you have are dropped to the lowest level and you have to rebuild all that power, but you’ll eventually run into a different weapon type by accident, again resetting your power. I think a good way to fix that would be to, instead of resetting your power to 1, every time you switch, the power goes down by one. Or something to that effect. Of course you’d have to build up the powers separately. Overall it’s fun and it’s kept me engaged for over a week —despite its problems.

This is a well-balanced, well-crafted game that doesn't take itself too seriously. It is easy to pick up and play but deep enough that the hours will just fly by. The customization available for your ship is impressive. It's an intuitive system but not everything is immediately apparent. It took me a while to figure out the red shields repel bullets and missiles but do little to stop lasers. Fans of the original Star Control will appreciate the top-down perspective, inertia based controls, and large variety of ships.

All but two, I repeat, ALL BUT TWO, of the ratings that are 3-stars or less were given four years ago and they refer to problems that have, with the exception of controller support, been remedied. There is some learning curve with regards to choosing and equipping the various vessels, but isn’t that what makes for a long period of enjoyment in a challenging and complex game universe? So dig in, this game is well worth the effort...and you CAN, with patience, do well WITHOUT any 💸IAP💸.

All in all, a very addictive game - one that encourages experimentation in layout as well as strategies but still gives you a solid arcade experience regardless - well done. Only criticism: even with the well-implemented touchscreen controls, I personally think the forthcoming ports for systems like PS Vita will prove superior due to the finer control and increased screen space (i.e. no need for touchscreen). Still a great game though!