$9.99Solar 2 Be the universe instead
Grow from a tiny asteroid into planets, stars and a black hole in an open sandbox universe.
Is Solar 2 worth it?
Solar 2 is worth it if…
- you like the idea of being a black hole more than shooting one
- you enjoy sandboxes where messing around is the whole point
- you want something calm to unwind with, where nothing punishes you for drifting
Screenshots
From pebble to planet-eater
You begin as a bit of rock. Smash into other rocks, gain mass, and become a planet. Catch asteroids in your orbit, absorb them, and one day your planet is warm enough for life. Your inhabitants put up a shield, mount planetary cannons and launch ships to defend you and attack enemies. Keep growing and you become a star, then a whole system, then a black hole that eats other black holes. Each stage plays differently: asteroids ram, planets herd, stars collect. The universe changes as you do.
A god with odd requests
There is a god-like figure in this universe, and it has tasks for you. None of them are required. The whole point of a sandbox is that you set your own goal: build the biggest system you can, stay a single planet and raise a small armada, or fly around smashing into things until you die repeatedly. The missions are there when you want structure. Ignore them when you do not.
How long does it last?
Can you just relax and ignore the goals?
Yes, and that is arguably the best way to play. There are no boundaries: drift forever through ambient space, soak up the soundtrack and see how big you can get. Nothing punishes you for ignoring the missions. Plenty of people spend their hours simply building the largest star system they can, or just floating around.
Is it funny?
It has a dry, eccentric sense of humor running through it, from the god's bizarre requests to the situations the physics produce. It is not a comedy in the joke-a-minute sense, but the absurdity of being a planet whose inhabitants defend you with spaceships, while you are asked to perform strange favors for a deity, does the laughing for you.
Do you need to understand physics?
No. The orbits are loose rather than strictly realistic, which is what makes the strange possibilities possible: multi-star ring systems with heavily armed planets circling them. Gravity pulls things toward you and asteroids can hurt you on impact, and that is really all you need to know. If the default feel gets old, there are physics options to play with.
