$24.99Stellar Tactics A galaxy of 160,000 systems
A sci-fi RPG where you wake from cryosleep 500 years late, build a squad of mercenaries and set out into a universe of over 160,000 star systems. Turn-based ground combat in the classic style, ships to customize, board and capture, mining, trading and a galaxy slowly eaten by a disease called Phage. Big, slow, old-fashioned and generous with your time.
Is Stellar Tactics worth it?
Stellar Tactics is worth it if…
- you like slow, deliberate tactics where every action point is a decision
- you want a sandbox you can mine, trade and explore in for hundreds of hours
- you miss the pace and systems of classic isometric RPGs
- you would rather build a ship, a crew and a loadout than follow a marker
- you accept a rough, dated look in exchange for sheer scope
Screenshots
Turn-based squad combat in the old school
Ground combat works the way classic RPGs did: real time while you explore, turn by turn when guns come out. Every action costs action points, so each move is a decision. Position your squad, watch lines of sight, and mind who stands behind whom before you fire a flamethrower down a corridor. Every weapon has its own strengths and weaknesses, and there is a call-a-shot ability on a cooldown for the moment a mission hangs on one hit landing. You fight mutants, raiders, pirates and scavengers on space stations, in caves, ruins and planetary bases. One honest trade-off: fights can start to feel alike once you have settled into your tactics.
A universe that does not fit in one lifetime
The scale here is the point. Over 160,000 star systems, 10,000 sectors, millions of planets. You scan planets for hidden locations and minerals, send mining drones to harvest what they find, mine asteroids, refine ore and trade commodities on the Trade-Net. Set beacons in star systems to stream trade data and work the market across the galaxy. You fly one of 40 ships, fitted out as a cargo hauler, miner, explorer or warship, with equipment in different quality grades. When you meet an enemy ship, you can disable it, board it with your away team, and sell the hull. Bounties, the main story, or just drifting outwards: nobody tells you what a session looks like.
Build your crew your way
There are no classes. Skills improve as you use them, and 240 perks let you shape each squad member into a specialist or a generalist who handles every weapon. You recruit NPCs until you have a crew of up to 24, from which you field your squads. Gear can be upgraded with Nano-Tech and components, and most equipment for people and ships can be crafted, so a good loadout is something you build as much as buy. Your mercenary is genetically engineered and woken from cryostasis centuries after a disaster on the colony ship Dauntless, into a galaxy where the Phage disease mutates and consumes worlds while political powers fight for control. Ally with one of them or stay a hired gun.
Can you play it at your own pace?
How does the story start?
Something goes badly wrong, your squad deals with it, and you end up in an escape pod in cryosleep. You are woken centuries later by people who found your pod first. Your old team is gone, the galaxy has moved on, and a disease called Phage is slowly consuming worlds. The opening is a long prologue that doubles as a tutorial, and it sets up the question the whole game asks: can you find the source of the Phage before it eats the galaxy?
Do you have to grind crafting to get good gear?
No. Crafting is deep and most items can be made, but it is not the only road. Components can be bought from vendors or milled from existing gear, some ores come from asteroids and derelict ships, and you can hire high-level mercenaries who craft better than you ever will. If tinkering is not your thing, trading, mining and boarding enemy ships for profit will outfit a crew just fine.
