Beyond the Chiron Gate

Seedship was great, but lacking in narrative depth. This game somehow manages to feel even more narratively sparse, probably because the expanded adventure highlights the repetitive gameplay even more. The systems play out like mad libs in space, you land on a [hot/dense/rocky/icy] [planet/asteroid] and then discover some [ruins/anomalies/microscopic life] that has been destroyed by a [cosmic ray/weather event/interstellar war], and on the way your [engineer/pilot/scientist] is imperiled by some [radiation/heat/cold/crushing atmosphere] and your other [engineer/pilot/scientist] has a [25/50/75%] chance of saving them from [injury/death]. All of these situations play out identically, with identical impacts from your pass/fail result. Get some biology points, or don't. Get some xeno points, or don't. Repeat for the entire game, like multiple times. In a single play-through your engineer is going to fix a space suit radiation leak like a dozen times, identical dialog, identical choices, maybe 5% bump to success because you gained a level. Every system description ends up reading the same. Once you've read the description for a gas giant, you've read every description for a gas giant. Completely soulless dialog, probably assembled on an excel spreadsheet. $10 is just a joke of a price for this game. It's a shame, the concept is there, but the execution completely misses the mark. 2/5

Cutty2kWed, Feb 28, 2024

United States