Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes Review – Brutal Fleet Survival Done Right – MonsterVine

Battlestar Galactica seems like an odd alternative for a licensed tie-in recreation when the unique sequence resulted in 1980 and the rebooted sequence resulted in 2010, however it additionally kinda…hangs round. The online sequence ran on SciFi’s web site after which reappeared on Machinima (bear in mind Machinima?) in 2012. There was a characteristic movie kicking round in growth/early manufacturing till 2016 or so. Peacock was planning some type of reboot or revival that puttered alongside till 2024, when it was canceled. It’s all the time obtained some curiosity, even when it by no means manages to get off the bottom.

So why not a survival fleet administration roguelike and, hey, why not a bizarre French writer that loves popular culture licenses (DotEmu, who additionally do Starship Troopers: Final Bug Conflict and Marvel Cosmic Invasion) and why not Alt Shift, a weirdo French developer that made the criminally underappreciated Crying Suns which is, let me simply pull this up…a tactical rogue-lite the place you command an area fleet…

And if you happen to actually give it some thought, Battlestar Galactica is a banger of a premise for this kind of factor, isn’t it? “You’re being relentlessly pursued by a murderous and highly effective enemy whereas consistently in need of sources, all the time having to make robust choices, and consistently on the verge of defeat”? Okay, yeah, it is a hell of a setup, made by French weirdos, and I belief French weirdos to make artsy stuff with my life.

Scattered Hopes hits the temper beats from the start: Stunning and downbeat music, bizarre violins, darkish electronica. The pixel graphics and animations all make the whole lot really feel retro and worn, identical to the know-how you’re counting on to outlive the Cylons.

Within the tutorial, you witness the destruction of Caprica and your little fleet of ships: a Gunstar after which a few civilian ships make a break for it, FTL leaping furiously in the direction of the beacon of hope that’s Adama and the Galactica itself.

The FTL leaping units up the roguelike construction and in addition supplies the story mechanic: Roguelikes often use “rooms” that department, after which a flip-primarily based construction. On this case, your FTL drives take time to energy up for his or her subsequent bounce, so you’ve some decisions to make. These are continuously gathering sources from factors of curiosity like gas for the shuttles and ships, scrap for ship repairs and upgrades, analysis, and provides to maintain everybody fed and wholesome, however may additionally embrace discovering stranded fighter squadrons, misplaced officers, retailers, and different goodies.

However…Issues Occur.

Crises happen regularly and more often than not they price sources to resolve, be that point because the clock ticks right down to the subsequent Cylon encounter, be that hoarded sources, be that the goodwill of the varied factions within the fleet (starting from employees and the army to the underworld, all of whom have bonuses and penalties) or be that your XO going right into a sulk since you let the pet she discovered die to protect sources for the precise people. Usually, the large stuff you’re managing are the general fleet well being (The power of the collective hulls) and the general well being of the folks onboard, and any of these going to 0 means everyone seems to be lifeless, however in actuality, you’re managing a number of dozen issues without delay with out really having the sources to maintain everybody joyful after which there are murderous robots making an attempt to kill you.

Talking of, ultimately the timer runs out, and it’s time to enter battle.

The precise fight is attention-grabbing as a result of it’s unavoidable and continuously unwinnable: Your fleet of a single gunstar and some civilian ships that may mainly soak injury and function a distraction is up towards a robust Cylon warship and quite a lot of fighters. As an alternative of making an attempt to win, you’re simply making an attempt to outlive lengthy sufficient for the bounce drive to heat up so everybody can bounce to the subsequent sector.

To do this, you’ve 2 main sorts of protection: you’ve small starfighter-kind items that do numerous issues. Some are small zoomy quick-vary ships that zip across the display and blaze away, some are extra artillery or sniper-model items that do excessive single-goal injury, and a few are extra help-kind items that present buffs and debuffs. You possibly can solely deploy a couple of at a time primarily based in your gunstar’s starfighter bays, and it’s costly to improve these. The fighter squadrons may also earn expertise and be upgraded, although they’re comparatively fragile and require some RTS-model micromanagement to maintain them alive.

Your different main device is the ship’s weapons: gun turrets, huge missiles, and usually highly effective, however sluggish-firing weapons like nukes. These may be very formidable and wipe out complete swarms of oncoming Cylons, however in addition they take time to fireplace whereas enemy fighters and missiles are pounding your fleet. Once more, you’ve a restricted variety of energetic turret slots that may be raised, however at a excessive price.

The drama of those battles performs out on a largely 2nd command floor that typically jogged my memory of enjoying the Star Wars miniatures battle recreation and actually match the vibe of utilizing antiquated know-how to attempt to survive oncoming hordes whereas frantically ready for the bounce drive to heat up. It’s actual-time fight with a tactical pause to catch your breath, however the display can get a bit crowded with items swooping round, particularly in the direction of the tip of a battle when you could solely have a handful of fighters, and there are Cylons all over the place.

When you mash bounce, it’s off to the subsequent sector to restore, refit, take care of the fixed ongoing crises, attempt to unlock upgrades, choose the subsequent sector you bounce to, prepare the civilian ships (since they do present bonuses), and, hopefully, ultimately rendezvous with Adama. Oh, and naturally, there could also be Cylons among the many crew, and also you additionally want to research that, and cram all that in earlier than the subsequent battle.

The draw back is, in fact, you’re doomed and going to lose a number of occasions earlier than you handle that, this being a roguelike and Battlestar Galactica. While you do, you’ll discover there are issues to unlock like new beginning fleets with new beginning gunstars that present totally different playstyles–for instance, one that’s constructed extra for ranged fight and heavy gun turrets somewhat than fighters–and elevated beginning useful resource bonuses somewhat than scrapping and scrounging and consistently operating out of issues or, not less than, operating out of issues much less rapidly.

Which leads into the foremost grievance: “Dropping is enjoyable” is the mantra of roguelikes and comparable video games, however damned if this one doesn’t rub your face in it. The issue with having most of your gameplay be the decision of crises and folks complaining and inflicting issues is, properly, it’s like consistently having to take care of a faculty bus filled with screaming, ungrateful kids. “It’s all the time one thing,” is the unofficial motto of your fleet, and if it isn’t the employees or underworld or army mad about one thing, it’s somebody setting off a bomb or one of many ships breaking or one among your officers demanding sources for a private venture, and rattling do you jabronis notice we’re all going to die out right here?

When my ships inevitably obtained blown up, generally it was like “Oh, thank god, I don’t must take care of these idiots anymore” somewhat than feeling dangerous about it. Good issues or encouraging issues occur so seldom, and dangerous issues occur so typically that there’s probably not that hook of “Okay, however I’ll determine it out subsequent time” or “I nearly made it” or “I really feel dangerous about humanity getting worn out.” As an alternative, it’s like “Properly, possibly the Cylons are proper as a result of lord we’re a bunch of whiny and ungrateful kids.” As a associated minor mechanical nitpick, the civilian ships did present bonuses, however they had been so abstracted and never instantly noticeable that shedding one in fight felt much less like shedding a tough-earned funding or supply of buffs and extra like shedding a supply of issues and useful resource drain.

The gameplay is hard, and all the time shedding is a part of the style, and also you do begin getting some good bonuses as you lose again and again, however lord is it robust to encourage your self for an additional run of the survivors of humanity screaming “MCDONALD’S! MCDONALD’S! MCDONALD’S!” because the Cylons are attempting to kill you at each alternative. It tempts one to drag into the drive-through, order a single black espresso, and go away.