Various Thoughts

Calling Rebel Galaxy an RPG is stretching things a bit. There aren’t any skills to progress in, and dialog choices amount to some minor plotline options (whether you want to side with the militia or pirates, whether you want to help someone or just blow them up) and the ability to threaten or capitulate to pirates instead of fighting them.

Let’s get the bad out of the way first:

• All the systems are identical, with the only differences being what level of equipment you can purchase and which aliens may show up.
• Progression is hilariously broken. Level 5/6 equipment (6 is max) and the best ships are available essentially as soon as you leave the first system.
• All enemies fight pretty much the same way.
• Mission-specific enemies often just pop into existence out of nowhere.
• There’s not much in the way of ship customization; weapon, armor, and engine options are all pretty limited and there’s no cosmetic customization at all.
• Faction differences are minor bordering on non-existent.
• Mining is a complete waste of time (would be better if what the pulse detects could be customized).

That’s a lot of bad, so what’s good about it? Um… well… it’s kind of fun to just unload rapid fire cannon blasts into the sides of dreadnaughts and watch them explode. And there’s something viscerally satisfying about running blockades and buying low/selling high to make a few million credits with basically no effort (buying salt for 2k-8k and selling it one system over for 30-40k is surprising entertaining).

Some things to know if you plan to play this:

• Upgrade your shields before anything else.
• The Cargo Scanner module that marks which ships are carrying something will save you a ton of time hunting for alien weaponry.
• The ‘system average’ column on the trading screen is the average price across all systems.
• The Merchant Guild is the easiest way by far to make money and sells the best cargo modules.
• The Mercenary Guild missions can send you against any other faction (you never know which until you get to the location).
• Becoming neutral with the Red Devils gives you access to Aegis Shields, Smuggler’s Holds, and a couple ships including the Mercenary Guild’s Minotaur.