Though it lets you chat to aliens, trade, mine, and hunt bounties, this isn’t really a game like Elite Dangerous where you can spend hours on each activity. About 80% of Rebel Galaxy involves shooting at other ships, with the rest there to help you upgrade your fleet. You start off small scale, making ends meet smuggling and hunting bounties in a randomly generated galaxy of about 15 solar systems. But persistence will net you a large ship that would cause a Klingon’s forehead to straighten. Negotiations often end up in explosions. The combat, for all it’s zero-g setting, is based on naval battles, and sits on a 2D plane. You’ll spend a lot of time circling and aiming broadside barrages while the AI mans the smaller guns. That actually makes it stand out amidst today’s first-person forward space games. It’s almost relaxing in comparison. A sort of violently zen scull through space. That might be the biggest issue for some: you’re not going to get sweaty playing it, but the Craig who played it six years ago gives it a thumbs-up. You can grab it for free from Epic Games Store from now until Aug 19, and then Epic will swap it out for next week’s freebies: Void Bastards and Yooka-Laylee.
