PULSAR: Lost Colony

A VERY good Coop CREW based space game that you can also be playing solo.

('ve had this for ages and forgot the name of this game, now that 've found it again its time to finally get into it again)

PEE PEE POO POO

This game is a really good game. It is definitely a gem. Best played with at-least one friend, the story, adventure, and exploration are all great. The battles can be intense with ai boarding your ship and taking down your power, while a fire is going, and being shot at by another ship all at the same time. Learning your systems and having a good team is key. We are currently end-game with only the final boss left to beat. We are definitely going to play the other campaigns. My first attempt I would warp into sectors of space only to see a huge boss ship that kills me instantly, and I put it down for a few years. I played again with my son, and once we had an understanding of space commanders, and sections of space that has bosses in it we were able to progress. We now are considering turning the chaos level above it's default because we got that good. Even with the lower end graphic you will see beautiful scenes, and play in very immersive environments. Each map is hand crafted. These people did a great job! If they came out with a Pulsar 2, I would buy it.

This game was a hidden gem that I stumbled apon while browsing the steam store for games to play with my friends. I'm not someone typically playing ship games or star trek-like games, but I decided to dicuss buying it with a few friends, almost instantly we got pulled in, with some video tutorials we picked up the game fast. Though the game is a bit rough around the edges it's an extremely enjoyable coop experience, though I'd only play it with 3+ players.

Though some of the info is outdated, I recommend any players learning the game to look things up on the pulsar wiki, because a lot of the ship upgrades past the stuff you start with come in pretty late in the game, at least relative to other games i've played.

absolutely goated game with friends, super underrated

Neat game!

Personal Rating: 8.5/10

Fly through space while your local engineer screams in binary code while your space craft is burning in the vacuum!

Fantastic game with a bit of a learning curve. Lovely community who seem to always be willing to lend a hand when grasping the basics. 5 players: A Pilot, Weapons Specialist, Scientist, Engineer, and a Captain is mandatory. You can add bots to your lobby in place of other players, rename them, and modify how they look too. You fly through space, battle other ships, land on planets, and throw down with bandits to complete objectives! Gamble your life savings at the High Rollers, be a law abiding citizen with the Colonial Union, Sell your soul to the Wolden-Dorf Corperation, sell biscuits with Fluffy Biscuit, or become a gentleman yourself with the Alliance of Gentlemen! Feeling adventurous? Try the Ion Races to boost the ego of your pilot, or to pick on them relentlessly for crashing into a wall immediately!

The Umbra Campaign is fantastic, very tense, had a ton of fun with my friends in that one.

Starfield but good

The best "Star Trek" style experience Iv'e played in a video game. Excellent.

spaceshiup

no

It feels odd to say it this way since Pulsar came first, but if you like Bridge Crew, Void Crew or any of the many other cooperative space ship crew games, then you should definitely give Pulsar a go as it's an absolute blast to play with a good group of friends :)

I love this. I wish we had more crew-based games like this, void crew, star trek bridge crew. I wish we had a category called "Crew-Based" so I could search for crew based games.

hi

Very fun game, but can be quite confusing

Playing both in 2d and VR (meta quest 2, controls took a bit of figuring out thought. hint : quick menu on left grip!!)

The bots actually work very well by default, save the pilot flying into mines (grab the controls or put crew at ease and shoot from a distance), and if you don't mind looking things up you can make custom commands and they'll respond accordingly!

If you play though, be aware engineer is prob the least fun class, and doesn't see much action itself. I recommend a party of 2 or 3 players and use bots for the rest. solo is okay but the game is definitely more fun with friends!

Fantastic space sandbox. There are tons of mechanics and systems to learn and tinker with!
-play with 4 people online via lobby browser, or singleplayer with 4 bots.
-bots priority sets can be extensively customized to automate their behavior to very specific scenarios.
-tons of ships and components (weapons, shields, hulls, processors, upgrades)
-can do missions but is largely unguided sandbox. can pirate, scrap, bounty hunt, respond to distress calls, etc.
-each role has a lot of systems to it, fun to start with the basics, and fun to learn to micro-manage in-depth.
-space-ship based combat, ground-based combat with small arms.
-with so many systems, there's such a wide array of ways to take down the enemy! you can enter a sector cloaked and run viruses to steal their money unawares. Or, you can come in guns blazing. Or, you can take a boarding party to the enemy ship and steal it. Or, you can teleport over to the enemy ship and overload their reactor core. Or, you can cloak into a system with multiple enemies, run a backdoor virus to their strongest ship and sneak in, kill the crew aboard, turn the enemy flagship against it's allies in a surprise attack. The possibilities are endless and i think you'll really love this game!

What do I know, I'm just some guy from the lower decks...

soooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo booooring, I see what their vision was but I think the vast emptiness of space might've been a free ticket to make a boring and empty game. Ain't worth a dime.

I know you can do things in this video game I just don't know what that's supposed to be

It's alright. 10/10

Its a vibe of its own. Not sure how I never found this before. Loads of things you can do. Just gotta look for it a bit sometimes. You can play solo with bots, friends, or strangers. Claim enemy ships, cloak ships, etc. The more I play, the more i want to play.

You can approach your encounters with ships with a variety of tactical options.

Best played with buds.

Don't be fooled by the low end graphics, this game is an absolute blast!

Janky, but fun with friends

Fun game if you are in a group who can role play their spaceship duties.

WOW! Just spent an hour reading thought the "how too" manual and still can't figure out how to fly the ship using multiple keys. Maybe HOTAS would be better? This is an immersion game for serious micro management mined individuals. Reminded me of the first generation 3D games from the 80's.
Hopping in for an hour of fun would have been nice if the flight controls mapped close enough like other flight sims. I could live with the odd interface mappings and setting micro task priorities for the crew, maybe.
Was really looking forward to trying this in VR after learning the basics on keyboard. Just couldn't get over the flight control kludge.

crew a ship with your friends....fun

Amazing co-op game.

Surprising variety of missions, ships, tasks per role, campaings, items etc. This game is a gem!

Great to play with friends!

Fun with friends

I'm very much a gameplay over graphics guy but this one is too much for me. I wouldn't call this game an asset flip because there's clearly effort and passion put into it by the dev team, but it is so ugly and jank that it kills any immersion I could hope to have. Every planet feels like a bunch of stock unity assets plopped down on textureless terrain and then shipped. I think the game relies heavily on the fun you will have playing with friends to overlook the many glaring issues the world and gameplay have.

good game

Cat Herding Simulator 2014.

Stealth Archery is, as always, overpowered.

FUN WITH FRIENDS

This game is absolutely amazing. i wish there were more games like this, and if this game got the development it deserved i have no doubt in my mind it would be the most popular game on steam. In its current state its a little janky and a little empty but with a crew of friends and little bit of role play this game is magic.

10/10, would have drunk pilot think controls were hacked because he was flying the ship upside down again.

this game has clearly stagnated and died on the vine, and will forever remain in a weird sort of purgatory as far as development goes, but there are very few co-op games that do what this game manages to pull off pretty well. i would describe it as sea of thieves (minus pvp) meets ftl, and being compared to ftl is a huge compliment to any game.

got reminded of this game by accident and honestly its a really fun game if you love the idea of exploring space with friends. im not sure i can recommend the game solo. sure its playable but overall the game springs to life when your working with a crew like its startrek. the game does have its issues. one factor is vr for me. it feels kinda... tacked on? its not bad it is well implemented but at times it definitely feels like it started off as a flatscreen game and eventually had vr added. the game overall has a bit of a janky early acsess feel. but for what its worth the game is good and if you do see it on a sale or have friends to play with id recommend giving it a look.

overall the game has its issues but most of them are small or a quick google away from not being as much of an issue. i really hope the devs are considering making another space game. doesnt even have to be a sequal. they clearly know how to make a good space exploration game and the vr aspect made it really cool to get immersed into the game with friends.

I make people buy this game and play it with me. It has an active discord community too if you have no friends but ill be your friend if you buy this and play it with me.

You ever play a Game and You just REALLY Wanted to Like it? This is one of those games for me. :(

It's a Really Good Game, and an Awesome concept (Team Play); I know it's not Original, but I don't play Team Play games usually... even this one I'm play Single Player with AI Bots as my Crew. In any case, it's all well laid out, everyone has their job, including You as the Captain. (Note: There is also Multiplayer; where each Player takes on one of five roles (Captain, Sci Off., Wep Off., Eng. and Pilot). You survive as a Team or You Fail as a Team. I suppose, if you're the Friendly Type (I'm Not), this game could be a lot of fun with 5 Strangers; but with 5 Close Friends (or Family Members) this game would be Awesome.

So... Why the NO Recommendation? Because of Game Breaking (???) Bugs? Features? Design Decisions?; I'm not sure... but I don't like them.

Tutorial: Non-Existent. And for a game this Detailed and Complicated, you really would have expect a Step-By-Step Walk Through on how to do Each Job. They do have an Academy you can go to; Very Cool way of having a Tutorial. However... there's very little Hands-On (Mostly you speak with Teachers or Students and then READ What they Tell You.) And even with the Hands-On, you READ Do This or That; but they still don't tell HOW to do it. And unless you play the game first, what you are reading Makes No Sense.

Simplest Things Made Difficult: Again, with a lack of any Explanation, you have to figure things that should have been handed to you; such as: A Need for Fuel. (I don't know what those Numbers mean, so why wait until I'm almost out to say; 'Oh, by the way, you'll need fuel in your Nuclear Powered Space Craft (Or whatever the Power Source is.) Or another fun one; Where's the Cargo Compartment? Not Literally... but how do you access it; again... took forward to stumble on it; and ran around with out shields Until I did. Or my personal Favorite; How do you get your Ship from Point A to Point B. Again... I did find the answer to most of these questions; though I'm still looking for some; but How to Move your Ship, really should be Lesson One (Hands-On) in a Tutorial. (Note: I'm Playing in VR, and there is Note in the game (In the Academy) stating the Pilot Lesson doesn't work in VR, but that sounds Like a Bug that you fix, not one you just tell people about.

Navigating: Now this is an issue that seems to be Restricted to VR; but a major Game Breaker. To Travel you go into the StarMap, select your destination (WayPoints to get there will place automatically), then Your ship will head there. I didn't have this issue in PanCake Mode, but in VR: A) When I closed the StarMap, it automatically Deselected my Destination. B) If I move my cursor OFF my Destination prior to closing the map, it's selects that location as a Secondary Destination. Thus... to Select a destination you have to place your cursor at the Destination, then Close the StarMap (and 'Assume' it worked). However... C) The Pilot will not line the ship up for Jumping, unless you are looking at the StarMap (which means You don't get to watch your ship Move or enter Warp. As well... if you're Piloting, the Enginer will not Engage Warp unless, once again, you are looking at the StarMap. Once you hear your Warp Engines Engage, you can now close the StarMap, but once at the next WayPoint, you will have to Open the map again, to continue moving forward.

Processing: To upgrade your ship you need these Blocks (or something). As you travel you pick up salvage; and your ship only has so much space to store the salvage. So you are going to want to Process the Salvage into these Blocks. To do so: A) You can only ATTEMPT after you have jumped at lease once. (Note: This includes reloading a Saved Game; you must Jump before Attempting to Process. and B) Apparently turning Salvage into something usable is not about skill, but luck. You get 3 Tries after each jump, I Failed over 18 Times. (That number comes from when finally figured out what was doing, since the Game literally explained Nothing about this. So it's actually over 18 because I only counted the last 18; and Note... I Suceeded Zero Times. Now as You and your crew complete (something, I'm not sure what specifically) You get Skill Points which can be placed. So I figured, maybe my Skill in Processing was just too low. However.. there is No Processing Skill to Improve. There is no Ship's Equipment to increase your chances of Success. There is just the Game deciding that I shall Fail Every Single Time I Try... with Zero Chances of increasing my Odds. Oh Yeah... That is So Much Fun!!!

The Biggest Issue with this game is it's Lack of Information. Some things, I'm guessing, just don't work. But by the time you figure out HOW to play this game... and which items are Features vs Bugs, you'll be so Irritated, you just don't care. All you want to do is Write a Very Long Pissy Review, and Move on with Your Life. I don't regret buying this game, because the Devs may have Abandoned it... or may just be Completed; but I'm hoping one day to get a Message that this game has just been Updated, with a List of Bug Fixes and Feature Changes. And note: There are some (many) Good (Functional) Features about the game which I did not mention; but only because.... Who Cares about all the Good Stuff, if the Bad Stuff prevents you from Enjoying it.

Oh... and a Final Note: As stated, I'm Playing VR... Perhaps some of this issue do not carry over to PanCake, as, (for instance) I did not have the issues stated about with Traveling when I played PanCake; I could access the StarMap... Open and Close without Adding or Removing Nav Points, and Pilot Flew just fine when I did not have the Map Open. But for those with VR... this is the kind of game you Really want to be in VR For!!!!

Maybe one of the best hidden gems on Steam. Playing this game with a full team is one of the best co-op gaming experiences I have ever had. If there is anything I take issue with this game, it's that it's a little bit sterile in its presentation, but you find a sense of lean efficiency in it as you keep playing. And despite seeming a bit sauceless at first, it is an immersive game that left my with tons of memorable moments. Winning intergalactic races, pulling off heists, boarding and defeating enemy ships, installing super good contraband parts on our ship - and that's just one playthrough path. There are multiple, each of which seem to add a different flavor to the overall campaign. The space combat is *good* - really good. You can survive plenty of encounters casually, but you'll run into dangerous ships full of valuable goods eventually. There are some late-game fights that had us strategizing, turning on/off power to different parts of the ship to maximize efficiency...

It's basically everything I'd want in a co-op space game. And, importantly, it's not *too much.* It's just enough, while being wildly replayable, and there's even content I've yet to see (like the submarine underwater campaign).

If you are on the fence, get this game. And get some friends to play it with too.

This game is, in my opinion, one of the greatest indie games ever made, by just two people as far as I know. The attention to detail and care put into this game from the ship designs to graphics to music is all spectacular. Everytime I play this gem i find something new and exciting. I recommend it to anyone. At first it may seem daunting to understand as there are many systems that are poorly explained if at all but honestly to me, that just harkens to a time when people had to learn foe themselves and I view that as a positive. The only thing I'd even close to considering a flaw is that there is no voice acting resulting in ALOT of reading text. Which again, indie game, so I forgive that easily. Consider this game next time you're looking for something with adventure and good ol starship action.

Pulsar is not perfect, but the ship combat and boarding and maintaining all the ship's systems, that's amazing! The main quests are all really good! The only problem is that exploring the galaxy isn't very rewarding. If you go to a random planet, or you pick up a random side quest, it won't be satisfying. All of the random planets are just one settlement, a handful of bad guys and an item that you're supposed to find for a handful of credits. While it's not perfect, Pulsar has provided me with a lot of fun playing with friends. This game is also terrible to play alone as the AI is finickey. Have a full crew of humans if you can. You can survive with one bot, but the bots get exceedingly frustrating to micromanage the more of them you have.

great game

good game.
missing some late game content but is good fun if you play with a group

PPETACULAAA

If you're not some poor bozo without friends, this game is great!

do not buy to play alone, here's why...

AI got me lost in a ship battle and crashed me into comets that blew up my ship.

the only role you can play solo is captain and want to play anything else? TO BAD!!!

if AI gets stuck on a rock on a planet, they stay until you you give them orders but forgot to? THEY ARE DEAD!!! never to return! EVER!!

if you die in a alien shoot-out, EVERYONE ELSE DIES!!! the AI can't even shoot a laser without an order!