At PAX South 2015, the biggest and best surprise of the show was Rebel Galaxy from Double Damage Games. First, was finding out the game is in the extremely capable hands of Travis Baldree and Erich Schaefer. Some of their credits include Torchlight, Torchlight II, Diablo…you know, small stuff. So, that’s the start, then I went hands-on and it got better.
The best way I can sum up the game is that it’s a third-person space adventure. When I first sat down, Travis described how they really enjoyed Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag’s naval combat, but thought it would be better in space, with lasers! Of course, everything is better with lasers, so I jumped on board.
Rebel Galaxy is all about the little things. At the macro level, there is the main story and side missions to be picked up in the solar system’s hub, you go out, you come back. But while you’re on these missions is where the world really opens up. You come across beacons that have more missions, traders you can talk to in order to get the scoop on the best places to sell commodities and sometimes, you come across pirates you can pick off. It was this trading aspect I followed up on while I was there and Travis said you could just ignore the story and be a trader if you wanted and have a profound effect on the economy in the game – corner the market, drive the price up and make a fortune.
Again, it’s all about the details. The game is looking really good, especially when you go into warp. When you hit warp speed, your view fisheyes just a bit in the corners to give you that impression of time and space bending around you as you travel. And the combat feels very satisfying. Travis and Erich have captured that AC naval combat feel and put it in space. Your ship doesn’t feel quite as weighty as it does in Creed, but then again, there is no water to provide friction in space as you turn. Using my AC naval skills, I even survived a battle in Rebel Galaxy that I probably shouldn’t have; even as I had enemy ships running lasers across my hull.
Rebel Galaxy is easily my game of show for PAX South 2015. I am dying to get my hands on this game and see where it goes. It may not be the biggest release of 2015, but it certainly has become one of my most anticipated. It will be releasing sometime this year on Steam, Xbox One and PlayStation 4.