Who needs backstory? Who needs resource-gathering? Diplomacy is so last year. Gratuitous Space Battles cuts right to the chase of sci-fi strategy games, and deals with large, completely unjustified space battles between huge opposing space fleets.
Mostly Positive
874 Steam reviews
| LANGUAGE | AUDIO | SUBTITLES | INTERFACE |
|---|---|---|---|
| English | — | — | Y |
The idea seems promising. Unfortunarely, at the time of writing this review, the servers are down/broken, which prevents you from playing the campaign. That is terrible because I'm assuming the campaign is singleplayer.
Checked the forums and this seems to be a long term issue. Refunding.
I'll start off by saying I really enjoyed this when I first played it, but now I've come back to it, I can't register my key (it says key invalid). There's no contact for support, and if you look at the forums, it is full of people with the same issue. Not recommended until this issue is fixed
this is a lot of fun
Non-functional, CD-Key refuses to register. Do not purchase. Used to be good years back, reinstalled and popped it open to play today, itsdeadjim.png
does not allow you to register
honestly one of the greatest games just for fun
The game is magical cuz only babies can start it. I cant play this game as i would never be a child again. :(
Campaign was shut down because you had to connect to a server to play, dev pulled the server down and no longer can play campaign "pass this hard" #stopkillinggames
When one person programmer makes games and try to do so not just to please themselves but the whole world. The game like many others they have programmed is inspiring. Others try to program games downloaded game engines to help in making good games. https://www.positech.co.uk/about.html is the sight that lets you know about them. Its effort should be appreciated. Maybe others can do better but the attempt is better than not doing anything at all. I hope everyone that gives honest reports help them to improve the game along with down thumb explain and appreciated the sole individual effort. Nothing in life is easy and making a game is not easy either so many choices and expectations can lead to greatness or downfall. Just enjoy what is here and any improvement lets them know their effort is appreciated for everyone has only 24hours a day and doing this effort does take times and effort.
Este jogo foi abandonado pelo desenvolvedor e não é possível atival-o para jogar online e os DLCs e a Steam esta vendendo o jogo mesmo assim com problema. Lembre-se vai comprar o jogo e não vai conseguir jogar o mesmo em sua total funcionalidade do que vc comprou, Este jogo deveria ser removido para venda, mas a steam esta cagando para isso.
This game used to be great, but it's fundamentally broken now and will not run.
Personally not a fan of designing ships but I do like space battles
A classic from childhood.
Ill admit I didn't have a legal copy back in the day so playing all the campaigns now is bittersweet.
Don't get me wrong- I absolutely loved this game, until the devs stopped keeping up with it. Now, the campaign part of the game is no longer playable, which is like, half the game. It's incomplete now.
I kept getting spammed with "No effect" messages which killed the buzz.
compre el juego, no funciona, steam, la pirateria ofrece mejor servicio
best game of all time
I remember loving this game, super fun.
If anyone is still looking to buy this game, I think it aged poorly, not because it is bad but because better options are available. Worth it only if you are curious or on extreme 90% sales/$1.
For a more modern equivalent game of similar theme I personally recommend Cosmoteer.
This was gifted to me years ago. It was so good back then, it sadly doesn't open now. Don't buy it for your own sake.
Ship Hull not found ->order_priest_cruiser:..\src\SIM_ShipHull.cpp 509
Decided to look at the DLCs on sale during the 2025 summer sale, saw the negative review for the main game, and tried running it. Got that error message, verified game file integrity with no issues found, and got the error again when I tried running it post-verification. Game is now defective by default.
I went to play this again after some time away from to find it is not able to function without being online. What a shame. One would think a little game from this long ago would be an offline title but alas, its abandon ware now. Do not buy.
Game will not start, buyer beware.
Tak
Battles are way to hard. Decent game but dude, unbalaced as hell. Cant win ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥♥.
Multiplayer is down, which nixes most of the fun of this game. There is another sequel coming out, wait for that instead.
.
Absolutely do not buy this game and give money to an awful developer. They still expect 15 dollars for this game when it is broken, you need to connect to a server and register to play single player, which you can't do as the Devs abandoned the game. But despite being well aware of the issue they still have it up for sale, Steam needs to remove this from the store.
THIS is how strategy should look!
The game have its flaws, but if you can overlook some of the inconveniences (campaign not working or not working properly, having to register, etc.), then it's an amazing strategy game.
I love this game!
Game has been broken for years. Campaign is coded to be always online and the dev can't be bothered to fix a "php" issue.
He does not respect his customers and you should not buy his new version.
The game only allows me to open webpages giving me a 404 error.
Support for this game was lackluster when it came out, and now it seems that the developer don't care if his game is playable.
Gratuitous Space Battles offers the peculiar pleasure of surrendering control while maintaining the illusion of strategy. It's chess where you arrange the pieces then watch them fight according to rules you don't fully understand. Brilliant for those who enjoy the planning more than the execution, disturbing for those who realize how much of life follows the same pattern.
Le jour ou j'ai acheté cette merde avec tous les DLC, je devais être bourré c'est pas possible....
Campaign was online only and is now broken. Was a great game. Shame it's broken. Don't buy it.
stratejik uzay savaşları eğlenceli bulamadım boş geldi
Campaign does not work. GARBAGE
The game is decent. Nothing super groundbreaking. Having to give orders before a battle and then watch as your ships do something stupid because of some unforeseen circumstance adds an element of strategy missing from other games. The ship design is straightforward, not much thinking needed. There are a few modules that are the best at what they do, and the other parts are generally irrelevant. Specialise your ships and give them appropriate orders and you win.
My main gripe with this game is that the Linux port was not done well, and none of the DLC packs support the Linux version. This really pisses me off. Fortunately the Windows version runs fine via Proton, but I really should not have to install a version of the game for another operating system just to access the DLC and get the game to run properly.
Server down, campaign not working
Не запускается на 10 винде, пишет ошибку failed to initialize 3d engine 343.
Поиграйте лучше в Starsector - java запустится на чём угодно.
It was a fun little game, but it's been abandoned.
1. Buggy: Hängt sich unter Windows auf
2. Noch mehr Buggy: Läuft nicht wie versprochen unter Linux
3. Grafikqualität beschränkt
4. Usability beschränkt
5. Enthält nicht alle Funktionalitäten - hier soll man sich weitere Addons kaufen, obwohl es eh schon sehr minimalistisch ist. Enttäuschend!
Its a great game that I used to really enjoy, but sadly it's aged poorly from a technical point of view - no matter what I do, on a modern PC it runs at 30 FPS and janky
Pathetic.
Solid, fun, a good time with low stakes. There's nothing to complain about here and plenty to like.
Oh, yes.
Oversee Space battles, with a fleet you kitted out. Watch a learn from effects, damage, and combinations between defense and offensive modules.
More speed, less armor. Missles or Beams. Shields? Reflective or rechargeble?
Quantum, Plasma or blaster types? Theres a great selection of modules and ship shapes. Then times all that with the different races, with some specialise in different ways.
Single battles or conquest maps. Swarms of fighters with short range pulse lasers may sometimes be the answer to get close in under shield of fleets of large cruisers.
Plenty to play with and get good at what works.
Should you wish, you can have a look at the Data files and tweak your own weapons, and name your own and makes some real lightsaber thick heat beams.
I made Black cold beams that I named "Antimatter Void Beams!"
Or my Swarm torpedoes, tiny slow torpedoes with fast turn rates that chase fighters around the map.
You can even tweak ships hard points and add them to ships that you drew on photo shop/Gimp app.
My Borg Cubes were created easy.
You can really enjoy yourself here. Worth the time to look inside and push what the game can do.
It's fun
unfortunately this gamme is now abandonware.
The campaign apparently used to pull from a server all of the ships you could run into. it no longer does that at all.
if you play campaign you will run into the same preset enemy fleet every single time.
The main menu has an ad for gratuitious tank battles which if you cick on now takes you to a foreign gambling scam site.
this game shouldnt be sold anymore.
[h1]Seriously[/h1]
How can anyone give this game a positive review when it is all behind a pay wall, I mean sure most of it is cheap, but having pretty much nothing after buying it then having to buy everything one bit at time. seems shifty. Just not for me. I do not like paying for what i consider "should of been in the original release" content.
Крайне положительно отношусь к RTS, особенно в космосе и hi tech.
По началу игра понравилась, моделирование кораблей, разнообразное оружие, рассчёт эффективности, интересные миссии, какая-никакая стратегия боя (хотя в конечном итоге всё сводилось к железному кулаку).
Но в конечном итоге всё свелось к следующему, когда в режиме кампании (средний/сложный) более менее разовьёшь экономику, расширишь границы контролируемой зоны и соберешь армию, в определенный момент AI в каждой схватке тупо начинает генерировать полчища крейсеров и фрегатов противника, устоять против которых практически невозможно. На этом играть бросил.
в 2024 решил запустить игру ещё раз. И что обнаружил? В любой схватке противник представляет из себя несколько эскадрилий абсолютно идентичных файтеров (на любом уровне сложности.)
Подозреваю что это эффект санкций. Так что разработчики, ИДИТЕ НАХ!
СТРОГО НЕ РЕКОМЕНДУЮ ТРАТИТЬ НИ РУБЛЯ.
Goated game about space battles
Campaing mode broken due to dlc
Kinda like Totally Accurate Battle Simulator except it's space ships, 2D and came out a long time ago.
The title describes the game perfectly. If you want to be the commander of a fleet of space ships. This will scratch that itch. It's a decent game that I keep coming back to. Relaxing and exciting simultaneously. Definitely worth the price of admission.
Escolha as naves, monte uma formação dentro dos limiteis disponíveis no momento, aperte play e assiste seu exercito atacar outro, só isso, não têm mais nada pra fazer, não têm nenhuma história e além de tudo é cheio de DLC com novas naves, já joguei jogos idle ou de estratégia sem tanta interação direta e Gratuitous Space Battles é de longe o mais entediante ao mesmo tempo complicado que já vi.
------------------------------------
Choose the ships, set up a formation within the limits available at the moment, press play and watch your army attack another, that's it, they have nothing else to do, they have no story and on top of that it's full of DLC with new ships, already I've played idle or strategy games without so much direct interaction and Gratuitous Space Battles is by far the most boring and complicated game I've ever seen.
Has been abanodoned by the developer. The game barely runs anymore and is incredibly unstable. It's a shame given the fun memories that I have of this game.
[h1]无厘头太空战争[/h1]
非常不错的2D自动太空对战游戏，展现了太空巨舰大炮对轰的场景，画面表现即便从现在看也非常好。
作为经过了长期更新和修复以及内容补充的经典，游戏性非常棒，只可惜2代没做好。
[hr][/hr]
[h1]游戏快速上手攻略[/h1]
巡洋舰搭配为：
装备离子炮或导弹的巡洋舰==远程打击（由于导弹不是发射后不管因此dps远低于离子炮）
装备激光/脉冲激光的巡洋舰==中/近程打击
克制关系：-低速中程舰队(反冲)->-高速近程舰队(冲击)->-低速远程舰队(远程)->
超过74点装甲带维修的巡洋舰==坦克
合理布置的装甲坦克能吸收大量的伤害。（护盾坦克的效果不佳）
护卫舰搭配为：
反战机导弹护卫舰->-飞机
激光护卫舰->-护卫舰
EMP护卫舰->-巡洋舰
护卫舰最优为用于防空，除非只能使用护卫舰，否则不要用护卫舰对抗护卫舰。
飞机搭配为：
单激光战斗机->-巡洋舰
双火箭攻击机->-护卫舰
前者用于越过护盾用2%的暴击率攻击巡洋舰，后者用12穿甲的火箭击杀护卫舰。
克制关系：-护卫舰防空舰队->-全战斗机舰队->-少量战斗机舰队->-无防空舰队->
[hr][/hr]
[h1]典型元舰队阵型[/h1]
方案1：防空护卫舰---超远程巡洋---远程巡洋--中程巡洋---近程巡洋---坦克>>>敌方
方案2：火箭攻击机---激光战斗机>>>敌方
[hr][/hr]
[h1]银河征服模式攻略[/h1]
银河征服模式中的敌人是从近期玩家发布的挑战中选取的，开局先用战斗机侦察敌人的部署。
一种通用模板是激光炮战斗机配合等离子+光束激光的半反rush半远程巡洋舰+坦克组成的通用舰队，使用战斗机防空，等离子发射器远程输出，光束激光反冲，具有良好的低操作性。
还可以具体细分两级巡洋舰，分为前排反冲带干扰和emp的激光巡洋舰和后排远程打击的等离子巡洋舰。
runs great on linux
I do like the game a.lot, though after coming back to play some new campaigns I have found that every battle is the same enemy fleet and size, so is pretty much the same....
Anyone else noticed that?
Basically a complex space battle simulator
Its an old game and thus has quite a few old game issues, but other than that it still works and is fun
This stop to work, impossible to use it
Omg! most played game ever! Customize, Fight, Win! Do it again!
I refunded since some of the game titles didn't work or weren't accessible. Overall good concept, but very clunky and info provided (analysis of post battle results) doesn't help you design your ships any better. It was probably a decent game well over a decade ago when it came out.
Grindy shipbuilding and the battles feel meaningless. Game has since been abandoned and no longer functions.
Broken game , don't buy.
Replay value falls off the cliff. Buggy. Online doesn't work even if I have the code.
Game was great, is now abandonware to the point that it cannot be loaded.
went to play first mission on campaign and the game crashed avoid
It's a fun game if you want to arm chair command a bunch of space ships in big battles. Lots of options to customize your fleet and stuff.
Not grate on Steam Deck, but that's mostly an issue of resolution.
It's exactly as the description says, you just jump into some shooty space lasers. It's not very deep and I don't think it's meant to be. Personally not a fan of "completely customizable" frames. There are still limits, and trying to pack as much firepower or utility into a frame as you can while staying within those limits isn't fun gameplay. The battles get old very quick so I can't recommend.
All the eXtermination of StarDrive with none of the pesky other 3 Xs
The first kind of game that can be call an autobattle game before autobattle games became its own tag. And unlike EVERY other space "autobattle" game, this is literally and autobattle game there is nothing you can do but make a fleet and hope its stronger than the AI fleet
The game has been abandoned by the developers and the campaign is bugged, you will face the same enemy with the same fleet setup every. single. battle.
How this game got "Mostly Positive" is beyond me. it's been around forever - "Release Date: Precambrian Era" So forget about the game ever getting fixed.
Currently the campaign is unplayable - as all the enemies are impossible to beat so you can't even expand from your first planet.
The individual battles get very difficult after several battles, which takes some expert knowledge to overcome, and there is no tutorial to explain how all the weapons and defenses can be overcome, so you are left to trial and error to figure out how to go forward.
I really feel like I've been ripped off with this game. It shouldn't even be for sale as it's a steaming pile of ♥♥♥♥. There I said it.
If you're a glutton for punishment this game might be for you, but be sure to leave a bad review if you buy it and hit the same brick wall I ran into. I finally posted in the forums for help, and found out there that the game is basically unplayable.
https://steamcommunity.com/app/41800/discussions/0/3759977946661661570/#c3780246026239474656
Too late to refund, so a bad review is all I can do, and uninstall.
dfghdfg
This might be considered a strange sort of tower defense or an early auto battler. It requires strategy and efficiency. This is not an 'idle game'.
I tried this in 2022 on up to date Windows 10 and it is working fine for me. Maybe try the demo if you are concerned about compatibility.
fantastic strategy game
Game doesn't even run anymore.
Game is broken and abandoned by the creator, do not buy.
Don't Buy
game is abandoned and doesn't even run past start screen anymore
Designing and programing spaceships
Ein etwas älteres Spiel. Aber für den Zeitvertreib zwischendurch sehr spaßig. Ohne weitreichende Kampagne, lästiges Aufbauen irgend eines Imperiums. Schlicht und ergreifend, Raumschiffe ausrüsten und dann gibts den fiesen Aliens aufs Maul! Oder vielleicht bist du ja der fiese Alien ;).
Played on steamdeck and worked fine but better with proton ge
It's an older game, and does not boot for me anymore. It seems to fail when initialiizing DirectX, or some other aspect of the engine.
Got this probably over a decade ago back when it was getting a lot of hype. The premise sounded interesting, and I slowly picked up some of the DLC too. Only just now got around to playing it. There is almost no game here, especially if you are looking for some sort of tactical or strategic challenge. You can build ships in 10 minutes that essentially will win you almost all the scenarios on expert difficulty, and there aren't a lot of scenarios. At first I thought the challenge came from trying to beat the missions while maximizing your honor, but it is very easy to earn enough honor to buy all the unlockables well before even half of this short game is over, and you don't need the unlockables to win anyway. I really thought I would like it, but I would not recommend it.
Fun, bit it's not near as deep or wide as it thinks it is. You quickly figure out certain types of weapons are basically useless and stick to the 2-3 styles that are far better. Fighter/ bomber designs basically come down to what is the cheapest basic design you can spam as even basic low tier fighter lazes enjoy "lucky shot" chance to penetrate the thickets ship armor enabling death of a thousand cuts on any capital ship. Plasma at least for me is the best thing for frigates and capital ships as its range enables you to put the cheapest engine on your ship to get it into the fight and just rely on the range of your guns to win the day. Fleet deployment as a concept would be cool, but there is no benefit to spreading your fleet out vs just crowding one corner to out number the enemy as they trickle into the fight. Fun to just watch the show as your plasma platforms wipe out the hardest enemy fleet deployments with ease, but the challenge missions can all be beaten easily doing it and you have to become a masochist to limit your self to make the challenges any kind of challenge.
Its the first time I am writing a review recommending a game having just played only part of the tutorial. Usually I prefer to go on reviewing only after having tenths of hours playing the game, in order to have a good idea and personal experience of the game. The reason for this erratic review is that:
1) The gameplay is something unusual/fresh and new for me and it actually looks promising (since I am a gamer type that likes to design starships)
2) But most importantly, that the manual of the game humor really made my evening! I really LIKED to read this manual :-) Examples:
<< You can move around the battle screen using the arrow keys on your command podule keyboard, or left click and drag the universe around using the mouse (if you avoid clicking a ship). >>
<< To zoom the view in and out, you can use the mouse wheel or, if the wheel hasn’t been invented on your world yet, use the PageUp and PageDown keys >>
<< Occasionally you may decide it worthy of your time to care about the idle banter of your disposable cannon fodder, and for that reason a communications window at the top of the screen will show you a selection of their radiocommunications. >>
<< The two key things to be aware of when selecting a mission are the number of pilots available and the fleet budget. All this nonsense about money not being a problem for equipping the space-navy is nonsense. You have to win this war on a budget. A gratuitously huge budget, but a strict budget nonetheless. The politicians back on the homeworld have better things to spend their money on than endless spacefleets. They need to build mega metropoli, nano-factories (on the scale of things, more expensive than you might think) and zero-g swimming pools (vital for party fund-raising). >>
<< So you have a vast array of expertly designed floating platforms of giga-death, and you are eager to teach Johnny-Alien a lesson. Not so fast. We can’t just hurl spaceships at our enemy like a farmer feeding his space-chickens. Your ships will need to be placed into a formation, and given their orders.>>
I liked this kind of humor so much, that made me believe that a developer who allocates that energy, love and effort on the manual (knowing that many gamers will not even bother to read), will probalbly has created a game that will keep me entertained for a worthy duration of time.
:-) So, thumps up from me on Gratuitous Space Battles :-)
P.S.
<<When the battle ends, you have the option to review post-battle statistics to see just how many of your brave spacenavy had to die to generate a pie chart. The statistics screen has as many controls and options as a type IV disruptor cannon, so here is a breakdown: >>
<<If the battle was a player-issued challenge, you get the option to hurl smug triumphalist gloats at your worthless opponent, or bitterly make feeble excuses for your destruction, as appropriate. Your message will end up in the galactic inbox of your enemy. >>
<<Occasionally you may be engaged in a civil war against a rival faction of your own species (such as Federation vs Federation). In these circumstances, in the fury of battle it can be tough identifying friend from foe. There is a button next to the minimap that lets you toggle red/green overlays on the ships to distinguish your ships (crewed by brave, fearless expert warriors) from your enemies (crewed by craven, cowardly, pathetic amateurs).>>
<<The U key on the keyboard toggles the GUI on and off entirely, for a more cinematic feel. This is great for capturing screenshots of you beating a challengers fleet, so you can email and taunt them endlessly about their l4m3 skillz. >>
<< Supply limits are restrictions on the availability of certain ship modules. You didn’t think that Type III Neutron Polarizer cannons grew on trees did you? Well if you did, you are flat-out wrong. That’s the Type II. In any case, these limits may mean you aren’t able to deploy the same fleet for every battle, so pay careful attention to them. >>
Nice !
Great concept, still top dog in its niche, still has a player base, even after 10+ years, AND one of the easiest games to mod ever.
It's also dirt cheap and has low hardware requirements.
The only downside is that the campaign mode broke some time after support stopped (and is still broken at the time of writing), but you still get replayability with player-submitted challenges.
Worth the buy, DLC and all 100%
My childhood was playing this games demo, now im playing the real thing as a man and let me tell you. Its still as good as i remember
No
This game is absolute chaos, with near limitless ship creation potential. Pretty underrated gem overall
good
I am a 45 yo father, probably one of the oldest people playing this game. I am a single father to my Son, who is 14 now. My son got this game for Christmas in 2021 from his uncle, so we installed it on his computer and he started playing. By the end of the week he had 24 hours on this game. This was horrible for me, as it was already hard for me to find ways to spend time with my son, as he is always out with his friends or just watching YouTube. So i decided to make a Steam account and get this game to see if I could maybe play alongside him. I loaded into the game, picked my character and world and started playing but I was stuck on what you where supposed to do. I asked my Son for help and he hosted a game for me to join. I loved it as it was the best time I had spent with my Son since my wife had died. This game has ever since brought me and my son closer again and now we actually spend time together outside the house together as well. This game reminded me that there's fun to be had in everything, and it has brought both me and my Son many happy memories.
gutes spiel
I had a lot of fun messing around in Gratuitous Space Battles! I found it to be more of a "sandbox experience" than a full-fledged game, but it was still a good time.
The ability to customize not only your ships, but how you deploy them and how they'll behave, was really interesting. I didn't get too in-depth with it, but there seemed to be a good deal of potential for some fairly sophisticated strategy there. As with most games like this, once I found my strategy that worked, I didn't deviate from it all that much.
My major complaint with this game is that even though there were a number of races and a whole bunch of gear that you could outfit your ships with, it didn't feel like things made that much of a difference. The races, in particular, just seemed to give you different ship sprites, and the ship hulls mostly differed in the number of pieces of equipment you could slot into them. There were a few varieties of weapons: missiles, beams, etc, and those definitely made a difference in how enemy ships reacted, but overall it felt like you could usually just design a pretty solid ship and use it in 90% of the scenarios.
For a rather old game, I really enjoyed it. If you're a fan of sim-type games or enjoy lots of customization and micromanagement over combat and action, then this might be something you should look into.
A unique sort of game, but quite a lot of fun for "what if" gamers. Design your ships, layout your fleet, and then let them fight! Then learn from your mistakes, change things up, and try again. Not for pure action fans, but there's a lot of fun to be had for planners and strategists. It's always rewarding to see minor tweaks to weapon loadouts or fleet position change the outcome of the battle.
Gamemodes bugged
Still a lot of fun. Recommended.
