In the grim dystopian future, Earth is collapsing in squalor. The only way out is putting yourself massively in debt and then performing grinding, soul-destroying labor for a massive and uncaring corporation. Somehow, no matter how hard you work, you wind up in even more debt. Hardspace: Shipbreaker takes a rather fanciful and frankly over the top look at the future since nothing like that will ever happen.
Hardspace: Shipbreaker
Developer: Blackbird Interactive
Price: $35
Platform: PC
MonsterVine was supplied with a PC code for review
The premise is: Humanity has colonized other worlds. You don’t get to do that, though. Instead, you are a shipbreaker: You work in orbit smashing up old spaceships and getting paid for the scrap because it’s your best shot at making a living. Again, this is exceedingly far-fetched, possibly beyond imagination.
In signing on with the corporation, you are given a shot at a fantastic opportunity. They are only charging you entirely reasonable fees to get you into space, upload your gene pattern into their computers so you are effectively immortal, outfit you with gear, and provide you with habitation, and all you have to do is work it off. This is another one of those concepts that defies reality but makes for an interesting premise for a game. The story and the little flourishes of the intake documents show enough awareness of labor relations and history that someone has at least listened to “16 Tons” and has a sense of humor, so if you’re prone to complaining about “politics in mah vidyagames”, well, if you could read you’d be very upset.
Hardspace: Shipbreaker is one of those “job simulator” games that’s deeply satisfying and becomes almost meditative. You have a few basic tools and the hulk of a spaceship to tear into pieces. There are a few categories of parts that get tossed into selected furnaces and collection points, which winds up feeling like a really satisfying basketball bank shot.
It is incredibly satisfying to work through the tutorial, cautiously make a few cuts and guide a chunk of spaceship into the right place, and get the little zing of money hitting your account. As you learn to maneuver and use your various tools, you get better and better until you’re tearing dead ships apart like a hungry shark and yelling “KOBE!” as you make long distance shots into the furnace. You get paid once your scrap is processed. Of course, you do get dinged for the scrap you lose in the process, but the corporation has to make that money somehow.
Since this is both industrial labor and zero g, there’s always hazards. Maybe you accidentally bank yourself into the furnace. Maybe you blow yourself up. Maybe you learn what “explosive decompression” is all about. Fortunately, thanks to the benevolence of your employer, you come back to life and are only charged for the cost of your clone and the damage to your equipment.
It’s pretty simple: As you progress, you get access to more tools and ships and some upgrades to your equipment. There are a few different game modes. Some have a timer, some have a life limitation, and one just lets you chill and break ships. In a world of games-as-service with lifetime commitments and carefully withheld content, it’s kind of startling to see a game that’s basically complete when you buy it.
There’s no multiplayer except for leaderboards which is actually kind of a shame since the only thing more fun than co-op mode would be making your buddy explode with a well-timed prank. Think Deep Rock Galactic with “I pranked him to death with a tire iron!” then yelling “KOBE!” as you shoot him into the furnace. I’m just saying this would be huge. Let’s be real: Elon isn’t going to take you to Mars, but he’d definitely let you work your life away in orbit for a pittance. So if you don’t mind the idea that capitalism has some downsides and are looking for another meditative Occupation Simulator, I encourage you to sell your soul to the company store. As the king Fred Durst discovered, it’s really satisfying to go nuts and break stuff.
The Final Word
GIMME SOME SHIPS TO BREAK!
– MonsterVine Rating: 4.5 out of 5 – Great
