The Gameplay of Hardspace: Shipbreaker

April 3, 2020 Games, indiegame

Hardspace: Shipbreaker, which is all set to be released on Steam Early Access in Summer 2020, promises a lot of exciting features and amazing gameplay. The ship-salvaging and physics sandbox game with demolition effects is developed by Blackbird Interactive and published by Focus Home Interactive.

What makes Hardspace: Shipbreaker the most awaited upcoming game?

Before you get your hands on the much-anticipated space game, see what Hardspace: Shipbreaker has to offer. It brings a blue-collar role, the newest addition to the list of numerous role-plays in the world of space games, where the player takes on the role of a ship salvager.

You have to salvage your way through the ships to clear off your billion-credit debt that you incur after signing a contract with LYNX, a mega ship-salvaging corp. Clearing your debt does not become easier as you accumulate more debt by involving yourself in a bidding war to earn salvaging rights to extract valuable materials. Your accumulating debt doesn't end there, but with each death, you go through a revival that only adds to your debt. With this interesting backstory, the gameplay makes for a delightful treat.

Hardspace: Shipbreaker gameplay

Equipped with your cutting-edge technologies from Lynx, you are sent out to space to salvage derelict ships to extract every valuable object. The types of equipment include a (plasma beam) laser cutting device, a tether, and a scanner. Hardspace: Shipbreaker's physics simulation allows you the freedom to cut open the massive spacefaring vehicles in any manner; however, any miscalculation on your part can lead to lethal hazards, even causing your death. So, it involves a lot more than just slicing and hauling items; you will have to go about with the strategic dismantling of the ships while making sure your oxygen level, as well as the fuel level on the thruster, is maintained.

While your salvaging job may not be the most ideal, with all the hazards lying around, it doesn't make for a boring job either. And the multi-angle plasma beam device called the Bonesaw is there to give you the pleasure of cutting through anything and allowing you to scrape off any valuable material that could prove to be beneficial or profitable.

Among the various tools available to you is the tether, which can be used to haul surrounding free-floating objects into the barge for your salvage items, or tow those materials into the furnace. You can also take the help of the tether to pull yourself through space, but be careful where you pull yourself into unless you want to get hit by some floating objects.

Your scanner is a handy tool that allows you to see through the exterior skeleton of the ship, as well as the internal structural elements to identify key points, hazards, and valuable objects. However, when cutting with a laser, combusting reactors, pressurized atmosphere, and electrical material, anything can go wrong in the ship.

The reactor is the core of a ship, and its handling time can be extremely limited, which will require you to act swiftly while salvaging it. It is critical to haul the reactor into the salvage barge before it undergoes a meltdown. Not only is it handling time-critical, but it can cause irreparable damage to you if you don't keep your distance.

How to get your way around the gameplay loop and clear your debt

It clearly is a gameplay loop, where you will have to keep upgrading your tools and suit to carry out harder jobs. Taking on more difficult contracts can provide you with a better chance to clear off your accumulating debt, which continues to be your sole objective.

Space games provide you multiple ways to address your cosmic fantasies, giving you hands-on experience on what it would be like to get into space, and Hardspace: Shipbreaker is no exception either. Owing to the amazing gameplay of Hardspace: Shipbreaker, you are definitely in for a treat, and while you wait for the release of Hardspace: Shipbreaker, you can watch the trailer here and see for yourself what the game has in store for you.