With the release of No Man’s Sky causing shockwaves of both love and disappointment, some of us have been left feeling stranded on Earth when we were really looking forward to a bit of space exploration. If you’re teetering about pulling the trigger on No Man’s Sky and need something celestial to tide you over, we’ve got just the thing.
Rebel Galaxy is a space combat simulator from developer Double Damage and was initially released in October 2105. For the month of August 2017, it is available as a PS+ free game and it’s worth picking up and puttering around in for a while.
Let’s get right down to why it’s great:
The Battle Mechanics
Rebel Galaxy Pulse function
A fair number of space fighting games have you shooting out the front of the ship, or possibly as a turret on the top, however it was truly enjoyable that in Rebel Galaxy, your primary weapons are Broadsides, meaning that in order to hunt down your enemies, you need to line up alongside them, make fly-by pass at weakening their starboard hulls and getting past those pesky shields.
The best way to track your enemies is one of two tools that you are provided from the start. The first is your Pulse feature, which shows nearby objects, enemies, friendlies, valuables, or otherwise, on your radar. It does fade after about 30 seconds, so if you’re hunting for some particularly choice space trash, you might have to use it a few time to get the detected loot within distance where you can scoop it up. The second tool is most useful during 
combat, and that is your Scan feature. This allows you to target a single item (or multiple later on) and scan it for potential loot (if you blow it up or rob it) and bounties on enemy ships. It also guides your automatic turrets to enable you to take down a specific enemy that is within range.
The Music
Fair warning: if a good rock beat doesn’t do anything for you, maybe it’s best to play on mute… but if you can play and tap your toes… well just don’t let it effect your navigation. With a soundtrack that both fades into the background and also gets you pumped up for space travel, it gives an almost Firefly-like experience that true Browncoats will embrace. In fact, the starting ship is even vaguely Serenity shaped…
The Downfalls
In full disclosure, this review comes from only about 15 hours of playtime, so there is a concern about replay ability. There aren’t a lot of variations in terms of quests, they tend to fall into 1 of 3 categories and that can get old fast.
Additionally, while the ability to pick sides is enjoyable, there are limited choices in way of dialogue. In the style of Fallout 4, the choices are often “Yes”, “rude Yes”, “no that eventually becomes yes” and not much else.
Rebel Galaxy Constellations
In summary:
- Download Rebel Galaxy on PS+
- Save the $60 you would have spent on No Man’s Sky
- ????
- Profit!