Star Vortex Preview

I got the chance to check out the Early Access of Star Vortex, a top-down action RPG that’s all about shooting and looting your way through the galaxy, inspired by the likes of Diablo II: Resurrected. I’ve been getting into space games lately, and the concept alone was enough of a hook to try it out. Apparently, it’s being developed by a single person, going under the name Zorg Games, and being published by Hunted Cow Games. So, let’s see what it has to offer.

In this game, humanity is at war, battling hostile aliens and pirates all across the galaxy, but suddenly, a new threat appears out of nowhere and begins to turn the tide against the humans. You play as a fighter pilot of the Conclave, and armed with this disturbing news, it’s your job to create a pathway for the Mothership to get to Earth before it’s too late. That being said, there seems to be more happening than just that, as a… giant space worm has taken interest in you and is seemingly guiding and supporting you all throughout.

Your journey through the galaxy will be a tough one, but you’ll have all the basics to survive whatever the harshness of space will throw at you. You can dodge, boost, shoot, and activate whatever equipment you have armed on your ship. Boosting does make your ship invulnerable, but you can’t fire your weapons. It’s a good way to escape fights, to recharge your shields, or simply get through the enemies’ fire… and you will be under tons of enemy fire.

Don't get cocky.

There are a variety of encounters, with rarely any peace to be found outside of the Mothership. Some will make you fight alone, taking out Gateway Disruptor ships to unlock the next encounter, while others will allow allies to join the fight to wipe out every enemy on the radar. You might even need to escort ships to safety before enemies destroy them (which isn’t as annoying as it sounds), or encounter Elite ships that can destroy you if you’re unprepared for a lengthy fight. Beating encounters will reward you with credits and/or new equipment to add to your ship, as well as anything you can loot from the battlefield, and you’ll need every scrap of it if you want to make it to Earth.

Because of a previous battle that you barely managed to escape from, you’re forced to start from scratch with a small frigate-class spaceship (which you can choose before you start your game); however, that will not be the case for long. When you’re in the Mothership, you can customise your ship in any way you want using the parts available, with the only limit being the number of things you’re allowed to have and the size, which is gated by your level. As you level up, you gain skill points to spend on the skill tree, are allowed to equip higher-level weapons, gain slots for more equipment, and eventually turn your small frigate-class ship into a mighty battleship, able to start and win wars by itself.

The Revolution C2

There are tons of types of equipment, ranging from lasers and plasma guns to allowing your ship to deploy combat drones and phase in and out of reality. All your equipment has randomised bonuses, and the rarer the equipment, the more bonuses it can have. If you like what you have, you can always level it up in the Assembler ship, even upgrade its rarity or replace its bonuses by destroying equipment you don’t need. The only annoying thing is that you need specific skills to equip certain weapons, like homing rockets and temporary buffs. It feels kind of restrictive to me.

I am genuinely looking forward to seeing more of Star Vortex in the coming future. Although it only goes up to Act 3, its space combat and ship customisation make it already worth your time in this state and there’s still more to come. I want to keep fighting, improving my ship, and eventually get to Earth. I can’t wait to see further developments of this game.