Pixel Starships™

I never expect much from mobile games. I played a lot of Clash Of Clans and Mobile Warfare or whatever it’s called. Grindy games where you build out a settlement and send armies to fight PvP and PvE. I stopped both of those when I inexplicably couldn’t access my accounts after a phone upgrade years ago. My phone remained gameless for many years. Then… Instagram targeted an ad at me for this game and it was cool enough at first glance for me to download. I started playing and then I couldn’t stop. It’s pretty well thought out and I loved the space element. I don’t love the grind but I don’t hate it either. It’s got depth and a lot of different playstyles to choose from. Building a crew is a strategy in and of itself, the options are incredibly diverse and fun to learn. There is just a lot to unpack in this little game. Unlike other tower defense games your ability to bring the pain in PvP is not limited to your level. I have been taken to school by ships 3 lvls below me due to a stacked crew and maxed out, efficient rooms. If you got an ad for this and think it looks cool give it a try. It’s the only mobile game on my phone &ipad and I don’t see that charging any time soon.

I've taken a long time before writing this review, to get a decent idea of the early to end game. I've been playing this game for almost 2 years now, and I love it. At it's core, this game is about upgrading your battleship, designing smart layouts (where to put weapons and shields), and writing AI programs for both your rooms and crew to perform during battle. The upgrades take a long time but honestly that gives me pride in my Titanic lvl 11 ship, as opposed to other games where everyone is running around at maximum lvl 2 weeks into the game. The strategy meta is diverse and fluid, and winning really is more about thoughtful layout and AI as opposed to piling cash into the game. I can confidently say that even at the highest competitive level (I'm a vice admiral in the 3rd ranked fleet worldwide), brains beat out money spent. That said, the learning curve for developing good ship strategies, ship room layouts, and units is pretty steep, so I highly recommend joining a fleet that can guide you as soon as possible. On top of all that, each ship truly feels unique, there is no "cookie cutter" best build, and the total number of variations in crew/AI/room layout you can have is pretty much infinite. On top of that, the concept of power creep in this game is so far very marginal, since it takes so long to reach a fully upgraded ship in the first place (a single room upgrade can take as long as weeks!). Again, I personally don't see this as a bad thing. Your ship really starts to feel personal and unique