Spaceland Review: An Engaging, Repetitive Old School Turn-Based Game

Tortuga Team’s Spaceland‘s mission statement is clear: old school turn-based tactics. In an age where gaming is continuously looking to the past to inform its future, this is hardly a shocking goal. What is shocking is just how well Spaceland not only accomplishes its goals but how downright fun and original it can be at the same time.

It would have been easy for Spaceland to cash in on nostalgia and then phone it in by resting on its laurels and add absolutely nothing new to the genre. Instead, the title becomes deeper in content and mechanics the further into the game players get, and this is one of its biggest strengths. Unfortunately, Spaceland’s 12-hour plus playtime can’t quite sustain this forever and a sense of repetitiveness does start to set in after a while.

Spaceland starts by transporting players to a distant alien planet and puts them in the shoes of two space rangers who investigate a distress call. Eventually, players will find themselves fighting against mutants and monsters alike as well as recruiting more team members with varying strengths, weaknesses and abilities. While this premise is nothing new for science fiction video games, Spaceland layers its narrative with just enough mystery and intrigue to keep things interesting all the way through. It also helps that every character is well designed and their interactions with each other are fun and quirky.

Spaceland‘s description promises turn-based battles that last anywhere from ten to fifteen minutes, making for a more breezy gaming experience. It certainly upholds this promise throughout, but that’s not to say that every encounter is easy. In fact, Spaceland requires a fair share of forethought when it comes to strategy, and this is where it most closely resembles turn-based games of old. Picking the right team load out is vital and simply rushing into battle is not a strategy that will result in long-term success for players. On top of this, utilizing each character’s abilities will make things much easier. For how simplified the game can seem at times, it’s not a title in which firing a gun is the only means of success.

Because of this, Spaceland‘s replay value is quite high. Every mission can in the game can be repeated, using different character load outs and uncovering secrets or puzzles that might have been missed the first time around. Beyond this, players can also farm easier missions to build up cash for much needed upgrades in character equipment (including but not limited to guns and armor). With as many missions and variety of enemies that are contained within the title, some may find themselves getting lost in Spaceland for dozens if not hundreds of hours. Especially for those who are obsessed with turn-based games that actually require strategical thinking.

Not everything works in Spaceland, however. Eventually, the game simply wears out its welcome and becomes burdened somewhat by repetitiveness. While the graphics and map design are top notch, some maps are just too similar in appearance, and this adds to the tediousness. Likewise, sometimes the scope of the game becomes too ambitious for its own good. New equipment is unlocked at such a frequent rate while the money earned from missions remains the same. This results in grinding older levels just to match the ever-increasing difficulty in enemies feel like necessity rather than an option.

In spite of these flaws, Spaceland is still one of the most surprisingly in-depth and engaging indie turn-based strategy games that big fans of the genre are likely to find. It wears its old school influences on its sleeve while still managing to add its own spin to the genre. The large cast of playable characters mixed in with its deep attention to strategy and combat give it almost a AAA feel at times. Turn-based purists will likely not regret giving Spaceland a chance.

Spaceland releases on PlayStation 4 and Xbox One on February 14, 2020. It was previously released on PC on September 30, 2019. Screen Rant was provided with an Xbox One copy for the purposes of this review.

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