Developed by Minecraft Earth studio Blackbird Interactive and published by Focus Entertainment, Hardspace: Shipbreaker is an upcoming sci-fi simulation title that was initially conceived shortly after Blackbird completed 2016’s Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak. The game originally had players navigating through procedurally-generated asteroids and collecting loot before evolving into an action title that was described as “Fruit Ninja in space.” Following a third retooling, Hardspace: Shipbreaker was released on Steam Early Access in June 2020, with a full version set to launch on May 26.
In Hardspace: Shipbreaker, humanity has ascended to the far reaches of space, but life on Earth has decayed into a state of crime and squalor. People in need of money have begun to take dangerous work salvaging wrecked spacecraft as Shipbreakers under the employ of a mega-corporation named Lynx Salvage. The player is one such individual, having recently been assigned to the Salvage Station Morrigan where they are tasked with growing a reputable scrapping operation to pay off their massive debt to Lynx - or die trying. From the main menu, players can choose between one of four difficulty settings, jump into Free Play mode, or race with other players online to see who can gain the fastest time on a leaderboard.
Hardspace: Shipbreaker’s gameplay consists of the player being assigned a derelict spaceship to tear apart and sort into three different color-coded disposal areas. This is done from a first-person perspective, and players use the mouse to look around their environment. The keyboard is used to navigate the vacuum of space using a jet thruster, with the standard WASD handling basic movement, space bar and C key pitching the character up and down, and Q and E handling rotation. Pushing both these keys at once causes the character to break, which can be confusing at first and tricky to pull off even after hours of gameplay. Movement is appropriately floaty and unpredictable, as fitting for a zero-gravity environment, and Hardspace: Shipbreaker’s primary challenge comes for the player trying to keep their bearings while out in the field.
Players are given several different tools that can be used to either cut objects or move them toward their corresponding disposal area - all of which are primarily aimed with the mouse and activated with the left mouse button. First is the Grapple Beam, which the player uses to grab and drag items with a powerful tractor beam. Objects that are too large to be moved in one piece can be sliced into smaller parts with the Cutter, which fires a heated laser in either a single beam or a wide, sweeping blast that can be rotated. Lastly, players can unlock Bombs as the game carries on, which can break open panels that the Cutter can’t at the risk of damaging vital cargo inside.
Players will also need to keep track of their suit’s damage and oxygen levels, which start to deplete as they take damage or venture out in the field for too long. Luckily, they can buy more air and repair their suit at the Kiosk near the HAB, the personal quarters where players can rest, customize their space equipment, and pick out new ships to work on. If a player dies, their consciousness is transferred to a new clone body as part of an in-game contingency program. At the end of a shift, the number of credits earned is tallied and put towards paying off the massive debt that the player owes Lynx.
Visually, Hardspace: Shipbreaker evokes the lived-in look of grittier sci-fi like Alien, complete with blocky ship designs and monochrome monitors. The graphics are solid for the most part, but there is the occasional clipping. The game’s music has a western feel that brings the cult-classic Firefly to mind and fits the notion of playing as a blue-collar scrapper making a living on the outskirts of space.
It might take some time to get used to Hardspace: Shipbreaker’s controls and zero-gravity movement, but tearing apart abandoned shuttles in the void of space is surprisingly soothing and engaging. While some areas of the game are somewhat unpolished, Hardspace: Shipbreaker is a solid time for those looking to live out the fantasy of a space salvager.
Hardspace: Shipbreaker will be available on Microsoft Windows on May 26. A digital Steam code was provided to Screen Rant for the purpose of this review.