Halcyon 6: Starbase Commander

A story-driven tutorial sets the stage, introducing you to the Terran Federation, the former peacekeepers of the galaxy who have been brought to their knees after a devastating alien attack.

With your crew clinging to survival and drawing close to extinction, you are thrust into the role of captain with the responsibility of fortifying the titular vessel and restoring your civilisation to its former glory. The clichéd humanity's last hope story structure may struggle to stir excitement right out the gate, but you shouldn't feel deterred, as it merely exists to bind together and provide context Halcyon 6's vast assortment of gameplay mechanics.

First on your to do list as captain is to recruit your first officer, who will likely serve as the driving force behind your team. There are three different character classes for you to decide between, and each has their unique quirks and weaknesses. Firstly officers in the science class are capable of tanking more hits and have special healing abilities, engineering officers have a more chance of inflicting status impairments with their attacks, and tactical officers deal the largest damage with offensive hits. Each prospective crew member is complete with a telling list of traits and a detailed backstory, offering them much more depth than their 8-bit exterior would suggest. If you aren't pleased with the fresh pool of talent you're presented with then there's the limited option to spin the dice and hope for a better turnout.

Multi-tasking is an especially important skill to master as you'll find yourself juggling elements of base building, recruitment and space exploration, whilst contending with a steady slew of missions. Similar to the Dungeons series you'll find yourself continually interchanging between two main views, a real-time map of the stars and your internal view of the ship, in order to complete objectives. Fortunately, there's the handy option of pausing events so you can make sure that everything is efficiently managed between screens without losing precious time.

Base building is presented in a similar fashion to Xcom and allows you to build resources to upgrade your ships, more efficiently mine materials, and recruit additional officers. Dark matter and components gathered from battles can be used to research new technology and dig out additional areas for construction. Ensuring everything is running smoothly in your base is imperative to your success. Your fuel supply in particular is of vital importance as once it's depleted you may find yourself stranded in space with no other option than to watch the days drift by until it slowly replenishes.

Narrowly escaping a heated laser duel and watching your foes explode into a flaming ball of nothingness is undoubtedly one of most exhilarating thrills Halcyon 6 has to offer. A looming sense of tension frequently dominates the battlefield as once your commanders have been sent hurtling out of the sky, they are never to return again. Presented in a simplistic turn-based style, tactical combat is reminiscent of classic JRPGs and offers plenty depth through its three character classes. Each offensive manoeuvre in your arsenal is capable of inflicting crippling status conditions, which can easily be exploited to unleash devastating blows. Choosing to upload an incapacitating virus into an opposing fleets' engines, for example, may leave them temporarily deactivated, allowing you to land corresponding attacks with increased potency. But certain moves can also prove to be detrimental, diminishing your evasiveness and carrying lengthy cooldowns. We recommend that your fleet is comprised of a diverse crew of fighters as a varied move pool broadens your capabilities and allows you to frequently chain together tactical attacks.

There's a definite weight felt in your actions, so much so that you'll likely find yourself abandoning your current session and reaching for the nearest autosave upon stumbling. During various sections you'll be presented with scenarios where you're given the final call and must choose between two vastly different options with varying consequences. They range from attempting to form alliances with crews of space pirates, to deciding whether or not carry on production in your base due to the risk of fatalities. As we mentioned, once an officer has fallen in battle there is no way to bring them back. This makes combat feel a little more dangerous than typical RPGs where you can just revive your crew once a battle has ended.

Following the fiery aftermath of the first act, gathering resources is no longer a concern as allied shuttles whizz across the galaxy, scouting materials on your behalf. Removing the pressure of harvesting resources, as you may guess, frees up a lot of time allowing you take focus on more pressing issues back at base. As your team starts to strengthen in numbers you'll be able to launch multiple fleets and experiment with many different combinations of officers to find your dream team of fighters. Having a larger selection removes the occasional feeling tedium that occurs early on, as you are able to mix up your strategy and toy with different attacks and combinations.

When hitting the mid-point you'll have to work your charm on multiple alien factions to form alliances and trading deals. The diplomacy aspect of Halcyon 6 is of particular importance as all your actions have future implications and if done right can make your progression much easier. Interaction between these factions proves to be particularly hilarious as each race has their own distinctive quirky personality and many of your scripted responses are excellently witty and sarcastic. The only issue is that many of these options, besides the concluding decision, barely have an impact on proceedings and only exist as slight variations of each other.

It may not take the crown for the most impressive visuals of the year, but Halcyon 6's sleek pixel art-style is undeniably charming, sporting a vivid wash of colours and similar flair to fellow space indie FTL. Delivering appropriate bouts of chaos, its thundering soundtrack keeps the adrenaline pumping and immerses you further within your voyage across the stars. Its symphonic OST may score top marks for its execution, but the same can't be said about its sound design, which can be labelled as sketchy at best. The distorted crackle of explosions and the whirring ping of laser beams may have been adopted purposely to mimic the low fidelity sounds churned out by aging hardware, but it struggles sit right alongside such a polished presentation and score.

Halcyon 6 may be not light years ahead of competitors in terms of originality, feeling like a patchwork of borrowed ideas, but the way Massive Damage has been able to meaningfully stitch together its elements of base building, tactical combat and crew management has resulted in a truly compelling experience. Combat is as deep as it is bracing, and working to fortify your crew and facilities proves to be incredibly addictive, making for a consistently enjoyable experience on both sides of the spacecraft. It's clichéd plot is uninspired and its sound design can be discordant at times, but it still doesn't limit Halcyon 6: Starbase Commander from being one of the most varied and thoughtfully crafted indies of the year.