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Space is big. Really big. That’s a problem for open world, space-based games. In a book, you can write “and nothing interesting happened for the next three weeks,” and that’s all it takes. In a game, you still have three weeks ahead of you. There’s two solutions to this: make the world smaller or travel faster. Rodina takes the former option.
You are SARA (or whatever you choose to name your character), and you are a piloting robot rebooted after an alien presence has wiped out the vanguard of an approaching colony ship. As you get into your ship and follow the beacons found throughout the system, you learn about the people in the Vanguard and their relationship with the Rodina – a colony ship approaching that really wants the alien threat eliminated before they get there.
One of my favorite parts about space games is the sense of vast emptiness and isolation they can instill – and Rodina does this well. You may run into aliens at every turn, but they are always hostile. You may get messages from the Rodina from time to time, but they are light-years away and possibly not all that friendly, either. For the most part, it’s just you, your ship, and some very shaky camera action.
No really – this is fine. It’s supposed to do that.
Admittedly, I played this some time ago. I quite enjoyed it, as it’s the only game I’ve played that deals with atmospheric entry in a unique and challenging way (sadly, they seem to have toned this down too much in the latest build – it’s still in Early Access). I’m a sucker for space games, and Rodina is scratching an itch while I wait quite impatiently for Alpha 3.0 of Star Citizen.
The plot line is quite firmly set in stone and it’s a fairly linear game – but that works well with the questions it asks about freedom and replication. Even so, I’d say that it’s already well worth the asking price and will provide a few hours of entertainment – perhaps many more as the game is developed.