Reckless Space Pirates

Like Treasure Seekers of Lady Luck, we find ourselves back on a pirate ship. In terms of plot, this is a little shorter, with only one major mission. After an… unorthodox recruitment process, you join up with a group of pirates who want something from a group of aliens. Of course, you could attempt to side with them or stick with the pirates.

There is a fairly straightforward stat based system over here. However, a good part of the game’s challenges comes from math questions and logic puzzles. At one point, I even got a couple of data analyst interview type questions, where I’m shown some patterned shapes, and need to pick the next one which belongs in the formation. Most of these questions are multiple choice and weren’t too difficult for me (save one which I just guessed at random because the question wasn’t very well written). However, something so logic-based just didn’t fit the vibe of the game. While there’s no excessive violence here, I started the game as a thuggish character doing rough stuff, and it feels more than weird that I’m now answering math and logic questions from some random aliens to please them. I don’t mind having these kind of questions in general, but the game uses them very heavily and it just feels inconsistent with the game’s tone.

The plot is pretty short and straightforward, with a fair bit of choices around a peaceful or violent approach. There is also a mildly interesting RO whom I romanced. However, there is little to explore in this setting as much of the plot is focused around a single mission with the aliens. There are also some choices around getting to know the crew, but it’s hard to make this meaningful with such a short plot. Writing is ok for the most part. I don’t think I saw any issues.

Honestly, I feel that this game could have benefitted from a longer plot, maybe with two or three connected missions to explore the world. There are some good parts here, such as the stat system and the relationships with the crew. However, it’s tough to make this work on a shorter plot. As for the puzzles, that’s one thing we could have less of. Multiple choice math questions get tedious after a while.