Fistful Of Credits

Rebel Galaxy outlaw makes up in style what it lacks in depth.

- Robert Zak

The boundless promise of space exploration is a precarious asteroid field for a developer to navigate. It takes the luxuries of time and funding for galaxies like those of Elite Dangerous or No Man’s Sky to reach their potential. But if you’re an indie developer bereft of those resources, then it’s vital to know your limits – to condense the cosmos into something manageable, lest your game get swallowed up by its seductive vastness.

Rebel Galaxy Outlaw knows its limits, restricting its galaxy to 40-odd solar systems named after cities in the US. Its guitar-twanging rock soundtrack and vibrant colours give it the tone of a punky western. It’s thrifty where it needs to be, and does a commendable job of embellishing its relatively rote gameplay loop with presentational swagger.

Driving the game’s spunky spirit is the protagonist Juno, a tough vagabond on the trail of the people who killed her husband and tried to knock her off too. You gain most of your intel by chatting with the patrons of bars dotted around the various space stations of the cosmos.