Stars in Shadow (PC) Preview

By Eric Ace 14.10.2016

Stars in Shadow is the latest contender in trying to reach the holy grail of Master of Orion 2, developed by Ashdar Games and published by Iceberg Interactive. The allure of taking a nascent civilisation and growing it to a galaxy-spanning empire is a formula that has proved very successful over the years, and strikes a deep chord with many gamers.

Stars in Shadow may seem like just another clone for the space strategy genre. People thinking that are excused because there has been a glut of games trying to replicate Master of Orion 2; some are playable, most are not, and none really capturing the magic. This game so far is shaping up to be a pretty good contender.

The formula is largely the same: pick a race that is different from every other, start with a small colony, explore some stars, colonise, develop, then fight the neighbours. Combat takes place in a turn-based fashion of moving ships, shooting, defending and repeating. In a lot of ways, the game takes direct inspiration from Master of Orion 2, but does enough to not be a direct rip-off.

Screenshot for Stars in Shadow on PC

Notable are the cartoon drawings, which are actually a nice aesthetic change in the genre. Economically, planets have only a few 'slots' for buildings, meaning they are filled rapidly and do not require as much micromanagement.

One of the cooler ideas is a sort of unbalanced starting situation for all aliens. Some like ice worlds, whereas the humans, for example, don't even start with a world, but two colony ships and extra settlers. It adds cool character to the game.

Screenshot for Stars in Shadow on PC

Final Thoughts

At this point, there are some bugs, balance issues and so on, but Stars in Shadow is still in Early Access, and the team seems open to community feedback, which is pleasant to see. For space strategy fans, this looks like a good one to keep an eye on.