Space Drone: Rescue Mission Reviews

Space Drone has a cool premise and potential, but it falls short on many QoL features that would make it more bearable. [b]It’s a Sokoban game[/b], which means you’ll need to follow specific routes to go through a level, usually pushing boulders on the way. [b]This game sets itself apart by having a 10-movement limit, after which you have to be in a station to recharge your movements[/b] - or reset the map in case you can’t. I enjoy Sokoban games, but I hate that this puts [b]too much focus on the sliding mechanic[/b]. There are ice tiles that make you slide all the way to the end, and most of the early to mid-game is juggling your movements with sliding. I don’t mind sliding in puzzle games - when done sparingly - but this being a space game, I thought sliding wouldn’t be too prevalent, though it is present on almost every map. [b]I also don’t like how this game implements the movement limit[/b]. You have to constantly come back to the same station, and that sometimes feels more like busy work than part of a grand puzzle. I’d prefer it much more if there were a movement limit for the whole map and that you had to work with that limit to figure out the puzzle. Each section of the game connects to another section, and you can see the connections on a map. Your objective is to rescue the crew of the ship, [b]but the map lacks any information on previously seen crewmates[/b] that you have to come back to rescue from other map entrances, making it guesswork to know where people are, especially because the map doesn’t even have any form of number or name to help with pen-’n’-paper tracking. Lastly, another lack of QoL is the fact that [b]the game has no undo button[/b]. Since you’re tied to 10 movements, any misclick or misdirection you take punishes you with a full reset of the map. It’s not uncommon to miscalculate your movements and be one movement short of returning to a recharging station. Since returning to a station already feels like busy work, at least let me rewind my previous movements. Still, [b]if you like sci-fi, movement restrictions, sliding, and a (sort of) hard puzzle game, this might be a game for you[/b]. I couldn’t enjoy the sliding and lack of QoL, but you still could, so don’t feel discouraged to buy the game. [b]Score: 4/10[/b] - [i]Weak[/i]