Redshirt Reviews

I'd say buy it on sale, but the problem is that everyone has a backlog of much better games than Redshirt. Redshirt is essentially, Facebook in space. So instead of real people acting fake, you get...fake people acting fake. Also the space station you're on is going to explode for some reason and you have to get off. There are five ways to do this but apparently one is bugged. (And has been since 2013, so no plans to fix it apparently) Unfortunately, playing it five times requires such mental fortitude it's practically impossible and only for the hardcore, as the mechanics and rehashed dialog get boring around play 2. The concept is good, and I suppose the game could be looked at as a commentary on social media and the inanity of it all, so points for that.

The game was on sale for $2.49, so I decided to give it a shot. My gaming tastes include the following that synch up with this game, so if you have these same interests, you might like this game: [h1]1. Turn based games.[/h1] This game basically moves when you make a decision to do something, so you aren't in a race with a virtual clock. [h1]2. Life Simulations.[/h1] Conceptually, I like seeing and playing games where the heart of the game is trying to simulate a cultural universe. I've designed them as a hobby, and I also enjoy playing them and seeing other's work. [h1]3. Novel concepts.[/h1] This is 90% a Facebook simulator. When I was reading the negative reviews, I noted that the ones I read disliked that concept. It's different, for sure. The strategy of the game is in choosing what to Like, who to schedule events with, what general things to say - with the idea that there's no right answer. Just like in any group of people, you're not going to make 100% of them happy 100% of the time. But bottom line is that if the idea of a Facebook simulator is dull for you, this game is not for you. If the idea intrigues you as a game concept - absolutely give this a try. Especially if you like Sci-Fi.

The game description and pictures made me think this game may be kind of fun, and it wasn't terribly expensive so I went ahead and bought it. Unfortunately the early charm of the game kept me entertained for maybe an hour, after which I essentially "played" it almost racing through it to see if anything better would come. This game feels like a job and it's not fun. Just as an example, as you progress you are supposed to gain Spacebook friends in order to extend your influence. However, there is only so many action items in a day, and you can't do activities with everyone, so you constantly are bombarded by all of the people that you aren't spending time with. I really don't have any desire to play a game that simply has me manage my activities so that i equally distribute the time between a large number of video game characters.. Game just isn't fun.

Achievements (and some game systems) broken. Dev simply "moved on" to other projects and abandoned this one. Could've been really good, but lack of support and bug squashing killed it. I would advise against purchasing, even on discount.

I bought this back when it first came out because I thought the premise was intriguing. I've always been a fan of Star Trek, and I thought a game about how those poor, unfortunate redshirts and other nameless, unimportant crew members survived the insane situations that inevitably befell the crew would be neat. I thought a game about being an underapprciated but vital part of a team would be fun. This game is not that game. Let's go through each of the claims this game makes any why I think most, if not all of them, are bogus. 1: "Satirical, tongue-in-cheek social simulation, filled with humour and political intrigue." If by "political intrigue" you mean "boring, petty interpersonal drama that I get enough of in my daily life," then yes. This game has political intrigue coming out of its nostrils. I will say that it is at least mildly satirical, as the implication that social media is a poor substitute for actual interaction is a perfectly valid one. I will admit, though, that I didn't find too much about this game to be funny. 2: "Detailed character creation: choose from 5 different species, from human to tentacled squid creature!" It isn't that detailed, I'm afraid. Additionally, it actually makes very little difference what species or even sexual orientation that you choose, except in very rare circumstances (such as being depressed because you don't have a significant other and everyone you can date is not interested in people of your gender, and the one person who is hates your guts; I don't need a repeat of my everyday life, thank you). 3: "Each game is unique: Megalodon-9 is full of procedurally generated AI-driven characters, each with their own random personalities and profile pictures." Each game is unique, but the NPCs aren't sure the names and species and personalities might change, but they're all the same, vapid, uninteresting characters. 4: "Customise station settings: define the kinds of personalities you'll encounter, from friendly chatterboxes to self-obsessed bigots." This bit is accurate, at least. 5: "Update your Spacebook, strategically 'like' statuses, and send private messages to your fellow station citizens." This is also an accurate feature. 6: "Arrange Spacebook 'events' with your friends, frenemies, and even higher-ranking officers, to influence your relationships and skills." Despite being accurate, I'm not sure how this and the prior item are even features. 7: "Multiple routes to success through turn-based gameplay, from skills-based diligence, to romance, to charismatic schmoozing." This is accurate, to a degree. You cannot rely on just one to succeed, however; the best route always involves using everything at your disposal. And you'll need to: without romance, for example, your morale may drop .And if you're in a bad mood, your work will suffer. If your work suffers, say good-bye to that promotion. And before you know it, you're another soulless drone lamenting your lack of a love-life and your boring, dead-end job, anxiously awaiting the weekend so you can go to wine-tastings to get your mood back up for the coming week, only to repeat the cycle ad infinitum. 8: "Navigate an extensive, non-linear career tree, by gaining the right skills... or just by making the right friends. Make friends and manage romantic relationships -- if you can handle the drama!" On a personal note, this is something I dislike about this game, especially when paired with the above item. Don't get me wrong, I love playing games where I get to be a manipulative schemer. But when the best run I ever had involved buddying up to my supervisors and discarding them when I'd gotten a promotion, that may say something about how viable a skill-based playthrough is. 9: "Strategically manage your interests and skills." See the aforementioned bit about wine-tastings. 10: "Buy items in the Self-Help Object Purveyor (S.H.O.P.) to increase your stats and skills, from RoboCats to illegal hoverbikes!" True, and also a requirement. 11: "Away missions!" Also known as "which one of my friends is going to die miserably and send me into a self-destructive spiral?" 12: "Humorous parody of social networking culture." A parody, perhaps. But I wouldn't say it's a particularly humorous one. I found most of the jokes to fall flat. 13: "Puns! So many puns." Yes, but they're not particularly funny puns. Now that that's done with, here's my final conclusion. Redshirt was fun, for about 10 minutes. Then it became very, very tedious and very, very boring. And while that's fine to a degree, especially if your game is parodying something as boring as social media, the game itself has to be fun. Quite simply? Redshirt is not fun. I cannot suggest that anyone buy this game for anything more than $3.00. Seriously, wait for it to go on sale if you have to buy it.

W-H-A-T!? 40% Positive???? No way. This is perhaps the perfect $10 game. It's solid as a concept and delivers on the "Facebook within Starfleet" vibe. It's a cool game with a good story and a neat, well executed core. Sure it's not Skyrim I guess, but I have nothing but good memories of my playthrough. Kind of reminds me of Gone Home in that way. Strong concept and execution, low replay, no regrets. I'm sorry that it's taken me this long to write a review - I had just assumed they had been generally positive.

A game about social networking.. and guess what.. it´s just as boring as the real deal -.- It repeats itself quite fast, there is way too few change in the daily activity and your "goals" as well as the actions of the "people" are senseless and stupid. Add this to the high price for such a game and the very few connections it actually has to Star Trek, which it wants to imitate with this "Red Shirt" thing and the away missions.. leaves only one thing Thumb down!

The disappointment first arrived when I realized that, yes, the artwork in-game is worse than the preview screenshots. Since then that disappointment has mutated into full-blown ennui. I caution anyone considering whether or not to buy this game to [b]wait for a discount[/b]. Please don't buy this game at its regular price; don't make the same mistake that I did. At first glance, [i]Redshirt[/i] looks like a SciFi offering along the lines of [i]Long Live the Queen[/i], [i]Magical Diary[/i], and so on, but don't be fooled. While other slice-of-life simulation/RPG blends provide a decent story and actual rewards for game progression, [i]Redshirt[/i] laughs in the user's face as it generates more and more lifeless content to grind through. All the shortcomings of an independent development house mixed with all the malice and hate from triple-A publishers. Caveat emptor. The Good: - Star Trek inspired universe - multiple species available as player races - wide range of interests and skills The Bad: - clunky engine and interface - no quick-save/load - unnecessary actions-per-day economy - fast-paced gameplay mixed with slow progression The Ugly: - the graphic designs are just cheap--no other word for it - the NPCs have zero personality beyond randomly generated messages and posts; cardboard and forgetable - mind-numbing grind that never really pays off

Compared to other games of it's genre, it is overpriced, though it matches the proce of the Positech game this is a re-painting of: Kudos 2. For those that like the idea of a social management game, there are java based phone games, android games and I'm sure IOS games that have more to offer in the free to $10 range, but on the PC, Positech's Kudos and this are it without counting the Sims, which is really a whole different experience. It is a social life management game. You are given so many tme units a day to allocate your time and try to manage the life of your character, try to inch up the job ladder and anything beyond that is fed as backstory clues but the game itself is of a style more befitting a tablet than a PC interface. As far as the style of game goes, it is pretty average in it's genre, and have seen cell-phone games that had more to offer. For those that like the genre of game (which I do, in some of my moods) it's worth getting, but unless you love the game style, not at $20. $5 to $10 would be a much more typical pricetag for what is being offered. If you don't already know and like the genre, there are much better games out there to experiment with the genre, starting with the game this one almost clones: Kudos 2, which you can usually pick up for $5.

Synopsis: Redshirt is mildly fun, cute, but vastly overpriced nerdservice. While it tackles an old saw with a new seemingly innovative twist of vicariously experiencing a space adventure from the perspective of a nobody who experiences life vicariously through social networking (wow how meta), the end result is a cute and at first funny menu game that shows itself pretty shallow with time. At first you smirk at all the little references and sarcastic jokes and puns, but then after hours of shifting through menus you frown because that is really all the game has to it. It is unfortunately a one trick pony, and ironically it essentially is the shallow facebook game that this game precisely intends to mock. As an example of art imitates life, it works and I get it. As a game that is an enjoyable time sink? Not for $20. It is a phone ap game at best for less than five. Update 1-19-15 It ain't worth 9.99 either. This is a glorified cell phone app.