The Light Empire Reviews

Help say it will turn with A and D but only D works, so only one side turn. Nothing about you can move with move with shift. It is not a game, it's insult.

My biggest complaint is that I can't play the game I purchased. Every. Single. Time. I redownload it I get the message "missing executable". Thanks for nothing.

Sorry, i can not recommend this game. It looked very good on description, and pictures. But the gameplay is terrible, interface is confusing and the game is just not entertaining.

Babies first FTL. Made in MSPAINT. Honestly, I love FTL. I can put up with an FTL lite clone, but honestly this is ridiculous. You could have done this in flash for one of the free games websites and people still wouldn't play it. $10 for this? Unfortunately I fell asleep ten minutes into it and after I woke up from my nap it was unrefundable. The other review for positive must be the most positive person on the whole planet, because I've put up with a lot. I've played buggy games, delighted in graphically sub par games and raged my way through some pretty bad POS's. What I can't do, is watch someone rip off FTL, leave out all the best features then make the thing look like he drew it.

Feels more like a beta or alpha version than a finished game. Really bad interface makes everything take longer than it should. It's also missing a lot of tutorials meaning there's a lot of trial and error just to figure things out. Not really what you want in a rogue-like. There's also a lot of unnceessary waiting time.

TLDR opinion; I would recommend The Light Empire as a nice little game if you are seeking a distraction. Worth a look if you are into sci-fi themed and / or rogue-like games but NOT if you are looking for an RPG. Please note that this is a cautious thumbs up, the game is improving steadily but is still very rough and simplistic in some respects. Now, what to say about The Light Empire? The good: This game is very open and honest about what it is; a rogue-like game based in a sci-fi setting in a randomly generated universe. It playes well to those classifications, offering some nice diversity in encounters and destinations. It also plays well on the rogue-like side of things, no two trips will play out exactly the same and so there is definite replayability here. The RPG elements it claims in the description are definitely present but they are not that in-depth, aside from being able to customise the stats of your ship when you begin the game. There are some flavour texts in some of the events which is a nice touch and some unlockable ships but from what I have played there is no real overarching story or world development, being able to adjust the stats on your ship is the meat of it. Some effort has also clearly gone into the presentation of this game, there are some good images and textures involved and a good amount of detail can be seen on the in-game assets. Sound-wise it is distinctive, having some strange and otherworldly sound effects and music choices that may catch you by surprise but help give this game a unique feel to it. The bad: Okay, yes, there are bad things I see in this game. First off is the UI which feels a bit clunky and unresponsive. It is also cluttered, presenting you with all of your stats and resources all of the time while not offering tool tips or explanations. There is, however, a small guide built into the hud that you can access at any time for a quick overview of things (READ IT!). The game also feels a bit slow-paced overall and the interaction and feedback are not that good. There are many things you do that feel a bit drawn out and slow, listening to or watching things without needing any real action on your part as you wait for it to finish. This plays as part of the aesthetic design of the game but here I do feel like it gets in the way a bit. But I must admit, the sound when you set off a distress beacon because you have run out of fuel is the most unique sound for such a thing I have ever heard. Lastly it feels just a bit repetative and slapped together. The former could be due to a lack of varieties in some of the sprites (like all planets of a certain type look the same) while how the galaxy exploration is handled is effectively random things popping up on a starscape. It feels a little like a flash game in that regard. So. Conclusions? Overall I would have to say yes, I recommend this game. Is it worth the asking price? Probably. If it continues to develop after release (which it looks like it might) then it can only get better and it does show a lot of potential. Will it provide a diversion and entertainment? Probably. If you are into sci-fi or space themed games and / or into rogue-likes trying to see how far you can get, then yes, this might be a game you would enjoy. If you are after an RPG game definitely look elsewhere. This is the first game on steam from this developer and I think, honestly, that is its only real failing. It does feel like it is an early effort and could do with a lot more polishing or play-testing to help smooth things out, tighten it up a bit, and so on... but if you look past that you have the solid core of a rogue-like game in space. It may not have all the bells and whistles it could have but it is fully functional and does have its moments. So it is definitely worth a look and I look forward to seeing what this guy comes up with in the future.