Base One Review (PC)

I need ammunition to take down incoming asteroids (someone will probably also provide the guns to do that). That means I need scrap to recycle to get some resources. In turn, the scrap can only be obtained by launching a probe to explore debris. The probe asks me to create a specialized area and to make sure it’s heated and has oxygen for the operator. This is the kind of resource and building chain that exists at the heart of Base One.

This is a management title at its core, developed by Pixfroze and published by Blowfish Studios and Gamera Game. I played it on the PC via Steam, where it is also offered through GOG, and can also be played on the PlayStation 5 and 4, the Xbox Series X and One, and the Nintendo Switch.

The basic premise is simple: a wormhole appears near Earth, destroying the moon and creating a range of disasters across the planet. Humanity quickly moves to understand the phenomena and then design a way to use it to expand to a new star. The player takes on the role of a leader in the expedition who has to deal with limited resources, hostile conditions, and interpersonal dynamics as he seeks to create a new destiny for humanity.

Creating a base starts off with one autonomous hub and a small crew. They can put together new modules to expand the structure and make sure that it has fundamental resources like power, oxygen, water, and heat. This requires both the building of modules and the equipment they house and the creation of connections between various pieces of equipment. Base One offers a very simplified take on industrial connections and processes but it’s interesting to see how complex how hard it is to create a big functioning space station.

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Players need to heat a canteen or manufacturing hub and deliver oxygen for the crew before their recyclers, chemical reactors, or workbenches are useful. Meanwhile, maintenance hubs can remain unheated and without air, as long as there are spacesuits for the crew to use. Everything the player builds he can also dismount to get some resources back.

The human element is as important. Crew members, far from Earth and facing catastrophe, do a great job to stay alive and even flourish. But they need places to sleep and places to eat and socialize. Medical facilities quickly become required and the game also offers a combat element. They also require training to specialize.

Base One mostly communicates well the way players should deal with a problem. Make sure to check out all relevant connections to keep the most important sections of a station running. Do not overbuild before something is truly needed. But there are also moments in the campaign when I failed to understand why a certain crew member behaved erratically or how to make a piece of equipment work in the prescribed manner.

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The game also lacks the ability to motivate players. The objectives are rarely truly exciting, the narrative does not feel inspiring. The space station creation tools are solid and the custom game shows them off well. But I was never engaged enough with the campaign to keep laying down the same modules to them mostly make the same connections to get the same results.

Base One does not deliver a massive visual science fiction spectacle but delivers information and an easy way to deal with the development and management mechanics. When zoomed out completely the modules you build and the actions they perform are clear from shape and details. When zoomed in it is nice to see the astronauts working, trying to build something out of almost nothing.

The interface could use a little bit of tweaking, especially when it comes to selection from odd angles, but mostly does its job. The sound design is not as solid, with voice acting that’s stilted, basic effects, and a soundtrack that stays in the background without enhancing the experience.

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The Good

The Bad

Conclusion