The space game Avorion (PC, Mac) has left Early Access on Steam and received many positive reviews. In the reviews, the game is also referred to as “Minecraft in space.” We present it to you.
What is Avorion? Avorion is a sandbox game from the German indie developer Boxelware that places great value on the creative building of your own ships and fleets. It was officially released on March 9, 2020, on Steam, having been in Early Access for three years beforehand.
The space game offers you:
- A large galaxy to explore. However, this is only possible by ship, as planets cannot be entered.
- The ability to design spaceships according to your own wishes and preferences. This includes size, appearance, but also purpose and armament.
- You can trade, wage wars, and create empires. The sandbox concept is in the foreground.
- Everything can be experienced in singleplayer, local co-op, or online multiplayer.
- In multiplayer, there is also the possibility for PvP.
Remarkable are the really good ratings on Steam. 91% of the 4,749 reviews are positive. Avorion was kindly pointed out to us by MeinMMO reader Priestkatten in the “Sandbox MMO” survey.
“Minecraft in space” gets fabulous reviews
What do players say about Avorion? In the reviews on Steam, many players express their enthusiasm for the sandbox game. Especially the many freedoms and the successful building mode for ships are well received. Therefore, user Zycolos even referred to it in 2018 after over 150 hours of play as “Minecraft in space”:
How do I describe it… Freelancer doesn’t capture it, rather it’s more like Minecraft in space […].
At the beginning, you have a kind of drone with two mining lasers, and off you go. You mine resources, of which there are 7 in total […]. Each material has different properties and colors. Iron, for example, is robust but has a high mass, which well protects ships but makes them sluggish.
It also depends on the material whether certain modules are even available. Shield generators cannot be built from iron, but from other materials that are less suitable for armor, etc.
Furthermore, you can vary every spaceship component (blocks) in shape and size as you like, which also directly reflects in its properties. A large titanium reactor provides more energy than a small one made of iron. All components can be wonderfully manipulated and assembled using a very easy, almost intuitive building mode.
Other players also praise Avorion:
- mister-smash (145 hours of play): “How should one rate this little gem other than with a thumbs up? It is truly a successful approach. One could describe it as a symbiosis of Homeworld, Space Engineers, and Freelancer.”
- RogHammer (160 hours of play): “Good space simulation with a very nice shipbuilding editor. If you like X and Elite, you won’t go wrong here.”
- sarok100 (7,900 hours of play): “I have now played for over 1000 hours and can say that I have experienced most of it. My conclusion is: The ship/station building is genius! I don’t know any other game that has something similar.”
What do the critical voices say? Despite the good reviews, there are also voices that view Avorion critically. They criticize the graphics, technical problems, a lot of grind, and the high difficulty level:
- NoccUp (0.2 hours of play): “I was thrown in without any kind of tutorial and gave up after 15 minutes because I couldn’t find anything that made sense. Of course, I can get into the game intensely now, but it’s really unnecessary to make it so difficult for new players… What a shame.”
- Feinting Scum (212 hours of play): “I really tried to like the game, but it’s a pile of garbage that consists of 90% waiting.”
- Trinam (231 hours of play): “Unfortunately, it’s not optimized for multiplayer. Sad Boxelware.”
How many are currently playing Avorion? The space adventure has an average of 791 players on Steam over the last 30 days. At peak, 2,777 simultaneously viewed the sandbox game.
Thus, Avorion has noticeably increased in the last weeks. The game reached its lowest point in July 2019 with only 389 average players. It peaked at the start of Early Access in February 2017 with 3,903 players (via Steamcharts).
New updates and DLCs are in the works
What happens with Avorion after the release? Currently, Avorion is still quite fresh on Steam. However, the developers have already promised new updates in the forum that will be released for free. In addition, DLCs for larger innovations are planned.
A continuation of the space game is planned for at least 2 years, as the developer koonschi stated in the Steam forum. Support could also continue longer if the game is received well.
How much does Avorion cost? If you also want to dive into the space adventure, you can buy the game on Steam. It currently costs (as of March 12, 2020) 24.99 euros.
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