MeinMMO editor Maik Schneider assumes that in a mirror universe, where humanity has already explored distant parts of space, he somewhere gives well-thought-out commands as a spaceship captain. The popular Steam game Cosmoteer for €20 helps him with his daydreams.

Since I spend all day gaming, I usually bring up new games on our couch. But this time it was my fiancée who gave me a little hint.

“This is definitely something for you!” – I haven’t heard that from Alicia often in that context. So I bought it unseen and jumped right in the next day.

Already after the first few seconds, I understood why she thought the game Cosmoteer was worth recommending. I got my captain’s bathrobe, set up the technology on the coffee table, and sank into a small indie gem where I build my own star destroyer in 2D.

What the game has to offer and for whom Cosmoteer is suitable, I will explain to you in the coming lines. The trailer for the game is here:

Cosmoteer: “Warning: Aspiring Captain on the Bridge”

What kind of game is this? Cosmoteer is a spaceship management game where you complete missions and gather cash and resources to upgrade your spaceship or fleet.

You design the layout of the spaceships entirely yourself, having a large palette of tools at your disposal, and you can freely design colors, shapes, and the technical components.

Additionally, you must ensure that you have enough crew members to keep your equipment running on board.

With each mission, with each defeated enemy ship, you collect more resources to get closer to your dream destroyer. Your imagination knows almost no bounds, except in perspective. Cosmoteer relies entirely on 2D graphics.

How does it work? You start by choosing one of the cheap beginner designs, and the ship awaits orders in front of a friendly space station.

Such space stations ensure your progress in the game:

• Here you get missions and thus cash
• Surplus resources can be sold and needed resources acquired
• Crew members are waiting to be recruited
• Technological blueprints bring new technologies

You take on a mission and follow the marker on the map. Usually, the missions revolve around defeating pirates or exploring areas. Along the way, you discover additional POIs, whose exploration often pays off.

If you get too close to an enemy ship, it will attack, and hit areas of your ship will take damage – armor will be destroyed, weapons will be wrecked, and if a generator explodes, it will take parts of your ship with it. If a storage with reactor material is hit, half of the ship can catch fire.

The opposite is also true. You can fire on enemies without a specific command or target certain areas. A destroyed generator often completely wrecks the ship. If you dismantle the cockpit or the bridge, you can even take over the ship.

You steer your craft from one mission to another, gather resources, cash, and reputation, and upgrade your ship into a flying fortress. Or you can rely on multiple ships and attack enemies with a small armada.

What else does it offer? There is extensive workshop support with many player-created mods and ship designs.

Furthermore, Cosmoteer can be played entirely in coop. Instead of going on a pirate hunt alone, each player has their own ship. Rewards and achievements are shared. PvP is also possible, and you fire your livelihood out from under each other.

Who is it for? If you have a creative streak and are even just a little bit of a science fiction fan, then take a close look at Cosmoteer.

Currently, the game is still in Early Access, and the tasks repeat quickly. However, even in its current state (December 2022), the little indie gem can keep you occupied for many hours if you enjoy building spaceships. It reminded me a bit of the raft game Raft.

Cosmoteer has been available on Steam since October 24, 2022, and has since collected over 4,700 reviews. The rating is “Overwhelmingly Positive” and 96% of the reviews give the little game a thumbs up. For €19.99 you can start your own adventure.

As a fan of space action, I had no chance of passing up the title – Alicia of course knew that. Because I have played my MMORPG solo for over 1,000 hours because the setting just fit perfectly: I have played an MMORPG solo for 1,000 hours – it was great

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MeinMMO editor Maik Schneider has discovered a fascinating management game on Steam that puts no time pressure on its players. He presents you Spiritfarer and explains why it is his discovery of the month.

Compared to shooter gameplay, management games are usually a bit more relaxed.

There isn’t constantly a bunny hopper with a sugar rush around the corner to match the latest quarterly reports. However, it often takes a certain level of attention to avoid driving the built city into bankruptcy.

The management game Spiritfarer takes it a relaxing step further.

While looking for a couch co-op game for my fiancée and me during the cold winter months, I discovered the small indie game from 2020 and was immediately smitten. I’m happy to explain why the cute game convinced me right away.

I’ll include a trailer for the game here:

Spiritfarer doesn’t annoy – It relaxes

The game’s theme doesn’t seem to match the friendly comic style at first glance. We take on the job of Charon, the ferryman of the dead in Roman and Greek mythology.

Charon is done with the job and looks forward to having new adventures. I play Stella, a young lady who is now the new ferryman of the dead. In couch co-op mode, Player 2 can control the kitten Daffodil and take on all the tasks that Stella can also do – except for talking to the spirits.

The gameplay revolves around my ferry. I’m supposed to build and equip a ship so that spirits feel comfortable on it. Souls who are not yet ready to go. I build factories, fields, and lounge areas, and improve my ship to reach new areas or produce better materials.

Everything is very closely intertwined with the story. Every new room is connected to one of the spirits and each spirit has its personal story that I get to know gradually.

The goal is to give the spirits a pleasant time on the ferry and to help them come to terms with their past. The spirits desire some food, the fulfillment of certain quests, and a regular hug doesn’t hurt either.

Spiritfarer is never pushy. Spirits appreciate food but don’t actually need to be fed. There’s plenty of food anyway.

At my own pace, I sail through the world of spirits, collecting the necessary materials for upgrades and fulfilling my guests’ wishes so they can say goodbye.

A story to empathize with

To introduce Stella to the world of spirits, I initially meet people from the character’s former life. One of them is Gwen, Stella’s oldest friend, who was like a big sister to her. Stella and I handle the ferry, arrange discounts with the merchant, and help out at the loom.

I will help Stella work through her problematic relationship with her father, which helps her accept her own fate.

Sometimes the stories become very concrete, and I learn about important events from the spirits’ past. Sometimes they are moral stories that convey values and a lesson.

Each spirit represents a new story, a new fate. The adventures of Spiritfarer take place only half in the game world – the other half happens in the speech bubbles.

The stories are usually so human, so relatable, that even the 30th speech bubble of a story does not invite you to quickly click it away.

An end is in sight

The pace and the constant connection to the story are not the only things that make Spiritfarer so special. It is also a management game with an end.

There is only a limited number of spirits. Eventually, all houses are built, all stories told, and all islands explored. You can play Spiritfarer once to the end, warm your heart, and say goodbye to the sweet world.

According to “HowLongToBeat,” you need about 25 hours for a normal run (howlongtobeat.com).

Top ratings on Steam

I discovered Spiritfarer in the Extra subscription of PS Plus. It costs regularly €24.99 on PlayStation and Steam. For PS4, there’s even a Blu-ray version that you can get cheaper.

On Steam, Spiritfarer has absolute top ratings. At the time of the article, nearly 23,000 users have left a positive rating, with a rate of 95%.

The soundtrack, atmosphere, story, and relaxed approach are praised – I don’t need to repeat the points, I’ve already praised them enough.

Here and there, there’s criticism about the grind and the repetitive tasks. There’s no automation; you often have to intervene yourself and produce as needed.

However, if you are looking for a relaxed experience that provokes smiles but also contemplation, take a spin in Spiritfarer and its gentle gameplay.

If you’re always on the lookout for strong co-op adventures, then check this out: Top 25 best co-op games 2022 for PC, PS5, Xbox, and Switch

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