Hardspace: Shipbreaker

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Hardspace: Shipbreaker
Single-player

Hardspace: Shipbreaker is an

Xbox Series X/S
were released in September 2022.

Gameplay

Hardspace: Shipbreaker is a simulation game played from a

laser cutter to incise key structure or sever large objects.[2] A scanner can also be used to identify possible hazards. The ships featured in the game are procedurally generated, and each of them features potential hazards that can kill the player. For instance, players may accidentally cut through electrical wires or coolant pipes, resulting in a huge explosion. They may also trigger an uncontrolled decompression, causing the player, alongside all objects and items in a room, to be flushed out from the ship.[3] One of the most valuable items in the game is the ship reactor. Once it is pulled out from its coolant casing, players need to bring it to the deposit location as quickly as possible or else it will melt down and trigger a huge explosion. As players explore the ship, they also need to manage their resources such as oxygen and thruster fuel.[4] All missions were timed, though the studio subsequently introduced an Open Shift mode that removes the time restraint.[5]

With every successful operation, players are given Lynx Tokens, which can be used to upgrade and repair the player's tools at the personal habitation pod. The pod is also where players select the ships. By completing work orders, players earn certification ranks, which allows them to unlock new tools and access larger and more challenging missions.[4] Weekly competitive challenges were added into the game in August 2020.[6]

Synopsis

Background

By the early 24th century, humanity has colonised the

DNA sequence, can reconstitute the player and return them to work.[7]

Plot

The player character, designated Shipbreaker #9346-52 (addressed variously by others simply as "52", "Rookie", or "Cutter"), is assigned to the Lynx Corporation salvage yard at Morrigan Station in orbit around Earth, to work off the $1.2 billion debt accumulated from signing up for the program. They are introduced to the other workers on their crew: Lou Steiner, Kaito Kovetchin, DeeDee Curazon, and the foreman, Joseph Weaver, who is the main point of interaction. As the player progresses through their contracts, Weaver takes a liking to the new shipbreaker, and eventually offers them his old ship, named Beulah for his mother, to fix up for themselves, using parts retrieved from salvaged ships. At the same time, Lou introduces them to the private E-mail server of an illegal unionization movement made up of disaffected Lynx employees pushing for better working conditions, in particular protesting against the "EverWork" program that allows Lynx to reconstitute shipbreakers to continue working when they are killed on the job.

Wishing to see greater profits from their salvage division, Lynx sends administrators to oversee the shipbreaker crews. The administrator sent to Weaver's crew, Hal Rhodes, pushes them forward without any regard for proper training or safety, and regularly berates the crew for not reaching their quotas. The naive Kaito becomes a particular target for Rhodes' ire, causing Lou to stand up to Rhodes in his defense. Lou continues to agitate for unionization, while Weaver attempts to reason with Rhodes. Matters reach a head when Kaito reveals the union movement's secret E-mail server to Rhodes, who discovers a message from Lou condemning his methods. Rhodes immediately fires her and removes privileges from the remaining shipbreakers, including taking Weaver's ship from the player character. Rhodes' petty cruelty ultimately leads Weaver and his crew to agree with Lou's standpoint and push for industrial action, deliberately sabotaging the work in order to damage Lynx's profits.

When Kaito threatens to deposit an overloading ship's reactor into a furnace, Rhodes deletes Kaito's EverWork profile, meaning he will not be reconstituted if he is killed, and threatens to go after the crew's families for their debts. The reactor explodes and destroys Kaito's salvage yard, much to the horror of both the crew and Rhodes, believing Kaito was killed in the blast; however, he is revealed to have survived, having lost contact due to a malfunction in his suit helmet's microphone. Since all communications during salvage shifts are recorded per Lynx policy, Weaver leaks Rhodes' tirades during the incident to the media, resulting in protests and a massive drop in Lynx's corporate stock. The Stellar Commission condemns Lynx's EverWork program as a human rights violation, and Lynx is forced to reimburse their workers for most of their debts and agree to recognize the workers' union. Rhodes is demoted back to his old job in salvage processing, Weaver retires and returns to Earth, Lou is rehired, and DeeDee becomes the temporary foreman.

If the player has finished salvaging parts for the ship and is out of debt, they can choose to legally terminate their Lynx contract and leave Morrigan Station in the Beulah, setting out for Jupiter.

Development and release

Canadian studio Blackbird Interactive conceptualised the game in one of the Blackbird's internal game jam sessions after the studio completed the development of Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak (2016).[8] Initially named Hello, Collector, the game was about navigating procedurally generated asteroids using a grappling hook in order to collect loot. It was largely influenced by Gravity, but the team felt that the game slowly adopted a "cosmic horror" tone and that its gameplay was too slow. The game then evolved to become Falling Skies, which was an action game in which players need to grapple onto and sever objects falling onto the Earth. Hudson described this iteration of the game as "Fruit Ninja in space". The team liked the slicing mechanic, but they were not satisfied with the game's dramatic shift of tone, and they worried that the game would be too generic.[9]

As the development progressed, the team was inspired by the beach of Alang in India, where hundreds of workers were working on dismantling abandoned cargo ships. Creative director Elliot Hudson described it as "the shadowy side of the ship industry" and that it inspired the game's theme of exploitation and the concept of playing as a "blue-collar worker". According to the team, it was important for the tools to feel like "heavy industrial equipment" rather than "weapons", so that the gameplay matches with the identity of the player character, who is a worker rather than a soldier. As a result, a weapon that can unleash a "lateral shockwave effect" was removed from the game.[8]

Initially, the team handcrafted all the ships players can explore in the game. However, as they wanted to release the game into

Xbox Series X/S were released on September 20, 2022.[16]

Reception

Hardspace: Shipbreaker received "generally favorable" reviews, according to review aggregator Metacritic.[17][18]

unsafe working conditions. She compared the Lynx Corporation's shipyard to a company town, with the work being paid in company scrip, as an example of the game's effective critique of modern capitalism.[27]

References

  1. ^ Saver, Michael (2022-12-27). "Made with Unity: 2022 in review". Unity Technologies. Retrieved 2023-07-31.
  2. ^ Cooper, Daniel (June 1, 2020). "'Hardspace: Shipbreaker' is a puzzle-solving parable". Engadget. Archived from the original on August 21, 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  3. ^ Livington, Christopher (February 19, 2020). "Hands-on: Hardspace: Shipbreaker is about the dangerous work of cutting up spaceships". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on August 14, 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  4. ^ a b Egan, Toussaint (August 16, 2020). "Hardspace: Shipbreaker sends you to space, where it's too expensive to die". Polygon. Archived from the original on July 20, 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  5. ^ Livington, Christopher (July 8, 2020). "Hardspace: Shipbreaker is adding a new mode with no time limit". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on August 4, 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  6. Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Archived
    from the original on September 26, 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  7. ^ Chalk, Andy (April 20, 2020). "Hardspace: Shipbreaker, a game about the horrors of blue-collar work in space, is coming in June". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on April 25, 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  8. ^
    Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Archived
    from the original on August 12, 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  9. ^
    Gamasutra. Archived
    from the original on August 9, 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  10. ^ Hall, Charlie (February 19, 2020). "Homeworld 3 devs are working on another space game, but it's definitely not an RTS". Polygon. Archived from the original on February 20, 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  11. ^ Romano, Sal (March 2, 2020). "Hardspace: Shipbreaker adds PS4 and Xbox One versions". Gematsu. Archived from the original on June 7, 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  12. Gamasutra. May 27, 2020. Archived
    from the original on June 12, 2020. Retrieved August 22, 2020.
  13. Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Archived
    from the original on February 7, 2022. Retrieved February 7, 2022.
  14. ^ Carpenter, Nicole (April 14, 2022). "Hardspace: Shipbreaker leaves early access and heads to Game Pass on PC in May". Polygon. Archived from the original on April 14, 2022. Retrieved April 14, 2022.
  15. ^ "Hardspace: Shipbreaker – May 24 - PC Game Pass". Xbox Wire. Archived from the original on 2022-06-11. Retrieved 2022-06-07.
  16. ^ Hardspace: Shipbreaker - Console Release Date Reveal Trailer | Gamescom Opening Night Live 2022, archived from the original on 2022-08-23, retrieved 2022-08-23
  17. ^ a b "Hardspace: Shipbreaker for PC Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on May 26, 2022. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  18. ^ a b "Hardspace: Shipbreaker for PlayStation 5 Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on November 4, 2022. Retrieved November 16, 2022.
  19. ^ "Hardspace: Shipbreaker for Xbox Series X Reviews". Metacritic. Archived from the original on November 4, 2022. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  20. ^ a b Handley, Zoey (May 30, 2022). "Review: Hardspace: Shipbreaker". Destructoid. Archived from the original on May 30, 2022. Retrieved May 30, 2022.
  21. ^ a b Stapleton, Dan (June 3, 2022). "Hardspace: Shipbreaker Review". IGN. Archived from the original on June 5, 2022. Retrieved June 5, 2022.
  22. ^ a b Clayton, Natalie (May 24, 2022). "Hardspace: Shipbreaker review". PC Gamer. Future plc. Archived from the original on May 24, 2022. Retrieved May 24, 2022.
  23. ^ Talbot, Ken (September 20, 2022). "Mini Review: Hardspace: Shipbreaker (PS5) - Slow But Satisfying Ship Scrapping". Push Square. Archived from the original on November 4, 2022. Retrieved November 4, 2022.
  24. ^ a b Colantonio, Giovanni (May 24, 2022). "Hardspace: Shipbreaker review: Solidarity in space". Digital Trends. Archived from the original on May 24, 2022. Retrieved May 24, 2022.
  25. ^ Klimas, Martynas (May 24, 2022). "Hardspace: Shipbreaker review — Salvaging 16 tons". PC Invasion. Archived from the original on May 24, 2022. Retrieved May 24, 2022.
  26. ^ a b Shirey, J. Brodie (May 24, 2022). "Hardspace: Shipbreaker Review - A Solid Space Salvage Sim". Screen Rant. Archived from the original on May 24, 2022. Retrieved May 24, 2022.
  27. ^ Price, Renata (2022-06-03). "'Hardspace: Shipbreaker' Understands the Joy and Grace of Good Work". Waypoint. Archived from the original on 2022-06-03. Retrieved 2022-06-03.

External links

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