It all started with trains, and now developer A Bit Lucky is heading into space. Today the studio is launching its second game on Facebook, Lucky Space, an intergalactic exploration game and the follow up to last year’s well received Lucky Train. Much like recent releases from studios like Kabam and Kixeye, Lucky Space is a game that is aimed directly at hardcore gamers.
It all started with trains, and now developer A Bit Lucky is heading into space. Today the studio is launching its second game on Facebook, Lucky Space, an intergalactic exploration game and the follow up to last year’s well received Lucky Train. Much like recent releases from studios like Kabam and Kixeye, Lucky Space is a game that is aimed directly at hardcore gamers.
It all starts when your crazy uncle — or is he your uncle? — leaves you a planet after he dies. Yes, an entire planet. A holographic image of your deceased family member guides you along through the initial stages of the game, as you attempt to turn a barren rock into a thriving space colony. Initially you won’t have much more than a building that provides power and a tiny little vehicle. But from there you’ll need to mine for resources (including the mysterious crystium), produce food, earn money, and more.
To give the game a true sense of exploration, much of the planet is shrouded in darkness when you first begin. The only way you’ll be able to expand your domain is by venturing into the unknown. “It’s cold, it’s dark, it’s mysterious,” A Bit Lucky’s Frederic Descamps told Gamezebo.
And there might even be more to explore than that, as Descamps told us “the planet is not the only place you can discover.”
There’s also a storyline holding the universe together, which revolves around the five characters who will be giving you missions throughout the game. Each character represents a different resource — like money, or ore — and each represents a different thread of the narrative. And, again, there’s a hint of mystery here as well as you discover alien artifacts and ruins.
“Are you alone?” asked Descamps.
Lucky Space features what Descamps described as open ended gameplay, meaning how you decide to build your colony is up to you. You can focus on one resource, or you can focus on exploration. There are many different ways to tackle the game, which means that everyone’s planet will look different. You can even customize buildings by equipping them with different items, each of which has a different effect.
And speaking of looks, one of the highlights of the game is its presentation, which includes detailed, pixel art-style sci-fi visuals. Each of the different buildings is animated and there are plenty of impressive lighting effects. The visuals are so detailed that it took an artist an entire week to create one of the game’s loading screens.
Lucky Space was designed so that it can be played solo, but as a Facebook game there, of course, are also social features, including a wishlist feature that lets you call friends for help. Inspired by games like Diablo and Torchlight, you’ll also come across objects that are unidentified, and you’ll need to request help from friends to figure out just what they are. And the more friends that help the better quality the item will be. And there’s also more standard features like the ability to ask for additional energy or other items, which works as a sort of trading feature.
Lucky Space has been in development since February, and launches on Facebook today.
