Fractured Space - Early Access Impressions

We first encountered Fractured Space at an event earlier this year. There, during the thrum of the show, we sat down for a quick go that turned into a thirty minute epic space battle. Later developers Edge Case Games sent us a code so we might play a little more, and having done so, it's time to reflect on the alpha version of this sci-fi online multiplayer game.

First up, what is Fractured Space? Simply put it's a MOBA-inspired space-based shooter. Players control one of a five spaceships in one of two teams, and then press through lanes, capping bases, killing each other, until eventually one team is positioned with enough strength to overwhelm and capture the enemy's base.

The game is built around this solitary capture-focused game mode, and it's a solid, well-worn concept that works well in the space setting. There's different classes of ships, each with different strengths and weaknesses. Some have hardened defences, while others have a blink feature that allows them to teleport short distances (very handy for getting out of the firing line), but all of them are big, some more than others, and the pacing is slower as a result. Each of the ships' abilities are located at the bottom of the screen, and most are tied to cooldown timers, ensuring that you have to manage your weapons and shields while engaging in combat.

In each of the outside lanes there are two major bases that can be captured (and smaller stations in-between), and there's another base in the middle of the map. When a team has grabbed enough territory they can they move on the final base and, if they can withstand the retaliatory onslaught from the defending team, they'll win the match. Between the bases in the outside lanes there's asteroids that provide cover, and that in a stroke stops the combat from being one dimensional. Players navigate between the rocks, locking onto opponents, looking for a weakness in the enemy line.

The matches are engaging, and in our experience they tend to last between fifteen and twenty minutes (though it's entirely possible that they might spin out for much longer than that in the right conditions). It's also pretty accessible, and it won't take more than a couple of games before you've worked out the basics and you're getting properly stuck into the action (there's no in-game tutorial as yet, just a YouTube video - see below). Despite the relative simplicity there's also plenty of nuance, and it's also obvious that someone will benefit from time invested in the game; there's multiple ships that can be unlocked and loadouts to be experimented with.

Visually it looks pretty solid. There's some nice effects from the shields and the weapons, and at times the battlefield can be a series of colourful streams of light, with rockets and whatnot whizzing between hulking metal behemoths as they circle each other. Ships clearly take damage on the surface, but as far as we can tell it's not modular. There's also no ramming, so if you know you're doomed there's not anything useful you can do other than squeeze that lost couple of shots off.

We played a few games, and although the servers seemed fairly quiet, it never took very long to get into a match, which is always encouraging, especially for a title like this that's still finding its feet. Once in the matches, as mentioned before, they were engaging, and it didn't take us long to get into a rhythm and feel like we were at least making an impact, even if we weren't central to a victory or defeat.

So what next for the game, and what would we like to see? Maybe we could have another class of ships that are even more agile than the lightweight options on offer currently, with more nippy combat taking place between the capital ships? How about a cockpit view of some sort, sitting in a chair on the bridge of your ship while you watch the action unfold on the monitor in front of you? We're just thinking out loud, as they say, but there's certainly a variety of different ideas that'd fit the concept.

There's also room for more modes. Some kind of World of Tanks-like mode where larger teams tackle each other, where players have only one life each. That'd certainly change the dynamic. Perhaps even more straightforward deathmatch and team deathmatch modes. The MOBA-esque offering that's there is certainly interesting, but the combat is enjoyable enough that we'd at least like to see it tested across a variety of different game modes, just to see if it works. Will we ever see this happen? That's up to the developers and their willingness to expand on their original concept.

Changes or no, Fractured Space is still an enjoyable Early Access title that has undoubted potential. It's already very playable even while in alpha, and it'll be interesting to return in the months ahead and see how it evolves, and what it evolves into. The movement of the spaceships is slow and deliberate, but the combat is good, and there's a tactical edge that separates this from your standard space shooters. There's plenty of directions this could take, and we await updates and improvements with interest.