[TEST] Hardspace: Shipbreaker shatters our expectations

Hardspace: Shipbreaker, released out of nowhere in 2020, is the first first-person view project developed by Blackbird (Homeworld: Deserts of Kharak and soon Homeworld 3). With its original concept and an interesting artistic direction, the Canadian studio had enough to concoct a very fun little puzzle game in space. A year later, it looks like the developers have missed the mark.

Gender : space junkie | Developer: Blackbird Interactive | Publisher: Focus Entertainment | Platform : Steam | Recommended configuration: Intel i7-8700 or AMD Ryzen 5 260016GB of RAM and a GTX 980 Ti or RX Vega 56 | Price : 26,24€ | Languages ​​: VOSTFR | Release date : May 24, 2022 | Lifetime : a good twenty hours to do the campaign.

Test carried out on a commercial version.

Intergalactic Scrapper’s Guide

Year 2329, humanity has industrialized much of the solar system. Earth has degraded to a miserable, decrepit place. In orbit, a new type of worker has appeared: scrap metal workers. Today is November 9, 2329, 3:09 p.m. and your application for this new job has been accepted by Lynx, a colossal and publicly listed company. After having signed your contract and collected your equipment consisting of a suit for moving in space, a laser cutter and a grappling gun, you are ready to take up your position. You note in passing that the services rendered by the Lynx company (backup and redeployment of your body in the event of an incident) and the rental of equipment give you a debt already amounting to $1,252,594,441.92. Weaver, your department head and industry veteran, vocally accompanies you on your first steps into the void. Then your space scrap metal career can finally begin.

Recycling is easy

Keyboard and mouse in hand, Hardspace: Shipbreaker is all about tearing apart huge spaceship wrecks, collecting and sorting the different materials and disposing of them in the corresponding bins. Yes, like sorting waste at home. Unnecessary scrap in the furnace, more noble materials in the processor and valuables in the barge. Simple, you say. Not really, because an accident is never far away. Be careful, when using your laser cutter to melt this aluminum bar, not to cut a gas pipe on the way, which would then cause a chain reaction destroying all or part of your wreckage. Same thing when you have to recover, intact, the nuclear heart of the ship: proceed step by step by first emptying the reactors, by cutting the cooling system then by gently moving the heart in the barge. Make sure he doesn’t electrocute you on the way. Also beware of the pressurization which can vary depending on the part of the wreck. A difference between two parts, a laser hit in the wrong place, an air hole, and your ship is rocking in all directions, dangerous debris flying at full speed in all directions. How many cracked helmets, employees propelled violently against a wall or overalls found completely charred due to a careless error?

The ravages of Fordism

The music, yes, the music.

First, there are very few different songs and you risk getting tired of them quickly. But in addition, this “country chill” music, worthy of YouTube playlists for students, makes me think that the developers have knowingly created a “relaxing” experience, without the fuss and therefore without challenge.

Initially, Hardspace: Shipbreaker therefore has everything from the original puzzle game with its zero gravity movements and its unusual tools. The design of the vessels, all in retrofuturism, sometimes reminiscent of the sketches of Jodorowsky’s Dune, is quite nice. We take our marks, gradually putting in place a certain method to optimize our cuts. At the same time, we gain enough to upgrade our equipment: more powerful thrusters, more efficient tools, better CO₂ or fuel capacity, etc. During the first hours of our new life as space junkyard, Lynx offers us wrecks that are bigger and bigger and a bit more complex. What a little renew the experience. But, in reality, Hardspace: Shipbreaker quickly gets bogged down in repetitiveness. We quickly reach the most complicated mechanisms and it is often enough to show patience to avoid any disaster. The ships are supposedly procedurally generated, but instead I felt like I only came across 4 or 5 different models. And the interior furniture is not rich enough to provide enough variety.

I did have a note of hope when one of the protagonists told me about a mysterious ghost ship, invaded by strange boxes equipped with an agonizing AI. Disturbing music, atmosphere reminiscent of the first Alien film, I thought the game was going to offer me an interesting turnaround. What was my disappointment when I discovered that it was only a space aesthetician’s mission: to eliminate the crabs harmless little boxes clinging to the sides of the vessel. No corpse floating in the corridors, no alien in the making. Back to the daily grind of my new job. And always the same way to proceed with each of the steps, which are inevitably carried out in the same order. Finally, rather than the difficulty, it is the time needed to complete the skinning that will increase.

Except that, since there are no real time constraints, it never represents a real challenge. Oh, there is a countdown timer for every space trip, but it doesn’t matter. Arriving at zero, it just marks the end of your day. Come back the next day, your wreckage will not have moved and you can continue your work without problem. Don’t rely on random events or modifiers to spice up your run, either. No, like the Amazon worker who packs your favorite items from NoFrag tips like a zombie, you will cut, move and sort on the assembly line.

Forced storytelling

And as much to tell you that if you want to see the end of the game, you will have to hang on. Because, this time limit which I spoke about above seems especially to have been invented to insert the scenario there more than anything else. The problem is that the story is of an abyssal banality. If we can salute the effort to have wanted to highlight the difficult working conditions of real scrap metal workers or the difficulty of creating a union in a large company, the simplistic criticism of capitalism regularly makes you want to fall asleep. Be careful, don’t get me wrong, NoFrag massively supported Philippe Poutou’s candidacy for the last presidential elections and is very sensitive to social issues. But, the script for Hardspace: Shipbreaker is very (very) very wordy, poorly written and stretches out over dozens and dozens of soporific audio dialogues of several minutes. It is impossible to skip them and you are sometimes even prevented from doing anything else while they are broadcast. Especially since the first sensations of routine set in after barely a few hours and it takes more than twenty hours to see the end credits appear.

In my preview published in July 2020, I imagined that the game could be enriched by new mechanics, more complex levels, etc. between now and its release. Instead, the developers have added a few new ships that don’t bring variety, a “race” mode, single-player variations (single or unlimited life, free mode, etc.) and, of course, cosmetics! Hardspace: Shipbreaker has at least the merit of not being riddled with bugs and running very well in WQHD on an i9-9900K, a 2080 Ti and 32GB of RAM.

Wreck

If Hardspace: Shipbreaker achieves one objective, it’s that of perfectly retransmitting the labor of assembly line work. A much too short gameplay loop and a glaring lack of renewal during the adventure make you bored very quickly. With modifiers or random events and reducing the amount of storytelling, the game could very well have been just as commendable as the recent Teardown. As it is, all we can say is that it runs well.

Having trouble navigating through the Steam catalog? So follow the NoFrag curation group to help you sort the wheat from the chaff.