Orion’s End is space trading life sim, placing you as captain of your very own small freighter. You can make your fortune as a law-abiding trader or courier, or you can clean up the star systems by hunting pirates. Alternatively, you can step outside the law and try smuggling goods, or even be a pirate yourself.

However, you won’t want to spend your whole time in space. There are planets to explore, each with their own residents who you can do jobs for or even befriend. Some of these people might even have the right skills to help you crew your ship and complement your own skills.

How you choose to live your life is up to you. Be a hero, a rogue or a reputable businessperson. Whatever your choice, the stars will hold adventures aplenty.

SPACEWARD HO

There are twenty systems to travel to. Each one with its own economy and risk level. Warp between systems and traverse the sometimes dangerous path to the systems space port - which can be either planetside or on a space station orbiting a less hospitable planet. Prepare to defend yourself against pirates, especially in the riskier but more lucrative systems. On the other hand, if you engage in piracy yourself, prepare to have the added challenge of the local police ships who will happily put an end to your illegal activities. Additionally, most systems also have an asteroid belt that needs to be successfully navigated through (never tell me the odds).

PLANETSIDE

While on the planets or on board the space stations, you can buy and sell commodities, refuel, or repair and upgrade your ship. But there's more to do than that. There are many residents who have their own stories to be explored. You can talk to them, do quests for them, or give them gifts - all of which will progress (or perhaps regress) your relationships with the characters. You might even make a special friend - or maybe even one in every port. It's up to you.

Each settlement has unique activities to undertake. You might be able to buy rare goods, or engage in gambling, or did someone say "cat racing"?

There are also some additional locations on some planets, giving you an opportunity to have further adventures: old ruins, bandit camps, etc. You need to learn about these locations through talking to residents, doing quests or exploring the space ports.

HOME IS WHERE YOUR SHIP IS

Your ship is your home. You can upgrade some of the systems to get better combat performance, or speed, but it is your only ship. You wouldn't trade it for all the coffee on Ryser. However, you have your living quarters on board, which you can customise to suit your style. Collect various decorations and artefacts, or a new bed. Make your home the comfiest place for you.

ECONOMY

The economy within the system is simple but dynamic. Events beyond your control can have a temporary impact on the prices in a system. A pandemic on one planet may cause a increased demand for medical supplies, while a recession on a high tech planet could cause cheap prices for their manufactured medical supplies. You can take advantage of the situation and ferry supplies between these two planets. But these conditions are only temporary so you need to act fast.

THE OUTER REGIONS

The outer regions of each system are worth exploring too, but it is a gamble. You might find valuable resources to mine, or an old wreckage of a cruiser to explore, but be casreful, because you could just easily find yourself in an ambush by pirates.

CHARACTER CUSTOMISATION

The player character is completely customisable, with their custom portrait appearing during dialogue sequences in the game. You can customise their face, skin, hair, nose, mouth, eyes and other features.

GAMEPLAY

The gameplay in Orion's End is designed to be very diverse but uncomplicated, incorporating gameplay from retro games but with with more modern influences. Shoot 'em up gameplay in space, and shoot outs on planets. Minigames at settlements, and life sim social encounters with the local residents. All of the mechanics are designed to be simple enough to just pick up and play. There's no steep learning curves or complicated systems. There are lots of things to do, but not all of them are necessary to enjoy the game. Do what you enjoy doing most.