Duskers

You awaken on your spaceship (ok, so far a bit cliche) and then you find everyone is gone! Not just on the ship but in the entire universe (or so you think).

Duskers is a simple but fun premise; remote pilot drones through ships to find if they're all abandoned hulks, gather clues and upgrades, pick up new drones, avoid the hostile aliens who want you dead.

It's minimalist, top down, and plays a bit like a puzzle game. One novel aspect is the interface, you control the drones through a command console, typing relevant commands into a terminal window. Having only cruised through the first two or three ships, I remain undecided as to whether I like the game play (not being a big fan of puzzle games). Setting and visuals are a different story. The flickering, wavering terminal aesthetic and need to manually type the commands effectively drives the theme of sitting alone on a space ship, working with what you have at your disposal and guiding these fragile drones through dark, abandoned vessels. You feel that these machines are your only, tenuous, link to the outside world. A dead, hostile, frightening world you may no longer belong in.

VERDICT: I remain undecided about the longevity, but as a premise, Duskers hits the spot. The most drone based fun you can have without going to the park and looking like a filthy perv.

FINAL WORD: TENTATIVE RECOMMEND

(game link)