Scum of the Universe is a hybrid space trading game that merges arcade and strategic elements.
The main storyline of the game takes players on a journey through the galaxy, where they must travel from one planet to another. To do so, players must earn money, as space travel requires fuel. By buying upgrades for their spaceship and weapons, they can affect the arcade part of the game. The storyline itself is not linear, and players will need to make decisions that will determine their fate.
The game takes place in a world where people from planet Xen colonized the planets in their galaxy. Some of the colonies became unhappy about their status as everything was controlled by Xen, and eventually, they organized military units and declared independence. Players can see the status of each planet by checking the "Rebel Sentiment" indicator. Planets with RS higher than 50% are ruled by the Rebel government, and Rebel laws apply.
Trading firearms is legal on planets ruled by the Rebels, as they need as much firepower as they can get to win the war against the Xen Empire. On the other hand, the Empire forbids all trading with firearms and other ground weaponry, as they wish to maintain their military advantage over the Rebel forces. One of the ways to make a lot of money is to buy cheap guns at Empire planets and sell them for a significant profit on Rebel planets, where demand is extremely high. However, players must be cautious as the Empire fleet will come after them if they find out they're smugglers.
Besides the war raging between Xen Empire and the rebels, there is an increased activity of alien species who destroy human ships. The stronger the alien activity, the more waves of alien ships players will need to defeat in each planet's outer orbit. Some of the aliens players destroy may drop artifacts (big blue ones) that they can sell at any space station for 20 credits each.
Overall, Scum of the Universe provides a thrilling gameplay experience, with its blend of arcade and strategy elements. The game's nonlinear storyline and decision-making features offer an endless array of outcomes, making each playthrough a unique experience. The challenging gameplay, along with the detailed storyline, characters, and alien species, make this game an all-out winner.
Version 1.0: N/A