Star Control: Origins

Star Control: Origins is an action-adventure game from Stardock Entertainment, released for Windows on September 20, 2018. Though it belongs to the Star Control series, its story unfolds in a separate timeline and universe. The game begins in 2088, when the human space agency Star Control launches Earth’s first interstellar ship to answer an alien distress signal. Players take the role of that ship’s captain. Gameplay blends planetary exploration, alien diplomacy, and ship-to-ship combat, following the original Star Control’s template.

In one-on-one “Fleet Battles,” two ships fight in a 2D top-down space arena. Each ship has crew (acting as health) and fuel (spent on unique primary and secondary abilities). These battles can be played in multiplayer or against an AI. The story’s quests, driven by characters, species, and events, guide players to explore different parts of the galaxy. Players can send a lander to planets to gather resources, interact with artifacts or buildings, and later sell those resources for RU, an in-game currency used to buy technologies, weapons, upgrades, and ships from other races.

Development began after Atari filed for bankruptcy in 2013 and auctioned its assets. That summer, Stardock won the “Star Control” trademark and the copyright to original material from *Star Control 3*, but not the copyrights to other games in the series. Stardock built the game with the Nitrous Engine, inspired by the writing and visual style of *Star Control II*. By 2017, delays and plan changes forced them to cancel a planned Defense of the Ancients-style combat system, though they released a public beta of the one-on-one Super Melee system in November. The reported budget was $10 million, plus marketing costs. In 2014, Stardock told Ars Technica they would make the game a prequel set 43 years before the original *Star Control*. CEO Brad Wardell sought involvement from the original creators, Fred Ford and Paul Reiche III. When they declined, the game was placed in a separate universe.

The game received a Metacritic score of 75, indicating generally favorable reviews. IGN’s Dan Stapleton gave it a 6.9/10, praising the combat and humorous dialogue but criticizing repetitive planetary resource gathering. Windows Central recommended it to fans of space exploration, diplomacy, and combat.