Starpoint Gemini 2

Lore & Background

Starpoint Gemini 2 was first announced in December 2011, and in January 2013 LGM Games secured publishing with Iceberg Interactive. The game entered Steam Early Access with an alpha in September 2013, followed by a beta in March 2014, and the final release candidate in September 2014. In early 2014, LGM Games became an official Oculus Rift developer and began implementing VR support, planning to make all necessary modifications in rendering and resolution for the device. The game received several DLCs: 'Secrets of Aethera' in February 2015, 'Origins' (a free port of the original Starpoint Gemini story into the new engine) in June 2015, and 'Titans' announced in September 2015. A spinoff titled 'Starpoint Gemini: Warlords' was announced in June 2015.

Reader's Guide

Starpoint Gemini 2 offers players a high degree of freedom through professions such as space pirate, trader, privateer, asteroid miner, gas miner, scientist, explorer, salvager, and lawkeeper. Upon character creation, players pick one of three classes—Commander (specialized in fleet augmentation), Gunner (offensive capabilities), or Engineer (a mix with support skills)—but can freely explore professions. The combat system involves controlling weapon batteries and turret-based weapons, with light weapons (beams, railguns, plasma) and heavy weapons (missiles, shockwave). Shields are split into four parts instead of a single system, and players can use four skills that differ by class, along with equipment to augment combat abilities, enabling more tactical and faster-paced gameplay. The campaign follows Adrian Faulkner, the 22-year-old son of the legendary Gemini League hero Gabriel Faulkner, as he investigates his father's death and works to save Gemini from foreign invasions. Freeroam mode provides a sandbox experience with no obligations, allowing players to explore freely with a starting ship. The game received generally favorable reviews, with aggregators GameRankings and Metacritic giving scores of 74.09% and 70/100 respectively. Critics described it as a relaxing experience and praised its pirate system. IGN Italia called it 'the best balm to heal the wounds left open after the disastrous X Rebirth.' The game won awards including Best PC games of 2014 in Exploration and survival, Best game in the region, and Top 100 indie of the year in 2014.

Did You Know?

• The game sold more than 400,000 copies as of February 2019.
• The campaign protagonist is Adrian Faulkner, son of the legendary Gabriel Faulkner.
• The shield system splits shields into four parts instead of a single system.