Pity the poor Kerbal.
His expression remains passive as his hastily bodged-together ship slingshots around a planetoid and sails off course.
Fatally.Kerbal Space Programis a wonderful sandbox that lets you build ships to navigate the universe.
I soon find myself cowering as laser fire drums loudly against the canopy.
Dashboards spark, alarms blare and desperate attempts to redirect ship power to my shields prove futile.
Space is a perfect setting for games.
Dashboards map nicely to game pads, keyboards and flight sticks.
What’s more, starfighters are fragile beasts.
I rarely feel as vulnerable in games as I do in a cockpit under fire.
This isn’t just a heath bar sliding to zero: it’s a catastrophe.
Space games can deliver so much more than the panic of a swift death, too.
The task of exploring a solar system can create moments of awe and terror.
The ship’s controls are chaotic.
It’s easy to accelerate too hard.
These are moments of complete disorientation.
There is no up or down; you’re being carried around by the eddies of spacetime.
Even the map is weird.
Ever since, I have enjoyed the idea that the final frontier can be both deadly and extremelyodd.
Only games like the Outer Wilds have recaptured some of that magic since.
Amid Starfield’s huge collection of planets I hope there are a few strange places like these.
For a final stop on the space terror tour, I recommendEVE Online.