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Space Game Junkie recently posted a new preview of Soldak Entertainment's upcoming starship action RPG, Drox Operative. Based on the beta version of the game, the article includes details about the game's quests and dynamic universe. Drox Operative will put players in the role of an elite starship captain and will feature warring alien races, fierce space battles, a dynamic and evolving galaxy, and co-op multiplayer

Speaking of quests, so far they’ve been pretty varied. I’ve had to do everything from safely ferry a diplomat to helping terraform a planet to making a system more safe for interstellar travel, and a bunch in-between. Quests are the cheese that keep this mouse moving forward, and they help keep the gameplay focused. I mean sure, you could simply fly around systems and kill bad guys, but quests are the real spice of the game.

Where do you get quests? The other empires, of course, again either remotely or in person. Quests give nice experience and monetary bonuses, and they’re also a great way to gain favor with these empires. Any game of Drox Operative can have multiple empires (currently my game has three active empires), and you can work with or against these empires as you see fit. The empires have relations with each other (which you can help or hinder with rumors and such) as well as relations with you personally, and lots of things can affect your relations. Besides quests, you can improve relations by trading with planets, killing enemies near their forces and so on...

Many times I imagined myself as a tiny dot in a game of Master of Orion II, flying around while the empires do their thing, and trying to help them as best I can. Some 4X games model mercenaries pretty well, such as Imperium Galactica II, but it’s so cool to BE one of those mercenaries it’s just silly. While I’m flying around killing random space monsters — which is a literal blast — it’s also amazing to watch colony ships fly to new planets, cruise ships take sightseeing tours, and patrols protecting the space lanes. The galaxy feels fairly alive, but it could feel moreso with the addition of new civilian ships and such. Hopefully this will be one improvement the game sees throughout the beta.

Space Game Junkie: Drox Operative Beta Review

Soldak Entertainment

Drox Operative

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