Second Galaxy Review: Hit or Miss?

The anticipated Space Sim MMO Second Galaxy just opened their gateways to IOS, Android, and PC users around the world (September 10th). It is no surprise that Second Galaxy aims to eclipse Eve Online by offering a more accessible game via mobile platforms.

It is clear that a lot of work has been put into this game from its stunning graphics to its expansive solar system (4961 galaxies) and different factions.

We will look at different features of the game: character customization, combat, raiding, and daily quests to understand why this game is an intergalactic mess.

Picking Factions
The game has a solid start and prompts the character to pick among different nations which influences which type of ship that you are able to use.

Each ship has different attributes depending on the nation that you pick. Savrus (long-range), Oracle (Laser weapons), Nef (tanking), Ecd (short-range high damage).

This game seemed promising until I was prompted to pick my character which was disappointing.

Lack of Customizable Features
The lack of customizations in Second Galaxy is just one of many elements that are lacking. You are prompted to select a generic looking character that is either white or Asian.

Additionally, you are not able to customize the look of your ship either. To put it simply, there is no element that allows you to look or feel different from any others players.

After selecting my character, I was hoping that the combat system might entice me to keep playing

Repetitive Auto Play Combat
The combat system is as generic as character customization and offers repetitive sequences where you often spend most of your time idle.

For example, I left to finish my dishes and came back to find that my character was still flying through space to get to my quest destination which was 11 warps away. After arriving to my question location, the combat system engaged and took over.

The AI Controls your Ship
The game controlled the movement of my ship, and firing of my weapons. After completing the quest, I had to warp 11 times to get back home again.

Having hit the level capacity for the day, I decided to try player-versus-player (PVP), to see if I might be more enticed to continue playing.

Raiding/PVP
I selected the “raid button” and let my ship auto warp to that player’s destination. I then auto locked on him and destroyed his ship. I received the rewards and sent my ship back home to avoid any retaliation.

Upon arriving, I was assaulted by the NPCS (not player controlled) pilots. There was no explanation how long I would be attacked by the NPCS for killing an enemy player. My ship was permanently destroyed unless I paid real money to revive it.

The raiding system should have a warning or at least a timer displayed to indicate your threat level or how to avoid reprisal. The game does not explain or have a guide for mostly anything including their daily quests.

Daily Quests/Rewards
In order to progress in Second Galaxy, it is essential to research the ability to use better ships and weapons.

As you progress, you are required to spend material that you can only find through engaging in these daily quests (encounter, bounty, wormholes, reputation and scanner quests).

I decided to try the wormhole event which is limited to 2 per day. It took me 15 warps to get there, and my ship ended up floating around in space for 45 minutes with nothing to do.

Reputation Quests
I decided to warp home and attempt the reputation quest. It took me 15 minutes to navigate the menus to figure out how to attempt to the quest and then my ship ended up getting destroyed by losing an automated battle in a ship that the system chose for me.

Second Galaxy offers many features but is unnecessarily complicated, restrictive, and difficult to learn.

Overly Complex and Restricted
Second Galaxy has 6 different forms of currency: Credits, Gala, Pan Gala, Corp points, Iridium, and Merit Points. Each form of currency is used to purchase different items which means that you will now have to become an expert on understanding what each item requires and how to obtain that currency.

You can upgrade your ship, the weapons, ammunition and there are so many tabs that it can be exhaustive. There is no help section and it feels like you spend most of your time just opening and closing tabs in search of what you need to acquire. The writing for each tab is so small that my eyes started hurting from all the squinting to learn the game.

Subscription Pay to Win Model
At first glance, it appears as if Second Galaxy skipped beta testing all together. However, this is not the case. They released this game exactly how they wanted to, and I will explain why this is the case. Second Galaxy’s main model for revenue is through a subscription base which offers revival nodes that you can use to resurrect your destroyed ships.

As such, their financial model depends on you getting killed as often as possible to encourage you to buy your ship back. This means that having quests without their difficulty displayed or NPC pilots killing you after PVP is just one of their tactics to get you to pay to play.

The Future of Open World Space Games
I would love to see a game that can capitalize on Second galaxies mistakes. Perhaps this new game would incorporate a financial model that integrates customizable features for monetary gain instead of a predatory scheme to purposely destroy your ship.

Perhaps this game might have an option for the player to “aim” at enemies and steer their own fates as they explore the galaxy.