PC Critic Reviews

Battlestar Galactica Scattered Hopes is a wonderfully engaging work in its own right on top of being one of the most holistically smart video game adaptations in history. I am tremendously impressed by it and cannot recommend it to fans of the series enough.

Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes is just plain fun. It’s got good, varied strategy elements and a solid roguelike progression loop. Add in the sci-fi classic goodness that is the Battlestar Galactica universe, and you’re left with a game that is well worth sinking many hours into. And trust me, you’ll want to keep coming back for more.

Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes is a phenomenal experience for newcomers as well as long time fans of the show. Like I said at the outset, I can’t think of a better fit for a roguelite game; a genre that is based on survival, risk vs. reward and more. Basically, the very definition of what the Battlestar revival series is; developer Alt Shift took that and has delivered a fantastic video game experience that emulates the shows high pressure tension as well as fits nicely in the lore. As a fan of the show, who can ask for anything more?

Robots controlled by artificial intelligence have wiped out almost the entire human population in one blow. Only those who were on spaceships at the time of the attack survived, and their fate is in your hands. And you will have fun.

There’s solid gameplay, but it’s a grind to find anything encouraging when everything is going wrong all the time, which does fit the IP and experience. And life in general, I suppose. So say we all.

Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes tests how well you hold up under the pressure of command by forcing you to play a game of whack-a-mole against endless waves of Cylon attacks, political crises, and ethical dilemmas that threaten to tear your fleet apart from within while you're simultaneously putting out both literal and metaphorical fires. Neither the pausable real-time combat nor the turn-based strategic management phases are about winning outright so much as they are about escaping without taking too many losses and making the best of bad situations, which keeps tensions high. It's not visually spectacular, but it does have a style that feels true to the BSG series. And like any great roguelike, its random upgrades and ever-escalating challenge modifiers have no trouble justifying another run even dozens of hours in, after you've seen each crisis story play out multiple times.

Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes is a captivating space roguelite that allows you to engage in tactical real-time space battles, but also to manage resources and to make tough decisions to keep your fleet alive in the war among the stars. Even if things get a bit repetitive here and there, the diverse and multi-layered systems offer enough depth for numerous playthroughs.

I can’t think of a game that does a better job of constantly applying pressure, leaving you with an overwhelming sense of dread, than Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes. There are enough scenarios and options to keep things fresh even after dozens of runs, and I really love the combat that leaves you truly fighting for survival until the last second. This certainly isn’t a game to play to relax, but for those who want an interesting management game that offers a unique feel, you’ll find it here, whether you’re a fan of Battlestar Galactica or not.

While the battle system is somewhat simplistic in nature, the tension created by constant crises, overwhelming enemy odds, and infighting amongst your fleet allows Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes to create a great atmosphere worthy of the Battlestar Galactica name.

Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes feels like a genuine, honest extension of the cult favorite 2004 television show. It perfectly captures the dark, unrelenting tone of hopelessness that the TV show became known for. The hectic space combat has a fun, brisk pace to it that never overstays its welcome, and it is brilliantly balanced by more human moments with the crew on your ship. It doesn't necessarily reinvent the wheel for the roguelite genre, but if you're a fan of the franchise, this is going to be a game that will make you quite happy.