Hardspace: Shipbreaker
Review

Hardspace: Shipbreaker (2020) is a spaceship salvage simulation game where you disassembling out of use craft panel by panel. The challenge is that the ships are built to survive space and tough to take apart so you must use a wide array of tools to reduce them to their salvageable parts. It stands out not only for unusual gameplay but the Firefly lived in space feel to proceedings.

It's a layered experience where you must not only manage your toolset but also your profits. If you don't manage to disassemble the spaceships carefully you can damage parts and reduce their value. Worse, if you have an accident and need rescuing, this is also taken from your wages.

As you progress you learn how to use the different tools to carve & slice spaceships into their valuable materials. Do well and you can afford to upgrade your gear to take on more lucrative contracts (not to mention chip away at your billion credits debt to the company). It can feel like hard work, but this is (kind of) the point.

There's a real (surprisingly relaxing joy) to meticulously and expertly taking these spaceships apart. Slice metal with the laser cutter and use the grapple tool to move salvage with ease. Earn upgrades, such as demo charges, sensors, and safety gear. But also, there's a fascinating undertone of a corporation set-up to maximise profits at the expense of its workers.

Our examiner, Andy Robertson, first checked Hardspace: Shipbreaker a year ago. It was re-examined by Jo Robertson and updated 5 months ago.