The Outer Darkness is open for pre-registration

Each game now has its own page on the site, and this blog is where I’ll write about them as they’re made: releases, updates, and how things work inside.

The latest news is The Outer Darkness. It’s open for pre-registration on Google Play, and it’s on the App Store for iPhone and iPad.

Dock. Loot. Get out.

Dead ships drift back out of the dark with their holds full and their crews still aboard. You pick a derelict on your scanner, board it, and work your way deck by deck to the escape shuttle.

Everything you carry out is yours. Everything you brought in stays aboard if you die. Every room deeper is a better haul and a worse chance of getting back.

How a boarding goes

• Scan. Derelicts in range show up on a green radar, each with its size, threat and conditions. Low oxygen, darkness and infestations change the rules from one ship to the next.
• Board. Every ship is a new seeded map of fights, loot, supplies and event rooms. Some rooms just have a voice on the comms asking to be let in.
• Fight. Combat is turn-based, and you aim each shot at a body part. Blind a Stalker, cripple a Crawler’s legs, crack a Warden’s shell.
• Get out. Reach the shuttle, sell the salvage, upgrade your ship, and go back out.

A boarding takes 5 to 15 minutes, it’s played one-handed in portrait, and a run saves when you stop. There’s no pay-to-win.

Pre-register

If you pre-register on Google Play, you’ll get the game the day it launches. Everything else is on the game page.