Space Prison Review: A Unique Sci-Fi Roguelike With A Few Flaws

is a unique new hybrid title that combines roguelike elements with survival and relationship mechanics in a sci-fi setting, the titular intergalactic penitentiary. It's the debut from indie developer Wooden Alien, and published by Firesquid, which previously helped release games like and. Though it faces some issues of repetition and has a few areas that could use more depth, the title explores a very interesting subgenre of its own making with engaging combat and an aesthetically distinct world.

To establish itself as a roguelike, uses a conceit of a player's consciousness being transferred via a collar from one to another when the previous being perishes. The layout of the prison in the game also changes from day to day, explained as a way of keeping prisoners from escaping, and giving these mechanics a narrative explanation adds fun extra depth to the world. The game builds upon this further with elements of survival and social rankings, making for a sci-fi combination that's undoubtedly unique despite imperfections.

When players first begin, they'll choose an initial character build consisting of both a race and crime — essentially their class — which all come with pros and cons. There are humans and fun alien races, like the Nex which can hover to avoid hazards, and the chosen crime will give one positive and one negative — Thieves, for example, receive double loot, but their crime makes others distrustful, making them build relationships slower. After death, players can choose one of three random builds to put their consciousness into, which adds randomization, though it would be fun to be able to more freely explore race and class combos.

Prisoners have three main stats which players will need to monitor: health, hunger, and hope, all of which are difficult to keep numbers high for in their own way. Health is easily lost and much harder to regain, hunger requires either purchasing meals or finding and cooking food, and hope is sometimes the hardest to come