Murderous AI machines that want humanity wiped out might sound like a cliché killer robot plot, but back in 1978, the Battlestar Galactica series cemented one of the finest examples of the trope. The titular ship serves as humanity’s last bastion against the uphill and noble struggle to prevent human extinction. Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes is an indie roguelite game that expands the story, except you don’t get to be the main character; instead, you’re the fodder NPCs trying to survive. Somehow, that’s more exciting.
Because this time, the consequences are more real. The developers, Alt Shift, and publisher Dotemu, knew how to combine the intensity and stress of being an inconsequential frontline survivor into Battlestar Galactica’s grander narrative. The result is a clever design that will keep you coming back for more despite repeated failures, which is what truly matters in a roguelite game.
The Little Side Characters That Could
Having witnessed your home planet pop like a mere zit by the robot race called Cylon drives the desperate point across: humanity is outgunned and outmatched as a species. Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes tells you outright that you and your rag-tag fleet are sitting ducks on the run and constantly on the defensive against the Cylons.
The goal is to reach and link up with the better-equipped and better plot-armored Battlestar Galactica, whose crew is certainly prettier and more memorable than yours. That’s why they get to survive. But since there are only 50,000 humans left in this particular point in the lore, every soul counts. With that said, just because you lead side characters and a lesser-endowed fleet doesn’t mean it’s a boring journey.
Being a Fleet Commander is Stressful
Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes does a great job emulating the fleet and character dynamics of the series. It’s full of heavy moments, moral conundrums, and hidden betrayals. The original series and even its 2004 remake, after all, are known for setting a considerable benchmark for dark, character-driven sci-fi stories. And even though your crew and allies are disposable with random names, their faces and deeds will shape each run as though they’re the main actors and you’re just the director.
Hence, there’s an emotional incentive here to keep everyone alive and in working condition. Apart from the randomized characters you meet each run, Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes also has factions all vying for the spotlight, such as the Workers, Underworld, and Military.
Oftentimes, you have to make decisions that will favor one faction and anger another, all the while trying to keep faction harmony balanced, since angry factions will start trouble in your fleet. This political interplay adds much flavor and color to each run; despite little to no voice acting, it’s easy to become invested in their bickering, making gameplay more engaging instead of devolving into a numbers game.
Don’t Get Attached
Speaking of gameplay, Battlestar Galactica is mostly split into two phases. The first phase is fleet logistics, where you get a set number of turns (usually 10 turns) to prepare for inevitable encounters against the Cylon.
During the first phase, you’ll need to manage resources, points of interest (off-screen expeditions), opportunities, and any crises that pop up, and trust me, they pop up like mushrooms. Each course of action consumes one turn, and you need to spend those turns wisely. Because come the second phase, poor preparation will bite you back in the rear like a crazed pitbull that you owe money to.
The second phase of the gameplay loop is a defensive battle where you hold off waves of Cylon attacks in space while your fleet’s FTL travel engines (faster than light) charge up, allowing you to escape until the next Cylon encounter.
Combat in Scattered Hopes mostly resembles a mini-RTS game (real-time strategy) with a tactical pause where you point and click at smaller squadrons and try to keep your base alive, in this case, your fleet. Here, your randomized officers get to shine the most, as some of them can lead squadrons or commandeer weapons on your main ship.
If you fail the combat and your main ship gets destroyed, you lose that beloved crew and just about everything else from ships, squadrons, and even upgrades. However, you don’t start from zero because you accumulate a meta resource called Favors, which lets you buy advantages for the next run, like start resources and other perks.
An Uphill Battle in the Stars
While it might sound forgiving on paper, progress in Scattered Hopes is really tied to how much you’ve learned from multiple failed runs. Even on the easiest difficulty, the game will still find a way to pile on overwhelming odds against you, especially in the combat phase.
It doesn’t help that the game sometimes introduces debilitating mechanics without warning or explanation, and you’ll end up getting frustrated at how mines or asteroids work when you first encounter them. The game’s squadron controls also seem too simple, as there’s no patrol command, and it lacks the classic drag selection common in games with RTS-like combat.
Often, combat ends up being too reliant on the tactical pause that it might as well have a turn-based mode. The combat plane is strictly 2D anyway and doesn’t really leverage the 3D-ness of space, making it seem a bit too barebones for a space game where you control a fleet.
Still, combat is only one part of Scattered Hopes, and I daresay the fleet logistics phase is just as important, if not more so, because that’s where the emotional drama happens. With that said, combat can start feeling like an afterthought, given how much excitement was placed in the management phase. Again, some of these complaints are easily overlooked as the core gameplay loop is solid.
Graphics and Sound Don’t Make the Game
As someone who’s used to the spectacle of modern AAA gaming, I was surprisingly unbothered by Scattered Hopes’ more minimalistic approach. The audio, as I mentioned before, is not as thorough since it lacks voice acting, and the visuals are a cross between 16-bit and cell-shaded.
Even so, Scattered Hopes‘ roguelite structure and heavier reliance on dynamic storytelling let it get away with the lack of audio-visual spectacle common in higher-budget games. Or rather, the game makes up for it. You get randomized officers with each run anyway, so having specific voice actors or more complex visuals for them might not work.
Moreover, the game really sells the atmosphere well despite the lack of AAA graphics and voice acting, mostly because it also tickles your imagination, allowing it to fill the gaps, such as how a specific squadron leader you got attached to is supposed to sound like. Your attachment to your crew and officers each run feels more customized and personal in that regard.
One… More… Run
Scattered Hopes, all in all, is a game about making the most out of the most desperate situation, and it rewards good decision-making the way other roguelite games don’t always do, thanks to the two-phase gameplay loop.
More importantly, it’s a treat for any Battlestar Galactica fan out there who has always wanted a game that puts you in the shoes of Admiral Adama. At the very least, Scattered Hopes lets you test out your mettle or how well you can measure up to an unshakeable leader like Adama.
At times, Scattered Hopes can be stressful, especially when your fighter squadron flies into friendly fire AoE or when the Workers faction starts throwing a tantrum in one of your civilian ships and eating up all your Scrap. But that’s the point, figuring out how to exercise grace under pressure in a fleet management game is its own kind of fun, and it’s no doubt immersive.
Scattered Hopes’ mechanics, faithfulness to the franchise, and roguelite storytelling weave together in a seamless work of art that makes it easy to consider it as the most definitive Battlestar Galactica game so far.
Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes (PC Reviewed)
It's easy to consider Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes as the most definitive game in the franchise, especially for those who want to roleplay as the fabled Admiral Adama. Some frustrations and stressful interactions are present, but that's par for the course for a roguelite game.
The Good
- Immersive storytelling and roguelite structure
- Intense managemant phase
- Difficulty options makes it accessible
The Bad
- Combat phase could be more intricate
- Rough learning curve worsened by unrefined UI
