Periapsis: Gravity Slingshot

You start by picking one of the five characters, each with a perk that won’t make much sense until you’ve already played the game. There’s also a sixth character, but they don’t come with any perks and are the only option if you choose the hard difficulty setting. Gameplay feels strange at first because there’s no tutorial, so you’re not exactly sure what to do. You start on Earth, which is going to blow up in 60 years, and your task is to travel to other planets and star systems to gather resources and find one that can support life. The system map and star map are very detailed, but apart from our own Solar System, everything else has to be discovered through scanning. Even then, you’ll only see codenames until you actually visit a planet. This is done by buying fuel and loading it into your ship. Then you press the launch button, which starts a timing mini game where you need to press the button when it lines up with the target. Some situations are easier than others, and in some you have no control at all, but you’re still expected to get as close as possible. If you succeed, you’ll escape the planet’s gravity and be able to slingshot toward another planet. This is shown wit…

Periapsis: Gravity Slingshot is a thoughtful and surprisingly ambitious entry into the space simulation genre, offering players an experience built around the scientific principles of orbital travel rather than the usual emphasis on combat or cinematic spectacle. Developed and published by PcZ Games, the title presents a future in which humanity stands at the edge of extinction, forcing players to search for a new home among the stars. Its central premise is immediately intriguing: use the power of planetary gravity, careful calculations, and limited resources to expand humanity's reach across the cosmos. This focus on realistic spaceflight gives the game a distinctive identity and sets expectations for a slower, more methodical adventure. At the heart of the experience lies the gravity slingshot mechanic, which is more than just a feature—it is the foundation of nearly every decision players make. Launching ships requires careful preparation, from selecting equipment and cargo to planning trajectories that maximize efficiency while minimizing fuel consumption. The game challenges players to think several steps ahead, rewarding patience and experimentation. Mistakes can be costly,…

The game has potential, but playability is severely hampered by broken progression mechanics tied to resource scarcity. Here are my main criticisms: 1) Starter ship lacks escape velocity warning The initial vessel being too weak to escape strong gravitational fields is understandable by design. However, the game doesn't warn you that you can only reach low-gravity planets. Once you land on a heavy planet, you're trapped with no way to escape = an instant game over with no second chance. 2) Critical resources are too rare Some resources like fossils are extremely rare despite being essential for progression. After 37 minutes of play, I obtained only one fossil from the 3 planets the starting ship can reach safely. Yet five are needed to progress. The game become quickly unplayable. 3) Travel resources deplete too quickly Resources required for travel and planetary scanning drain far too rapidly, forcing constant trips back to the market. This becomes tedious and counterproductive. 4) No incentive to revisit planets Once a planet is explored, there's no reason to return. Their is no way in scanning for new ressource. This severely limits progression paths and resource sources. 5…

I really tried to give this game a chance because I love hard sci-fi and the concept looked cool, but it's extremely buggy and kinda lacking in content. Obvious bugs include: - Stacking doesn't work correctly, and there's no drag and drop. The only way to combine stacks is through the "sort" button, which is finnicky. - High-gravity planets are impossible to leave. "Escape velocity" is not escape velocity. Sometimes the gravity of a planet will be high enough that reaching escape velocity just sends you back down into the planet. - Founding a colony before using your scan data makes it do nothing when "used" except delete itself. - Using "consciousness backup" does not drop your items into planet loot and just deletes them, you have to transfer it manually. Once you get through the first few stages, it's just more of the same - you go to a planet, you scan it, you go back to a colony to sell stuff.

Spent 10 minutes trying to figure out what to do before I simply asked for a refund. Game contains no instructions, goals, tips, tutorials... nothing.

Our journey will take us across the stars! We will search the vastness of space for habitable planets! However, I feel that the game’s treatment of gravity assists and warp travel is still rather superficial—they currently do little more than alter routes and resource consumption.