TAXINAUT

Just started a new play-through (well, I'm 40 hours into it already :-) ) with 1.0. If I just watched the videos I would think this is not a game for me. But with 184 hours logged, that's clearly not the case! For me, this game has the charm and engaging character of the Zelda series. Obviously it's a very different setting and some aspects of the stories are very mildly adult themed. You are a space taxi driver in an enormous galaxy with more stars and planets than you will ever visit. Some of the places you go are seedy, with thugs, prostitutes, and drug dealers. But others are friendly and whimsical. One of the best aspects of the game is that you can pretty much choose your playing style - you are not forced into combat with NPC's - you can simply not go to dangerous places. You can be an explorer and travel far from your home base, taking fares as you go to earn "vudu," the game's currency. You can build your character and taxi with skills and capabilities. And when you want to return home, very early in your gameplay you will obtain the ability to warp back there effortlessly. You don't have to spend hours retracing your steps to get home and do something di…

in my opinion, the basic gameplay loop is boring and not fun. you go from pickup to drop off. the game is dodging traffic to get there. now, there's not that much traffic, but there is (some). so the game is requiring 100% of your attention but actual 'dodging' is about 15% of that. that's bad, but what's worse, the map is just way too big. the going, the dodging, just takes way too long versus the reward. finally, should you have a moment of inattention and wreck, the penalty is often severe, sending you back home (another 2 minute trip) to repair. there may be some sort of auto pilot later but honestly, i can't be bothered to find out. i experienced 1 gameplay bug and 1 crash in my 3 hours of play. there is a ton of 'stuff' in the game, tiny details which should (theoretically) be fun, but you will still have to do all that boring flying and dodging to get there. i think the developer was way too close to his baby, and would have profited early on from a trusted friend who coulda said, 'dude, you don't need 6 billion solar systems, 10 oughta do it.' I AM A FAN OF GLACIAL PACING, BUT THIS WAS TOO BORING, EVEN FOR ME.

In my opinion Taxinaut is at the same time the dumbest and smartest game there is. At it's core we are talking about almost an arcadic like top-down "try not to hit obstacles while trying to hit waypoints" game. Picture Asteroids merged with stuff from Frogger, Caves of Qud, Elite and Elden Ring. You have your taxi, you fly it through places and try to avoid hitting other vehicles or whatever the flying things are, while also exploring places to get to know way points where you can take your customers. You can also pick customers and if they happen to know exactly where they are going, take them on board, try not to hit things and once you make it the the place, you'll make some money. Rinse and repeat to learn besides more places also about equipment, news, weird temples and other utterly strange aspects of the world you are in. Then you have some "quests", where you need to find out where the hell the you need to go, to progress the quest. Which yes, is again about going somewhere and trying to avoid to hit things while flying. Plain and simple. I'd say by the time I took a passanger to some distant system and we had to fly through a overly crowded customs check to be allowed t…

[i]Most of the time[/i] it's a chill experience. But there's also combat and some places are more stressful than others. Either way, I'm enjoying the game quite a bit. I like the artstyle, and it's a fairly open-ended experience. It's deeper than it looks on the surface, and it feels pretty unique. It is [b]not[/b] for everyone. It's a very [i]slow[/i] game, one where you've gotta take your time. But if a nice open-ended slow burn experience is what you're after, TAXINAUT is a very good choice in my opinion.

Got 10k vudu together and left Yamo. That's when I knew I could keep playing for hours and hours. Taxinaut is a mysterious and grim (but also a little dreamy) space/taxi simulator with more depth than you'd ever expect. It's lonely and desperate, but there's something nudging towards hope in it too. The gameplay is...well, it can be as simple as taking fares and buying what you like--upgrading ships, new weapons, new tech, hookers, normal space sim stuff--or it's like this wild and weirdly poetic quest for something better than what we're all living. It makes you want to follow that quest. It can be so many things because there are SO many mechanics available to the player. Your trip, and your fares, will be different than mine, but I think Taxinaut is totally worth your time and attention.

ITS GREAT!