Mastodon

Little-Known Galaxy Review – Interplanetary Pastoral

Little-Known Galaxy Review – Interplanetary Pastoral
4.5

Platforms: Windows PC, Mac Steam

Game Name: Little-Known Galaxy

Publisher: Carbon & Kay

Developer: Carbon & Kay

Genre: Adventure, RPG, Simulation

Release Date: May 20th, 2024

Little-Known Galaxy by Carbon & Kay

Farming sims are a craze in the casual gaming universe. The cozy atmospheres in accessory to a hodgepodge of NPCs, exploration, crafting, and – of course – farming prove to be leisurely and enjoyable over and over again.

Little-Known Galaxy takes all of those elements, accentuates them, and launches your expectations into space.

Starship Valley

Developed and published by Carbon & Kay, Little-Known Galaxy has an immediate Stardew Valley vibe. I have spent countless hours trying to land a boyfriend and maintain a thriving farm in Stardew Valley and have recently found adoration for the magical world of Sun Haven. Little-Known Galaxy brings a cutesy sci-fi approach to the genre, and I am here for it.

Character creation is brief and your style can be altered down the line once you have the means to build a wardrobe bot. The pixelated compositions will always be practical for farming sims, and attention to detail prevails in each environment.

Little-Known Galaxy hits the nail on the head with every nook and cranny you traverse.

Meet the New Boss

You embark as captain-in-training of the Space Alliance and, well, your ship has seen better days. The captains before you obviously weren’t in it for the long haul. Therefore, your crew is a bit skeptical of your presence. It’s understandable that they have trust issues.

The discernible story-driven component of Little-Known Galaxy awakened my previously unbeknownst dream of mine to undertake the role of starship captain. As soon as you begin canvasing the layout of the first planet, an ancient relic is discovered. Thus, the crew’s purpose is to unveil its mysteries.

Little-Known Galaxy exhibits the genre’s typical day and night cycle, a crew to build friendships (or romantic relationships) with, numerous fetch quests, and harvesting an array of crops.

Little objectives are sprinkled in throughout, so you’ll never become bored as captain of your ship. Luckily, the assignments delegated aren’t difficult but can take tediously long to complete.

Scavenging planets for viable resources became a time-filler. Alien critters can be a hindrance, but mowing them down with my trusty laser blaster proved to be prosperous. There were times when I’d spend an entire session of Little-Known Galaxy stocking up on raw assets to potentially craft useful equipment or upgrades for the ship.

Like every day life, you grow tired performing a task in Little-Known Galaxy. Slurping down a cappuccino from Le Café Bot or consuming varied foods recovers energy.

Nonetheless, only so much can be accomplished in a day, and days in Little-Known Galaxy feel too short. Your ship is large, so galivanting from one end to the other steals precious hours from an already condensed day.

Hard to Herd

Early on as captain of the Space Alliance, I was tasked to greet each of my crew members. What I appreciate about most farming sims is how painless it is to locate characters on your map. Little-Known Galaxy falls short here; the map is existent but hardly helpful.

I spent too much time combing through each level of my ship for my crew members, who appeared to constantly be on the move. By scrolling through the crew members menu, I found out much later that you can learn their general location.

As captain of my ship, I reckon that I should have access to where my crew is at all times.

As a novice captain, you have the opportunity to rise through the ranks. Establishing your crew’s morale, fulfilling quests, restoring your ship back to tip-top shape, or fabricating a flourishing garden are a few of the building blocks to becoming the best captain there ever was.

All of this takes time, so I learned to be patient with my growth as a captain.

A Farmer’s Work Is Never Done

With Little-Known Galaxy promising upwards of 40 hours of just story content, a medley of miscellaneous objectives await your attention. Whether it’s decorating the captain’s quarters, hunting down microbes, giving crew members presents so they like you, or attempting to scope out every inch of a planet’s surface – there is always something to be done.

I love checking in with my crew everyday, even if they repeat exactly what they told me the day before.

Hatching baby alien pets called Xenos and raising them as your own will surely keep you busy, as well. It doesn’t hurt that they’re pretty cute, too.

Craving a little romance? Your crew menu will tell you who is single and can be courted. Unlike The Sims, you can’t force a crew member to fall in love with you and then propose marriage in one day. Bummer, I know.

Wooing your prospective lover through conversation and gifts takes time. Choosing who to romance is a toss-up, as each candidate holds a unique personality. I’m still deciding whom I want to burden with my love forever.

The Verdict

Little-Known Galaxy has its quirks and head-scratching game mechanics but overall delivers a lighthearted and wholesome farming sim experience that is enjoyable for anyone. I groove on taking my time to uncloak the enigmas that envelope each planet.

That’s the beauty of Little-Known Galaxy: there’s so much to do, but there is no rush. Sit back in your captain’s command chair and enjoy the ride.

Little-Known Galaxy is available via Steam.

Watch the trailer for Little-Known Galaxy: