Real time strategy games are known for their complex systems, and addictive gameplay. In some cases, this is mostly why some people stay away from them. It’s not that there’s a belief that they won’t have fun with the game. It’s that the learning curve is so steep, that it’s hard to really think about putting in the time to learn the game before you can start having fun. This is one of the many reasons it took me so long to start playing Civilization V, I thought I would need a college degree just to place my starting city on the map.
Rymdkapsel tries very hard to remove the complexity of this genre. You have minions that you control; they can do things such as research monoliths as you discover them, gather food, construct rooms, and even defend your base. Normally with games in this genre, you can spend a lot of time giving orders to individual units. That’s not the case here, once you start giving out orders, the minions will adjust accordingly. This puts you in the position to plan your next move, instead of continuing to give your units commands. The controls of the game do take a little getting used to, but once you’ve given your minions an order or two, you’ll be comfortable with how the game works.
From time to time your base will get attacked, so you need to lead your minions to the weapon rooms in order to defeat the waves of enemies. You’ll know the next wave is coming, by looking at the red timer bar at the bottom of the screen. For the first 10 or so waves, it’s not too difficult to keep a balance of building and defending the base. But after awhile, the speed between the attacks ramp up, and it becomes much harder to build your base in between fights.
Rymdkapsel is a universal app, but I would suggest playing it on an iPad, if you can. I found the interface on the iPhone to be a little crowded. The game is also pretty short. It can be beaten in around two hours. If you don’t want to play the whole game in one sitting, you can save the game at any time.
Rymdkapsel’s simplistic visuals, and relaxing soundtrack create a unique experience for a real-time strategy game, and since the game doesn’t take a whole lot of time to play, I would recommend giving it a try.
Rymdkapsel can be found on the App Store for $3.99