Shortest Trip to Earth

I hope you’re all doing well today! Today I will do a quick review of a fun little game called, “Shortest Trip to Earth.” This game is the successor to Faster than Light. Can anyone else relate to playing so many hours of FTL? I know I can and still do play it quite often.

The micromanagement in Shortest Trip to Earth is there but magnify that by 100! Micromanagement has a big learning curve and can be overwhelming at first. If you stay with learning the mechanics of the game then you will be on your way in no time. This is not the game you want to skip the tutorials on otherwise you will be out of fuel and stranded somewhere in space!

“Diplomacy is like most games as you will run into some nice and not so nice characters.”

Your ship will consume fuel everywhere you move so, when exploring space be sure to watch your fuel. You can run out of fuel very quickly if not careful and be stranded in space.

Fighting enemies is a fun and challenging adventure of it’s own. You can target systems on their ship and they can do the same to you! One tactic you can use is the pause button on the bottom right of the screen. This tactic can help you plan out your attack and make the fight go much more smoother. Remember, your ship can be damaged internally and externally. Just like in FTL you will have your crew leaving posts to repair parts of the ship.

Diplomacy is like most games as you will run into some nice and not-so-nice characters. Some interactions with other entities can end with rewards or a nasty fight! You will also run into some crazy aliens as you can see in the photo. This particular alien will approach, hail, and let you pass if you allow them to lick your crew. Expect a fight if you deny their twisted wish!

There are many points of interest in space for you to explore. The most important being the space stations. You can upgrade, repair, buy, and sell resources at these stations. Other POIs are planets that you can land, scan, and communicate with the inhabitants. Some of these planets give you options to spend resources or send a crew in an attempt to gain more resources or lose all. It is a roll system at play when choosing these options.

There is a fun crafting system in place. Start with crafting parts, modules, weapons, and more. You can upgrade all of these devices as long as you have the resources to make that upgrade. A bonus is the ability to get parts from destroyed alien ships and merge them into your ship. You can deck your ship out into a unique and custom rig.

In conclusion, I said I would make this quick and hope this is enough to get you thinking about this game. This is the game many of us wanted for Faster Than Light. There is no pressure to, “move” the timer. You can explore many places and your ending will more than likely never be the same. You can customize to your heart’s content as long as the resources are there. As well you can also earn points to pick unique perks that you can select for your next new game!