Twin Systems: Starpoint Gemini 2

This is the year in which I finally fulfilled my childhood dream by becoming an interest following a man who lives on a space station on Twitter. You might think that would be enough hot space action to satisfy my stellar carvings but you'd be wrong. I've got a hankering for space dust that'd make George Jung's eyes as big as saucers. Thank the lord (or the ancient precursor race that seeded this planet) that we are living through a space game renaissance. It's possible that Elite: Dangerous, once complete, will satisfy all cravings but perhaps some Starpoint Gemini 2 will provide sustenance in the meantime?

Out now, SG 2 is 'a tactical space simulator with tons of RPG depth', according to the developers. I've seen it described as everything from a modern take on Freelancer to a sort of EVE Offline. The truth is somewhere in the middle of those poles, I believe. You'll be in control of a single ship but able to capture new vessels (with over seventy types available) once sufficiently wealthy and skilled.

There is a story but, as is often the case, the sandbox is the place to be, even if the tiny little grains of sand have coalesced into planets and stars. There's a system of stations and planets to explore and the general consensus indicates that there's plenty of good times to be had. Not quite as exciting as Elite: Dangerous but as fine an alternative to X: Rebirth, expansion or not, as you might hope for.

Tempted to investigate? Or perhaps you've already been playing, either in Early Access or since release. My cursor is hovering over the purchase button even now but I'm far too busy to become a space captain for the umpteenth time. It's back to twitternauts for me.