Space Relocation, Relocation In Last Horizon
A Place Near The Sun
Last Horizon [official site] reminds me of both Asteroids and a version of Jet Pack I had for the Atari ST many moons ago (see what I did there?) that wasn't as fast-paced and hectic and irritating as this one. It's a simple exploration game whereby you've left your home planet in search of pastures new and are required to gather resources from foreign worlds. Sounds quite lovely, doesn't it? Until you realise you must tour the galaxy in the dinkiest of spaceships that's proportionately equal to a Vauxhall Nova in style, durability, and fuel capacity.
It can become quite alarming. Zero fuel, chunks of debris whizzing past, judging a decent landing spot, testing your thrusters against the gentle pull of the target planet's atmosphere - something that looks so simple quickly becomes a bit of an ordeal. Then it's time to refill the tank, mine some resources and be on your way. Similar to the '80s games it draws from, Last Horizon is shamelessly repetitive, yet at the same time had me obsessed, playing again and again to best my previous score. Once I thought I'd got the hang of the its interstellar slaloming, I was met with black holes and protesting aliens trying to thwart my progress.
Last Horizon is out now on Steam for Windows and Mac at the reduced price of £3.19. Here's a look at it in action: