Genre: Sandbox
Developer: Boxelware GmbH
Publisher: Boxelware GmbH

Avorion's procedurally-generated, loading screen-separated grid universes are filled with nebula-laden backgrounds and colorful, peculiarly-shaped voxel ships and stations floating about. A ship's various surfaces cast reflections off one another, but other than that the technology on display could probably have been done on PCs from fifteen years ago. Sectors often have cool looking planets, but disappointingly they are merely skybox elements, and can't be flown towards much less landed on.

Way back in 1992, the all-time classic "Star Control 2" showed the world how to set space to music, as even the "spacey" ambient tracks were catchy and memorable. So what's with the utterly generic, totally forgettable "nebula" music in this release? The game's sound effects are likewise mundane and flat; even during combat they don't have any punch to them.

Avorion's premise is a good one: Minecraft in space. And indeed, constructing navies of voxel ships using the robust editor is the game's high point. Unfortunately, the whole thing is let down by quite literally the worst user interface this reviewer has ever experienced in thirty five years of video gaming: basic actions, which are repeated over and over, involve jumping in and out of several different screens; some actions involve holding shift, or ctrl, or alt; some require left-clicking, while others require right-clicking. Even worse, many screens don't supply the player with the information needed to make decisions.

Avorion does a lot of things right, and can be fun in spite of itself: the huge universe is filled with wonders, and it's always fun to see what kinds of asteroids, resources, or even pirates the next sector will hold. But the entire screen, from top-to-bottom, is filled with icons! Window after window supply information, but not in the right spots, at the right times. The core gameplay is there, but everything around it needs be scrapped like a derelict freighter. Like almost all modern games, Avorion is being sold as a final product, but only feels half finished.