SPL: Skilled Pilots Live

SPL is a good proof of concept. I would say that it’s selling point is 6 degree movement in a 0 G environment. Shooting part is serviceable and more based on timing than players accuracy - its an auto aim of sorts with a chance to inflict damage based on distance to the enemy. At current point enemy variety is low. You can encounter 3 types of enemies but they can use different weapons so it's not bad for an early access title. Game graphics are basic - there is not much to say about presentation, most of the time you will look at skybox sparkled with some gray asteroids and abstract structures but gunfire and engine effects look good. First time with a game can be frustrating, and playing tutorial is a must, but after I learned how combat works it’s good fun. At the moment one run of a game, from start to finish will take you about 30 minutes if you know what you are doing. Overall I'm satisfied with what I got for the price I paid.

It has a lot of potential, as it offers very unique approach to space combat. It is really hard in the beggining, as it doesn't give you much space for making mistakes and punishes you with death. But you can learn from your failed runs and do better each time. And it gets very satisfying when you start winning fights that previously left you hopeless.

This game is some straight forward honest arcade shooting fun with some nice features thrown in to keep it interesting; weapon choices , ship enhancements, crafting, loot (new), allied wingmen (new) and a ring flying game. I get my my fix of it in an 30 mins to an hour a play which is perfect for me as time is hard to come by for me . I found the game to have medium/hard difficulty, but the difficulty scales based on how you play the game and you are rewarded with a higher score and rewards etc. Too easy then go for the 100%+ encounters too hard stay around 50% and grind a bit until you get better gear. The bosses tend to be the hardest part,but all good boss battles are :) I think of it as if R type had a 3d baby with Doom, and Souls :) In its state now I would rate it above average ,but with the potential to be a great game with more guidance from the community and hard work from the developer. The only negative so far losing all my loot!!!!!! I suppose we don't want it too easy do...

I played the beta build of SPL a few months back. To be honest, it brutally kicked my ass many times and left me with mixed feelings. I was pretty sure it's not a game for me. But time heals wounds, and when I noticed the game went into EA recently I decided to give it another chance. Well, that was a good idea! I must say I'm positively shocked by the progress made since then. The author says the game "thrived on feedback" and I fully agree with that statement. The game plays very well. Of course it lacks content for now, but the potential is huge. I'm definitely waiting for more!

This game is an attempt to bring Souls like climate to space combat. I really like the concept, Souls are my favorite type of game, and this game is a good attempt to merge souls like experience to space. Sure it needs much more content and polish but if you like dying and experimenting with various builds this is a promising title. What I like - Huge variety of weapons to choose from - Weapon & Ship customization options sometimes leading to discovery of something great - Dynamic combat - This tense feeling I know from Dark Souls games or Roguelikes - Sense of satisfaction when you get it though the end :) What I would expect to change from Early Access towards the release: - Even more types of weapons - More types of opponents - Much more content between encounters - More robust storytelling, loke is nice, but requires more work - Death ray is not that deadly :D, I was expecting something like we got in Master of Orion

A little rough around the edges, and a bit light handed on the tutorial however this game grows on you very quickly. The combat is different from most 4x style games there is a lot of control over the ship. There are a few things I have noticed that I am sure will be fixed my biggest problem is when enemy ships are close together your ship does not seem to know who to lock onto. ( but there is a weapon type that does take care of this. ) My biggest issue with the game would be even thou it controls very nice an fluid there is a lack of feeling. (( what i mean by a lack of feeling is that it feels like your not moving. If it was not for the wave like field that is around your ship when moving i would think i was sitting still. )) All in All I would rate this game a solid 7 out of 10. An with that bottom line is the game is FUN, FLUID,EASY TO LEARN.

I've played and tested this game since early Alpha, trying to keep up with the rapid development/release schedule ever since :) The basic premise is really interesting and fun to explore: actual [b]0G[/b] (as in zero-gee) combat, [b]realistic space physics[/b] (custom physics engine enhancements are also in place) and actually a very addictive [b]shooter-looter experience[/b] with randomized items (many random weapons + turrets combinations and stats, ship components and more) are the main reasons why I keep coming back to this title time after time. Yes, its still in early access, yes, the lore, UI and other mechanics are still being refined. But I honestly do recommend trying it out, especially if you are a fan of unique and interesting Sci-Fi combat games like me. Go get it! (Or wait for a sale - if there is one!)

This is quite an unpolished gem. The game jumps from combat to combat, bringing back memories of dogfights in Freespace 2. Positioning and timing matter more than raw damage numbers. The dev is quick to respond to feedback, and keeps adding much-needed content.

Contrary to the first appearance, this game really feels much more like Dark Souls-type of game than a space combat sim. The gameplay is FRESH and there's a LOT of interesting ideas and mechanics already thrown in there. The developer is actively polishing the game and moving in their very own pace towards a full release. A lot of potential here, for sure. I'm very intrigued, and I feel like it was money well spent, even if the contents of the game don't justify the asking price just yet. I'll be getting back to this game for a while after every major update, so this preliminary review will be updated as well. I feel that Skilled Pilots Live has some bright future ahead, despide the dreadful, forgetable name (I literary had to check the title twice, while writing this, because it's so super not catchy and I keep forgetting). Try it!

At it's current state, SPL is a game i can't really recommend... It's not very engaging, It's controls are unnecessarily clunky, the UI does not a good job telling the player where they are supposed to go or do, the gameplay is very barebones and monotonous, not offering nothing new in comparison to similar titles (which i won't mention in this review). As a solo project, SPL is impressive, and i see a lot of potential in the ideas put together here. Sadly, i can't reccomend buying this game in it's current state at the current price, as there are better alternatives out there asking for a similar or even lower entry price. I hope to see this game grow and get better and when that happens i'll be the first one here to change my review. Until then SPL is a promising small solo project, but not much more than a proof of concept.