Fit check
Is Starmancer worth it for you?
We tell you who should skip it, too.
Play it if you…
Good fit- Simulation fans who want to manage a colonist crew in space
- Strategy players who enjoy balancing station systems with expeditions
- Sandbox players who want adjustable rules, cheats, and modding support
Skip it if you…
Saves you a refund- Players seeking a tightly scripted campaign may find the open-ended sandbox structure too loose
- Those wanting a narrowly focused management loop may not want construction, colonist behavior, exploration, and combat in one game
- Players who want fixed difficulty may not value the many adjustable gameplay settings
Our take on Starmancer
The station-management focus comes with several connected systems, including colonist behavior, infrastructure, expeditions, combat, and resource handling. That breadth trades away a narrowly focused management loop, with outcomes shaped by sandbox events and individual colonist reactions.
What is Starmancer?
Starmancer is a space station management simulation in which an AI oversees colonists whose consciousnesses were stored in its memory banks.
Construct rooms, farms, power networks, water systems, oxygen creators, airlocks, defenses, and furniture while assigning colonists to jobs such as farming, mining, and security. Colonists have different skills, personalities, preferences, memories, and needs that affect their work and behavior. Beyond the station, expeditions reach procedurally generated asteroids and derelict stations to gather resources, relics, and decorations while facing hostile wildlife and other dangers. The station can also face pirate attacks and fires. Difficulty settings adjust several gameplay values, and a permadeath option prevents colonists from being regrown. Modding support and sandbox cheats are included.
How Starmancer plays
- 01Colonist Personalities
- Individual skills, memories, preferences, and personality traits influence assigned roles and reactions to events.
- 02Station Infrastructure
- Power grids, water purifiers, oxygen creators, airlocks, farms, beds, bathrooms, and sprinklers support station operations.
- 03Derelict Expeditions
- Colonists can visit abandoned stations and asteroids to gather resources, find relics, and fight hostile creatures.
- 04Adjustable Difficulty
- Settings can modify colonist morale, resource amounts, research speed, building costs, and other values.
- 05Pirate Attacks
- Pirate ships travel across the galaxy map and can launch assaults on the station.
- 06Colonist Regrowth
- A colonist's head can be harvested for regrowth unless the permadeath setting is enabled.
- 07Modding Support
- The game includes support for player-created modifications.
Starmancer compared to similar games
Starmancer centers on constructing and operating a space station, managing colonists, and sending them to derelict locations for resources and combat. Xenonauts focuses on turn-based squad operations against an alien invasion, while Ashes of the Singularity: Escalation centers on commanding large armies across entire worlds. Old World instead covers multi-generation empire leadership, diplomacy, marriage, heirs, and historical expansion.
Starmancer: platforms & release
Is Starmancer worth it?
It is worth it if: simulation fans who want to manage a colonist crew in space. Skip it if: players seeking a tightly scripted campaign may find the open-ended sandbox structure too loose.
Where can I download Starmancer?
Use the Download Now button on this page: it opens Starmancer's store page, where you can choose how to get it.
What platforms is Starmancer on?
Windows, macOS and Linux.
