'Kerbal Space Program' officially launched in April of this year, with a beta allowing players to fiddle with building physics based rockets to take their Kerbal astronauts to the moon and beyond in one of the most highly reviewed space simulators out. You can get a 40% off deal for the game this weekend on Steam.
Kerbal Space Program is one of those games where you lose track of time while fiddling with your creations. Whether it's adjusting the weight of your rocket to optimize fuel consumption or figuring out how to land without incinerating your astronauts on reentry, there's a lot to do in the game.
KSP features three different modes. Sandbox allows you to fiddle with all the parts in the game with unlimited resources so you can figure out how everything works (without losing money). Science mode has you making science (I don't know how Kerbals do it) to create more science. My personal favorite is the Career Mode, "in which you must manage every aspect of your Space Program, including administration strategies, Crew Management, Reputation, as well as taking up Contracts to earn Funds and upgrade your Space Center Facilities (or repair them)."
This game is rich and complex, and as a writer from the Washington Post put it, "It is full of exquisite detail that requires an almost meditational thought process to accomplish simple-sounding acts - balancing fuel tanks, arranging solar panels, equipping a flight computer capable of holding a steady trajectory, etc. Simply getting off the launch pad with the right kind of equipment demands intense and prolonged attention."
And one of the parts of the game I love best is the sheer number of mods out there for players to enjoy. I've seen videos adding everything from fighters and bombers to missiles and boats (not in space). The game itself comes with plenty to do, and I've spent many hours trying to build effective craft. PC Gamer summed KSP perfectly with, "The entire process-from failure, to revision, to hope, to euphoric completion-cemented for me why Kerbal Space Program is one of the best games on PC."
So if you're a space enthusiast or have an engineering itch needing scratched, this weekend is a perfect time to pick up Kerbal Space Progam on Steam at 40% off.
*Disclaimer: The author was not paid nor recompensed in any way by Steam, Squad, or any of their affiliates for this review.
