Solar 2 (PC) (2011)

Overview: 2D open world video game set in space.

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20170801:
I tried playing this game today and found it mildly interesting.

Small Planet

Setup: I played with my keyboard (using the arrow keys), but using a controller would probably have be superior. With that being said, I didn't have access to my controller at the time.

Steam Game Time: 31 minutes

[20170804]

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20170804 AM:
Before going to bed I tried to play a little more in order to write up this post. Unfortunately, I was already sleepy and battled with my drooping eyes. Eventually I called it a night.

Steam Game Time: 60 minutes (cumulative game time) / 29 minutes (session game time)

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Controls

20170804:
After waking up I played some more and I learned (by looking at the controls) that there were more actions (because after becoming a planet I couldn't figure out how to increase the mass). This opened up more gameplay options and effectively hooked me into the game.

As such, in addition to what I played in the morning, I found myself playing more of the game before going to bed in the evening.

Steam Game Time (morning): 2.9 hours (cumulative game time) / 1.9 hours (session game time)
Steam Game Time (evening): 3.5 hours (cumulative game time) / 0.6 hours (session game time)

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20170805:
Today I played the game for about half an hour offline. (So the time won't be reflected on Steam.)

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Life Planet: generates army (green)

Thoughts:
Pros:
+ A good balance between fun and challenging
+ Decent art and music
+ Humorous

Neutral:
~ Not the best controls
~ Physics-based

Con:
- Lacks a story and/or motivation

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Binary Star System, baby!

Summary:
I initially found Solar 2 boring and was ready to give up on it. However, I luckily found controls which were essential to making the game more fun.

With that being said, the game can occasionally feel slow and involves some grinding (collecting asteroids to grow objects in mass).

Overall, Solar 2 should provide at least two to three hours of entertainment for anybody that enjoys open world games, but additional mileage may vary.

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20241001 Snapshot:
Steam Game Time: 3.5 hours (cumulative game time) / 3h 31m (Playnite)
Last Played: 20170806

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20241001:
Looking at my list of games "Played" on Playnite, I decided to pick up Solar 2. Unfortunately, I wasn't feeling the fun of the game. Perhaps I was missing something.

Steam Game Time: 4.6 hours (cumulative game time) / 1.1 hours (session game time)

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20241002:
I couldn't quite let the game go and so I read a guide which opened the opportunity for me to return to the game.

Tips: From the guide, I learned there are controls not listed in the control menu. They are "P" for paths and "O" for orbits. This lets one see the trajectory of objects and can be used to more easily gather asteroids and planets.

Gameplay Log:
- Did some missions. Got far in the "police" missino but couldn't complete it.
- Felt stuck and took a break
- Returned to the game and ticked off two more missions leaving only the "police" one unfinished. That mission is too long.
- Tackled all the challenge missions except the one locked by the "police" mission. Got the red (hard) scores for them

Overall, it is not a perfect game, but it does have its moments. As I mentioned before, the game can be grindy at times. As such, I think the game gets a so-so score of 3.4 out of 5.

Steam Game Time: 7.0 hours (cumulative game time) / 2.4 hours (session game time)

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Solar 2 (PC) (2011)

Four Star System!!!

Relevant Links:
Solar 2 (Wikipedia.org)
Solar 2 (PC) (MetaCritic.com)
Solar 2 (Steam Store Page)