Often I avoid the open game. Minecraft, Rust even some sandbox games like GTA or Sleeping Dogs can bore me. By letting me do everything you tell me to do nothing. And I'm a lazy sack. Space Engineers seems to avoid this problem and I'm not sure how.

Space Engineers is like any other crafting game really. Collecting resources and creating tools and the like. But unlike Minecraft there substantial less combat. There is no enemy combatants or aliens or zombies. Nothing. Zero. Just The occasional meteorite that might destroy everything you've built. The only thing that resembles a enemy are unmanned ships with automated weapons. Its fun to try and highjack them, entering a space ballet where gravity leads.

You could also combat you fellow Space Engineer, cutting and pounding each other with jackhammers and cutting tools. If you want to put effort into it you can collect nickel, magnesium and other material to craft a gun. But its crazy. There is no reason to do that. All those materials would be better spent on those previously mentioned automated turrets, as to target those even more previously mentioned asteroids. This is a game where combat not only minimal but actively prevents progress of creation and goal achievement.

All of this is complemented by some of the funniest, if not confusing, zero gravity physics and controls I have ever experienced. Jetpacks allow for flexible and varied movement. Where things get crazy is where gravity generators come to play. These generators are used in ships and platforms to keep equipment and players to floating around. The strength of the gravity can be changed and weakened. Multiple can be used at once. In the game I played with friends, we brought 5 ships to our home platform to strip them for parts. As I entered the ship I was pulled to the ceiling than suddenly to the wall than back down the floor. All the generators field of influence was stretching beyond the walls of the ship and effecting each others home ships. This idea zero gravity is throughout the game. Building in open space is a pain. Mining is difficult as minerals are flying all over the place. This difficulty with something that would be simple in other crafting games adds to the idea that cooperation is need to achieve anything in this game. You try to do it alone, you fill fail.

It goes back to the idea that I'm a lazy sack. I need to work with friends and other players to do anything. The game makes be cooperate and build and work. You should check it out.

Currently there are some technical difficulties in the game. Frame rate issues are abound on my PC, a computer that should run it with ease. Lag was a issue with the sessions I played with my friends. I wait in anticipation for when this game is released as a full game, hopefully with even more added features.