The dust blows gently in the wind, the sun beating down on the dry and cracked ground. A gruff looking man in a leather coat and hat struts through town with a swagger. His arm a glistening silver chrome. Wait, what? I bet you were expecting a traditional western game, weren’t you? Well, you thought wrong bucko. Exoplanet: First Contact takes the standard wild west flare and merges it seamlessly with sci-fi tropes on a remote mining planet.
Taking cues from Westerns and sci-fi staples like Firefly and Borderlands Exoplanet: First Contact takes a greedy but quick witted sharpshooter and scoundrel extraordinaire named Jack Sharp and strands him on a remote mining planet that’s about as dry of resources as it can be. The “Antigravium” deposits are nearly gone leaving it’s a ghost planet. The name of this backwater hellhole? K’Tharsis. Sigh. I bet I’m not the only one that thinks this is an apt name. Or something.
Anyway, Exoplanet: First Contact is an action RPG with plenty of shooting and talking and is very reminiscent of the Fallout games. I guess New Vegas would be the closest analogy here. It also dredges up images of hunting on Pandora in the Borderlands games. Both of which are listed as inspirational sources. As are pretty much any Western movie ever made. The main difference here is that there’s plenty of cybernetic and futuristic fun to be had. Time to get chromed up, chummer.
Like in Fallout you’ll be spending plenty of time interacting with the natives and other inhabitants. What you say, how you say it, and perks that unlock other topics will affect how you’re taken by others. Even your actions speak loud as what you do now can have a serious impact in the future. Be careful or you might find your throat slit in the middle of the night. Fans of westerns should really give this one a look.
Track the progress of the Exoplanet: First Contact Kickstarter in our Campaign Calendar.
