Little Kitty, Big City
Little Kitty, Big City
Game
Game2021
Spacebase Startopia
Developer Realmforge Studios
Spacebase Startopia captivates with its original mixture of economic simulation and empire building strategy paired with classic RTS skirmishes and a good dose of humor. From the Steam store page
197 reactions from 2 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky) · newest Sep 10, 2026 · last updated Oct 8, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
44
Mixed
85 positive · 109 negative
95% range 37–51%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 85 | 109 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
3 newer reactions are still waiting for a label.
Steam's own rating
Mixed
369 of 662 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What people are saying
Mixed reception: fans of the original are split on this remake.
Some players who loved the original Startopia find this version enjoyable, especially after patches. They note it improves on scope and content, and that bugs have been largely fixed. [2][7]
However, many others feel the remake lacks the original's charm, humor, and soul. Common criticisms include a grating AI voice, clunky interface, and performance issues. [17][26][28]
Praised improved scope and content · post-patch improvements
Criticised lack of original charm · grating AI voice · clunky interface · performance issues
Summary drafted by an AI model from the 36 reactions it cites ([n] links open each post), then checked by code: every paragraph cites real posts and every quote is verbatim. Written Oct 8, 2026. Method
Reactions
60 of 197 · most liked firstA remake by people who didn't understand what made the original good
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I played the original to death and have completed the game on Admiral difficulty, so I've been through the worst of it. And I'm looking at that "Mixed" rating, and I've got something to say on the matter. So if you're looking for the opinion of someone who played the original, played the new one and wants to give a contrary opinion to that rating, then read on. Yeah, it's pretty rough, but. Truth be told I find the negative reception to this game understandable, but unfortunate. A number of…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →2022 UPDATE Last patches made the game mostly playable. There are still some performance issues. I'd recommend it ON SALE ONLY - game is largely overpriced ORIGINAL REVIEW "Look what they've done to my boy!" Spacebase Startopia is an attempt revival of a cult-classic from 2001 that went by the name of Startopia, and was developed mostly by ex-Bullfrog people over at Mucky Foot. For those who love sandbox Tycoon-esque games (Sim Theme Hospital, Sim Theme Park), that game probably made you…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I would love to recommened this game, I really do. It has some good qualities that motivated me to finish the singleplayer-campaign. With that said, in my opinion it is a step back from the original - it retains all the flaws, adds numerous new ones and does little better. As one of the few people to finish this game - judging by the miniscule attention it gets online - I feel entitled to give my two cents about how it played. Beware, spoilers ahead: The Good: - The graphics are cute and it is…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I read the reviews and I was torn for a few days on whether or not to purchase. There isn't a whole lot of YouTube content on this game, especially since the last round of bug fixes. I thought to myself, are the bugs THAT bad? Is it really not playable? I ended up pulling the trigger and I am glad that I did! This is, in my opinion, an improvement over the original game. I have about 200 hours into the original, from when it was first released many years ago and more recent play thrus. For this…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Devs are cashing and milking on nostalgia feeling by impersonating games like Dungeon Keeper and now they copy-cating Startopia without understanding of what made those games legends. So what do we have this time... a management game without a pause buttons, where you constantly have to click everything till you have a carpal tunnel syndrome. Lazy cashgrabbers do not grasp what a "fun" aspects of a management game are. Pros: (o) Graphics are nice Cons: (o) Cookie clicker has dropped a ball…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really liked the first game and can highly recommend the original StarTropia, but honestly i dont like the new game, it is a remake by people who didn't understand what made the original good. I miss the real VAL and Arona
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It is a nice remake of the old Startopia from 2001, but still a lot of bugs. Definitely not worth 50€. The idea is ok, Gameplay did not much change in 20 years. The graphics are nicer, sound as well, but the engine seems to have massive problems. Without slowing down the game speed it is nearly impossible to get thru the later missions with more than one opponent. There is just too much micro management going on while fighting. You need to harvest any plant/tree manually on the bio deck to have…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I highly recommend avoiding this game. It is not Startopia we fell in love with back in the day. Interface is clunky, with some puzzling decisions, like you can't switch decks by clicking on minimap, only by clicking exact deck button, which was super advanced technology original Startopia could do. Not to mention anything with longer list, like alien list being super unresponsive to clicks, like it has database system that is equally old as original game, except that was far more responsive.…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →After reading the reviews, I put off purchasing this game for a year and finally bought it on sale. I'm really glad I gave it a try. I was a big fan of the original. After playing most of the campaign, I really am confused about what a lot of the negative reviews are talking about. The game has many of the same mechanics, processes, buildings, and alien functions as the original: a race for medicine, one for recycling, one for communication, another for security, as well as entertainment,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Honestly, even if it's on sale, I would say don't get this game unless they put in a fast forward option. There's nothing entertaining about staring at my phone for ten minutes while I wait for an objective to finish. Also, the aliens walk slowly, so it's a case of hurry up and wait. If they add in that feature, I'll change my review to passable. This is very much a game that you can play while doing something else.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I loved the original startopia and spent 80+ hours just chilling in freeplay. I can't do that in this one because it's so poorly optimized I get performance issues before I even finish completely building up the smallest map. Frequent frame drops from interacting with the UI, beaming things up, and moving the camera. I literally have zero trust in Kalypso releasing a finished product at this point. It's sad because it really does a good job of replicating the old game. My specs are a GTX 1080,…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Resounding Meh. The oiginal Startopia, where I wasted hundreds of hours from a young age into adulthood, had a gritty, absurdist and nihilistic intelligence to it, slapstick animations ahead of its time and kinky sous-entendres of a sci-fi consumerist hedonistic society of aliens, drinking and gambling and dying. The new one has none of that, unfortunately. Banal creatures and rote animations in pastel colors, visiting Cat cafés and walking out once their money is depleted, like an android…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Think of this as Startopia the sequel and suddenly this seems a lot less like a remake - its not. This is a reimagining of a game and it has a lot more content than the original ever did. It doesnt quite catch the humor of the original game, though it does try to. What it lacks in humor though it more than makes up for in scope - there is a lot to this game - many constructions on the first two decks, easy customization of the top deck and each mission as you progress takes some time. It…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I will go on record saying that the original Startopia is one of my favorite games ever and that I was very excited about this game. I knew there would be changes. I knew that I needed to reign in my expectations and to take this game at face value and to judge it fairly for what it was and what it was trying to be. I usually go into movies and games expecting mediocrity and I am usually right. I try not to get too hyped because I have been disappointed too many times. As the old saying goes,…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I was a huge fan of the original Startopia and must have spent hundreds of hours playing it as a kid, I even go back to it every few years to play a little bit still, so I was super surprised to see that they made another one! Unfortunately trying this out I was left feeling incredibly disappointed, the short summary of my experience is that it feels completely "souless", it fails to capture pretty much anything about the feel and look of the old game, the aestethics, sounds, music, etc all…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Full of bugs and idiotic design decisions. Sound cuts out frequently, tool-tips don't update consistently in menus, blueprints don't save between missions, crates glitch into the floor. VAL9000 is so distracting that 99% of people just mute it. The game could be salvageable and worthwhile to play if Kalypso had any interest in fixing the issues, but they don't. They got their nostalgia cash-grab and now they've moved on.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →A disrespect to startopia
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's really well-made and faithful successor of Startopia... Until mid-late game. The Campaign is short and shallow, although funny enough to be entertaining. No problem, just play sandbox mode! Sandbox mode was awesome in Startopia! Plus the modern UI and QoL makes it so much easier to do what you want to without excessive amounts of clicking! (One of the biggest advantages of a remake IMO) But then you start running into bugs, can't take over enemy AI sectors because your Giant mech gets…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Feels Soulless. I loved the original Startopia, it really hit the vibe of a different type of Dungeon Keeper or Theme Hospital style game. It had a lot of heart, goofy british humor, and really fun scenarios. Space Base: Startopia checks all the boxes but misses the heart of it. The tutorial basically takes you through all the scenarios of the original, but doesn't really teach you the game. The sound design is lacking which I think is what breaks the immersion. The original Startopia had…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you want to play Startopia, play the old one. This one lacks the old charm, and doesn't improve the tedium... It may even make it worse.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The only thing it was good at was making me want to install Startopia, the far superior original game. This remake is just nowhere near as good.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →the original game was very good.....i read the reviews but decided to ignore them because i didnt know how many people actually played the original....this....they fckd up....shameful embaressment to the original
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This isn't Startopia. The Devs tried, they did. But you're just playing Bin Man Simulator with a heavy hint of verbally abusive AI. Unlike VAL of the original, the VAL in this game lacks any humour, it is simply a constant stream of snide remarks that don't come across as humorous but more condescending and tactless. The Voice Actors should of studied the original VAL, as should the writers. Gameplay wise it gets super repetitive after a while. Even more than the original Startopia. Buildings…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Just play the original, this is a demake or a downgrade, even with the graphics update
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Devs seem to have gave up on this one, huge fan of the original. However, it lacks depth and I thought the game feels early access and missing a lot of possibilities and features, a few bugs they never fixed. Game play feels forced and not as enjoyable as I remembered.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As a kid I played at least 100 hours of Startopia. This game desperately wants to be Startopia and for the first 4 missions it feels similar. Suddenly in Mission 5 and onward the game has incredible problems with the camera and simply clicking things in game. It seems to specifically be an issue with handling more than 3 bulkhead sectors. It also has a ton of bugs and the robot advisor lacks any charm. Not to mention they didn't put in the General Trader with the Cockney Accent. Two Point…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is not finished. Kalypso may think it is, but that is because they didn't QA test it at all. There are so many issues, such as scuzzers not being able to fight, and your employees seem to also be against it. But guess what is something you need to do! Kill enemies! This means you have to get your tech tree really high and research security stations and wait for them to give you police bots, and guess what. They're not very good! You also need a damn transporter to move them about…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Compared to the original I have to say this is a downgrade, which is a real shame. the main AI voice companion is little better than a text to speech bot in 3 different flavour, each of which is equally annoying. the campaign is actually somewhat challenging but none of the missions last long enough to really let you feel the length and depth of the full game and unlock all the tiers of building (but there is Skirmish for that being fair) the alien AI annoys me the most how ever, especially…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Spacebase Startopia contains everything to be a good game but it fails to deliver. I don't feel the charm from the original game. The combat is horrendous, although there are a lot of buildings and aliens in my base it still doesn't feel alive at all. The sound bugs out all the time as well which is unacceptable for a so called finished game. I suggest buying the original game from GOG.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →6.5/10 They took the original Spacebase Startopia and improved a few things, well also making more things even worse. your better off playing the original if you can get your hands on it - dont think its worth 40$ even it every thing ran smoothly and they fixed what people have been asking them to for years + works just fine on windows 7 - npcs get stuck
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I was excited when I first heard about this, having loved the original as a kid... But damn was I let down. This has so much potential, and the devs should seriously consider giving it a deep and thorough rework.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It's clunky, the camera controls, the menus, the systems brought to the game. Edit: Aliens will complain about lines but without looking closely at buildings it's not easy to tell where the bottleneck is. Also all aliens, including your employees are terrible at taking care of needs. They'll complain about having no gaming or food, but then they'll go dancing or talking to other aliens instead. Original game at least let aliens get a "Fun" boost talking to species they get along with. VAL…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →After liking this game, I checked the base game. Now here's my rethinked review in a nutshell What i like: -nice music -loads of decors with purpose -somewhat cute graphics -reviewing system of the aliens -look of the fuzzies (better than scuzzers) what i dont like: -laggy mess -buggy mess -expensive as fu- -lazy graphic solution -security system -combat system -MA GOD LOOK AT THE GREYS, LIKE LATEX CREATURES!!! -VAL's new voice (why did you had to replace the chill bri'ish guy???) Note:…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This game is broken and a blatant injustice to it's predecessor. The AI pathfinder for your combat units and even the alien visitors is busted. The audio driver is broken and has to be manually restarted by pulling up the Steam overlay or the audio menu.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Badly broken, unplayable past midgame, and abandoned, unfortunately. The game is feature-complete but riddled with game-breaking bugs. UI stops working after a while -- clicking on things becomes only sporadically effective, often just stopping working for 10-60 seconds at a time. The keyboard will sometimes stop working, and alt-F4 is the only solution to that. Sound frequently just dies -- sometimes dropping to the main menu fixes it, other times it needs a restart (which particularly…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Unlike most, I didn't play the original Startopia when I was younger, so I'm not bringing that to the table here. From a purely objective view as a fan of management-type games, I'm not at all satisfied with playing this game. Firstly, I agree with a lot of others when it comes to the notifications. There are way too many. I should never be yelling at a bunch of lines of code to shut up, but there wasn't a consecutive 3-minute span of time where I didn't literally get mad at this game's…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Spacebase Startopia is a colourful sci-fi management game and a spiritual successor/remake of the cult classic Startopia. It combines space-station construction, economic management, alien population control and light RTS combat across three interconnected decks. The Extended Edition adds cosmetic extras and the soundtrack, but does not fundamentally change the core game. The three-deck structure is probably the game's strongest design idea. It gives the station a genuine sense of…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pale and shallow imitation of the original. Even the UI is worse.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I played the original and enjoyed it. While I didn't spend hundreds of hours on the original, but I did spend more than 30. However, something about this remake just feels... off. It is definitely missing some "je ne sais quoi". Maybe it's the "trying to be GlaDOS snark, but is actually just boringly mean" dialog. Maybe it's how the campaign feels "slow" or "too hand-holdie" after suggesting the tutorial that was, also, slow. Maybe it's the fact that all the aliens aren't as visually unique or…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I was initially looking forward to this game when it was announced in 2019, a spiritual successor to the legendary sci-fi management game by MuckyFoot in 2001. It skipped my mind when it released in 2021 due to other things going on in my life and now I decided to try and play it despite the mixed reviews and let's just say I should've thought something was up and it's readily apparent now. This game has terrible optimization issues where the whole game chugs trying to access your employee…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Over the last 20 years I've played thousands of hours of Startopia, it's one of my absolute favourite games of all time. Due to this I was was SUPER excited to play this modern version. What a let down, confusing, not funny and totally meh gameplay, would not recommend. What a shame.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Unresponsive and buggy. Has some interesting game design choices compared to the original but overall it feels like it clearly wasn't tested enough. Balancing is out of whack at times for better or worse. It's been more than half a year and it's still very poorly optimized. Got this at 40% off but honestly it's still not even worth the price. Please stay away from this game.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Play the original Startopia.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Until the last level, I would have considered this a "meh," but then the last level is such a deliberately terrible experience that it changed my mind to bad. I loved the original Startopia. I played it for hundreds of hours. This is so much blander and worse. The aliens are totally mute. No cute little noises and voicelines like before. Aliens all feel so samey. I couldn't tell you a single thing one alien race prefers over another, if anything. There's no charm. The Eu'reka and the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Bought the game cause I couldn't play multiplayer on the 2002 game. Saw this was made in 2021, so I assumed the multiplayer worked. Nope just says network error every time I try to join my friend.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Dear god! Who tested this game? Apparently no-one! 1. Main menu doesn't even work correctly. Highlighted option remain highlighted. Going into other options shows them over the top of the previous options so you can even read them! 2. Tried different resolutions but instead of offering the usual 1920x1080 or other 16:9 resolutions I can only choose 100%, 90%, 80% etc resolution of my 32:9 5120x1440 screen. Bonkers! 3. It's well documented how annoying VAL your ever present assistant/abuser…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →First of all, this is based on startopia, but its way different, bio-dome generates goods all the time on its own, but the bots can't keep up with your processing. and you are required to actually grab things and clean up even though there are garbage bots. And it seems like the game can't handle its own mechanics. Unlocked maybe 1/6th of the station and its stuttering alot, going into any menu to search for visitors freezes the game for a second or two, it miscalculates guests and employees,…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I was looking for a nostalgic update to the original and sometimes it feels good. But, there are some serious bugs that make playing rather annoying. The various controls sometimes get turned off or the bumper button is always on and I have to quit the game to reset. Not optimized for the Steam Deck as is claimed. Needs work and it won't get it apparently. Last update was 2021...
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Welp, like the other reviews say. This game is a low quality cash grab. Tons of bugs in the game some of which make it unbearable to play like for example the sound cutting out, or after a long game being unable to click things anymore on the station, only the interface responds. Bad design decisions, such as VAL's bad voices and the badly written lines its been given some of which literally sound like they came from google translate. Another bad decision was the events and such, like every…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I must admit, I have hundreds of hours in the original "Startopia" from when I was a kid and my dad bought me the original game from a charity shop. So I'm a big fan of the original game and was hoping this would largely be a re-texturing of the original game. I spent all of 8 minutes in a sandbox level and decided that I had seen enough. My major gripes: * The camera controls are utterly terrible. * It feels like the game needs a way higher FOV. * Some of the alien races have been completely…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Edit on 8/26/2022: Swallowed my pride and repurchased the game since it has that kind of thing I am honestly looking for. Will give the review a proper do-over as I invest time in it. ----- Original review on 8/23/2022. Decided to pick this up during the sale. Quickly refunded it due to the advisor, VAL, being a complete and utter a$$hole, enough so to make playing the game unenjoyable. I like management games, especially sci-fi related ones, but I'm there to play and have fun, not be mocked…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →not fun not funny not intresting it's noting that startopia was
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Easy way to fix the game: Turn "voice" audio slider to 0 Now you basically have a slightly updated Startopia. Kinda wish they had found a few more ways to update the original, but all in all its a fun stroll down memory lane. To be really honest, probably slightly inferior to the original in terms of mechanics, but still definitely playable and IN FACT VERY ENJOYABLE if you liked the original. -A guy whose beaten the original game ~8 times
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This was a borderline recommendation for me. At first I thought it lacked some of the fun of the original game it is based on. As of patch 1.3, I can recommend the game. The developer has shown that they are very interested in improving the game and providing long term support. Small changes have improved the UI and the small tweaks have made the game more enjoyable overall.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Long story short the devs are Hacks. Never ever buy this game at full price as they couldn't be assed giving you a full game. I am a massive fan off startopia from back in the day. Space base is borderline just cashing in. Basically you could get AI to overlay the old graphics and then strip out the games soul. Everything that set it apart from the rest, is gone. The economy is junk, the research is worthless, the biosphere bloated and generic. You'd think with everything they killed from…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I played the game for about 10 minutes before requesting a refund. I encountered issues with the camera skipping, which seemed like it might be due to a bug. Overall, the design, voices, music, and gameplay felt unfinished, almost like a pre-beta version. I'm surprised to see it available on Steam in its current state. I'm a big fan of the original game, so I'll be happy to consider purchasing this title again in the future if the developers address these concerns. I apologize for the negative…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →a good game that will interest fans of the original. however i've found the game extremely buggy with random crashes happening a lot more than expected. if you do get it make sure you change the default autosave option to 10 mins or be prepared to lose a whole 30 minutes worth of progress
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I have been waiting for this game a long time and I couldn't get past 8 minutes of it. It makes me want to play the original game Startopia, because that game does everything better. Any of the VAL voices are terrible, the UI makes the game seem small and is built for toddlers, and the "originality" of the game is...depressing. If you haven't played Startopia and/or are younger than me, this game is probably fine, but not for me.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really want to leave a good review, i really do. The game looks good and has that Startopia-vibe to it I've experienced for the last 20 years. Yet it has so many falws, bugs, bad design decisions, alien becoming mad for no apparent reason, garbage everywhere and fuzzies doing nothing. It's such a damn shame and I really hope this game gets better, but even after waiting for 4 patches before continuing playing, there are still way to many problems with it. Update: I have given up on this…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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