The game offers players two modes of play; freestyle and story. In story mode the player will follow the story of Kayron as he learns about the Darkstar One and its varied capabilities. The game's story has been written by Claudia Kern, a successful German sci-fi author. It will take players though a series of adventures as Kayron searches for clues about his father’s murder. The other mode available to players is a free style mode, allowing players to go where they want and explore what they want in the game's extensive universe. With over three hundred planets and six alien races there is plenty to explore and see. From these worlds and aliens players can capture or buy new items to upgrade there ship in new and interesting ways. While many players may want to jump right in to playing the game freestyle we were informed that the story mode would allow the players access to several unique items and abilities for the ship.

In Darkstar One, unlike other games, it is the ship itself that is the class definer not the player. What makes this game truly unique is where most games have the player leveling a character it is the ship and the ship's abilities that improve over time, or “level” in DarkStar One. For example, the ship is modular and as such can be scaled to meet the player’s needs; this makes the ship extremely versatile and able to fit any player’s style of play. An example of this would be to take a player who loves to explore and wants a ship that will be able to survive if you end up somewhere you shouldn’t be. You can do that or conversely you could create a very fast and lightly armored ship that packs allot of firepower, its all up to you.

Some of the more notable features include multi-channel audio which will allow players to get a feel for all the transmissions occurring around them. As the players approach space stations and ships they will find they will be picking up may of the nearby broadcasts. In addition, the controls include a full 360° range of movement and realistic physics that allows for inertial drift (something that more space games should have). Players will have to truly lean how to fly, whenever players want to dock at a space station they will have to truly guide there ship in for a docking. This may cause frustration for some though. Finally players will also have to contend with full fledged reputation systems where every action will have a consequence, so if players decide to blow some one out of the sky they should expect to become wanted felons.

This game is also visually well done, featuring a huge variety of interesting looking ships, stations and environments that are sure to please even the most jaded of gamers. Since the game doesn’t have much to render because it takes place in deep space, there was a lot of time taken to make that which is rendered stand out and look particularly attractive. The only disappointment I think that some will find is the lack of an online or multiplayer mode. The developers made a conscious choice to concentrate on the single player game. I personally believe that only time will tell whether the developers made the right choice, but from what I have seen I think they have game play that doesn’t seem to be lacking. If you’re a fan of space games be looking for Darkstar One to hit the streets some time near the end of June.