Freespace 2
FreeSpace 2, the follow up to the classic Descent: FreeSpace – The Great War is ready to engage you in the second round. Follow the Grand Terran Vasudan Alliance further into the mysteries of the Shivans. Get your flight stick and hit the flight deck. The last time was just a warm up.
Sync your Steam wishlist to track the lowest game prices instantly. No login required, just paste your Steam profile URL!
⚡ Try Wishlist Radar!
Sync your Steam wishlist to track the lowest game prices instantly. No login required!
⚡ Try Wishlist Radar!
Close
Darkstar One on Steam - User reviews, Price & Information
Quick menu
Darkstar One offers a fantastic amount of freedom of choice. The story-based missions gradually lead you deeper into the galaxy to new races, new technologies and ever stronger opponents. Explore a vast array of solar systems in search of hidden artifacts of ancient races, essential objects for upgrading your ship--the Darkstar One.
Darkstar One is a action, space and sci-fi game
developed by Ascaron Entertainment ltd.
and published by Strategy First.
Released on February 13th 2008 is available in English only on Windows.
It has received 578 reviews of which 477 were positive and 101 were negative resulting in a rating of 7.8 out of 10. 😊
The game is currently priced at 1.75€ on Steam with a 80% discount, but you can find it for 0.54€ on Gamivo.
The Steam community has classified Darkstar One into these genres:
Media & Screenshots
Get an in-depth look at Darkstar One through various videos and screenshots.
Load More
System requirements
These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.
Windows
Minimum:
- Supported OS: Windows XP (32 bit)
- Processor: 1.6 GHz Intel or AMD processor
- Memory: 512 MB RAM
- Sound: DirectX compatible Sound Card
- Graphics: DirectX 9 compatible 128 MB graphics card with support for pixel/vertex shader 1.1 (GeForce 3 and above)
- Hard Drive: 6 GB HD Space
- Supported OS: Windows XP with SP2
- Processor: 3.0 GHz Intel or AMD processor
- Memory: 1024 MB RAM
- Sound: DirectX compatible Sound Card
- Graphics: DirectX 9 compatible 256 MB graphics card with support for pixel/vertex shader 3.0 (GeForce 6/Radeon x1x00 and above)
- Hard Drive: 7 GB HD Space
Steam Price & Best Deals
User reviews & Ratings
Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.
DarkStar One... isn't a good game, let's be honest. It took me 18 hours to beat on normal difficulty (finishing the plot + all side missions + all artifacts), and it doesn't really have half as much hours worth of unique content. That being said, it isn't offensively bad either, and I did derive some enjoyment out of it, so if you want a numbingly-simple spacesim to play for an hour or two during a slow evening, this game might be just about right. I say the biggest entertainment value is the main plotline and the sidequests. The main plot is super simple, you can see most of the plot beats from miles away (though one plot reveal between the two leads did amusingly blindside me); it is also quite a bit scattered and full of digressions, the way I've been playing it - two hours an evening - I return to the game next evening and I wouldn't necessarily remember what I was doing yesterday (though the game gives you more than enough information to continue from where you left off). Nevertheless, it was mildly entertaining, occasionally somewhat funny. Voice acting is passable, sometimes good, in a few occasions really great, though the voicelines during the generic non-plot encounters, and during the occasional plot instances, will eventually get really grating. Sidequests provide some more of that mild entertainment value, and some extra worldbuilding. Yeah, worldbuilding, it is as simplistic as its plot, all races are one trick ponys, not something you'd build a DarkStar franchise upon (though Egosoft did manage to build a great franchise upon a similarly-simplistic foundation somehow). The gameplay is equally as simplistic. In a lot of regards, the game plays like Elite, yes, the one from the year of 1984: the trading is the same shuttle runs between a producer and a consumer systems, and is barelly worth your effort; the inter-system travel works really similar, and even the part where there's one trading station per system at a fixed distance from the system entrypoint is practically the same. And you fly the same ship for the entire game, also like in Elite, though besides letting you buy and install several kinds of equipment and weapons, also works like an RPG character whom you occasionally level up to upgrade and unlock special abilities, which really isn't all that an entertaining addition to the genre to be frank. You can't upgrade everything in one playthrough, but the level-up paths themselves are not all that distinct so you wouldn't conceivably want to give this game a second playthrough. The sandbox content of the game is so repetitive it gets old really fast. Besides the already-mentioned trading, you've got generic terminal missions - deliver cargo, retrieve cargo from an enemy, destroy the enemy, take a couple photos, listen in on a conversation - and every mission type plays out exactly the same scenario with no variation. There are pirate hideouts, which also play out exactly the same scenario and rewarding you with a slightly better version of a locally-produced gun. There's mining, which is about shooting at generic asteroids and occasionally getting them to drop a sellable ware. And there are artifacts, which are essentially experience points for you to upgrade your ship with, and they are sourced in two places: either in systems occupied by pirates, which always involve you shooting at three waves of pirate ships; or in big asteroids, and this involves either flying to the asteroid and into its tunnels until you reach the big inner chamber where you'll find the artifact in exactly the same place, or just paying a smuggler on the trading station to get it for you instantly. Most of the sandbox content rewards you with money, but just by getting every artifact, and fighting off every pirate who'd attack me, I had many times more money than I needed to buy everything that I need, so you don't even need to engage with most of the side content. The game looks dated - by 2006's standards. Like seriously, my two points of reference from 2003 - X2 and Freelancer - technically and stylistically look better than this game. The ship and station designs are alright, but they are let down by the low resolution textures; technically, this game uses bump and specular mapping plus detail textures, plus occasional animated texture, but their resolution is so low that it all just looks like blurry mess. And the "nebulas" in this game is just a colored tint with blur applied to it, not even Z-buffer fog. The music is somewhat generic but quite alright, though the dramatic horns that blow whenever you encounter pirates are ridiculous. Otherwise, there's nothing memorable about the soundscape of the game.
The game tries to pretend to be an open-world space-sim, but in all honesty it's more of a linear space shooter. There's only 1 ship (it can be upgraded), and the new star sectors open up in a pre-determined sequence. You technically can return to previous locations, but there's no point in doing so. Fun enough for a playthrough.
If you are patient it is worth at least one playthrough. Explanation below. Oh boy, this one did not age well. The story is basically a 80% Freelancer rip off, there were some good fresh ideas and some awful ones to change things up. The main problem with it was that it dragged on for so long with so much filler. Nonetheless there are some good moments. Gameplay wise you have all these cool races and ships but you are stuck in the Darkstar One, its evolving mechanic is cool at least. There are too many systems, way too many, the worst thing is that they are not unique, all of them are copy pastes of each other with some random recolor, the planetscapes and colors are really nice but they were used in such a mundane way. The only unique systems are the ones with mega sized planets and I think I only saw 4 of those in total... Mission variety is ok and there are a lot of unique side missions tied to each star cluster. The main story even had two planetary segments and the last mission also has a surprise. Biggest flaw of the game is that you can brick progression by being too high level, meaning those extremely infamous Flak missions. I kept my ship at level 7 and I was able to pass them but they still felt awful, not to mention you have to play literally half the game like that if you do not want to cheat. On the other hand it felt glorious to use all my upgrades and curb stomp everything after they were out of the way. Soundtrack is ok but there are not many tracks. Graphics wise it held up, sadly the game is extremely unstable on 4k and sometimes even on 1080p. For example when I unlocked the lower portion of the map I kept getting crashes when I opened the map, there were also totally random crashes, cursor bugging out. MSAA setting completely breaks graphics with everything becoming black and only UI visible. Little annoyances. Combat is ok once you get the hang of it but individually controlling the ship while individually aiming with the mouse was so weird. I say this because your guns shoot where you point, there is no centered crosshair. Overall it is an interesting time capsule and since the space genre is so dead today it might interest you. Often goes on 80-90% off sale.
Similar games
View all
Evochron Mercenary
The life of an independent mercenary is rarely without excitement. Your spacecraft awaits and your adventure begins in the Sapphire star system.
STAR WARS : TIE Fighter Special Edition
The Imperial Navy is called upon to eradicate the last of the rebellion and restore law and order. As an Imperial navy starfighter pilot, you will safeguard imperiled lives thoughout the galaxy. Join the Emperor's cause in eliminating the Rebel uprising as the Empire strikes back!
Starpoint Gemini 2
Captain your own space ship and roam the galaxy in 3D in this tactical space simulator with tons of RPG depth ! Space has never looked so inviting - but images can betray...It has been two years since the end of the second Gemini war, the situation in the wartorn system is further from resolution than ever.
Parkan 2
Parkan II is an original concept game that will allow you to feel as a pilot of a spacecraft lost somewhere in the universe. Become a pirate or mercenary, get money to buy the most powerful cruiser and show them all who is to be the new master of the galaxy. Unforgettable adventures in the Parkan II universe await you!
Infinity: Battlescape
Infinity: Battlescape is a multiplayer space combat sim supporting hundreds of players on a single server. Join one of the corporate factions and fight for domination of a seamless, true-to-scale procedural star system. Participate in massive space and planetary battles involving hundreds of ships.
Elite Dangerous
Take control of your own starship and blaze your trail in an ever-changing galaxy. Master the arts of combat, mining and trade or venture out into the unknown across a 1:1 scale universe.
STAR WARS - X-Wing Special Edition
Against the overwhelming might of the Empire stands a small but growing Rebel Alliance. Scattered resistance groups are uniting and what is needed most now are Starfighter pilots. Will you join their struggle to end this tyranny and become a hero of the Rebellion?
House of the Dying Sun
House of the Dying Sun is a tactical space shooter that puts you in the cockpit of the universe's most terrifying starfighter. Hunt the enemies of the Empire and bring ruin to their people.
X3: Terran Conflict
It is the year 2938. The long wished-for encounter of the X Universe and the Earth holds both joy and sorrow for the people. Despite flourishing trade, the clash of the diverse races, cultures and life forms creates new tensions, mistrust and open conflict that need to be overcome!
Rebel Galaxy
Rebel Galaxy is a swashbuckling space adventure, with action-packed combat, exploration, discovery, trade, and “negotiation” with the outlandish denizens at the edge of the known universe.
Void Destroyer 2
Start with nothing... End with everything! All you have is a basic ship, barely fit for combat, with it you'll start your journey and empire. A open world space sandbox, inspired by and expanding the classics.
Frequently Asked Questions
Darkstar One is currently priced at 1.75€ on Steam.
Yes, Darkstar One is currently available at a 80% discount. You can purchase it for 1.75€ on Steam.
Yes, Darkstar One received 477 positive votes out of a total of 578 achieving a rating of 7.77.
😊
Darkstar One was developed by Ascaron Entertainment ltd. and published by Strategy First.
Yes, Darkstar One is playable and fully supported on Windows.
No, Darkstar One is not playable on MacOS.
No, Darkstar One is not playable on Linux.
This information about Darkstar One is not available yet.
This information about Darkstar One is not available yet.
No, Darkstar One does not support VR.
Darkstar One is a single-player game.
No, Darkstar One does not currently offer any DLC.
No, Darkstar One does not support mods via Steam Workshop.
No, Darkstar One does not support Steam Remote Play.
Yes, Darkstar One is enabled for Steam Family Sharing. This means you can share the game with authorized users from your Steam Library, allowing them to play it on their own accounts. For more details on how the feature works, you can read the original Steam Family Sharing announcement or visit the Steam Family Sharing user guide and FAQ page.
You can find solutions or submit a support ticket by visiting the Steam Support page for Darkstar One.
Data sources
The information presented on this page is sourced from reliable APIs to ensure accuracy and relevance. We utilize the Steam API to gather data on game details, including titles, descriptions, prices, and user reviews. This allows us to provide you with the most up-to-date information directly from the Steam platform.
Additionally, we incorporate data from the SteamSpy API, which offers insights into game sales and player statistics. This helps us present a comprehensive view of each game's popularity and performance within the gaming community.
Last Updates| Steam data | 04 September 2026 05:23 UTC |
|---|---|
| SteamSpy data | 05 September 2026 15:13 UTC |
| Steam price | 11 September 2026 18:45 UTC |
| Steam reviews | 11 September 2026 13:48 UTC |
If you'd like to dive deeper into the details about Darkstar One, we invite you to check out a few dedicated websites that offer extensive information and insights. These platforms provide valuable data, analysis, and user-generated reports to enhance your understanding of the game and its performance.
- SteamDB - A comprehensive database of everything on Steam about Darkstar One
- SteamCharts - Analysis of Darkstar One concurrent players on Steam
- ProtonDB - Crowdsourced reports on Linux and Steam Deck Darkstar One compatibility
-80%
8.79€
1.75€
Visit Store
🔥 Deal
-94%
8.79€
0.54€
Buy Now
-86%
8.79€
1.29€
Visit Store
-86%
8.79€
1.31€
Visit Store
-83%
8.79€
1.51€
Visit Store
Game modes
Features
Online players
3
Developer
Ascaron Entertainment ltd.
Publisher
Strategy First
Release
13 Feb 2008
Platforms
Clicking and buying through these links helps us earn a commission to maintain our services.