The Hardspace: Shipbreaker dev's new game is a sci-fi deckbuilder with Battlestar Galactica vibes

Okay, so you're not being chased by an army of murderous robots that are only seconds behind you, but you're still jumping around trying to find a new home for the last of humanity who managed to escape a doomed planet. Earthless is a roguelike deckbuilder from Blackbird Interactive, although you wouldn't know it from the cinematic teaser trailer shown at the PC Gaming Show tonight, which was heavy on the dramatic yet hopeful voiceover. As the captain of the fleet, your job is to lead everyone to a safe harbour.

It's obviously a tad more complicated in practise, or you wouldn't need to build a deck at all. Not only are you engaging in some classic grid-based combat with what are described as mysterious interstellar enemies, but your deck of tactical cards is also deployed to manage the crew and make difficult decisions. You can imagine you'd face a bunch of those, what with making your way across a vast and unknown galaxy after your solar system's sun exploded. But since it's a roguelike I spose you'll get multiple goes at making them.

There's not a whole lot else to say about Earthless right now, but being in charge of a fleet and making decisions that make or break the suvival of literally all of humanity really does feel like Battlestar Galactica, doesn't it? The remake from the 2000s. I think the teaser trailer is harking back to the fleet making lightspeed jumps, too. I can also say that Earthless is an early access game that'll be coming out some time next year, and that if you look at the Steam page you can get a glimpse of some of the cards (including stuff like Warm Up The Engines and EMP Blast) and the mysterious alien enemies, which look like big gross ticks.

Also worth noting is that Blackbird have form with cool writing, so I'd be interested in the aforementioned ethical choices. Shame it's a deckbuilder, which I am not good at and do not enjoy!

NotE3 and Summer Game Fest 2023 is over for another year. You can find out all the latest news by visiting our E3 2023 hub, or you can catch up with our round-up posts of everything that was announced at Summer Game Fest, the Xbox Games Showcase, the PC Gaming Show, Day Of The Devs, and our top highlights from the Wholesome Direct.