When I think of Indie PC games, I think of choppy bland graphics, boring derivative stories, and half assed production. Flotilla, from Blendo Games is the exact opposite of that. I’ve spent a ton of time with this quirky space/strategy/adventure hybrid and have had a blast with this $10 game. It’s a cross between Homeworld 2 and a text based adventure game. If that doesn’t excite you, I don’t know what would!

So, what is Flotilla? The game’s title refers to your fleet. You’ll start off with a flotilla of two missile destroyers. As you progress from planet to planet, you’ll encounter enemies or little story snippets. In most cases, you’ll be given a choice and depending on how you choose, you may engage in a battle, get some loot to add on to your existing ships, new ships to add to your fleet, or nothing at all.

Kidding aside, this game has a ton of charm. While some gamers may be put off by its quasi turn based strategy, the game actually has a lot of humor mixed in as you travel from planet to planet, searching out your next big adventure. In your star sailing, you’ll encounter such exotic aliens as… Pigs, Owl’s, Panda bears and other silly “aliens.” They’ll either want to fight you or give you stuff and it’s different every time you play a career.

When you do get into a fight, the game shifts to a 3D space battle. Here, time is paused and you’ll give each of your ships commands. When you’ve given all of your ships commands that break down to move, shoot or move and shoot, the game will then play out the moves in real-time. The goal is to maneuver your ships so you’re firing toward the bottom or rear of the enemy, where their armor is the weakest. Rinse and repeat until the enemy is dead.

While the preceding paragraph may have bored you to tears, Blendo Games does a lot with this simple formula. There’s a fairly deep tactical strategy to these engagements that is different ever time you play the game. Because your career is frustratingly short, there’s a ton of replayability, like Sid Meier’s Pirates!, and I found myself restarting a new campaign immediately after completing a career. The game is meant to be played in short bursts and you can complete a career in less than 20 minutes. When you start over, the galaxies are randomized in each playthrough and while you may do some of the same missions over, there’s enough new stuff and loot for your ships to keep you coming back for more.

The aesthetic of the game is very similar to Team Fortress 2, with all of the kitschy bells and whistles that gives TF2 its charm is also found here. I really enjoy this little space strategy gem. I did have a few issues with the game though. First off, the ship types you encounter and what types of weapons they used were not explained anywhere. On more than one occasion, I would use tactics I used in a previous battle, only to find out all too late that the ships I was facing had beam weapons instead of missile weapons.  While it adds a bit of surprise to the engagements, a wiki would be preferable. Second, during battles, enemy ships would rotate to keep the top of their hull facing my ships, but I still do not know how to do that for my own fleet. So, while the tutorial is simple and straight forward, the finer points of the tactical strategy could also use a wiki. The game is just way more in depth that it’s creators give it credit for and I would love to take the plunge if they’ll give me the info.

For PC gamers that love strategy games like Homeworld and Homeworld 2, this bite sized gem is not to be overlooked for any PC gamer, as the requirements to play are very low.  I highly recommend this game. It’s also coming out on XBLA soon, so check it out at Blendogames.com.

*Author’s Note: Received a review copy from Blendo Games and played this game’s campaign a ton of times because it’s a ton of fun!