In 2012 a game that allowed players to create spaceships and attempt to send them to space was released, and a whole new generation of rocket enthusiasts was born. Kerbal Space Program was wildly unique upon release. A space agency simulator with modular parts to create unique rockets, silly little green folks called Kerbals, and a whole solar system to explore if you could figure out the right mix of trajectories and fuel. Part of the fun was the failures, and finally succeeding in a goal you had set for yourself was exhilarating due to the steep learning curve that the game throws at you. Utilizing realistic physics calculations for gravity and air deflection, the game was praised by real rocket scientists and had players in NASA and the ESA calling it a wonderful simulation.

Now, 11 years later, Kerbal Space Program 2 has been released to Early Access by Intercept Games and Private Division. While still in the early stages, the release has enough in it that it gets your mind racing and lays a solid foundation for the team to build upon following their roadmap to release. Currently, the Early Access build only features the Sandbox mode where you have unlimited access to parts and pilots and can create wildly wacky ships and try to put them into space or on other solar bodies. Though not super full of content, it is still a great load of fun and shows off a heap of improvements from the first game.

Gameplay

The Sandbox mode for Kerbal Space Program 2 is a great launching point for new players and veterans as it allows failing without consequence. The only thing you lose in this mode when a rocket blows up is the time it took to build it (and the Kerbal pilots, but they get replaced instantly). With that being said, the agency area also includes a training zone with 4 chapters of extremely helpful tutorials with fun voiceovers and animated videos. These explain important concepts, ranging from what is a rocket to how to perform orbital transfers. Even vets of their own space programs will find these tutorials cute and well done, although I experienced a few bugs that wouldn’t allow me to take any actions when I was supposed to be doing things.

Creating your ships has been made much more in-depth while still remaining approachable, with lots of customization options to change the shape and size of certain parts while giving helpful notes from “the engineering team” regarding any potential issues with the rocket. As opposed to discovering the engines won’t lift your ship off the launch pad when you try to launch, you find that the thrust ratio is below 1. These little extra pieces of data are all over KSP 2, and they made understanding what was going wrong much simpler. Along with that, while building your ships you have the ability to create and save different workstations so you can utilize them in later builds or customize them separately from the rocket as a whole. This was such a cool feature and I can already see the plans to implement cooperative multiplayer with different players making different parts of the rocket to put together before launch, much like how real space agencies work.

When you finally launch the ship, the first thing you notice is the countdown. A speaker counts down in Kerbalese(?), water runs through the launch pad, and then the engines fire to a swell of music. It was such an awesome way to first fire off a rocket, and my hilarious failure right afterward was a stark contrast that had me burst out laughing. While it will probably get old after a few hundred launches, there is an option to turn off the countdown. Once )successfully) in the air, the revamped UI will be full of data and is fairly open to being clicked and manipulated in various ways, which is much more approachable than in the first game. Planning maneuvers has also become much simpler, and it feels way less finicky than the first game.

Expectations

While not brimming with content, this Day 1 Early Access release of Kerbal Space Program 2 has me incredibly excited for the future of this game. With a roadmap featuring multiplayer, colonies, interstellar travel, new systems, and the other game modes from the first game like Science or Career, there will be so much more content coming that the game will constantly be changing. One of my big praises for the first game was that it had a fairly robust modding scene and continuous developer support, and it looks like this new game will be no different.

Besides the upcoming content, what is already in place feels good. While there are definitely bugs to be ironed out and some performance issues I noticed, they are not large enough to ruin the experience at all. I felt like I was a teenager again, struggling with aerodynamics and incorrect payloads as I did my best to get these green astronauts into space.

Verdict

For myself, there is a fair bit of nostalgia involved with Kerbal Space Program and KSP 2. I spent quite a few hours playing the first game, and from what I have played of the second I can see myself spending even more time on this one, especially with the planned multiplayer and interstellar travel. Of course, KSP 2 is much more accessible to newer players with the tutorials and helpful UI, and I can see this becoming a big hit in the near future. Now is the time to get in on the ground floor of another groundbreaking game, and I see that as a great call. If you have any interest in rockets, how they work, explosions, and space, this is one for you.

Kerbal Space Program 2 is out now on Steam Early Access. Check out my first 20 minutes of gameplay below and let us know your thoughts in the comments! Please don’t be too mean, I know I’m not that good. Explosions are still fun though.