Galactic Junk League

Galactic Junk League Review

By, Marc Marasigan

Galactic Junk League is a 3D lobby-based sci-fi shooter set in junk-filled regions of space, sometime in the future. Players build their own spaceships and command them in battle against other player-controlled ships across a variety of maps ranging from frozen canyons to abandoned asteroid mines.

Graphics & Audio

The game features cel-shaded cartoony graphics which give off a distinctly Team Fortress-y vibe. The graphics quality might not compare to other vehicle-themed lobby-based shooters like World of Warships, but it’s a step above Robocraft. Plus, lower end rigs should have no problems running the game at a decent framerate. Galactic Junk League is also one of those games that will still look good a few years down the line. Still, it could benefit from a bit more ship and environment detail.

As far as audio is concerned, Galactic Junk League has got it in the bag. They won’t be winning any awards anytime soon but the sound effects are spot on and the background music works very well with the game’s action sci-fi theme. What’s not to love about blasting enemy ships to kingdom come with rock music blaring in the background? The comedic voice-overs during the tutorial also helps set the tone for a fun and casual game rather than a competitive one.

Welcome Aboard Captain!

Upon logging in to the game for the first time, players are given the choice of going through a tutorial or skipping it entirely. If you’re new to the game, I suggest going through the tutorial since ship-building is confusing enough for newbies without having to fumble your way through the interface. Trust me, it’ll save you a whole lot of time. Lobby shooter veterans on the other hand, should be able to jump into the game without a hitch. Although, the ship-building interface might still take a bit of time to get used to, especially if you’re a ship-building noob.

The entire tutorial takes about 15 minutes to complete. Players are taught how to build ships, research new blocks, and how to pilot their precious creations. The tutorial ends with a practice match against AI-controlled ships which give players a taste of what’s to come. Taking out stationary ships, however, even if they do shoot back, is a far cry from chasing down player-controlled ships with varying speeds and Ship controls are typical of lobby-based shooters. The WASD key are used to control the ship, the right mouse button to zoom in, and the left mouse button to fire.

Look For The Hidden Mickey!

Ship-building is the core of Galactic Junk League’s gameplay. Sure, you can probably get by with a pre-made ship that can take out most enemies you come across, but where’s the fun in that? It’s a lot more satisfying to decimate enemy ships with a ship of your own creation. Especially, with how ship-building works in the game. Players can build ships in all shapes and sizes, from giant space tanks to floating Mickey Mouse heads. (Check out the screenshots below; credits to the owner) The number and type of blocks that they can use however, is limited by their max CPU which is determined by ship class and class level.

Ships and CPU

Ships are divided into 5 classes: Rookie, Frigate, Cruiser, Battleship, and Destroyer. The fast, lightly armored Frigates have the least amount of CPU to work with, while the tanky and slow Battleships have the most. Players initially start off in the Rookie class, unlocking the four remaining classes once they reach Rookie level 10. Each of the four ship classes starts at level 1 and progress independently of each other. Leveling up increases the max CPU by a small amount and also unlocks class-specific blocks such as weapons and abilities.

The CPU cap effectively evens out the playing field, requiring players to find the perfect balance between speed, damage, and armor to match their playstyles. This means that you won’t be seeing heavily-armored Frigates or lightning-fast Battleships. There are, however, complaints of Snipers (Destroyers equipped with long-range high DPS lasers) being too overpowered, and, personally, I agree. The ability to destroy or disable a ship with one or two hits long before they can come close enough to do damage isn’t really fair is it? The game’s fondness for wide open maps doesn’t help either. Luckily, I play a fast burst damage Frigate so Snipers aren’t that much of a problem for me. Bigger and slower ships, however, are at a big disadvantage.

Self-destruct Initiated

Currently, the only game mode available is Team Deathmatch. Two teams of seven players battle it out in any of the five playable maps. The first team to reach 20 kills or the team with the most kills when the 6-minute timer runs out wins the match. Like Robocraft, ships are fully destructible and can easily be disabled by shooting out their thrusters or eliminated with a few direct hits to an exposed core. Unfortunately, there’s no way to repair your ship. This becomes a problem when you get your engine and weapons shot out. The only choice to get back in the match is for an enemy ship to destroy you or self-destruct. Self-destructing gives the enemy team a point anyway, so why wait?

Another issue that I just have to gripe about is getting kill-assists. Assist points are only awarded if you hit the ship’s core regardless of how badly you damaged the enemy ship. Punching through 3 layers of armor and hull, or shooting out a ship’s weapons and thrusters doesn’t count for anything unless you score a direct hit on what is usually the most defended part of a ship. In addition, 6 minutes also feels a bit too short. Most matches end well before either team reaches 20 kills. Unless of course, you happen to be pitted against the dream team of spaceships, an all too common occurrence. 10 minutes should be just about right.

Cash Shop

Like most lobby-based shooters, Galactic Junk League’s cash shop is loaded with skins and cosmetic items. Most can only be bought using Space Credits, the game’s premium currency, but some can be bought using regular game currency, called Junk. Junk can be earned from matches and is also the currency used to upgrade ships. Aside from cosmetic items, players can also purchase Exp and Junk boosts, which, when activated before a match, applies to every single player in the game. If that isn’t fair, I don’t know what is. Overall, the cash shop is as balanced as they come, especially for a free to play game.

The Final Verdict - Good

In spite of Galactic Junk League’s many flaws, it’s still a game with a lot of potential. Matches are fun, action-packed, and fast-paced, unless, of course, you’re in control of a slow gargantuan battleship, which is still fun nonetheless. Good graphics, great audio, and a relatively easy-to-learn and well-made ship-building system make Galactic Junk League one of the best lobby-based crafter shooters I’ve played. Overall, a great choice for players looking for a quick, casual game to pass the time.

Galactic Junk League Screenshots

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Galactic Junk League Videos

Galactic Junk League Online Links

Galactic Junk League Official Site
Galactic Junk League Steam Page
Galactic Junk League Facebook
Galactic Junk League Wikia

Galactic Junk League System Requirements

Minimum Requirements:

Operating System: Windows 7 SP1
CPU: Intel Dual Core
Video Card: Intel HD 3000
RAM: 4 GB
Hard Disk Space: 4 GB

Recommended Requirements:

Operating System: Windows 7 SP1
CPU: Intel Core i5
Video Card: Nvidia GeForce GTX 650 and better
RAM: 8 GB
Hard Disk Space: 4 GB

Galactic Junk League Music & Soundtrack

Coming Soon...

Galactic Junk League Additional Information

Developer: Pixel Federation
Publisher: Pixel Federation

Game Engine: Unity

Closed Alpha Date: June 21, 2016
Open Alpha Date: July 12, 2016 - August 23, 2016
Open Beta Date: September 14, 2016

Early Access: January 17, 2017

Shut Down: September 28, 2018

Development History / Background:

Galactic Junk League is developed and published by Pixel Federation, a Slovakia-based game developer founded in 2007, known for games such as Trainstation and Emporea. Development on the game began in September 2015 in the Unity Engine by a small team under the banner of Pixel Federation. The game first opened to the public with a closed alpha that began on June 21, 2016, which initially opened to players within the Central European region and later included global users. Its open alpha began on July 12, 2016, open to players worldwide, and shut down on August 23, 2016. Open beta followed shortly afterwards on September 14, 2016 with a variety of new features such as game modes and maps. Galactic Junk League released into Early Access, through Steam, on January 17, 2017. The game currently does not have an announced release date. The game was shut down on September 28, 2018.