NASA’s Artemis II mission to slingshot four astronauts around the moon – and subsequently travel the furthest mankind has ever been from the Earth – has inspired a renewed interest in space travel among the millions who’ve watched the mission unfold. So much so, it’s actually caused a huge spike in player numbers for one 2015 indie game that prides itself on simulating scientific space travel.
Kerbal Space Program is a PC game that tasks players with constructing rockets and sending the titular Kerbal characters on their very own space missions. From visiting alien worlds and launching satellites into orbit, each launch requires players to construct increasingly complex spacecraft, each with a plethora of things that can go wrong – and go wrong they often do.
A notoriously tricky game to get right, Kerbal Space Program is a game that’s just as fun when things aren’t going your way. The Kerbal’s almost resemble Despicable Me’s Minions in that, no matter whether they’re travelling towards the sun at three times the speed of light, they’re just happy to be along for the ride.
Kerbal Space Program is a bit of a niche game, but it certainly found its audience back in the day. However, the combination of Artemis II and the release of sci-fi epic Project Hail Mary has inspired a renewed interest in the title with its player count surging by 60% this month.
While the indie title was enjoying a peak player count of just over 6,000 in March, that figure has skyrocketed to almost 13,000 in April. It’s not quite the same peak of 19,079 that it achieved the month it left early access in 2015, but it’s still an impressive feat for such an old title.
Consequently, Kerbal Space Program is enjoying a renewed spot in the limelight on both TikTok and Reddit. Gamers are sharing their hilarious rocket constructions online, most of which end up failing in spectacular fashion.
The community has also proven itself to be a welcoming one with plenty of veteran players assisting newcomers with their questions. “It’s heartwarming seeing all the new players posting asking for help as they learn the game,” reads one post on the game’s subreddit.
It’s like watching fledglings learn to fly for the first time through trial and error. It’s almost adorable in a weird way.
A sequel to Kerbal Space Program was released into early access in 2023. However, it’s generally considered to be inferior to the original with it currently sitting at ‘Overwhelmingly Negative’ on the most recent Steam reviews.
However, the original game is still available to purchase on Steam with players clearly still enjoying their time with it.
So, if you’re looking for a sciency video game hit in the wake of NASA’s monumental achievement, Kerbal Space Program could be this weekend’s ideal entertainment.
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