Gimbal Demo

Because only a handful of companies and governments from around the world are knowledgeable on the subject, building a spaceship is not exactly something everyone is able to do in their garage. Science fiction can be a good teacher, however, which means that with enough creativity and the entire Star Trek box set, one can design something viable, or at least imagine it.

Gimbal goes a bit further than that and provides you with the possibility to put your concepts into practice and see how well they would fare in a simulated environment, or even against other ships. Hence, not only do you get to see how the design handles gravity and friction in atmospheric conditions, but it is also possible to equip it with a nice arsenal and test it in battle.

In essence, the game is meant to be played in multiplayer, although you can run a few test runs against computer-controlled players as well. On the other hand, a lot of work went into the multiplayer component, because there are plenty of interesting modes to try out. Hence, whether you are in the mood for a classic deathmatch, or you would much rather use the ships to race around planets, the choice is yours to make.

The game is layered into multiple tiers, which are unlocked as you manage to build sturdy spaceships, defeat other players, and accumulate a certain amount of wealth. Once you reach the highest levels, everything becomes available and you have access to over one hundred parts to fit on your designs. Hence, you can end up with ships specialized on various tasks, such as endurance, speed, or handling.

When it comes to graphics and visual appearance, the top-down perspective does not allow for too much detail, but the artwork is good enough to pass as pleasant. This makes it easier for slower computers to run the game smoothly as well, because the emphasis is put on the freedom and fun, instead of sharp looks and high-end shaders.

Gimbal is indeed quite ingenious and fun to play, but only in multiplayer, because everything gets a tad too boring playing with bots. However, there doesn’t seem to be too much of a community left, which might make it difficult for you to find a crowd to hang out with.