The competition for land and resources out here is brutal. Some are looking offworld for a fresh start. A melancholy narrator explains the stakes: “Earth may be dying. The main theme by Christopher Tin (composer of Civilization IV‘s much-loved “Baba Yetu”) is sombre, alien and yet nostalgic. The opening cutscene, for instance, shows tremendous promise. The presentation feels a bit utilitarian, and the attempts at injecting some pizzazz lead to a strange inconsistency in tone. Unfortunately, there are many things on the periphery that drag the experience down.
It nails the right level of complexity and is short enough to be multiplayer-friendly. This core play is what makes Offworld Trading Company shine like a solar condenser. Then you use your hacker array to artificially inflate the price even more, crippling your opponent and making them easy prey for a buyout. He’ll be forced to buy the power to keep his factories running, and your own supply will increase in value. Then you use the Black Market to cut off your rival’s supply.
First, you expand your own power-producing capabilities. For example, maybe you see your rival has based all of their electricity production on a single geothermal vent. The Black Market is essential to many of your biggest plays.
For a price, you can set off an EMP to disable your opponent’s energy grid, inspire a mutiny to steal a factory’s production, or even set a trap on your most valuable tile. If that doesn’t fit your definition of “thrilling,” all players have access to the Black Market at regular intervals. Monitoring and manipulating the price of goods is one of the key requirements for victory and is surprisingly thrilling. However, your actions have consequences: buying tons of electricity is sure to drive the price up, and quickly selling all the oxygen you’re producing will flood the market and tank the price for everyone. All resources-from the basic to the most valuable-can be bought and sold at the click of a button.
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