Nom Nom Galaxy (Q-Games. Ltd.)

Facebook
Like PixelJunk on Facebook

Twitter 
Follow Q-Games on Twitter

Website
Check out the official
Nom Nom Galaxy Website

Discussion
Give the developers feedback on the Steam Discussion Page

Purchase
Buy your Early Access copy on the Steam Store page 

He who controls the soup controls the galaxy. That is why, as a worker for Soup Co. it is your mission to keep the soup flowing. It appears that the galaxy doesn’t particularly care what the soup is made of either as you can slap together just about anything to make some. The local wildlife obviously objects violently to being turned into a soup and Soup Co. also has powerful rivals so you have your work cut out if you want to survive this cut-throat business.

Nom Nom Galaxy might look like pure chaos when viewing the screenshots, but it is actually quite simple. You are dropped off on a hostile planet which you have to explore while turning everything into soup. The soup making is done via factory modules that you have to build and is blasted off into space using rockets. As you rake in the profits you can expand your base in order to add defenses, more soup making modules as well as robotic workers to help ease the workload. You have to make the most of the limited amount of time you have available each day in order to beat your rivals and conquer the market with your soup.

Just because the basic idea is very simple doesn’t mean that the game has no depth. Nom Nom Galaxy cleverly combines elements of platforming, tower defense and base building into one cohesive and very addictive whole. It is a fast paced game as you have to race around collecting ingredients while ensuring that your base is well defended. If your office module is destroyed the game is over so you have to protect this vital module at all cost. Initially you can only carry one ingredient at a time and it takes two ingredients to make one can of soup, but fortunately you can use the research tree to unlock ways of automating tasks. From conveyer belts to robotic servants and vacuum tanks that suck up multiple ingredients, there is already a lot of very cool ideas in this Early Access version.

The 2D visuals are bright and bold with that trademark pixeljunk look that Q-Games have perfected. Mixing and match all kinds of bizarre ingredients like grass, flowers and whatever unfortunately wildlife crosses your path just to see what type of soup it produces is incredibly fun. The base building is also very addictive as you can create sprawling layouts teeming with workers, defenses and modules. The game also already features a split screen local co-op mode and the developers are actively listening to fan feedback about incorporating and including new features.

The mixture of different genres keeps Nom Nom Galaxy interesting throughout and you constantly have to switch your priorities to stay alive and ahead of the competition. Exploration is made tricky by requiring oxygen when you are outside of your base and straying too far might mean you won’t make it back in time to protect your office if enemies sneak past your automated defenses. A recent update added a save feature which makes things a bit easier, but things can and will go horribly awry if you make stupid mistakes like tunneling for resources below your base without putting up support struts.

I enjoyed my time with Nom Nom Galaxy immensely and look forward to seeing what the developers are going to add to the mix. The basic formula is already very solid so anything they add during the Early Access phase is just going to make the game better and more polished.

Related posts

Jagged Alliance Flashback (Full Control)

Jagged Alliance Flashback (Full Control)

My first steps in the world of Jagged Alliance Flashback see me moving my character, a CIA operative, away from the burning helicopter wreck that was his ride a few seconds ago. The mission was to rescue a prisoner from an arms dealing smuggler who calls himself the Prince, but things didn't quite go according to plan.

Card Hog (SnoutUp)

Card Hog (SnoutUp)

Card Hog by SnoutUp is a card-based dungeon crawler where you pick your little pig protagonist and then try to stay alive for as long as possible. Along the way, you get to slay all manner of foes and pick up different weapons with which to do the slaying. You'll also want to keep an eye on your health and grab the healing potions needed to keep the porky protagonist alive. All in all, it plays like a typical role-playing game but presented in the most accessible way possible.

Rising World (JIW-Games)

Rising World (JIW-Games)

After the success of Doom, every new game released with a first person perspective and guns were quickly labeled “Doom clones” despite whatever other merits they might have had. Thankfully people soon realized how stupid this practice was and instead recognized the first person shooter as a genre. However, here we are, many years later and every open world sandbox game with crafting involved is labeled as a “Minecraft clone.” Dismissing Rising World this way would be a mistake though, as despite the fact that the game is still in early access, it is already showing a lot of promise.

Friendship Club (Force Of Habit)

Friendship Club (Force Of Habit)

Young Timmy Bibble is a boy with a very active imagination and he uses it to make his four imaginary friends battle each other. Ranging from a mountain beast and crazy old prospector to a duck and ninja-bandit-skeleton-thing, these characters are ready to kill each other for their spot by Timmy’s side. As far as storylines goes it’s pretty wacky, but then again who needs an excuse for some good old fashioned arcade action.

Wrack (Final Boss Entertainment)

Wrack is an arcade style first person shooter that provides you with plenty of guns, aliens to use them on and then lets you get on with the fun. It is also a game that doesn't believe in weapon carry limits, hiding behind cover or regenerating health. The result is a lean and mean shooter that doesn't get bogged down in scripted sequences or boring quick time events.

Drifter (Celsius Game Studios)

Drifter (Celsius Game Studios)

While I never got into Elite, I spent countless hours playing Frontier: Elite II and Frontier: First Encounters. As much as I enjoyed the open world aspect of those games, the combat was really a pain, not to mention the bugs. There have been other titles, such as Privateer and Freelancer, but Drifter reminds me the most of those Frontier titles.

Leave a comment

three + two =