What can I say about Battlevoid: Harbinger? When it comes to playing the game, the first thing that comes to mind is the old catchphrase from the board game Othello: "Easy to play, difficult to master".

The overall premise is fairly simple: you fly around a galaxy, completing missions, collecting resources (Scrap and Technology), and outfitting a small fleet of ships. The longer you play, the more challenging the enemies become, but the rewards are commensurately greater as well.

Now, when I say "small fleet of ships", I do mean SMALL. This isn't some Grand Strategic Space RTS on the order of, say, Homeworld, Sins of a Solar Empire, or Stellaris. You start out with a single ship, and at most you'll have three ships under your command.

In truth, this game plays a lot like a slightly scaled-up FTL; the maps are randomly generated, and you'll never face quite the same hostile forces in each playthrough. You might start out one game facing the Trolgar, before moving on to face, say, the Celestials and the Schillae, whereas on your next run you might come across the Wanderers, the Schillae, and the Trolgar.

(On a side note, each of those races has a different specialization; the Trolgar, for instance, lean towards explosive and projectile weaponry, while the Celestials favor energy weapons. And, if you're lucky, you can scavenge some of their weapons when you destroy their ships - and you can either sell these weapons for Scrap and/or Technology, or equip them to your own ships. PRO TIP: If you get your hands on any Celestial Death Rays, EQUIP THEM! They're some of the most powerful weapons in the game; they cut through ships like a hot knife through butter.)

Now, some people might find this game to be dull and repetitive. Repetitive? Perhaps. Dull? Not from my point of view; it's one of those games that can turn into a real time-sink if you let it.

Sure, Battlevoid: Harbinger may not have the depth of gameplay that a game like Stellaris does, or the amazing story of a game like Homeworld... but there's something to be said for taking a relatively paltry group of ships and turning them into a force to be reckoned with.