Tachyon: The Fringe (2009)

Developer: NovaLogic
Publisher: NovaLogic, THQ Nordic
Genres: Simulation
Rating: 4.5 of 5, 247 player ratings
Typical playtime: about 6.3 hours
Where to get it: Steam

The 3D catalog: game boxes on wooden shelves, with the cat sitting at the counter next to its greeting.

The catalog in 3D

The same catalog has a room you can walk around in. The cat behind the counter is the AI Catbot, and they pick real games from it when you tell them what you feel like playing. Nothing is for sale, here or in there. Go in from here and this game is already out on the counter, with more like it waiting on the shelf next to it.

More games like this Watch the trailer

or watch the trailer on YouTube

How it feels

Piloting a heavily detailed spaceship through tactical dogfights in a richly built sci-fi universe, where quick thinking matters more than brute force.

classicspace combatmethodicaltacticalatmosphericchallengingimmersivesimulation-heavy

What players say

Players love the voice acting by Bruce Campbell and the solid space combat mechanics, especially the slide maneuver. The nostalgic campaign holds up well, but getting the game to run on Windows 10 and 11 often requires third-party wrappers like nGlide. Some encounter a spinning cockpit bug that can't always be fixed.

Screenshots

More games like this

More by NovaLogic

This page is from Underplayed Gems, a catalog of older and overlooked games. Not quite it? You can browse by platform and genre, or take this one into the 3D catalog and ask the Catbot for something closer.