In Ensign-1 you play the role of a space fighter pilot returning from a deep space colonization mission. On arrival back to our own solar system, you find Earth has been colonized by a hostile alien force. It's now up to you, with the help of your mothership, the Ensign-1, to take it back Ensign-1 allows allows for complete freedom in approaching objectives. You can fight from the safety of your spacecraft, or land and exit to explore space stations and carriers on foot. You can commandeer any spacecraft in the game, no matter how big or how small. Defend an asteroid base, or take the fight to the enemy with a huge mothership, friends manning turrets, it's your choice. The game also features a multiplayer mode where players can explore a randomly generated galaxy, either fighting co-operatively to clean out enemy fighters, or battling each other for supremacy.
It has bugs and glitches, but that is to be expected as it is an alpha version. I'll point out good and bad things and make some suggestions:
GOOD:
-"In your face" action, as the player go on and off the ship, or to the turret.
-Fast paced combat
-Intuitive controls
-Feels futuristic
-Gameplay is coherent with the games premises
BAD:
-It is in a very, very early stage to be even released
-Story is lacking
-For a game that is so linear, it lacks direction
-No key mapping
-No "cycle" - like, when you die, there's no message to tell you that, you simply respawn with all enemies and objectives restarted, this feels broken
-Lasers are difficult to aim, and if it was not enough, they go to different directions as you move
-On foot FPS system is broke. NPCs act strange, bullets act strange.
Ensign-1 is in track to be an arcade space shooter, a good one, that is. Thus, I think it should focus in story, combat and interaction with environment, mainly. Complex missions, memorables fights or situations is what I expect from a game like this. At the moment there is no objective tracking interface in-mission. That made me feel lost ingame. Shooting lasers is pretty difficult, and the actual reticle doesn't help at all, you should rework it so it will effectively help the player hit the target and not the opposite! UI should be reworked, but I like the minimal touch to it, feels immersive, as if the player is interacting with the ingame items.
I don't think this game strong attribute is about content, but about involvement. And what makes a good game is to recognize its strong points and make them stand out. I hope my review helps your development.