The Long Journey Home

When The Long Journey Home focuses on interactions with a diverse and entertaining cast of aliens across its procedurally generated star systems, it's possible to find a degree of wonder and personality that many roguelike seldom achieve. Unfortunately, such interactions take a back seat to a barrage of frustrating minigames with rewards that rarely match the risks. The experience as a whole suffers for it.

A savage, sometimes frustrating space exploration game that succeeds because of beautiful design and a compelling universe.

The Long Journey Home promises much more than its punishing gameplay can deliver on

There's not quite enough here to win me over completely, but there's more than enough to make the numerous trips I've made worthwhile, and part of the charm is in never knowing if there's anything left to discover.

The procedurally-generated nature of each jump warrants countless replays – you’ll just have to deal with a game that’s often doing its best to scupper its own best characteristics.

The Long Journey Home is a roguelike that tries to do things differently but it still fails to become accessible enough to a wider audience. While there are some interesting mechanics and features, the bad controls for both ship and lander and the lack of precise information will put more than a few players off.

The Long Journey Home has some great ideas. But ultimately it is a victim of its grand ambition. Repetitive, often frustrating gameplay further mar the experience.

The Long Journey Home is bound to drift to the far left side of my Switch home screen, but I hope it’s not forever. I will keep my eyes peeled for an announcement promising “drastic changes.” In the meantime, I will dream of a better game.

If The Long Journey Home had focused gameplay and transitioned smoothly between its many elements, it would be a great game.

The Long Journey Home tries to strike a balance between engaging exploration and conservative resource management, but its punishing learning curves throughout the adventure make it a challenge to really sink your teeth into.