I chase minutes, not medals, and I love finding the fastest route through a game’s systems. Era One grabbed my attention because it dares to mix tactical space battles, base building, and survival into a single package. It has flashes of brilliance—especially in ship design—but it also wears its “early” status on its sleeve. Here’s my full read on what works, what doesn’t, and how to squeeze the fastest victories from the current build.
Overall Impressions
Era One is immediately recognizable to anyone who grew up on space RTS games. Think Homeworld aesthetics crossed with modular ship building and a focus on a single capital ship as your anchor. What stands out most is the scope of the ship-building system: you can make genuine megaships with unique layouts and functions. That creative sandbox is the game’s greatest promise.
What falls flat is the current content and polish. At launch (Aug 6, 2025) the game is essentially a polished skirmish sandbox against a single AI on a handful of maps. There is no campaign, no multiplayer yet, and several systems feel unfinished: pathfinding glitches, thin tooltips, and inconsistent performance. Compared to mature titles in the genre, Era One is a promising prototype rather than a complete package.
Gameplay Mechanics
The game shines in its creative ship and base design, where players build capital ships from modular components like engines, weapon banks, and shield generators. This hands-on system makes every placement decision impactful and rewarding. Combined with the clear mine-build-fight core loop, early resource management directly influences strategy, pushing players toward a fortress-style fleet or distributed production. Tactical battles also stand out, with weapon arcs, range, and positioning adding meaningful depth and rewarding smart micro-management.
However, several issues hold the experience back. The crew cap system ties directly to performance, leading to severe FPS drops in large battles, hinting at poor optimization. AI remains basic, lacking advanced tactics such as flanking or prioritizing targets, making larger maps feel empty with limited opponents. Pathfinding problems for resource collectors and clunky waypoint systems can disrupt economic flow, while missing tooltip details on mechanics like damage types and shield piercing leave players guessing. These shortcomings make strategic planning harder and undermine the otherwise strong foundation.
Standout user critiques match my experience: players calling it “demo-like” at launch and citing sound, voice acting, and lack of content are valid frustrations. At the same time, the core mechanics are present and functional.
Story and Characters
There isn’t a story campaign yet, and the in-game narrative and characters are skeletal. A few pilot voice lines exist, but they feel tacked-on and sometimes poorly delivered—some lines are genuinely jarring. That lack of narrative context reduces emotional payoff from your megaship experiments. For now, world-building is relegated to tooltips and the faction blurbs. The potential for deep lore is present, but it’s not realized in this build.
Visuals and Graphics
Era One looks good when you zoom in: well-detailed ship modules, clean UI elements for building, and pleasing space backdrops. The art direction favors functional realism over flashy effects, which suits tactical play. Unfortunately, visuals don’t age gracefully when performance tanks—large fights become slideshow-like and obscure combat clarity. There are also moments where UI feedback (damaged modules, active firing) is not obvious enough.
Sound and Music
This is a weak area. The soundtrack and some sound effects lack impact; the music can feel empty rather than atmospheric. Voice acting is uneven—some lines are serviceable, others feel lifeless or badly mixed. Good audio could have elevated the tension of pitched battles; here it frequently detracts.
Difficulty and Replayability
Right now, difficulty is adjustable mostly through map and crew settings, but replayability is limited by content. The sandbox aspect—designing unique capital ships and testing them—is compelling and could sustain long-term play, especially for tinkerers and modders. However, for players who want structured RTS campaigns, ranked multiplayer, or varied AI opponents, the game currently falls short.
Speedrunning and Optimization Tips
For players looking to shave time off matches, Era One rewards smart speedrunning tactics and optimized play. Choosing smaller maps keeps engagements tight and minimizes wasted travel, while early economy denial—taking out the AI’s closest collectors—can cripple their build order and secure faster victories. Outfitting a mobile fortress-style capital ship proves more efficient than relying on prefab fleets, letting you close matches decisively with fewer distractions.
Efficiency also comes from minimizing bottlenecks and fine-tuning ship design. Position collectors’ drop-off points near resource nodes or add intermediate storage modules to prevent pathfinding stalls. Focus on maintaining a lean, high-value fleet with strong, specialized modules rather than numerous weak ships—this reduces strain on crew caps and keeps performance steady. Weapon ranges and arcs should be used strategically, softening enemies at a distance before moving in. Finally, save frequently and adjust one module at a time when refining builds to steadily improve both speed and match consistency.
Developer Context and Community
Team Complex LTD began as modders and small creators; that origin shows in Era One’s systems-first design and mod-friendly DNA. Recent reviews are “Very Positive,” reflecting community goodwill and hope for the project’s future. At $30, the game sits in a tricky place: it’s a platform with promise, not a finished epic. If you want to support indie devs, especially modders-turned-devs, this is a way to invest early. If you want a full RTS experience now, hold off.
Final Thoughts
Buy if you love experimenting with ship design, want to support a small studio with clear vision, and accept a work-in-progress. Wait if you want a full campaign, polished multiplayer, or tight performance in large battles. If you pick it up now, do so with a builder’s mindset: play, test, and give feedback—the game will get more interesting as Team Complex continues development.
Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
Era One earns a solid middle rating. The core systems are interesting and sometimes excellent, but the lack of content, audio polish, AI depth, and performance optimization keeps it from being truly great. I see a high ceiling—especially for builders, modders, and players who value creative ship design—but the game needs time and updates to fulfill its promise.
