Slipways

Slipways

Released Jun 2021

Weave isolated planets into a vast trade empire. Hatch plans. Research game-breaking technologies. Still be done in time for lunch. Enjoy the endless possibilities of a space grand strategy game in 60 minutes flat.

92% positive · 2,314 reviews
Done
All announced content has been released
High confidence
Done
All announced content has been released
High confidence

Where to buy

Steam $16.99
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Evaluation

Slipways launched on June 3, 2021 and received three planned major updates. The developer explicitly communicated from early on that the game would receive three content updates, and delivered on that plan. The first update shipped on August 7, 2021, bringing achievements, stat tracking, and quality-of-life improvements. The second update followed on December 22, 2021, adding the second act of the campaign, new technologies, and sector content. On May 6, 2022, the developer confirmed the third update would be the "final, definitive edition of Slipways" in terms of gameplay content. That final update shipped on June 23, 2022, completing the campaign's third act, adding modding support, new techs and perks, and ranked mode improvements. The developer explicitly called it "the final update" in both the announcement and the release post. Since June 23, 2022, the only developer activity has been a maintenance patch in October 2024 (updating the Unity engine and fixing platform-specific bugs) — consistent with a completed game receiving routine upkeep rather than new content. The sole DLC listed is the soundtrack, which released in August 2021. There are no unreleased DLC items and no announced future content.
Evidence
Developer announces 'the final update is here,' shipping the third campaign act, modding support, new techs, perks, and ranked improvements. Explicitly framed as the conclusion of the game's planned content.
news post · Jun 23, 2022 source development ending
high
Developer announces June 23 as the release date for the 'third and final big update,' confirming the planned content schedule is nearing its conclusion.
news post · Jun 10, 2022 source development ending
high

Content

1 of 1 released · no outstanding content
Released
Aug 2021

Media

Details

Developer
Publisher
Beetlewing
Achievements
72
Platform
Windows, macOS
Controller
—
Steam Deck
Playable
Players
Single-player

About this game

Slipways takes the space grand strategy genre and condenses the best parts of it down by throwing away all the micromanagement and the steep learning curve. The result is a unique blend of the strategy and puzzle genres in which you can finish a run quickly, but still have a deep experience full of tough decisions.

MAKE TRADE, NOT WAR

Colonize planets, carefully pick industries and hook everything up so that your planets support each other. Line everything up just right and watch your colonies evolve and grow, giving you even more options for profitable trade. Make long-term plans and bask in your own glory when that one last connection makes six planets upgrade at the same time and gives you the income you desperately need.




There is no military aspect to pull your focus away from the economy. The game is more relaxed than your typical grand strategy. It's all about exploring space and its endless opportunities, shaping it to your whim and developing it to its full potential. No need for war with so much empty universe to claim.

FASTER THAN LIGHT

Forget about tedious micromanagement and waiting for ships to be built. In Slipways, every action you take has immediate consequences, and every choice you make is of paramount importance. Your planets govern themselves while you focus on making the right decisions to get them what they need. You'll waste none of your precious time on busywork. A single run takes 40-60 minutes and they are all filled with the good stuff.

TECH IT UP A NOTCH

There are no boring technologies here. Instead of making a single building 20% more efficient, technologies in Slipways let you move planets at will, harness stars for energy or colonize planets with sentient machines instead of people. The selection varies each run, so you'll have to plan carefully and adapt to the situation at hand. The path you choose will profoundly change your experience and the way you look at the game's planets and resources.


...ONE MORE GAME?

When a single run takes no more than an hour, what you need is replayability. Almost everything in Slipways is procedurally generated and each sector of the galaxy offers wildly different challenges. To overcome these challenges, you'll enlist the help of the five races populating the empire, each with their own philosophical outlook, varied abilities and a dedicated slice of the technology tree. There are more than 80 technologies to choose from and you'll only be using about 10 of them each run. No two games are ever exactly alike.

PLAY IT YOUR WAY

The standard gameplay mode gives you 25 years to build the best empire you can, but there is more: a sandbox endless mode that allows you to experiment freely, and a ranked mode that lets you measure your skills against others around the world on pre-seeded maps.


The game also features a campaign mode with 13 scenarios, each of them introducing a new twist and refreshing the gameplay: from mysterious, ancient structures from the dawn of the galaxy to strange spacetime rifts splitting the galaxy in two. Once unlocked by playing the campaign, the new mechanics can also be used in other modes, becoming new options for even more varied runs.
Last evaluated Jun 25, 2026
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