Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes

Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes is a tactical space survival game with strong roguelite elements. It is reminiscent of FTL: Faster Than Light, or more recently Star Trek Voyager: Across the Unknown, as well as strategy games involving critical decision-making, such as Frostpunk. It perfectly captures the dark, paranoid atmosphere of the 2004 Battlestar Galactica series. Just in case anyone needs reminding: Battlestar Galactica is one of the most popular sci-fi series of all time. Produced by Universal Studios, the series follows the fight to save the human race as a small but determined fleet searches for the fabled planet Earth while being hunted by their nemeses, the Cylon robots.

The game begins immediately after the fall of the Twelve Colonies. Players take on the role of the captain of a small colonial warship known as a Gunstar and lead a small, ragtag fleet of civilian survivors. The main goal is not to defeat the Cylons, but to survive long enough to fight through twelve sectors and rendezvous with the Battlestar Galactica. This struggle for survival is gripping, thrilling and grim, and the game conveys a constant sense of threat and proximity to annihilation. However, this intensity isn't generated by the storyline or the presentation, which features static character portraits and a simple soundscape, but by the game mechanics.

The game consists of two phases: fleet management and space battles. After jumping into a new sector, players have a limited number of turns before the Cylons catch up with them. During this phase, players must send out expeditions to search for resources, repair and upgrade ships, boost officer morale, assign officers to stations and manage political conflicts between the military, workers and the underworld on board. They must also handle crises and make decisions. It's a question of managing scarcity, as there are always more potential actions than can be addressed. There are also constant crises, both major and minor, that can be addressed or ignored, each with consequences ranging from severe to truly dire. Constantly weighing risk against reward is essential. While the management aspect can sometimes seem tedious, it is enhanced by the fact that, just like in the series, there are covert, human-looking Cylon agents within the fleet. Through a process of elimination, players must identify and expose saboteurs before they can destroy resources or ships.

Space battles take place in real time, with the option to pause the action tactically as soon as the Cylons arrive. Players command Viper or Raptor squadrons, select targets for the fleet’s special actions (including nuclear missiles) and must defend their position until the drive recharges. All of this information is presented in a clear, compact layout on a single screen. The aim isn't to win, but to protect the civilian ships and escape with minimal losses. Ideally, players will also manage to get the squadrons back on the ship in time for the jump into hyperspace. This is especially true when compared to Star Trek Voyager: Across the Unknown, Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes has the edge in combat. The battles are more gripping and tactically complex, and despite lasting only two minutes in real time, they often end up lasting much longer because there is so much to keep track of and manage. All of this is packaged into a combat interface that is very well designed and cleverly bundles the relevant elements.

But beware! The game is challenging and brutal, and failure is part of the gameplay. Sometimes, there are so many crises unfolding at once — more than in the series — that survival is impossible. This is where the roguelite mechanics come into play. After each defeat, players can unlock global bonuses for future playthroughs thanks to the resources they collected. These bonuses make gameplay easier, alter probabilities and allow players to customise and specialise their starting fleet. While it's more forgiving than FTL: Faster Than Light, as is typical with roguelites, the gameplay, events and structure do repeat to a certain extent. However, there are often new surprises and events that weren't encountered in previous runs.

Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes was developed by Alt Shift, a small, independent game studio based in Montpellier, France. Founded in 2010 by university classmates who shared a passion for science fiction and game design, the studio has also developed Not Not – A Brain-Buster, Not Not 2 (2025) and Crying Suns (2019). The latter is a tactical roguelite inspired by science fiction works such as Foundation, Dune and Battlestar Galactica. More than a million players have played Crying Suns. The studio employs 12 people.

The game is published by Dotemu, a French publisher and developer specialising in revitalising iconic pop culture franchises across video games, TV, and cinema by releasing original PC and console games. Dotemu is part of Pullup Entertainment. They have published and developed Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Shredder's Revenge, Streets of Rage 4, Ninja Gaiden: Ragebound and Starship Troopers: Ultimate Bug War!, as well as Absolum — their first original IP — which also enjoyed a highly successful launch. Dotemu's development and publishing work has also supported the releases of Metal Slug Tactics, Windjammers 1 and 2, Pharaoh: A New Era, Wonder Boy: The Dragon's Trap and many more.

Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes was released on 11 May 2026 for PC via Steam and GOG.com. It costs €24.99. A Commander Edition is also available, including the game, digital copies of the soundtrack and an official art book, priced at €28.77.

Conclusion

Battlestar Galactica: Scattered Hopes is well worth a look for series fans and enthusiasts of survival roguelite games like FTL, especially since fleet management, crisis management, and the thrilling battles mesh together so well. Provided the roguelite structure and rather functional presentation don't put players off.

Features

• Gripping and intense struggle for survival
• Intense, pauseable real-time combat
• Well-adapted license