When comparing Freelancer vs Space Engineers [Early Access], the Slant community recommends Freelancer for most people. In the question“What are the best Space Sims on Steam?” Freelancer is ranked 2nd while Space Engineers [Early Access] is ranked 4th. The most important reason people chose Freelancer is:
This game has a really good story with lots of twists. Very well balanced side missions, your pay is based on the type of task being completed while multiplied by distance to target place and few other factors.
Specs
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Pros
Pro Great story
This game has a really good story with lots of twists. Very well balanced side missions, your pay is based on the type of task being completed while multiplied by distance to target place and few other factors.
Pro Low system requirements
This game has very low hardware requirements. It can be played even on an old netbook with windows XP, 1 Ghz Intel Atom CPU, and 1GB RAM. Game runs with 40-60 fps without single crash.
Pro Easy to pickup and learn
The controls have been simplified to the point where it isn't intimidating for new players. You can't control which systems receive more/less power in tight situations, and other systems have been dummed down as well: repairing your ship can be done with the click of a button instead of needing to wait, there is no radar to track, and there's less information available making it easier to focus on a single task.
Pro Fun to replay in different ways
Pro Has fanbase made MODs and modified versions of the game
Has fanbase made MODs and modified versions of the game itself to get past the outdated graphics. There's story expansions, full remakes, and a lot more to experience!
Pro Easy to build
Space Engineers makes it easy to build any items or objects making sure any skill level can easily have fun in game. All one needs to do is select what they would like to build from the menu and then choose the parts they would like to add.
Pro Destructible ships
Players are able to smash ships into each other with satisfying destruction physics.
Pro Prefabricated ships available in game that are modifiable
For those that do not want to build a whole ship from scratch there are prefabricated ships available upon start that are also modifiable so users can customize to their liking.
Cons
Con Dated graphics
Freelancer was released in 2003, and as expected from a game that's nearly 15 years old the graphics look it.
Con Can be rather unbalanced
Some parts of the game are very hard even with the best available in-game hardware and you get killed almost instantly. In these parts it is better to launch Cruise engine.
Con Servers are a "lag hell"
Due to the nature of physics simulation of custom built ships, the game requires top hardware to host the game, still making it a "lag hell" if there are more than 10 players.
Con Still not a whole lot to do
Being an early access game there is still a lot of missing features such as missions, thus leaving no much to do other than the free building mode.