Ace in Space is a quick, queer sci-fi visual novel / dating sim about an asexual nonbinary person with cancer who gets the chance to go live on another planets in an idyllic community. Date and befriend robot aliens and one human (or not) and discover a variety of endings.

Official Description:

An asexual dating sim / visual novel!
“Your name is Adrian Clarke and you’ve been given the opportunity to live the rest of your life on a distant planet under the watchful eyes of benevolent robots. Help shape society on T-3R4, build relationships with the other settlers, and keep Earth updated through your blog!”

Long Review:

To be honest, I have mixed feelings about this visual novel, but I’m leaning more toward the good side, especially considering how little it cost me.

What I Liked:

There’s some nice queer rep. The main character is nonbinary and asexual. The robot aliens are mostly nonbinary and asexual. The other human character is either bi or pan.

The main character has cancer, and that seems to be handled with care in its portrayal. Do be prepared for some heavier stuff though.

The art is cute, and I love the robot designs! Especially Fern, with all the plants and animals all over them. And there were some CGs to unlock on different routes.

There were a couple little jokes that made me chuckle. Also a couple fun little things to notice in the background of Forge’s workshop, if you’re familiar with certain other famous robots.

What I Disliked:

The romances are very short and feel abrupt. I didn’t feel much connection with or between the characters. Pierre’s, Fern’s, and Forge’s routes had the most depth for me, Forge’s (which actually wasn’t a romance) being my favorite. But even those were still quick.

The world-building and other elements of the story were also lacking. Which I’d have been ok with, but with the romances and characters not getting a lot of depth, it might’ve helped.

Everything Else:

Not a lot of choices, mostly just which character route.

There are four dateable characters, one friendable character, and the option to just focus on yourself. Most of those have one ending, two of them have a bad and a good ending.

It took me less than two hours to finish on my first playthrough and about four hours total.

Overall:

This felt abrupt and didn’t quite have the depth to be memorable for me, but it was enjoyable while playing. A sometimes sad, sometimes sweet, sometimes hopeful story.

Source/Cost: I purchased this game on sale on Steam for $1.74.

Short Review:

– Ace, nonbinary, and bi/pan rep
– Can get heavy because the MC has cancer
– Cute art with fun robot designs
– Mostly just choose which character route
– Relationships are short and somewhatabrupt
– Overall still a sad, sweet, hopeful story (depending on the ending)

Accessibility:

(May not include everything)
– Accessible for blind / visually impaired players and screen reader users with Ren’Py self-voicing, including menus. (I did not test full game, but everything seemed to work.) No descriptions of images on screen though, which will miss out on some of cuteness and may be a problem for understanding Sero’s ending if you can’t see them.
– Dark background with light text.
– Trigger warnings on game website.

More Info:

Website //Steam // itch.io