In Space

In Space — A Brutal Top-Down Alien Survival Shooter

Published January 2, 2023 · Last updated April 1, 2025 · Reviewed by BooBoo Editorial on April 23, 2026

Introduction

In Space is a 2D top-down arena shooter built with Construct 3 where you control an armored soldier stranded on an alien planet. Your objective: survive waves of hostile alien creatures for up to 15 minutes while racking up kills and collecting experience points. The game belongs to the survivors-like genre — think Vampire Survivors but set in a dark sci-fi environment with a grimmer tone. It launched in early 2023 across multiple platforms including Steam (Early Access at $2.99), itch.io, Armor Games, and GamePix's free browser version.

With 120,796 plays on Armor Games and a 7.9/10 rating from 403 votes, In Space has found a modest but engaged audience. The browser version on GamePix is completely free and requires no download — just a keyboard, a mouse, and fast reflexes.

Hands-On: What It's Actually Like to Play

The following describes our editorial team's firsthand playtest on April 23, 2026.

After clicking through the GamePix splash screen (the green "好，开始游戏!" button), the game loads for roughly 15–20 seconds, displaying a full-body render of your armored character with a green-visored helmet over a blue progress bar. Once loaded, the main menu appears against a dark grid background with the title "IN SPACE" rendered in large metallic blue letters. Across the top sit badges for Google Play, itch.io, and Steam — signaling this browser version is effectively a free demo of the paid product.

The menu offers five options: NEW GAME, SHOP, OPTIONS, ACHIEVEMENTS, and CREDITS. There is no tutorial, no control prompt, and no difficulty selector on the first screen.

Clicking NEW GAME drops you directly into combat. Your soldier stands at the center of an industrial metallic floor covered in rust stains and debris. Within the first 3 seconds, green alien creatures begin closing in from all directions. The "ENERGY" bar at the top-left starts draining immediately as enemies make contact.

Here is what caught us off guard: the character auto-fires a continuous red laser beam toward your mouse cursor, but the soldier does not move unless you press WASD or arrow keys. On our first three attempts, we stood still — aiming with the mouse but failing to dodge — and died in under 10 seconds each time with zero kills. The "GAME OVER" screen shows your fallen helmet in a pool of blood alongside a "KILLS: 0" counter and, somewhat mockingly, "NEW RECORD!" text even on a zero-kill run.

The HUD displays an "ENERGY" health bar, a "Lv. 1" indicator, a "TIME 0:50" survival countdown, and a row of 8 weapon/upgrade slots along the top edge. Each slot shows an icon and a level number, hinting at a progression system that rewards staying alive long enough to level up.

How to Play / Controls

In Space uses a dual-input control scheme standard for PC arena shooters:

• WASD or Arrow Keys: Move your soldier around the arena
• Mouse: Aim direction — the character auto-fires a red laser beam toward the cursor position
• Left Click: Shoot (also fires automatically when cursor is within range)
• R: Reload weapon
• P: Pause

The crosshair cursor remains visible at all times. Movement and aiming are independent — you can strafe left while firing right, which is essential for survival. Response time for aim direction changes is under 100ms.

There are no touch controls. This game was designed for keyboard and mouse, and it shows — the precision aiming and simultaneous WASD dodging required would be nearly impossible on a touchscreen.

Strategy Tips

1. Never stop moving. Standing still means death in under 10 seconds. Circle-strafe around the arena edges while keeping your laser aimed at the densest cluster of aliens. The floor has hatches and metallic panels that look like obstacles but are purely visual — you can walk over everything.

2. Prioritize dodging over killing at Lv. 1. Your starting weapon is weak and the aliens are fast. Focus on staying alive long enough to hit the first level-up, which grants a weapon upgrade or power-up choice. The 8 upgrade slots visible in the HUD represent your progression tree — filling them transforms your soldier from vulnerable to formidable.

3. Watch the TIME counter, not the ENERGY bar. The survival timer counts down from roughly 1 minute per wave. Your goal is to survive the full duration, not kill every enemy. When energy gets low, kite enemies in wide circles rather than engaging head-on. The game rewards patience and positioning over raw aggression.

4. Save the SHOP for after your first few deaths. The main menu SHOP uses currency earned from previous runs (gems dropped by enemies) to buy permanent upgrades. Even a failed 15-second run deposits some progress. After 3–5 deaths, check the shop for health boosts or weapon damage increases that make subsequent runs more manageable.

How It Compares

In Space sits in the survivors-like genre alongside several more polished competitors:

In Space offers a free browser entry point that its competitors lack, but it trails behind in content depth. With only 1 stage and 12 enemy types, runs start feeling repetitive after 30 minutes. The WASD + mouse aiming does add a skill layer that pure auto-shooters like Vampire Survivors don't have.

Player Ratings — What Other Players Say

The game holds consistent mid-to-high ratings across platforms where it has meaningful vote counts:

• Armor Games: 79/100 from 403 ratings with 120,796 plays — the most reliable dataset
• GamePix: 8.8/10 from 739 votes
• Kongregate: 3.4/5 from 139 ratings — the lowest score, with players citing missing upgrade descriptions and cursor visibility issues
• Y8 Games: 7.7/10 with 9,900+ plays

On Kongregate, players praised the upgrade mechanics but flagged specific problems: "Missing descriptions for certain upgrades — I don't know how long invincibility lasts, what shield does exactly, or how range is defined." Another user noted the "cursor visibility during gameplay is distracting and should be hidden or made less prominent."

The Steam version sits at only 2 user reviews (both positive) with a price of $2.99 — not enough data to draw conclusions, but the low review count after 3+ years suggests limited commercial traction.

Who Made It

In Space was developed by Pierpaolo Tausani, a solo indie developer who operates under the name PitiGameDev. He has published 61 games across multiple platforms including Steam, itch.io, Kongregate, Armor Games, and GamePix, accumulating 985,000 total gameplays across his catalog.

Tausani builds his games using Construct 3, an HTML5 visual programming engine, which explains the game's cross-platform reach from browser to desktop to mobile. His portfolio ranges from action shooters to casual puzzles, with titles like Purrrification, Deep in the Lab, and Toilet Paper Please.

Based on his name (Italian naming convention) and ArtStation profile, Tausani is likely based in Italy, though he does not publicly disclose his location. He maintains active profiles on Twitter (@pitigamedev), Instagram, Mastodon, and Bluesky, and can be reached at [email protected].

The Steam version of In Space was published by CGevo and released into Early Access in December 2022. Development appears to have stalled — the Steam page notes the last update was over 3 years ago, and planned features (5 stages, bosses, Steam achievements, hard mode) remain unimplemented.

FAQ

Is In Space free to play? Yes. The browser version on GamePix and other HTML5 portals is completely free with no paywall. The full version on Steam costs $2.99 (frequently discounted to $1.04) and on itch.io costs $2.49. The browser version of In Space includes the same core gameplay but may lack some features planned for the desktop release.

What are the controls for In Space? Move with WASD or arrow keys, aim and shoot with the mouse. The weapon fires automatically toward your cursor position. Press R to reload and P to pause. A gamepad or Xbox controller is also supported on the desktop version.

How long is a round in In Space? The survival timer runs for 10 minutes on Easy mode and 15 minutes on Normal mode. For new players, expect rounds to last 10–60 seconds until you learn to dodge effectively and upgrade your character through the SHOP.

Does In Space have multiplayer? No. In Space is a single-player survival experience. There are no co-op or competitive modes.

Is In Space still being updated? The Steam Early Access version has not received updates in over 3 years, suggesting development has stalled. The browser version on GamePix remains playable but should not be expected to receive new content.

Why do I keep dying in the first 10 seconds? The most common failure mode — one we hit three times in a row during our test — is standing still and aiming only with the mouse. The character does not dodge automatically; you must press WASD or arrow keys to move while the auto-fire handles the shooting. Once you start strafing, survival time increases dramatically.

What do the 8 upgrade slots at the top of the HUD actually do? Each slot represents a passive upgrade or weapon level earned at intervals. Level-up pauses the game and offers a choice of three modifiers (extra projectile, reload speed, movement speed, etc.). Since the game ships with no in-game descriptions for what each upgrade does, the practical approach is to take whatever looks useful in your current run and learn through repetition — this opacity is also a frequent complaint on Kongregate.

Our Verdict

In Space delivers a solid 10-minute survival loop when it clicks — the WASD + mouse aiming gives it a skill ceiling that pure auto-shooters lack, and the 30+ power-up system creates genuine build variety across runs. At its best, it captures the frantic "one more run" energy that makes the survivors-like genre so addictive.

However, the game has real shortcomings that are hard to ignore. The complete absence of a tutorial means most new players will die repeatedly without understanding that keyboard movement is essential — not just mouse aiming. The single-stage environment gets visually monotonous fast, and the dark palette makes enemies difficult to distinguish from the floor. Development on the paid Steam version appears abandoned after 3 years in Early Access, which raises concerns about long-term support. The upgrade system also lacks basic descriptions — players on Kongregate reported not knowing what invincibility duration, shield mechanics, or range values actually mean.

For a free browser game, In Space rewards the first 15–20 minutes it takes to cross the learning curve — from zero-kill deaths to reaching level 3+ with a meaningful upgrade build. Past that point, the single-arena loop gets repetitive. If you want a deeper, polished experience with ongoing updates, the survivors-like genre has stronger options at the same price point.