Perpetuum by name, perpetual by nature.
Indie Spotlight: Perpetuum Demonstrates the Power of Community
Written by Ollie Bradley at 03/29/2022, 09:06 AM
A lot of our Indie Spotlight recipients are relatively new projects. After all, if anyone needs the spotlight most it's those that don't have the inordinate marketing budgets of their AAA counterparts.
However, we are also all too happy to shine a light on projects that simply blow us away, no matter how long-established they are. And free-to-play Perpetuum (or, more specifically, The Open Perpetuum Project) is just such a title.
Perpetuum Key Features
Perpetuum was first released in the olden days of 2010 by Avatar Creation Ltd. It is a sci-fi sandbox with a persistent universe in which Earth-borne corporations strive to obtain a new source of energy. Such energy was discovered on the planet of Nia, inhabited by a race of synthetic robot-like lifeforms. To these human megacorps, of course, this meant free real estate ripe for the exploiting.
A player-driven economy propelled by individual forays into industry, war or commerce bears a striking resemblance to the genre powerhouse that is EVE Online. Only in Perpetuum , the terrestrial activities of human-commandeered robots take centre stage in place of celestial dogfights and titanic fleets.
Time-based character progression allows for an equal playing field between new and veteran players alike, whilst players can decide whether to inhabit a world with full or selective PvP. A wide array of customisation options are inherent to the setting, with some impressive graphics and regular updates to keep things fresh.
How Can We Play?
As we mentioned, Perpetuum is available for free as of right now via the Open Perpetuum Project. Servers officially shut down in January 2018, but the tenacity of the Perpetuum community meant that this was far from the end, as Avatar handed the reins to the community.
The Open Perpetuum Project comprises a crack team of dedicated volunteer devs that strive to keep the game alive. Regularly updated dev blogs show that it's far from over, with the latest roadmap promising new strongholds, map expansions and a new player experience set to roll out in 2022. So needless to say, now may be a great time to get started.
Avatar Creation Ltd. made the respectable decision to make the title entirely free to play in August 2021, since it was a team of volunteers keeping the title alive. This decision means that Perpetuum is totally free-to-play, with no cash shop, cosmetics or subscriptions to speak of.
All in all, Perpetuum is a heartening example of a game whose community's passion made way for something special: a game that's entirely player-driven. Avatar deserves big kudos for their decisions, and we hope to see this title go from strength to strength.