The team at Giant Army is also constantly developing new content, which means new scenarios to run, as well as new celestial bodies occasionally. Sure, I blew them up immediately after marveling at their majesty, but that’s sort of the point, right? Africa always had an ice cap right? That’s why there’s penguins… As someone who has never thought much about what’s beyond our own solar system (unless it was in a galaxy far, far away…), it was fascinating to just watch the interactions of other galaxies and planetary systems that the game set up as teaching moments.

It helps, that unlike most games, playing through the various tutorials and scenarios Universe Sandbox 2 provides is both fun and interesting. There’s the option for players to just hop into existing simulations and destroy planets (there’s even a destroy button), but there are also a series of tutorials that range from the basics to the incredibly complex. Helping ease players into the role of an interstellar god is something Universe Sandbox 2does incredibly well.

No, that’s not a Jerico Missile, it’s an accurate physics simulation of planetary fragments. It’s a fun way to get into the game, and is actually one of the smaller simulations, which helps, as initially some of the larger ones (colliding galaxies for example) can be a bit unwieldy at first. Players can effortlessly zoom in on planets to get a closer look, or wreak havoc by messing with the physical attributes of our solar system. Each time the game is opened, it begins with a zoomed-out simulation of our own solar system, and gives the player full control of everything in it. The first thing I noticed about Universe Sandbox 2 was its overwhelming scale (it is the entire universe after all). Who knew the moon packed such a punch? Well scientists, but shut up! With an easy-to-use interface, plenty of tutorials, and access to all manner of celestial bodies, launching asteroids at every planet in our universe has never been easier.

Universe Sandbox 2 is a complete rewrite of the original Universe Sandbox, and improves upon its predecessor in many way. Looking out at the stars I cannot help but wonder: Wait, did Earth always have three moons? Were they always gaining speed and heading right towards it?! Oh god the humanity! Such is the fate of the solar system when someone with no background in physics/astronomy is given full control of everything in it. Release Date: In Early Access Now (Final Release TBD)

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