BioShock spiritual successor hits Steam with free demo available now

In the long wait for BioShock 4, gamers have been looking to many other alternatives to get their retrofuturistic Dieselpunk fix.

From big budget games like Atomic Heart to smaller alternatives like Crisol: Theater of Idols, there are plenty of games like BioShock which you can play now while you wait for the next game in the series.

Another game that’s out this week is RetroSpace, a disco-punk space horror that blends scary monsters, weird mind-bending sci-fi shenanigans, and cool moustaches.

“You were but a simple janitor, now you are the last hope of all humanity! A space station has been swallowed by a sentient black hole, weird animal and plant hybrids roam the corridors, and even time itself has gone completely mad around you. Navigate with stealth or unleash a blast-tastic odyssey through the cursed station. Will you be the hero Earth needs, or are you groovin' to save your own soul? The choice is yours!” reads the description for RetroSpace.

In a short hands-on with the game, RetroSpace essentially gives you all the tools to play how you want; whether that means sneaking and hacking your way through a level, or luring enemies into traps and using clever planning to clear out rooms.

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RetroSpace could be this year's big indie immersive sim

Developer The Wild Gentlemen describes the game as a “true immersive sim”, a certain type of RPG where the game world is built upon a set of rules and systems, where players can exploit these in order to reach their goals.

RetroSpace allows you to manipulate many interconnected systems like this. Being able to spontaneously cause water leaks in a room and then electrify them using nearby equipment is all fine and dandy, but then you realise you can also use that same method to blow up enemies, cause a massive fire, put out said fire with an extinguisher, and then use that extinguisher as a jetpack to get to out-of-reach places.

And it goes on and on, with the game encouraging you to find creative solutions to problems that come your way, and with dozens of different ways to resolve these dilemmas during each area, as all the best immersive sims do.

And much like BioShock or Prey, it also features a load of different mutations you can unlock which enhance your ability to fight, sneak, or explore. These upgrades do come with unexpected side effects though, embracing the comedic nature of RetroSpace, but they also add to the variety in ways you can complete a stage with new powers.

What I particularly love about RetroSpace is the commitment in variety of each monster design. The Aurora 5 has created some truly ghastly enemies, with creatures like giant pigs, demonic robots, and plant-human hybrids menacing you aboard the station.

From what I’ve played so far, RetroSpace is an incredibly fun game on the same level as Skin Deep, my favourite immersive sim of 2025, and I’m already looking forward to playing some more.

A free demo is available now on Steam, should you also wish to play the game. The full version is out today, available on PC, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S.

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