Explore the galaxy
Astrophysics is fun in Adios Amigos: Galactic Explorers.
Astrophysics is the science of space, taking in topics such as stars, planets and how our universe began, right up to throwing sofas into black holes to see what happens. No scientists have actually tried out that last one for real, but it’s one of the things you can do in new release Adios Amigos: Galactic Explorers.
It’s a very silly but also sort of serious game for PlayStation consoles, with Xbox and PC versions to follow. The serious part is that it’s based on real astrophysics. The silly part comes from what you choose to do with this.
You’re dropped into the action on a malfunctioning spaceship during an asteroid storm, before crash-landing on a planet, finding a smaller spaceship and jetting off into orbit to explore.
This involves visiting other planets and collecting energy for your ship and data for your navigation computer. This will help you to jump between solar systems and eventually find your way home. Along the way you’ll bump into some cute and friendly aliens and learn to tow objects (such as big space rocks and cushioned furniture) out of the way of items you need to collect. You’ll also be experiencing different kinds of gravity and learning about other astrophysics concepts including momentum (motion) and trajectories (paths of moving objects).
Controlling your ship takes a little while to master; expect a few bumpy landings. However, it’s good practice for the best bit of Adios Amigos: Galactic Explorers, which is its multiplayer mode.
Up to four people can play on the console cooperatively, which is a lot of fun – and even more bumps. You can also switch some players to “rookie” mode, which makes it much easier to control; great, for example, if a younger brother or sister (or an adult who isn’t good at games) wants to play.