When I review a game, I evaluate its core components (design, writing, execution, game-play) and average out an overall impression. It's not a difficult process (I mean, if a pig can do it – anyone can), but it works only when the four things I look at exist in a coherent, completed state, which – where SpaceBourne 2 is concerned – is simply not the case. And while it's impressive as the achievement of a solitary dev, as a game it's much too raw to draw any conclusions. Reviewing it in its current state would be like dumping a pile of asphalt in front of an engineer and asking them how good of a road it'll make.

Credit where credit's due, SpaceBourne 2 certainly has the makings of an entertaining title. At its core, it's a mash-up of a 3rd-person shooter (like Mass Effect) and a space simcade flyer (like Everspace 2) that lets you fly a ship from 1st- or 3rd-person. The game world structure is a three-tier affair that sees you running on foot, flying above the surface of a planet and then "transitioning" into outer space (kinda like No Man's Sky). In the latter two stages, you can also bail out of your ship and use a jet pack to zoom around in person.

The graphics, while not up to AAA standards, are nice enough, the animation is a little rough in places but – on the whole – works and the sound is serviceable. The production does show its seams frequently (like planets that miss the cue for terrestrial flight and keep pixelating in front of you until you simply fly through them; objects that lack collision detection, missing or placeholder text and icons of contemporary weapons in a distant future science fiction world); but more or less to the extent you'd expect from a game in development.

There are some genuinely nice touches, like mining and station building; space stations you can dock at, enter on foot and seamlessly explore; space debris fields you can peruse using your jet pack; or planets that accommodate atmospheric flight. In terms of technical competence, the game offers a lot of mechanics bigger, better funded projects tend to shy away from.

In terms of originality, however, SpaceBourne 2 falls flat and, more worryingly, tends to borrow heavily from the aforementioned, better funded titles.

When I say the character creation and 3rd-person action feels like Mass Effect – I mean exactly rather than "in the vein of." Armor and weapon designs bear a striking similarity to something you might see in Mass Effect 1 or Andromeda; ships look like Star Wars models with extra bits tacked on (in my time with the game I spotted A-Wings and X-Wings in all but name); and while no assets are outright copies, very little about SpaceBourne 2 feels distinct or fresh, giving it more of the vibe of an extensive fanfic or a mod that got out of hand.

As for the writing, the most I can say about it is that it exists. Unlike Endless Sky (another solo creation), which continues to grip me with its fun narrative, SpaceBourne 2's "plot" is a drab, utilitarian affair that doesn't exactly sparkle with originality (your character lives on a desert planet with their aunt until you find a robot that belonged to your father, which tells you to conquer the galaxy – it's like Star Wars, only starring Genghis Skywalker as the lead).

SpaceBourne 2's biggest flaw at present is that it simply isn't unique or enticing. It looks nice enough and it plays alright, but – to be frank – after spending enough time with it to be told I had to start building an empire, I rolled my eyes, sighed and turned off the game. Nothing about the experience was gripping enough to make me want to play more.

So there you have it. Is SpaceBourne 2 an ambitious project? Certainly. Does it offer some interesting mechanics? Definitely. Are aspects of it fun? Without a doubt... But will it eventually turn out to be a good game?

To quote the Neutral President from Futurama: "All I know is, my gut says — maybe."