Well, for me Colobot is very unique not in therms of space exploration (there was in fact a lot good and bad games about that) but rather in technology design. All things in Colobot, buildings, robots, even characters works "somehow". There's something "catchy" with their animations, sounds and general look. There's a sparkle, there's beam, and there's something else and... somehow, almost magically all this Colobot stuff works. I would compare all of that strange technology to cartoons like "The Jetsons" but still this is not even so close to what EPSITEC invented.

@michx I'm sorry, but what you're saying is just not true. There are many space exploration games. Just because you didn't play one doesn't mean they don't exist. And No Man's Sky was a complete failure, not best-seller. Seriously, even browser games had more than Colobot in terms of space exploration. I don't play much open world games myself, but even I know a few: Spore, Space Rangers 2, EVE Online, OGame, Mass Effect. Hell, you can even play space exploration maps in GMOD. When you objectively look at Colobot, there's nothing unique, it's subjectively unique because of the so called "spirit". Really, why people always must say that something is "original" just because they didn't see anything like that themselves... If you all like uniqueness, why don't you go play my game "Run, Stupid, Run!"? Everything there is unique, because I've done everything myself (yes, even music) and I certainly put some "spirit" into it, which most people fail to see. It doesn't change the fact that it sucks (ofc Colobot doesn't suck as much, but it's still only a mediocre game).

It is maybe a nostalagia in some part, but don't get me wrong. Sometimes I play games and I was really interested in No Man's Sky (finally some game about space), but after looking at this I have mixed feelings. Game just lack climate and something that Colobot had.

@RaptorParkowsky Yes, I know. @Simbax This game is really unique. To this day there is not really any game that offer space exploration in so open way like Colobot, which for me is mystery. I always loved free-will and openess in game. Colobot provide this and it's own orginality. Look for example at bestseller No Mans Sky made 15 years after Colobot. It doesn't have any orginality, graphics look cartoonish and space exploration doesn't feel so realistic and deep like in Colobot . Eeverything there is just normal.

This "spirit" is probably nothing more than nostalgia. Many old games gave that kind of feeling, they scared despite (or because of) low level graphics, they were mysterious because there was no Internet, they felt unique because we were young and unexperienced. What makes Colobot special for us now is the community and memories. And that we have the source code. I'm pretty sure the community would be dead at this point if we didn't get the source code.

@Simbax : You don't get it ;P . Colobot (and other EPSITEC games) have something very original inside. It's hard to explain, especially to a person who don't really liked this game. It's nothing about gameplay, plot, even programming etc. It's more like a feeling about how this game is revelatory despite it's simplicity and how original the graphic/sound design are. Personally I've never seen anything with similar spirit like Colobot and I guess @michx know what I'm talking about .

Can't find this in any other game? Now, that's a brave statement... Except programming, Colobot has nothing special in it. RTS part didn't stand next to real RTS. Space exploration? Music? Graphics? Everyone did it better even in times when the game came out. If that wasn't the case, a lot more people would play it, but they were bored quickly and I can't blame them.

For me it's very "magical" game. Propably some of that comes from child memories when I was very interested with space. I was never really into programming ascpect

I think this game was always very unique in opposite to something like NFS which is game about racing like 1000+ others. I know it was made mostly for programing purposes not for gameplay. Game was simply made, but still everything there is very uniqe. From music to graphics and finally space exploration aspect which I love and free-will. You just cannot find this in any other game.

Colobot 2 should really work on RTS elements, one because new players will be probably more attracted to RTS part than programming part, two because it gives bigger challenge to coders

There is a point to be made about that, but really Colobot doesn't blow doors off, under any aspect of it. Heck, even with programming it's still doesn't

I mean, when I played Colobot for first time I din't even know you could program bots, so...

@tomangelo ++

Without programming it's very simplified RTS, there is a lot of better games like that. It's something like Need for Speed Underground and newer without car modifications, both visual and mechanical. I could even say that NFS Underground without tuning would be still better race game that Colobot without programming as RTS game.

Anyone here likes Colobot not for programming releated reasons, but just for overall gameplay*?

You know, there is a difference between "must play" games and favorite games. Subtle, but there is. I'd say that classics like Tetris or Space Invaders are "must play", for example Half Life, The Witcher (especially for Poles), Super Mario Bros, Minecraft, World of Warcraft... A lot of them. You know, the ones which were important for the game industry, first of a kind, etc.

@radioactivity | Kerbal Space Program, Half-Life, Counter Strike, ETC.

Depends on what kind of games you like. For me, first Deus Ex game, Half-Life series, Bioshock series, first two Doom games, Max Payne series.

Don't even try to do such list. It always will be incomplete and there's already so many "Top###" around the Internet.

That'd be a looong list of games...