The Mandate promises a space RPG adventure among the Tsars

No! There can never be enough space games. After all, space is infinite, so there's plenty of room for them. Not like other overused game themes. I mean, zombies? How many rotting carcasses can you fit in the ground? Not infinite of them. Erm, I think this intro is getting away from me. Ah, space! Here's another game set there: The Mandate, which is being described as a "Tsarist space opera RPG" and is now seeking Kickstarter funding .

What appeals about The Mandate is an almost throwaway dedication to barmy avenues of obsession. As an example, here's a passage from their Kickstarter description: "We believe the story to be so important to The Mandate, that we've written 1500 years of history based on Tsarist Russian lore and history. What if the Tsars ruled space?"

The game's promised blend of galactic exploration, crew interaction and ship battling is all dependant on its makers raising $500,000. So far, they're at a reasonable 221,774, with 24 days left of their 60 day campaign stretch.

As for the text adventure, you can play that here . It's pretty lightweight, but a good indication of the main game's ultimate tone.

Phil has been writing for PC Gamer for nearly a decade, starting out as a freelance writer covering everything from free games to MMOs. He eventually joined full-time as a news writer, before moving to the magazine to review immersive sims, RPGs and Hitman games. Now he leads PC Gamer's UK team, but still sometimes finds the time to write about his ongoing obsessions with Destiny 2, GTA Online and Apex Legends. When he's not levelling up battle passes, he's checking out the latest tactics game or dipping back into Guild Wars 2. He's largely responsible for the whole Tub Geralt thing, but still isn't sorry.