Earth is lost. You are still above.
The world below is ruined and silent, beautiful from orbit and unsafe to return to. You have one aging module, a tiny crew, and a station that is already falling out of the sky.
Still Above: Orbital Refuge is a survival and station-building strategy game. You start with a damaged module and several crises at once: CO₂ is rising, your orbit is decaying, food is short, and there are no batteries, so every orbital night is a blackout. You have almost nothing to fix any of it with. Work out what to dismantle, what to haul in and what to build first, and turn a dying outpost into a refuge for what is left of humanity.
Key features
- Survive the opening. The start is a hardcore scramble where each problem shows live numbers instead of instructions. Expect to die and restart a few times before you find the order that works.
- Build in 3D. Snap modules together from a strategic view. Hulls get their purpose from the racks you fit inside: berths, life support, hydroponics, workshops and research benches. You can refit them at any time. Bolt solar panels, tanks, antennas and dishes onto the outside.
- Keep your orbit. Thin atmosphere drags the station down, and the lower it gets, the faster it falls. Reboosting burns propellant in proportion to your mass, so every module you add makes staying up more expensive.
- Every resource has a story. Scrap is finite. Salvage it, sort it, refine it, fabricate parts and build. A hull plate might become a new room or a critical repair.
- Manage a small crew. Each person has skills, needs, shifts and a condition. You give orders and never control anyone directly. No romance or relationship meters, only the pressure of keeping people alive.
- Build robots. Research Service, Builder and Long-range robots to take on interior work, external construction and unmanned salvage flights. They are extra hands, but they cannot replace your crew.
- Salvage and rescue. Send EVA hauls and shuttle missions to debris fields, dead satellites and derelicts. Rescue survivors from escape pods and wrecks, but only if you have the berths, air and food to keep them alive.
- Research your way forward. Interconnected tech branches cover life support, fabrication, power, automation and long-range operations. There are several routes to each goal.
- Choose what comes next. Build a lasting orbital civilization, launch toward another world, or work toward restoring Earth.
Hope, earned
This is grounded survival and engineering with a sense of wonder. The station should feel vulnerable and lived-in. Every module you add is a small victory against the odds. Progress means rebuilding, not just scaling up numbers.
