Rather than focusing exclusively on multiplayer competition, ZeroSpace places a significant emphasis on narrative. Early Access launches with Act 1 of the campaign, featuring 12 story missions where players step into the role of Prefect Aster, commander of humanity’s Protectorate faction. Throughout the campaign, dialogue choices influence Aster’s leadership style and relationships with other characters, borrowing decision-making mechanics more commonly associated with RPGs than traditional RTS games.
Outside the campaign, players can jump into ranked multiplayer, cooperative missions, skirmishes against AI, or free-for-all battles while learning the game’s expanding roster of factions.
At launch, players can command four distinct civilizations:
- The Protectorate, representing humanity’s military forces
- The Grell, a symbiotic plant-based civilization
- The Legion, a fanatical faction focused on overwhelming force
- The Xol, an evolving synthetic race of machine intelligences making its playable debut during Early Access
