Escape Velocity
Shares rank 2 of 3 space trading games by recommenders
People recommend this Mac space trading game for its fun gameplay and its fondly remembered classic status. Critics raised no complaints in these quotes.
People recommend this Mac space trading game for its fun gameplay and its fondly remembered classic status. Critics raised no complaints in these quotes.
6 people gave an opinion
- recommend it
- 6
- criticize it
- 0
- approval share
- 100%
Recommended in 4 of 13 months
- November 2025: recommended
- December 2025: not recommended
- January 2026: not recommended
- February 2026: not recommended
- March 2026: not recommended
- April 2026: not recommended
- May 2026: recommended
- June 2026: not recommended
- July 2026: recommended
- August 2026: not recommended
- September 2026: recommended
- October 2026: not recommended
- November 2026: not recommended (month in progress)
Why it doesn’t carry the badge
- 6 people recommend itNeeds 10 or more, not met.
- Nobody criticizes itNeeds 2 to 1 or better, met.
- Recommended in 4 of 13 monthsNeeds 4 or more, met.
The same three rules apply to every product, and the badge can’t be bought. How the badge works
What people say about it
The reasons people give, with the number of comments that give each one. Open a reason to read what they said.
Why people recommend it
Each mark is one comment
Fun space trading gameplay
“why was Escape Velocity so fun yet NMS is a nothing burger”
Comment from 9 Sep 2026 in “No Man's Sky Cosmos” “I love space trading games like EV and Elite”
Comment from 22 Jul 2026 in “Show HN: A self-running space economy SIM in Rust and Bevy” Loved as a classic Mac game
“a pre-internet 14 year who loved the game that much is probably more useful as an ambassador than a paying customer”
Comment from 14 May 2026 in “Scorched Earth 2000 is back” “Escape Velocity was another great Mac game from the past.”
Comment from 29 Nov 2025 in “Apple and Intel Rumored to Partner on Mac Chips”
Other space trading games people recommend
The two most recommended other space trading games, with the same counts for each, so you can compare like for like. The tick on each bar marks the 2 to 1 line the badge needs.
| Product | Recommend | Criticize | Approval | Months | Owned | Badge |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Elite (BBC Micro) | 11 | 3 | 79% | 6 | — | Approved |
| Escape VelocityThis page | 6 | 0 | 100% | 4 | — | — |
| Endless Sky | 6 | 0 | 100% | 5 | — | — |
What people said
5 of the 6 comments that mention it, newest first. Each links to the original comment.
“why was Escape Velocity so fun yet NMS is a nothing burger”
“I love space trading games like EV and Elite”
“There was such a thriving ecosystem of plugins for EV!”
“a pre-internet 14 year who loved the game that much is probably more useful as an ambassador than a paying customer”
“Escape Velocity was another great Mac game from the past.”
Counts come from 1,795,640 Hacker News comments, November 2025 to November 2026. How we count. Report a mistake.