Tachyon: The Fringe
Fair · Strategy · 2009
Steam Deck PlayableThe verdict
NO RUSH.
Fair at $9.99. Buy it if you want it.
- Length
- 10.2h 27.2h to 100%
- Value
- $0.98/hr
- Reviews
- 89% of 249 positive
Watch this gameOne alert at $9.26 or less.
Buy now or wait
Discounted in each of its last 8 seasonal sales. Last cut ended 11 days ago.
- Next sale
- Winter Sale, Dec 17 to Jan 4
Sources: IsThereAnyDeal, Valve.
What drives the score
How to read this
Grades run S to D, read from the buyer's side. ▲ marks a lift, ▼ a drag or a dock, ? an input we do not have, • a fact this genre's score does not use. How the grades work
About the game
Caught in the middle of a violent conflict on the fringe of the galaxy — your ability to survive will depend on your piloting skills and combat savvy as a mercenary space fighter. But, as you explore the vastly detailed world of Tachyon: The Fringe, you will often find that the most powerful weapon on your ship is in your head.
Minimum specs
Minimum on the Steam store: 123 MB of memory, Direct3D w/ 16MB or better, 502 MB of storage. Windows only.
The value story
Across all 80 discounts in the 14 years tracked, the median cut is 75 percent, about 7 weeks apart. Today it is at full price, and its last discount ended 11 days ago.
On value it sits in the top 5 percent of its genre. It is pricier than 71 percent of its genre, and better reviewed than 90 percent. Among the games that feel like it, Universe Sandbox ($29.99, scores 75) beats it on value, while it beats Exo One ($16.99, scores 58).
More about Tachyon: The Fringe
10.2 hours to finish it, 27 to exhaust it. The completionist tail is 2.7 times the campaign.
What players say
To this day, still the best space flight sim I've ever played. The fact the story isn't crap and the gameplay is as good as it is, even though the multiplayer scene is long gone at this point, makes it stand out.
2 more reviews
I first played this game more than 20 years ago, and recently picked it back up when I found it on Steam. It is very enjoyable, has a great underlying story line, and was ahead of its time when released. Even with today's new terrain models and graphics, it still works. Add the nGlide wrapper, and you can play this on your Windows 11 computer. The single player is fun to work through. It is not exceptionally...
I'm a sucker for all things Bruce Campbell, just a childhood favourite actor of mine. Loved him in the Evil Dead series and The Adventures of Brisco County, Jr. So when I heard he voiced the main character in this game, I couldn't not play it. It's an old school game, and honestly it could be quite the pain to get running at a higher resolution. There's a decent guide on Steam telling how to get it running, but I...
Steam reviews, mixed to its ratio and rotated daily. Opinions are theirs.
No data upstream: critic score (Metacritic), achievement curve (Steam global achievements).
Cite this score
Tachyon: The Fringe scores 67/100 on the BANG Score (fair value) as of Oct 19, 2026. The BANG Score rates what a game is worth for the money. Via Steam BANGERS. https://steambangers.com/game/32760/tachyon-the-fringeReviews set the ceiling, and price against real length moves the BANG Score inside it. How it works, and where it is weak → Steam reviews as of Sep 30, price as of Oct 18. A number here look wrong? Tell me and I will check the inputs.