DarkHelm

A multiplayer sci-fi bridge simulator. One ship, one crew — split across six stations and the void between stars.

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Steam
Steam Early Access

DarkHelm is in Early Access — fully playable in co-op today, but it is not a finished game and is in active development. About Steam Early Access.

The Game

No single player flies this ship.

DarkHelm puts a crew on the bridge of a warship and makes every job a real seat. The pilot holds the stick while the weapons officer waits on a sensor lock; engineering juggles power and heat as the captain calls the alert and comms works a contact that won't answer. It is fully server-authoritative and built for LAN or online play — from two friends to a full bridge.

Six Stations

Every console is a player.

Helm

Fly the ship — attitude, throttle, docking, and the jump to hyperspace. Keyboard or controller.

Weapons

Arm the batteries, manage shield arcs, lock targets and fire beams, missiles and nuclear ordnance.

Sensors

Cut through the fog of war — detect, scan and classify contacts, run ECM, hand off targets.

Engineering

Route power across the buses, fight heat and damage, keep reactors and cooling alive under fire.

Comms

Hail ships, read transponders, work the channels, run shuttle ops and sound the alert.

Command

The captain's overview — alert condition, crew status, objectives and the tactical picture.

Carrier-fitted ships add a seventh station — Flight Ops: air boss for the wing, launching, directing and recovering fighters, bombers and shuttles.

Screenshots

Six seats, one ship.

External View

DarkHelm — EFS DarkHelm in orbitDarkHelm in Orbit DarkHelm — EFS DarkHelm corvetteEFS DarkHelm DarkHelm — EFS Vanguard destroyerEFS Vanguard DarkHelm — EFS Sentinel frigateEFS Sentinel DarkHelm — EFS Aegis cruiserEFS Aegis DarkHelm — EFS Sovereign battleshipEFS Sovereign DarkHelm — EFS Ascendant carrierEFS Ascendant DarkHelm — EFS Bastion tenderEFS Bastion DarkHelm — EFS Bulwark starbase in orbitBulwark Starbase DarkHelm — Federation starbase over a worldStarbase in Orbit

Stations

DarkHelm — HelmHelm DarkHelm — Helm nav mapHelm — Nav Map DarkHelm — Helm galaxy mapHelm — Galaxy Map DarkHelm — WeaponsWeapons DarkHelm — Weapons tacticalWeapons — Tactical DarkHelm — SensorsSensors DarkHelm — Sensors tacticalSensors — Tactical DarkHelm — Sensors system mapSensors — System Map DarkHelm — Sensors galaxy mapSensors — Galaxy Map DarkHelm — EngineeringEngineering DarkHelm — CommsComms DarkHelm — Comms subspaceComms — Subspace DarkHelm — Comms ESMSComms — ESMS DarkHelm — CommandCommand DarkHelm — Command ESMSCommand — ESMS DarkHelm — Command tacticalCommand — Tactical DarkHelm — Command system mapCommand — System Map DarkHelm — Command galaxy mapCommand — Galaxy Map DarkHelm — Flight OpsFlight Ops

Aux Screens

DarkHelm — Power GridPower Grid DarkHelm — Heat & CoolingHeat & Cooling DarkHelm — ESMSESMS DarkHelm — Master CautionMaster Caution DarkHelm — Damage ControlDamage Control DarkHelm — Shields & WeaponsShields & Weapons DarkHelm — Tactical PlotTactical Plot DarkHelm — Life SupportLife Support DarkHelm — Flight DeckFlight Deck DarkHelm — Main ViewMain View

Viewscreen

DarkHelm — Outside ViewOutside View DarkHelm — Outside View HUDOutside View — HUD DarkHelm — On-Screen CommsOn-Screen Comms DarkHelm — System MapSystem Map DarkHelm — Galaxy MapGalaxy Map DarkHelm — TacticalTactical

Features

Real multiplayer crew

LAN or online, many players to one ship — or several ships in the same battle.

Deep ship systems

Power, heat, damage, shields, sensors and fuel are simulated, not faked.

Interstellar travel

Sub-light combat, hyperspace jumps and a galaxy of star systems to cross.

Carriers & strike craft

Launch and command a wing of small craft from a hangar deck.

Game Master & missions

Run live scenarios, spawn forces and script missions for your crew.

Mod & share

Author ships, missions and total conversions; share them via the Workshop.

Get Involved

Bring a crew.

Wishlist on Steam to hear when it launches, and jump into the Discord for news, playtests and to find a bridge to crew.

Wishlist on Steam Join the Discord