Rebel Galaxy is free this week through the Epic Games store...
Fly a corvette through an open system, delivering cargo, escorting merchants, mining asteroids, and collecting bounties on pirates that coincidentally make up 30% of the population apparently. The mission system and game economy tied to station nodes is based off Privateer from the 90s but with current high definition graphics.
The world is 2.5D instead of 3D with ships being assigned to slightly higher or lower planes as they come into close proximity, and the controls are much more simplified than a true space simulator. Each ship has multiple weapon systems with an AI taking on firing whichever system the player is not currently controlling, and upgrades can be purchased that improve the targeting.
Missions have assigned difficulty / risks at the acceptance screen, and as you approach encounters a color coded danger rating comes up on the screen. The game's definition of moderate risk is not what I would expect, but that is just at an hour in, and with the introductory ship there is a good chance of escaping an overly hostile encounter. After being destroyed, you reset back at the last station docked at, and there is the option to drop any non-plot missions that are too difficult for your current ship.
