Getting Started
New to CONTRABAND? This guide covers the first 30 minutes of the game without spoiling the story.
What you're playing
You are a cargo pilot in an unspecified sci-fi future. You make decisions. The game remembers them. You can undo them. That is the core loop. Everything else — combat, trading, exploration — exists to serve that central mechanic.
The first 10 minutes
The game opens at Verge Station, Gate 17. A dispatcher offers you a cargo run that doesn't feel right. You have three options — take it, peek inside the crate, or walk away. All three are valid. None is "right." The game will unfold differently based on what you do.
Whatever you pick, you will eventually end up in Chapter 1 at a place called Keros-4, where a woman named Vex is waiting for you. Your first major encounter happens here.
Key controls
- Click any choice to make a decision
- ☰ Menu in the top right opens all game systems: Galaxy, Missions, Shipyard, Crew, Achievements, Save/Load
- Sacred Timeline (via menu) lets you visualize every decision you've made and rewind to any past point
- Galaxy Map lets you jump between star systems (requires fuel)
Things that confuse new players
"Nothing happens when I wait." — The game is not a simulation. Time doesn't pass unless you're making decisions or jumping. If you want events to happen, trigger them.
"My ship got destroyed." — You don't die permanently. The Game Over screen gives you the option to rewind your last decision, which undoes the fight. This is not a penalty — it's the intended mechanic.
"I can't afford anything." — Starting credits are low on purpose. Take missions from the Mission Board, complete cargo runs, or accept favors from NPCs to build up. Don't buy a new ship in Chapter 1. Wait.
"I rewound and my state reset." — Correct. Rewinding the timeline rewinds game state. The version you were living still exists as a ghost branch. You can always go back forward.
Mistakes worth making
The game is designed to reward experimentation. Some of the best content is behind "bad" decisions. Killing a character, betraying a faction, or refusing a critical quest opens alternate scenes you wouldn't see otherwise. Make a mistake on purpose. See what happens. Rewind if you regret it.
The game has 4 endings. You are meant to see more than one.
Recommended first-run strategy
- Save the child in the prologue (biggest unlock in the game)
- Listen to Vex in Chapter 1 rather than attacking
- Accept the Weaver mission in Chapter 2
- Hire at least one crew member before Chapter 3
- Pick Chapter 3 Lead B (the Oracle) for the cleanest path
- Prune the tree in Chapter 4 for a satisfying first ending
Once you've seen that playthrough, experiment with the other endings.
Managing credits in Chapter 1
New players often run out of credits by the middle of Chapter 1 because they buy too many upgrades too early. The starter Scout MK-I is sufficient for every Chapter 1 encounter, including the Vex combat path if you approach it tactically. Credits earned during Chapter 1 should be banked for the Chapter 2 shipyard, where a single Rare-tier ship purchase unlocks several quality-of-life improvements and makes the rest of the game significantly smoother.
The most reliable Chapter 1 income sources are: cargo runs from Verge Station dispatcher (500–1,200cr each), refined ore arbitrage between Keros-3 and Verge-2 (about 3,000cr per full cargo hold), and the Missing Pilot side quest (yields a legendary relic that can be sold for 15,000cr to the right buyer, or kept for narrative use).
Saving and loading
CONTRABAND has three manual save slots plus an autosave that updates every time a major decision is made. Manual saves are useful for marking specific branch points you want to return to without triggering the Sacred Timeline rewind system. Autosaves are sufficient for most play; the game is designed around rewinding rather than reloading.
If you sign in with a Firebase account (optional but recommended), saves sync across devices. You can start a session on your laptop and continue on your phone. Firestore is the authoritative store; local storage is used as cache. Saves include purchased epilogues and cosmetics if you have made any.
When to rewind and when to push through
Rewinding is free mechanically — the game does not limit how many times you can use it. But it has a narrative cost in later chapters: the Scourge AI tracks rewinds and sends reinforcements to their origin. In Chapter 1, feel free to rewind anything you don't like. By Chapter 3, learn to push through discomfort because rewinding is no longer consequence-free.
A good rule of thumb: rewind if a decision changes your faction reputation by more than 25 points in a direction you didn't intend. Don't rewind to farm for better drops or to redo trades for a few extra credits — the opportunity cost in later-chapter reinforcements outweighs the gain.
Playing on mobile vs desktop
CONTRABAND runs natively in mobile browsers with a dedicated mobile-optimized variant (/play-mobile/). The mobile version has a slightly simplified HUD but identical game content. Performance is good on any phone from 2022 or later. Combat is played with tap-to-target on mobile and click-to-target on desktop; both feel responsive. Chapter transitions load in under two seconds on typical connections.
The 3D main experience (/play/) is the default on desktop and a growing preference on tablet. On slower devices, falling back to the classic 2D variant (/play-classic/) preserves all narrative content with lighter rendering requirements.