Trials in Tainted Space Review: Fenoxo's Sci-Fi Text RPG

Content note. This game is for adults only and is explicit throughout. It contains a wide range of fetish content, including body transformation, alien and monster characters, and a lot of kink-specific material. Many fetishes can be switched off in the game's settings, but not the adult content as a whole.

In short

What it is: a menu-driven sci-fi text RPG in which you explore ships, stations and planets, fight in turns and meet a very large cast.
Who it's for: readers who enjoy open-ended exploration and deep character customization, and who are fine with little art.
Price: free public build; backers on Patreon or SubscribeStar get some content first.
Status and platforms: in development, version 0.9.165 (September 11, 2026 changelog). Browser, Windows, Mac, Linux and Android. Not on Steam.
Big pro / big con: an enormous amount of content and very frequent updates, but it is sprawling and hard to follow for newcomers.

What is Trials in Tainted Space?

It is Fenoxo's long-running second game, after Corruption of Champions. Where that one was dark fantasy, this is space opera: you play the heir to a galactic corporation racing across newly opened planets. The systems will feel familiar to anyone who played the original, with exploration, turn-based fights and a strong focus on customizing and transforming your character.

The short answers: it is free to play, it is not finished, and Fenoxo's own site is the only official place to get it. There is no store release; the game is not sold on Steam.

It is also a team project now. The September 2026 changelog credits several other writers and coders alongside Fenoxo, which helps explain how much content lands each month.

Trials in Tainted Space screenshots

Gameplay

You read scenes and choose actions from a grid of buttons, while a small grid map shows the rooms around you. You move between ships, space stations and planets, talk to NPCs, pick up quests and fight enemies in turn-based combat.

The key systems

Grid-map exploration: each location is a set of tiles you walk through, from station corridors to alien wilderness.
Turn-based combat: menu-driven fights with melee and ranged options; the latest changelog, for example, reworks how enemy counters interact with stuns.
Customization and transformation: central to the game; items and events change your character's body and abilities.
Your ship and crew: you recruit crew members, and the ship can be upgraded (the changelog mentions weapon mounts, for instance).
A very large cast: the NPC list keeps growing with nearly every update.

How it feels to play

The structure is open. There is a main quest, but most of the time you choose where to fly next and whose story to follow. A common view among players is that this makes the game sprawling and hard to follow at first, and that it rewards people who enjoy wandering more than those who want a clear path.

Story

You are the heir to your late father's galactic corporation. To claim the inheritance, you have to follow the trail of probes he sent across newly opened planets, and get there before a rival cousin does.

That chase is the spine of the story, but the side content is where much of the game lives: crew members, station regulars and the people you meet on each planet. All characters are adults.

Main features

Feature	What to expect
Format	Text RPG with menu buttons and a grid map, limited art
Setting	Sci-fi: ships, stations and planets
Combat	Turn-based
Character	Deep customization and transformation
Content settings	Many fetishes can be toggled
Updates	Changelog posts several times a month in 2026
Price	Free public build; backer-first content

Visual style

This is a game you read. The screen is text, buttons and a small tile map, with character art for some NPCs. A changelog note that a week was "lighter on art assets" gives a sense of how art is added: bit by bit alongside the writing rather than as the main event.

If you want pictures on every screen, this is the wrong game. If you like imagining scenes from detailed writing, it has more of that than almost anything else in the genre.

How to play Trials in Tainted Space

Everything official is on Fenoxo's play page. The current options are:

Option on the play page	What it is
Play in Window	The browser version; the page says it works on PC and mobile
Download for Windows, Linux or MacOS	Desktop builds of the current public version
Download for Android	An official Android build
Legacy Save System builds	For converting saves from before version 0.9.119
Legacy versions	A ZIP install, the old SWF file and separate ARM and x86 Android files

Trials in Tainted Space online

For most players the browser is the simplest route. Click "Play in Window" and the game opens in a new tab, with nothing to install. It is also the easiest way to try it on a phone or tablet before committing to a download.

Mac, Linux and Android

Mac: there is a dedicated macOS download. If macOS blocks the first launch of an indie app, our Mac guide covers the usual prompts.
Linux: a separate Linux download is offered.
Android: the main Android build, plus legacy ARM and x86 files for older devices.

Is it on Steam?

No. There is no Steam store release, only a Steam Community group. Fenoxo's play page is the official source. If you are after a Steam-sold text RPG, the related Corruption of Champions II by Salamander Studios is on Steam.

Is Trials in Tainted Space free?

Yes. The public build is free in the browser and as downloads. Fenoxo funds development through Patreon and SubscribeStar, and some new content is labelled "Backer Exclusive" in the changelog before it becomes public. In the September 11, 2026 post, for example, a new station NPC was backer-exclusive while a set of scenes and fixes were marked "Now Public".

You do not need to back the game to play it; you just get new content a little later. Our guide on how Patreon releases work for adult games explains that model, and the game is a long-standing entry among our free adult games.

Is it safe to download?

We don't test or certify files. The only official source is fenoxo.com, which hosts the browser version and all downloads directly.

Try the browser version first. Nothing to install.
Download only from the play page. Skip re-uploads, "unlocked backer" builds and mobile ports from other sites.
Scan downloads before you run them. If you are new to installing indie games on a PC, our Windows install guide covers the basics.

Latest version and updates

The latest changelog we could confirm is version 0.9.165, posted on September 11, 2026. It mixed backer-exclusive and public items, and Fenoxo noted a version-number error on the first deploy, so the public build may show a slightly different number for a while. A "Chattin' TiTS (Not a Patch)" post followed on September 16.

Update pace and backer logins

Frequent updates: several changelog posts per month through 2026.
Backer-first content: new material is often marked "Backer Exclusive" before it goes public.
Patreon login change: the September 11 post says Patreon is retiring the v1 API the team used, so backer-login linkage for this game and CoC2 was being moved to the new version. Backers who see login hiccups should know that was expected.

To see how it sits alongside Fenoxo's finished first game, visit the Fenoxo developer page.

Pros

An enormous amount of content after more than ten years of development
Very frequent updates in 2026
Free, with browser, Windows, Mac, Linux and Android options
Deep character customization
Many fetishes can be toggled in the settings

Cons

Very text-heavy with limited art
Some content is locked to backers first
Sprawling and hard to follow for newcomers (community sentiment)
Still unfinished

FAQ

Do I have to pay to play?

No. The public build is free in the browser and as downloads on fenoxo.com. Patreon and SubscribeStar backers get some new content earlier.

Can I play it in a browser?

Yes. "Play in Window" on the play page runs the game in a browser tab on PC or mobile.

Is there a Trials in Tainted Space Mac version?

Yes. The play page offers a macOS download next to the Windows and Linux builds. The browser version works on a Mac too.

Is it sold on Steam?

No. It has no Steam store release. Fenoxo's play page is the official source.

What is the latest version?

The latest changelog we could confirm is 0.9.165, from September 11, 2026. Backer-exclusive items in that post may not be in the public build yet.

Can I turn off content I don't want?

Partly. Many fetishes can be toggled in the settings, but the game is explicit throughout, so the adult content as a whole cannot be switched off.

Final verdict

This is the biggest and busiest of Fenoxo's projects: a free sci-fi sandbox of text that keeps growing almost every week. The customization, the settings for trimming unwanted content and the sheer volume of writing are real strengths. The flip side is a game that can feel shapeless to newcomers and that shows you very few pictures. Start in the browser, give it an evening, and you will know. For comparison, try Lilith's Throne, look back at Fenoxo's first game, or browse our adult RPG picks and all reviewed games.

Trials in Tainted Space Review