Impossible to connect to friends could have been more fun

Winward is a solid game in terms of combat and trading mechanics, but the mission design is too MMO-ish. I would like it if there was a story to follow or objectives apart from saving money for the next upgrade ad nauseam. As it stands, there's nothing outright wrong with the game, but it's super repetitive.
It also reminded me a bit of a flash game called Franfic Frigates even though that game is an arcade twin stick shooter.

Could have been fun, but unfortunately abandoned.