After finally completing Sea Of Stars, here is our Review on this classic turn-based RPG game. If you're curious about whether pixel games from indie studios can create great gaming experiences, you won't be disappointed with Sea Of Stars.
We've just beat the main story of the game, coming in at a solid 23 hours exploring the gorgeous pixel worlds. There are still plenty of puzzles, side-content and end-game content to explore still.
The game is available on everyone major platform; we played the Steam version for our Sea Of Stars walkthrough and guide. We found no technical issues what-so-ever when playing, so major props to the game developers!
Sea of Stars Developers
Sea Of Stars is the second game released from Sabotage Studio. The game was released on 29th August 2023 on all major platforms.
The game was originally funded via Kickstarter, raising over $1.5 million Canadian dollars. Those who backed the game were able to get rewards such as having their own tomb placed in The Crypt and having their names in the game's End Credits section.
Sabotage Studios is made up of 20+ employees, having originally started out with just three members. Their first game The Messenger, was released in 2018 and won many awards including Best Debut Indie Title.
Sea Of Stars Story
Sea Of Stars is a story that follows the training of Solstice Warriors Zale and Valere. The world they inhabit faces threats from powerful beings called Dwellers, which if not defeated, eventually turn into World Eaters that destroy the world.
To sum up the Sea Of Stars story in one word, it would be charming. Whilst it does have some serious plot moments and some surprising twists, the main theme of the game doesn't take itself too seriously. There are plenty of goofy characters and daft scenarios you find yourself in, making the game feel fun and light-hearted, despite the looming threat of world destruction.
You'll visit plenty of different worlds and terrains, including snowy mountains, pirate ships and lava dungeons. You meet several new characters along the way, each with their own story to tell. Some characters clearly have a bigger role than others, but many of them have well-developed storylines that make you care about them in the world.
The trio of Zale, Valere and Garl works great; Garl in particular is a stand-out character in this game and you'll definitely grow to love him as you visit new locations that require your help.
The end of the world story is not too convoluted either; everything in Sea Of Stars is quite simple to understand that doesn't require you to go into menus and read up on the lore of the world. The game is based in the same universe as The Messenger, but you won't need to have played that to understand Sea Of Stars.
Sea Of Stars Gameplay
Sea Of Stars is an RPG with it's own twist; yes, it does have turn-based battles similar to old JRPGs but there is no grinding or random battles. You do Level Up your party members through earning EXP from battles, but the game gives you just enough monster encounters for you not to need to grind to be able to take on bosses.
Bosses in Sea Of Stars are strategic; you rarely need to brute-force your way through a tanky boss. Instead, you'll need to be countering different attacks, building up your Combo bar and trying to prevent the boss from getting too much control. There are a few bosses where you'll wipe and need to have a rethink of your strategy, but many of them are quite easy once you understand the intuitive battle system.
The battle system can sometimes slow down the game though; most fights take a couple of minutes and there can sometimes be too many areas to explore before the next story-beat that you find them tedious.
The battle system is just one part of Sea Of Stars. Another major area of the game are the level-design and puzzles that you'll come across. These puzzles are usually straight-forward, if not just a tad-bit long-winded, but there are definitely some moments in the game that have you stumped.
The game follows a cycle of beats; you arrive in a new area, complete a puzzle, fight a boss, plot develops and then you move to the next area. This cycle, especially if you try to complete the game in a couple of weeks, can feel a little dry towards the end. Whilst new mechanics are introduced as you play the game, the overall solving of puzzles doesn't really change.
You will come across huge dungeons that have a multitude of levels; pulling levers, collecting keys and activating platforms are all prevalent in Sea Of Stars.
There are a couple of mini-games thrown into Sea Of Stars too. Fishing is a quite basic game where you can reel in some fish from various locations.
The main mini-game is called Wheels; this is rather addicting game and we wish there were more rewards and prizes for playing it. It's got great graphics, relies quite a bit on RNG but not enough to make your choices inconsequential.
Sea Of Stars Technical
We'll start with the User Interface of Sea Of Stars.
Menus in Sea Of Stars work flawlessly. They are intuitive, have clearly readable fonts and sleek. Too many times have we played indie-games where they try to make the menus to stylish to the point they become terrible to use.
The animations and graphics for Sea Of Stars have some of the most technically well-produced pixel art we've ever seen in a retro-game. There were several instances where brand new animations must have been created for short cutscenes which really personify the level of detail the game developers went to.
There are loading screens in Sea Of Stars between each area of the game, but battles are seamlessly transitioned on the maps so it keeps the action going.
Sound-editing and the game's OST are amazing. There are definitely some tracks that we'll be listening to again (there are even a couple released on Spotify!). The production and sound quality is top-notch.
Sea Of Stars Review - Overall Thoughts
Sea Of Stars is a great RPG and if you're a fan of exploring deep into worlds with end-of-the-world storylines, then this game is definitely for you. It's got a beautiful pixel world and fun characters to enjoy as you go on a 20+ hour adventure.
The boss battles are top-notch in terms of art design and special moves; they can be a little too repetitive towards the end of the game and quite easy too. The RPG mechanics like leveling up and equipping new items don't have that much effect on battles, which can be a bit disappointing if you're trying to find all the hidden treasures.
Overall Sea Of Stars is worth getting and is a well-developed game that has had a lot of love and care put into it.
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