It’ll take me quite a while to get through Sea of Stars, but if my first impressions are anything to go by, it’s going to be a hell of an adventure. This latest indie RPG comes from Quebec’s Sabotage Studio, the developers of the acclaimed The Messenger.

The developers were kind enough to send over a review key for me to look at the game. I’ve been plugging away at it over the past couple of days, with about 12 hours of progress done. Given that I’m not even halfway done, it’s easy to expect the review will take some time.

But one thing’s for sure: Sea of Stars is living up to the hype and then some. It’s a grand and engaging adventure that’s satisfying in its combat and enticing in its story. And despite a few incredibly minor issues that will hopefully be patched out, it’s set its hooks deep into me already.

Fire of the sun, light of the moon

Let’s talk about the combat first. I already had an idea of how this played, thanks to the demo released back in February. In practice, it’s already been a consistently fun and rewarding combat system, and I can see it appealing to both retro fans and newbies.

Much has been made of the game’s comparisons to games like Super Mario RPG, Illusion of Gaia, and Chrono Trigger. And they’re certainly warranted; any fan of 90s RPGs will be right at home here. I also got a substantial whiff of Mario & Luigi in it, especially with the combo moves. You have to juggle a few factors at once, including elemental weaknesses, enemy positions, charging enemy attacks, and available magic points and boost power.

While it’s a deep and layered combat system, it’s also very approachable. If you’ve never played an RPG before, Sea of Stars would be an excellent first choice. You can grasp the core concept very easily, and there aren’t so many mechanics and meters to keep track of that it’s overwhelming. The biggest challenge is determining the optimal strategy, which requires paying close attention in the heat of battle.

Feeling like a star

Sea of Stars immediately made a stir thanks to its wonderful aesthetics. You’ve probably already noticed the lovely pixel art through these screenshots, and in action, the game looks absolutely stunning. With beautiful color palettes and some excellent music tracks, it’s already a heavily absorbing adventure.

More than its aesthetics, though, I’m also really into the story and characters so far. With a wacky pirate crew, some excellent party members, and an old order of the Solstice Warriors to talk to, there’s plenty of love and care into these characters. I’ve gotten quite a bit ahead of the introduction, so I won’t be writing any story spoilers here.

Just know that the game takes maybe an hour or two to get going, and then a couple more hours to REALLY get going. For a game that’s expected to take about 25 to 30 hours with no side content, there’s hopefully plenty more great story bits and characters to come.

If there’s one aspect I can criticize Sea of Stars for, it’s that the dialogue needed a bit of a tune-up. Not the words themselves, but rather the grammar; there’s a few typos that needed ironing out. That’s something that could easily be fixed with a few patches, although of course, it’s not the most important factor. I haven’t encountered any other bugs so far, and hopefully that will remain the same throughout the rest of my playthrough!

Sea of Stars shines in its first impressions

I’m happy to report that my first impressions of Sea of Stars are highly positive. The combat is engrossing for both RPG veterans and newcomers, and it’s a beautiful game filled with charming characters and storylines. And while the text perhaps needed one last proofread, it’s hardly enough to take you out of the adventure.

Sea of Stars is developed and published by Sabotage Studio. It is available now for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S and PC via Steam. You can also play it via Xbox and PC Game Pass. A free demo is available to play right now.

The digital version costs $34.99 USD. A physical version for Nintendo Switch is on the way, but Sabotage Studio hasn’t announced a price yet.

Thanks to Tinsley PR and Sabotage Studio for providing a review key!

The post First Impressions: Sea of Stars [PC] appeared first on Mega Visions.

So Bad It’s Good?

HIGH The soundtrack is genuinely excellent.

LOW Poorly designed levels. 

WTF Commiting to the bit makes it a difficult game to review!

One of the strongest (and most surprising) games I’ve reviewed for GameCritics has been Hypnospace Outlaw, which was set in a parody version of 1999’s early internet. It resonated with me in a big way due to its setting, but the developers were also commenting on the toxicity of contemporary social media — which, if anything, has gotten worse since its release. When I saw there was a recent spinoff, I had to see what they’d do with it next.

Slayers X: Terminal Aftermath: Vengance of the Slayer is a ’90s style first-person shooter developed by Tendershoot and published by No More Robots.            

 In Slayers X, Zane, the incredibly obnoxious 15-year-old troll from Hypnospace Outlaw, is now a grown man in his mid-thirties. He’s decided to continue working on a half-done videogame he stopped making in his teen years, and “Slayers X” is that game. This game-within-a-game stars Zane, who is part of a superhero group called the Slayers. His fictional persona is seeking revenge for the murder of his mentor and mother by a rival group headed by Zane’s stepfather. 

This story hints at what one might expect from the mind of an obnoxious teenager, and in this respect, Slayer X commits to the bit. This thin plot is just a setup for a power fantasy that invokes Doom and Duke Nukem. The story is ridiculous and replete with awful one-liners where Zane mocks enemies by saying things like “I slept with your mom!” Complete with poor CG between levels, the overall quality of the experience is surely a series of deliberate choices by the developers to remain consistent with the premise.

Additionally, gameplay has a familiar smoothness and speed typical of shooters from that era, complete with exaggerated head bob. The shooting is exactly what one would expect, offering simple shooting in levels filled with enemies. The guns feel common, though the Glass Blaster shotgun packs a punch and is the exception, due to its ability to use broken windows as ammo refills.

However, Slayers X is also seemingly filtered through the prism of someone lacking in the talent department when it comes to game design. The areas lack flow — I often found myself lost among many seemingly pointless areas and diversions lacking tangible rewards for exploration, aside from some predictably poor and immature visual gags. This resulted in a stop-start feeling not helped by the prevalence of monster closets and waves of spawning enemies.

Speaking of enemies, they lack interesting designs and are repeated ad nauseam. When the difficulty needs to ramp up in the final levels, the classic design mistake is made — the enemy count skyrockets and stronger enemies become too plentiful.

To make matters worse, ammo was inconsistently and haphazardly placed. I sometimes found myself with an overabundance, but at other times — especially when it was needed the most — it was hard to come across.

Again, while this was not a pleasant experience per se, I want to reiterate the admiration I had for the developers’ commitment to their concept. It is through this authenticity that Slayer X shines — it’s not really a ‘bad’ FPS, but instead a character piece reflecting the mind of a juvenile edgelord and his views of the world. This meta-concept is where Slayer X finds its humor, in exposing his illusions of grandeur and not in Zane’s terrible zingers.

While the concept behind Slayers X might spark debate, there’s no argument around the soundtrack, where the parody band “Seepage” returns from Hypnospace Outlaws. Clearly inspired by late ’90s bands like Linkin Park, tastes may vary here (and I’m exposing my own nostalgia) but I genuinely found the songs not just pitch-perfect throwbacks, but enjoyable in their own right.

Considering its premise, it would be betraying the concept to make a ‘good’ game. It’s certainly interesting, but does that lead to an enjoyable experience? Well, it’s worth playing for those who enjoyed Hypnospace Outlaw and are interested in another snapshot from that period, and it’s brief enough so that it doesn’t outstay its welcome. However, people who aren’t Hypnospace fans or those who aren’t interested in the meta-concept would probably do well to look elsewhere if they’re craving a standard FPS fix.

Rating: 6 out of 10

Disclosures: This game is developed by Tendershoot and published by No More Robots. It is currently available on XBO, XBX/S, PS4/5, Switch and PC. This copy of the game was obtained via publisher and reviewed on the Switch. Approximately 3.5 hours of play were devoted to the single-player mode, and the game was completed. There are no multiplayer modes.

Parents: According to the ESRB, this game is rated M and contains Intense Violence, Blood and Gore, Sexual Themes, Drug Reference, and Language. Whilst the graphics are deliberately primitive, the game is very violent with exploding limbs and lots of blood, although the prevalence of blood depends on whether the violence level is set to normal or extreme in the settings. There are references to suicide, drugs and crude humour such as sexual innuendo, for example, the player character saying he has slept with someone’s mom.

Colorblind Modes: There are no colorblind modes available. 

Deaf & Hard of Hearing Gamers:  This game offers subtitles. The subtitles cannot be altered and/or resized.  I found it to be quite playable without sound, however there were a couple of issues. Subtitles did not appear when Zach made comments about why doors were inaccessible (there are color coded locks.) A bigger issue is the lack of visual cues when enemies approach from the back and the sides, and I did not see visual cues detailing where damage was coming from. As a result it is not fully accessible.

Remappable Controls: Yes, this game offers fully remappable controls.

Back in 2015, Grim Fandango Remastered came out, making it easier than it had been since the original version's 1998 launch to play one of the most beloved adventure games ever made. Still, even with the attention given to the classic LucasArts launch — one as well regarded as the studio's The Secret of Monkey Island, Day of the Tentacle, and Maniac Mansion — the remaster didn't provide players with every one of the updates they were looking for. Fortunately, almost a decade later, fans of the game have just put out a new mod that finishes remastering the remaster for free.