The finest indie RPG out there.
What They Say:
Sea of Stars is a turn-based RPG inspired by the classics. It tells the story of two Children of the Solstice who will combine the powers of the sun and moon to perform Eclipse Magic, the only force capable of fending off the monstrous creations of the evil alchemist known as The Fleshmancer.
Content:
It is rare that an indie game impresses me in the way that Sea of Stars did. While the team’s previous game wasn’t my cup of tea, this brilliant JRPG-style game inspired by the greats of old is more than worthy of standing on its own two feet.
It tells a simple but colorful and enjoyable storyline about two playable protagonists on their way to stop an evil menace. The plot itself doesn’t do anything too terribly unique or different, but there are enough twists, fascinating characters, and solid pacing to carry it well.
But the real star (no pun intended) of this indie RPG is its turn-based combat and gorgeous 16-bit-style world. The environments are so varied and the game does a great job in its pacing of helping the player to move to a new location that looks vastly different and typically equally stunning at the right time.
From the darker, more purple-hued shadowy locations to the bright and cheerful ocean adventures, there are constantly new beautiful sights to see in this game. It helps, too, that the combat transitions so nicely in the middle of these picturesque locations with its own solid animations.
The turn-based combat is quite familiar for any old school JRPG fans with the various skills and attacks to use, and the timed button presses for extra damage. There are also team attacks to use and the lock system to add some necessary depth. While Sea of Stars doesn’t do anything too wildly new with its gameplay, it doesn’t have to, as it is solid and fast-paced enough to keep everything moving nicely.
It also helps that the game is fairly action-packed and varied outside of the combat and environments themselves. There is a fair bit of platforming that I didn’t expect from this game. Though some of the sections are layered in awkward ways and a bit too confusing at times, the added platforming keeps exploration fluid and interesting.
It also helps that the overall gameplay tries to give the player enough to do where even if you get bored of exploring dungeons and fighting against enemies, there is other content for you to do. For instance, I quite enjoyed the simplistic and peaceful fishing minigame as well as the surprisingly engrossing Wheels tavern game, which I spent a lot more time with than I expected to.
And this was all done on the Steam Deck where I reviewed this game. This is a title that works incredibly well on the Steam Deck, looking gorgeous and fitting the portable format well. I didn’t have many issues with it bug-wise, either, and the battery life was decent enough since this wasn’t a demanding experience.
In Summary:
Sea of Stars is quite simply the best indie RPG ever made so far. The team at Sabotage Studio has shown that it not only can take inspiration from some of the best JRPGs in the past, but carve its own path with a surprisingly enjoyable experience from top to bottom.
The fairly standard turn-based combat is interactive and deep enough to keep me interested, the platforming elements aren’t perfect but they add a nice layer to the experience, and the extra minigames like fishing and Wheels add value to the already incredibly beautiful and immersive 2D world. While I wouldn’t say the story is too surprising or unique, it is just good enough to be the anchor for this must-play indie title.
Grade: A-
Developer: Sabotage Studio
Publisher: Sabotage Studio
Age Rating: 10+
Release Date: August 28, 2023
MSRP: $34.99
Platform: PC (reviewed), Switch, PlayStation, and Xbox
This review was done with a review copy provided by the publisher. We are grateful for their continued support.
