Back in March of last year. Lords of Gaming’s own Ben Scott was given the privilege of seeing a demo of the upcoming game Sea of Stars. As well as having a Q&A shortly after. This incredible write-up garnered my intrigue for the game to the point of waiting eagerly to get my hands on it. Luckily the recent ID@Xbox stream gave way to many demos. Including titles such as Demonschool, Slave Zero X, The Wandering Village, and the wonderful Worldless. But amongst these demos was one for Sea of Stars and I am here to tell you right now. This game is the real deal.
Small Story Details
In the demo, there was very little in the way of storytelling. I was given only some details about the main characters, Valere and Zale. They are both deities but what their purpose is still remains a mystery. All I was left with from the demo was seeing a mysterious character that could be a villain, but I am not so sure. However, there was one section in the demo that was fully fleshed out. That is a part where you have to help pirates get an old relic from some ruins. It is standard JRPG stuff, but how this burden was placed on the party and the execution throughout was very excellent.
The characters all have their own neat little quirks to them. Valere is stoic and realistic. Zale has some charm himself but not as much as their companion Garl. Garl seems to be the comic relief character. As he willingly took on a pirate in an arm wrestling match, lost, and still fanboyed about the situation. I feel like both Valere and Zale will serve the main narrative well. But Garl and any other companions found along the way will feel more memorable.
But the most important character to all of Sea of Stars is the world itself. As it feels very well-designed and beautiful to look at. Both in the overworld and in the smaller zones that follow it. There is so much creativity in the smaller zone traversal. With a vertical focus and so many unique puzzles. Like falling through massive holes to fall onto certain platforms and figuring out how to connect those platforms to the main stages. In the aforementioned ruins, there are crystals you use to open portals, but the game allows you to mix and match the colors to go do side activities instead of being locked in a linear fashion.
It is genuinely fascinating stuff, and the small slice of the world of Sea of Stars that was available in the demo piqued my curiosity immensely.
Unique Turn-Base Combat in Sea of Stars
Sea of Stars has a seamless turn-based combat system. The moment you engage with an enemy, there is no load screen to start the fight. The enemies just pop out and the encounter starts. It reminds me a lot of how encounters start in Persona 5 Royal. But the combat itself feels unique on its own. Where striking enemies drop energy that you can absorb to supercharge either normal attacks or abilities. As well as having combos you can pull off with certain characters that remind me of group attacks from Dragon Quest.
But one of the more unique aspects of it is the timing mechanic for standard attacks and blocking. When attacking or taking damage you can either reduce the amount of damage you take with a perfectly timed button press. Or increase the amount of damage you deal with standard attacks and regenerate some MP to use abilities more often. This mechanic is very subtle but there is an option in the menu that helps you learn the mechanic better by making the visual effect for it more flashy. So you can either subtly pull it off, or add some flair for pulling it off. As well as an easy mode toggle.
There is also an element of enemy placement that when you use certain area-of-effect attacks. You can hit enemies that are grouped together, or focus on single-target attacks on enemies that are isolated. Leveling up in Sea of Stars also has some unique flair to it.
Where characters receive some basic stat bonuses like every RPG. But you can choose an additional stat increase to allow for focusing on character strengths or buffing weaknesses they have. All of this is incredible and left an impact on me to the point where I wanted more of it. But I will have to wait until August 29th to do so.
Flawless Performance, Easy to Navigate Menus, and Great Special Effects
Sea of Stars had absolutely zero technical issues from the time I spent in the demo. The game also boasts some serene retro-style music. The background music from the port where the pirates are, to the ancient ruins complimented the scenes very well. But the combat music and theme music for the boss in the demo were very energetic and catchy. Even the main menu music gives off a nice relaxing vibe.
The visual effects across the board in the demo were genuinely fantastic too. Every single move and abilities has effects that just pop and have distinct color palettes. Like the light shining from each character as they move in darker environments. The illumination could have been a simple lantern light, but the developers went the extra mile to make sure each character shined in a color that matched their fantastic designs.
The menus are also very simply designed to make sure there’s less time spent in them and more time just focused on enjoying the game.
Final Thoughts on the Sea of Stars Demo
Sea of Stars is going to be a very special experience. Sabotage Studio has something very unique in this game. It is a turn-based metroidvania game with so much love and care that can be easily seen from just the demo alone. I would highly recommend playing the demo if you have not done so. It is well worth your time.
Sea of Stars is slated to launch August 29th for $34.99 on Xbox Series X|S, Xbox One, Steam, Nintendo Switch, and PlayStation 4|5. It will also be included day one in Xbox Game Pass.
