Sea of Stars

Steam Reviews

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• Recommended Posted October 12, 2025 on Steam I have [b]mixed feelings[/b] about this game, so [b]this won't be an entirely positive review[/b]. This game is [b]loved by most people[/b] who have played it, but I don't think it's that great. [b]It's not a bad game, tho[/b]. Sea of Stars is [b]perfect for people who have never played a JRPG[/b], or for those who want one without doing Excel math every turn. [b]The art and soundtrack are undeniably beautiful[/b]. You can tell it's a game [b]made with love[/b]. [h1]Story[/h1] In this world, [b]solstices[/b] sometimes bring about the [b]magical birth[/b] of warriors infused with the power of [b]sunlight[/b] or [b]moonlight[/b]. These are known as the [b]Solstice Warriors[/b]. Their purpose is to [b]protect the world from evil[/b], but since they aren't always born, [b]the world isn't always at peace[/b]. This time [b]Valere[/b] and [b]Zale[/b] are born, [b]the blandest and annoying protagonists I have seen in the history of video games[/b]. Even a [b]random NPC[/b] from a generic village [b]has more personality and charm[/b] than the two of them combined. Anyway, [b]Valere[/b] and [b]Zale[/b], along with their best friend [b]Garl[/b] (imho, [u]the real[/u] MC), travel across the world to stop the [b]Fleshmancer[/b], a powerful entity threatening the world. [b]The story itself isn't bad[/b]. It's as a [b]prequel[/b] to the video game "[b]The Messenger[/b]", and it is fairly entertaining, although the writing is full of [b]immature[/b] and [b]superficial[/b] moments. [h1]Gameplay[/h1] Sea of Stars features a [b]turn based combat system[/b] with mechanics similar to [b]Mario RPG[/b] and even [b]Chrono Trigger[/b]. At first, it's fun and promising. But [b]as the game progresses[/b], the system does not evolve and [b]you spend 40 hours using the same attacks and combos[/b], which eventually becomes boring. Depending on [b]what kind of player you are[/b], the game can feel [b]very easy[/b] or [b]very hard[/b]. Fortunately, Sea of Stars has a [b]relic system[/b] to balance the adventure and [b]adjust it to your taste without punishing you[/b]. Also, [b]exploration plays a crucial role[/b] and, small spoiler, [spoiler]it directly affects the plot[/spoiler]. The [b]puzzles[/b] are really fun, and you also have some [b]minigames[/b] like [b]fishing[/b], a [b]quiz contest[/b], or my favorite: [b]Wheels[/b], a 1vs1 strategy game. In addition, Sea of Stars has a [b]free DLC[/b] that adds [b]more than 6 extra hours of gameplay[/b]. Personally, I think [b]the DLC is much more difficult[/b] than the base game and [b]it manages to do the impossible[/b]: it makes [b]Valere[/b] and [b]Zale[/b] [u]even more annoying[/u]. [h1]Do I recommend it?[/h1] If you are a [b]hardcore JRPG[/b] player, [b][u]I do not recommend[/u][/b] playing Sea of Stars, [b]you will not like it[/b]. Play it only if you want to experience the story and admire its [b]wonderful pixel art[/b]. There is practically [b]no strategy[/b], the [b]battles are repetitive[/b], and the [b]protagonists are unbearable[/b]. On the other hand, [b]if you are a casual player[/b], I think Sea of Stars [b]is a solid and entertaining option[/b] (although the story [b]is written in a very childish[/b] way). So if you are a player who only wants to [b]spend some time with a JRPG that won't give you a headache[/b], [u]this game is completely for you[/u].
• Recommended Posted June 3, 2026 on Steam Okay, "Yes I recommend," IF you love Chrono Trigger, because that's what this is all about. If you aren't looking for a "love letter to CT and other early Squaresoft," you may find this a little saccharine. I played CT about 80 billion times when I was a kid and so this is absolutely working on the part of me that will always love and adore that game. But I'm hearing people's complaints about Garl and...yea, I see it. We'll see how it goes along, I haven't finished it yet. But it looks/sounds absolutely lovely and the character sprites are very expressive and fun. Having a great time with it.
• Recommended Posted October 8, 2025 on Steam A modern, in the mechanics and story, golden sun .
• Not recommended Posted December 9, 2025 on Steam A very beautiful game that does a convincing job of fooling you into thinking it's good for long enough that you'll probably end up finishing it anyway. This game gets a 10/10 for its artistic direction. The sound and graphics are absolutely phenomenal. Unfortunately, the gameplay is repetitive and poorly executed - a sort of mishmash of Octopath Traveler's break system, the timed button presses for team attacks of any given Mario RPG, and a general lack of any meaningful options. The battle scenes are definitely made to look like Chrono Trigger, but plays nothing like it. The main conceit of this game's battle system is needing to use attacks of varying types in order to weaken enemies or prevent bosses from using their most devastating abilities, but the types of attacks required are randomly generated from what your party is currently capable of doing, often asking for multiple instances of the same type of attack (even if only a single character can do it), making the feat actually impossible to pull off because there is a turn count limit to perform the necessary attacks or all of your work is undone. As the game goes on, the combinations get longer, making it more and more frequent that the required combinations are impossible to complete on time, so your performance with the main combat mechanic will get worse over the course of the game instead of better. The other major downfall is that each character really doesn't have much they can do. Each playable character ends up with only 3-4 options in combat by the very end of the game (and that requires you to go out of your way to find some of them!), meaning you'll spend hours and hours just doing the same two or three attacks in every battle whether that be a random encounter or a plot-driving boss fight. There will be no team composition or build tweaking - you will play every fight exactly as you're told, because if you don't then the enemies will unleash mega attacks to wipe you out, and there's no other options to choose from anyway. By the time you can select between potential party members, the game is legitimately in its final act. None of these problems though compare to the travesty that is this game's script. I honestly don't even know the protagonist duo's names, because while they are supposedly counterparts with opposite strengths and weaknesses, neither of them has any personality at all, with maybe two scenes each dedicated to them as individuals over the entire course of the game. In fact, they're so interchangeable that you're given the decision of which one to play as your party leader, and it makes no difference whatsoever at any point. Instead the game focuses its narrative entirely on the adorable Woobie that's JUST SO QUIRKY you guys, and wouldn't you know it, he's gonna be your dedicated bestest fwiend forever and ever despite being horrifically traumatized and maimed as a plot device in the prologue. There's also a ninja girl, a blob or something, and a guy that changes from being God to just some random wizard in your party - despite being capable of resolving the entire plot on his own except he doesn't feel like it. The plot of the game really makes no sense either - you're doing the "save the world from the big bad evil thing" with a few twists and turns along the way, and at the end of act two the protagonists have completed their arc, saved the world, and the story is over. Except it's not, because act three has you leave behind everyone and everything that's ever mattered to the protagonists to go and solve a different problem in a different reality. There is no reason for them to do this, and it's just as jarring to the player. At this point, the ninja girl basically just becomes the new protagonist, except the two demi-gods you've been playing as the whole time are necessary to help her kill the moon or the ocean or something. Look - it doesn't make any sense, and that's because the writers were way more interested in connecting the lore of this game to their other games than actually telling a complete story in the game you're playing currently. Villains just vanish through portals never to be seen again because they have to do that for them to make their appearances in other games that have already been released without breaking continuity. God just kind of let's everything go to ♥♥♥♥, because it's very important that his emotional friendship arc with the big bad continue in a different game in a different genre at some unspecified point in the future. And also those certain people HAVE to betray you, despite their reasons for doing so having already been resolved by the time the betrayal happens - they just kind of look at each other in a cutscene and go, "Well, all of our reasons for being evil are now moot, and doing this will only hurt everyone in the entire world including ourselves, and we can back out at any time with no repercussions.......but let's do it anyway, because you never know if things might possibly maybe get bad again later." I would love to go on and on about how f***ing stupid the writing is in this game, but I fear I've spoiled too much already, if you still plan on playing it. I absolutely would NOT recommend this to anyone, but like I said at the start, you'll probably play it anyway, leave a glowing review in the first few hours when the shininess of it all still has you in its grips, and by the time you realize that, no, the story is never going to get any better and the gameplay will actively get worse, you'll have sunk so much time into it that you finish it just to see it through.
• Recommended Posted August 16, 2025 on Steam Ive seen alot of "this game is good, but not amazing" "crowd goes mild" type reviews. for me, I think this game actually leans more into the amazing category based on a lot of what it does well, and even its weakest points get much better after the DLC. for me, the game was a blast to play. Just exploring the world and doing puzzles and being in the universe was a treat the whole time, due to its vibe and aesthetic. Graphics and style are the strongest point of the game I would say and 100% one of the reasons to play it. while I wouldnt say graphics matter that much in what makes most games good... here it definitely matters because it captures a feeling (the nostalgia old style rpg feel) and is part of the general joy of just playing the game. I would follow that up by saying the next best part to me was the music (could easily be the best part of the game for some). there are soooo many good tracks in this game. found myself humming quite a few of them in my daily life. third would be exploration and level design. I really enjoyed doing the puzzles in an area to find secrets and little hidden paths. additionally, The rewards were often good and made it feel worth it. All three of these aspects I would say are 10/10 to 9/10 aspects. the weaker side of the game would be combat and story, and the DLC helped with both of these. combat in the main game is pretty enjoyable, but after 20 or so hours it does have some downsides. it doesnt evolve all that much throughout your playthrough and you will be clicking very familiar moves the whole time. the amount of moonerangs ive thrown is too many. that being said, i was never really "bored" with it. and I think combat overall is still a huge step up from some of the turn based RPGs of old. The DLC also gave combat a huge boost in my opinion with tons of new varied moves, some of which are pretty fun to use. It comes at a great time too, because like 8 to 10 more hours after the main story of moonerang might have been too much. I do just want to reiterate that even as one of the weaker points, combat is still a plus side and enjoyable to those who like this style of combat. the weakest part of the game i would say is the story. The main story fulfills its purpose and is serviceable and moves the narrative along. But, I was never floored or shocked. It was never bad by any means. but it wasnt at the same quality of what the rest of the game delivers. However, the DLC also helps a ton with that. it gives some more love to characters that needed some more TLC in the main story. I enjoyed it quite a bit. again, I think the story is still solid and would give it like a 7/10 or 7.5/10 (like an 8 or 8.5 for the DLC). So to me, even the games weakest aspect was pretty good. then a small gripe and the actual weakest part of the game to me. why are there achievements that require multiple controllers LOL. doesn't affect how I rate the game. but man. that is wild.
• Not recommended Posted June 9, 2026 on Steam I played this game in 2023 when the hype was at its peak, like everyone else I was dazzled by the graphics and what seemed like a neat twist on traditional JRPG gameplay. I'll just say it up front though, this game is awful and a complete waste of your time. Yeah, that's harsh, but 3 years on when I think about Sea of Stars I just remember how angry the game made me because of how good it could've been. It absolutely squanders some of the best pixel art put to motion with super repetitive gameplay and abysmal story and dialogue. I was just in a conversation with people in discord and someone brought up Garl as an icon of toxic positivity and it's very true, and the way the game's whole universe practically bends to his will just feels really gross and kind of cheapens the whole setup of the two main characters being special trained... whatever they are that are supposed to save the world. Who cares about anything those two cardboard cutouts you control actually do when this random fat guy is just gonna walk up and make the entire world about him? I wish there was more to say about the story but that's really it, the two main characters just get dragged along on what is essentially someone else's adventure never really providing any input apart from hitting things and doing magic. The hitting things and doing magic in the overworld is pretty nice at least. For as many misguided comparisons this game gets to Chrono Trigger, I found it much closer to Illusion of Gaia in terms of the overworld design and the puzzles and traversal stuff you get to do in the game. If the game was just about moving from area to area and nothing else it would be an infinitely better game. Unfortunately you also have to hit and do magic to enemies along the way and that's where the game really falls flat. At first the mechanics are interesting, you have to use skills of specific types to nullify enemy attacks which can be pretty vicious even in the early game. However, the game never really expands on it meaningfully, you do get a couple other characters who have their own types of spells to use but the base combat remains unchanged for the entire game, nobody learns any new tricks, there's no sort of shifts to the meta, you just spam the exact same skills you were using at level 1 when you see orange or blue above an enemy's head until you beat the final boss. Yeah that's pretty much it, the game's really nice to look at and the traversal stuff and puzzles are fairly interesting, but unfortunately this game presents itself as a JRPG which it utterly fails at.