Seeing the amount of open-world survival games out there, I was biased against trying out another one. There are small variations between each game, zombies and post-war apocalypse being the most prominent, but the differences always feel marginal. There are indeed many successful games in that genre but also many other new games that try to be successful. Stars End, by Reverie World Studios, is one of such games where it tries to find a place in such a competitive genre. It is a sci-fi survival game set in the distant future. The planets are usually dominated by wildlife waiting to be re-populated again by humans.
The game consists of two parts. One is the planets where you can gather basic resources to begin, and the second is space. The game shines out with the action you can get in space. On the other hand, the planet surfaces are populated with wild animals like boar and scary aliens, but you need to avoid both in the same manner you do any animal chasing you. Other than that, the planet you start with is a regular space just like post-apocalyptic Earth you would see in other games. Because of that, I couldn’t get the feeling of the game. It promises fun action-adventure in space, but I think the game doesn’t support that yet with its design in Early Access.
In order to get into action, you have to gather the basic materials on the planet first. Then you are allowed to jump into space where I believe the real action begins. It made me consider if it was really necessary to start at the surface of the planet and go into space after that. The first part is just delaying the actual experience. The game’s hook is the fact that you can be in a space-action but it comes late in the gameplay. Stars End is asking the player to keep playing and be patient before providing them with the actual fun.
The crafting system is also part of the every open-world game nowadays. I understand the necessity of it, it provides a natural progression through the game. But I don’t know if it is also mandatory to have a comprehensive crafting system in every game. In Stars End, you start by landing on a planet after being given a short prologue about the story. The tutorial asks you to gather several materials like sticks and clothes to craft basic materials like bow and arrow for hunting. Because it is based on the historical progression of human-kind, it makes sense that this procedure is a logical progression in the game. However, once you start looking for other materials like Sulfur, then the things you have to manage increase exponentially. Your backpack gets full really easily, you have to gather many materials to craft something you need new, and the process becomes cumbersome (pun intended) overall.
Also by doing this, it creates a progress that is based on grinding and not on something the player can actually enjoy. What is the importance of the bow you crafted at the beginning of the game compared to the guns you have at the end of the game? I haven’t gotten to the part where I put my hands on a gun yet but I feel like once I do, my bow would be obsolete. Having such a stepping stone feels a bit tiresome in the grand scheme of things. Assuming that not everyone will find the Minecraft-like beginning, I think it is worth re-visiting the player progression in the game.
Optimization is a huge deal for people who have a regular gaming computer. The FPS drops were a huge deal breaker while playing the game. Considering that there will also be many other players in the world, I can’t see many computers including mine being able to handle this kind of heavy loaded process. While polishing the game (the animations, combat and planet generation), looking at the optimization could help the new players a lot. The graphics also felt a bit off at some points. When you are travelling in the open worlds, the objects at the far distance tend to look weird. I don’t know what caused that but it definitely messes up the perspective. Right now the game is an undercut but I believe it can be fun to play with friends once these issues are fixed.
Check Out the Stars End Steam Early Access Trailer:
Stars End is available for Windows PC via Steam Early Access.
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I am a game enthusiast who is planning to be a game designer in the future. I am open to any chit-chat about games, discuss games mechanics or talk about anything related to games! Contact me for any questions or comments!
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