No one has rated this review as helpful yet
Recommended
0.0 hrs last two weeks / 51.7 hrs on record (16.0 hrs at review time)
Posted: 20 Dec, 2013 @ 12:05am
Updated: 20 Dec, 2013 @ 12:09am

Early Access Review
Starbound looked like a knockoff at first. "Terraria in space!" I thought. It wasn't an awful way to spend fifteen dollars, and it seemed polished to the point where I felt comfortable buying it. I started it up, feeling like I was about to revisit an old battleground. Starbound then sideswiped me and knocked me on my ass, demaning my attention. And it deserved every bit, because even if it may be derrivative, it offers some of the most unique experiences I've had in a game ever.

Mechancially, it builds from Terraria's base, but it puts it to shame in the amount of new content added and how it makes the game feel tighter and with more focus while still allowing players to feel like they're always exploring somewhere new. The ability to visit different planets was key. At the click of the button, you can visit an old outpost, or go into a world unknown. It keeps things fresh and interesting whenever you start it up. How you want to play this game is up to you, and giving the player so much freedom and choice when it comes to exploration makes it an easy task to do what you want.

The exploration gives me the feel of Metroid Prime, coming down to the surface of a planet and dealing with the wildlife before heading to abandoned ruins filled with treasure and foes. The weapons are satisfying and make you feel like a badass, but it's never too hard to get killed if you don't know what you're doing. Dungeons are intriguing yet terrifying, placing you the belly of the beast. Here, you know you're going somewhere that is insanely deadly, someplace where you're going to be without all the safety of the overworld with your stash of goodies and you comfy house, but treasure and adventure call out and pull you deeper and deeper, forcing you into the dark center of the world.

This is a game that gives you all the freedom in the world, but still leads you along by its mechanics to show you the true wonders--and true horrors--of the universe.

This is only the surface of the game. There's so much more to talk about. There are pets, there's actual space exploration, weapons, bosses, the building, and all the other bits of icing on this cake. But the best part of this game to me was when it was at its most simple.

I had traversed sprawling dungeons and destroyed titans. I had lived to wreck the catles of kings, and had my own either destroyed or abandoned. Entire planets seemingly were laid barren of all of their resources in my wake.

But it was only when I was building a small hut underneath a sea of shining stars as the booming soundtrack played that I truly understood how it felt to feel awed and humble. There I was, toiling away on the ground as each and every star emitted a heavenly glow, the soundtrack making it impossible not to be drawn to them. It brought out a sense of wonder and majesty, a connection with something that is a deep part of every one of us, that connection only made more tangbile as time went on. The feeling heightened by how insignificant everything I was doing suddenly seemed by comparison, as it seemed like I was just a tiny man on a tiny planet in the corner of the universe.. Gaming for me is about experiences that make me feel things that can truly be felt no other way, that bring out parts of myself I never see without me realizing it. This game did that. And it never stopped.

Buy Starbound for the combat. Buy it for the buliding. Buy it for the exploration and the character progression and the quests and the sheer insane fun of it all. But just buy it, please. Because it's been a long time since a game could capture the magic of looking up at the stars for me, and a game that can provide such magnificent narrative without speaking while still retaining its sense of fun and adventure is worth your time and money.

Starbound is a game that seems to have no right being as good as it does, but it makes the source material seem base and unrefined by comparison. Starbound not only fought to prove itself a good game, but a fantastic one that deserves a place in everyone's library. You will not be disappointed with this one.
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