5/5 ★ – nldemo's review of Sea of Stars.

Sea of Stars is an underplayed gem and absolutely my favorite game of 2023. Reviewing Sea of Stars is tricky, as the game is literally so good I feel there is not much for me to say without spoiling the good parts, and even less for me to criticize. However, I'll do my darndest to make this interesting for you to read, and hopefully convince you to sit down (or stand up) and play. At first glance, Sea of Stars is another modern day JRPG trying to capture the magical essence in a bottle that we had during the 16 bit era of Chrono Trigger, Mario RPG, Earthbound, FF4-6, and more. In the end, it definitely does pay homage to those games but achieves much more than that. Just like Chained Echoes before it, Sea of Stars pushes those boundaries further than any pair of rose tinted glasses could ever do. Unlike Chained Echoes (my 2022 GotY which I previously reviewed and absolutely adored), Sea of Stars was made by a midsize team of indie devs, versus just a single dev and a single audio guy. In addition, this was Sabotage Studio's second game after a well received first title (The Messenger), and it had a successful kickstarter to boot. The result? The team got to take their time handcrafting Sea of Stars into exactly what they wanted it to be. Sea of Stars will catch anyone's eyes immediately and make you think - DAMN, that is some pretty pixel art. It utilizes large, detailed sprites filled with expressions and charm, and lights them dynamically. Dynamic lighting in a pixel art game? What? You heard that right - the game has a built in mechanic regarding the Solar/Lunar cycles, and you can actively watch the shadows and lighting change as they do. My guess is one of the devs had the crazy off the wall vision to make it so, the other devs laughed at him - calling it impossible, then after many long hours they figured it out. Maybe overly romanticized, but the in game effect of this custom lighting was breathtaking. Every single area we get to visit in this game is gorgeous and interesting to explore (except for maybe one or two that didn't appeal to my personal tastes), and the hand drawn world map perfectly complements the tone. The soundtrack in Sea of Stars is very similar to the soundtrack in the second half of the Messenger, except it feels like it took on yet another up-rez. If you played the messenger first (and I recommend you do play it either before or after - technically either works as Sea of Stars is a prequel), you will be taking hit after hit of nostalgia as you instantly recognize many tracks the moment you enter new zones. Even without the nostalgia, I daresay you will have a difficult time from commencing with head bobbery while you listen to these delicious tunes. Many more in your face nods to the Messenger will be missed unless you are an expert sleuth, but you can look those things up on youtube or replay the Messenger post Sea of Stars to see how many you can catch. There is no running/walking in Sea of Stars, but that's perfectly OK as the default pace of your characters is perfect, and allows for a little more time to soak in the surroundings. The level up jingle is simply pure bliss every single time we get to hear it, and frankly provides enough dopamine to chase level ups regardless of the sweet addition of getting to select bonus stats. Speaking of, the entire party levels up at the same time (even those that may have not participated in the fight), which nicely compliments the ability to hot swap in any party member during combat. The combat is enjoyable from beginning to end, despite keeping it pretty simple and only adding a few new features along the way. The difficulty always feels right, with just enough challenge and no grinding necessary. The main draw would have to be the active timing combat elements (similar to mario RPG), and the fact that the game encourages you to cast spells/abilities often, as all you need to do is a regular attack to restore some MP (or use an item, or rest at one of many campfires). You can also cancel out your enemy's turns before they are able to cast, by hitting them with the correct combination of attacks, as determined and displayed to you via a random slots like feature. This is all very intuitive when you see it, despite my complicated explanation. Lastly, the game adds combo/team attacks (like in Chrono Trigger), and especially flashy ultimate abilities a la a shared limit break meter for the entire team. Getting each new ultimate and combo is a treat, and I couldn't wait to get back into combat to see their animations. Perhaps my only complaint about the combat is that the moonerang felt like it could be buffed to do a bit more damage, as the amount of effort it took PONGing it back and forth did not seem to reflect in the amount of damage it did compared to less involved skills, but it was always fun to do regardless. As with the lighting, the game also showcases some modern day combat tech, as the characters move around seamlessly in impressive ways during battle to make specific abilities useable - all without transporting the player to a separate screen. Whether this was determined dynamically in the game engine or painstakingly mapped out by the developers, I'll let them take that secret to the grave. Sea of Stars also offers a couple mini games. One that we all know and love from many RPGs is fishing, and the fishing here is actually one of the more engaging implementations that I can think of. I definitely hit up each new fishing pond immediately when I got the chance to and caught one of each new variety of fish within. The other minigame is Wheels, a completely custom game with very detailed rules that will take you quite some time to read through, even though in the end the minigame is pretty simple. You play a 1on1 slots style board game with an opponent, where the goal is to take out your opponent's keep. You each get two hero classes (you unlock more to pick from as you defeat champions around the world), and you can use your slots to either upgrade your heroes, attack with them, or build up a protective wall in front of your keep. Ultimately, Wheels was fun but a bit simple and on the easy side. It was not quite the caliber of something like Fort Condor (of FF7 InterMission). Now for some minor complaints. I felt the game was a bit too linear early on, and then when the backtracking does open up, it was a bit of a pain to do so until very late in the game - encouraging the player to hold off. The world was flat, so if you wanted to go from the top right of the map to the bottom left ... you had to take the long way, no wrap around. Some of the end game content was super obscure, encouraging the use of guides... but most of it could be found organically. The Quizmaster dual difficulties should have been removed, as it simply reusing the same content and overstayed its welcome (and definitely encouraged googling responses to abstract questions, which I would say is not ideal design). The rest of the game was pretty much perfect and I wouldn't change a thing ! What fun would it be to complain without following it up with some random gushing? The graplou (traversal tool) is implemented in a super unique way for an RPG. The animation is very organic and it feels great to zip around. Early on in your adventure, you will likely come across the Golden Pelican, but be turned away because you do not have a reservation. If you are anything like me, this will eat away at you all game long as you make several trips back, only to be turned away each time for the same reason. It is not until the extreme end game, after you have already hit credits and choose to resume your journey for the true ending (which I wholeheartedly advise you to do), that you gain access to the golden pelican... and it is absolutely worth it! This was one of the biggest payoffs for me in the entire game; I got literal goosebumps and my eyes went blurry with tears. The entire cast is great in this game, with all the main characters being equally enjoyable. Probably the least likable are the two very solid protagonist lunar twins. However, I want to give a special shout out to Garl as he is best boy - our warrior cook childhood friend with absolutely no special powers other than his optimistic charm, but Wentworth and B'st are certainly closely following on his heels. B'st in particular caught me completely unexpected but won me over very quickly. The Backer crypt is one of, if not the coolest ways I've ever seen kickstarter backers honored in a game. It is a tomb with literally thousands of tombstones dedicated to each backer - with either just a simple backer quote or an entirely custom pixel art statue of varying shapes & sizes. The final post game secret content is hidden here and I won't give you any clues as to what it is, but it is so entirely abstract I will help you figure out how to get to it. After you obtain the true ending (and finish every other imaginable task in the game), you should have four flimsy hammers in your inventory. Take those to the backer crypt, and then select the middle portal in the top row. Then, look for a gravestone that is broken that you cannot interact with. Move it, hammer away, and enjoy your final easter egg. Big extra payoff here if you have played the Messenger first. Following close behind Chained Echoes and in a packed 2023 may have made this harder for people to play, but it is definitely its own title and worth every second, clocking in at around 36 hours for a 100% playthrough. Sea of Stars stands toe to toe with any of the 16 bit classics which inspired it. Sea of Stars, you are my GotY for 2023. Thank you, Sabotage Studio.