Captain Starshot

About

Captain Starshot is a rogue-like dungeon crawler (with a twist) in which you play as the mighty Captain himself! You explore the galaxy with your own space crew and start your mission to defeat the hordes of villainous aliens, find their mother ship and take on their leader.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

73%

Audience ScoreBased on 158 reviews

gameplay7 positive mentions

music3 negative mentions

The game features a unique concept of ship combat followed by boarding enemy ships, which adds variety to the gameplay.
The art style and visuals are appealing, capturing a retro-futuristic aesthetic that enhances the overall experience.
Despite its flaws, the game shows a lot of potential and is enjoyable for short play sessions, especially considering it's a free student project.

The controls are clunky and unresponsive, making both ship and on-foot combat frustrating and difficult to manage.
Gameplay can feel repetitive due to limited mission types and enemy encounters, leading to a lack of long-term engagement.
There are numerous bugs, including broken achievements and crashes, which detract from the overall experience.

gameplay
27 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
26%
59%
15%
The gameplay of the game shows promise with interesting mechanics and a vibrant art style, but it suffers from issues such as repetitive tasks, unresponsive controls, and a lack of depth in its systems. While some players appreciate the quirky elements and potential for fun, many criticize the shallow experience, bugs, and inadequate controller support, leading to a mixed reception overall.
- “Interesting game with pretty cool gameplay mechanics.”
- “Touch of nostalgia and campiness with the scrolling gameplay; while there may be a couple of tweaks needed, overall it's a game worth playing.”
- “You've got a great foundation here with competent gameplay and outstanding visuals.”
- “Gameplay is very repetitive for very little reward.”
- “Factor in the shallow gameplay and lack of achievements (plus lack of save system), it's just not worth one's time.”
- “Although I had fun with it, and tried and somewhat achieved a Binding of Isaac gameplay loop, the game doesn't feel really tight, and some of the controls are a bit slow and unresponsive.”
graphics
23 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
70%
17%
13%
The game's graphics are widely praised for their charming retro-futuristic aesthetic, vibrant art style, and appealing visuals that evoke nostalgia. While the graphics are considered a strong point, some reviewers note that they alone cannot sustain the game's overall experience, and there are mixed opinions on the quality of character animations and voice acting. Overall, the visuals are seen as well-crafted and enjoyable, contributing positively to the game's atmosphere.
- “The game's strongest quality is its charming retro graphics which capture the retro-futuristic space age aesthetic nicely.”
- “Visuals are well crafted and appealing.”
- “Very cool art style and aesthetic throughout the game.”
- “The game's strongest quality is its charming retro graphics which capture the retro-futuristic space age aesthetic nicely, but they're not charming enough to carry the game through.”
- “Granted my machine is a bit old, but these graphics are on par with what I saw as a kid more than 20 years ago, so maybe a frame rate issue?”
- “Unfortunately though, the voice acting is not on par with the rest of the visuals, and I found myself being pulled out of the game by lines that were delivered with muted intonation rather than with excitement or a sense of urgency.”
story
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
18%
65%
18%
The story is characterized by humorous elements and a solid foundation, but reviewers feel it lacks depth and variety, often repeating similar mission structures. Suggestions for improvement include introducing an open-world feel, more diverse mission types, and better crew management mechanics to enhance gameplay and narrative engagement. Overall, while the core story is enjoyable, it requires further development to reach its full potential.
- “The basic story and loot text are funny; it could become great if developed further.”
- “Really enjoyable story.”
- “For instance, perhaps have the aliens establish some sort of beachhead on a planet, or laying siege to one, and you have to fight them off; that would add variety to the missions and also the appearance of the combat sections.”
- “Every mission (level) you start outside a huge space station, but heaven forbid your crew could go aboard and heal!”
- “You fly around, get missions, find and attack an enemy ship, board it, find what you need, get out... rinse and repeat.”
- “The game seemed to make the characters warp out and get out of the mission, but they still took damage without me being able to see.”
music
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
38%
38%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many users noting that the background tracks are generic and repetitive, often looping without much variation. While some appreciate the option to adjust the music volume, others find the soundtrack too quiet and the sound effects buggy, detracting from the overall experience.
- “Graphics are ok and the music is great.”
- “The soundtrack was so quiet and messing with the settings didn't seem to do anything, and sound effects were buggy and not very good.”
- “The music is pretty generic and not at all reminiscent of 50's sci-fi, and while the levels inside the ships are bright and colorful, they are also oversaturated, making it difficult to explore.”
- “The soundtrack was so quiet, and messing with the settings didn't seem to do anything. Additionally, the sound effects were buggy and not very good.”
- “Background music was okay, but it was repetitive and in a loop. There is a music volume slider in the options that will silence the music.”
stability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is marred by numerous bugs, including inconsistent achievement rewards and control issues. Players have reported glitches affecting character naming and sound settings, which detracts from the overall immersion and experience.
- “Achievements are buggy; some are rewarded while others are not, and they will sometimes randomly be rewarded if triggered again.”
- “The controls are buggy.”
- “I found a couple of bugs and glitches; for example, the naming of the soldiers is broken. You could have a male soldier with a female first name and a Chinese last name. If your goal is to have transgender soldiers and mixed-up language names, then you're doing great, but I find it breaks the immersion.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by a playful, self-aware tone that often mocks the player, with amusing storylines and loot descriptions that have potential for further development. Players find moments of genuine hilarity, as evidenced by shared gameplay highlights.
- “You can almost hear the game laughing at you while screaming, 'Why are you hitting yourself?'”
- “The basic story and loot text are funny and could become great if developed further.”
- “Check out my funny best moment gameplay video on YouTube of this game!”
replayability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Overall, the game's replayability is limited, with many players noting that each playthrough feels quite similar and lacks significant variety. While some aspects of the game are interesting and polished, the inconsistent gameplay experience and rough controls detract from its potential for repeated enjoyment. Despite being a free product, the current state suggests that it may not hold players' interest for long.
- “Fun concept, but in its current state, it's not very fleshed out. There isn't a lot of replayability, in my opinion; every playthrough I did felt very similar. There seem to be quite a few different items, but none of which really change the feel of the game.”
- “There isn't much replayability or variety to the game as of yet. However, it's a free product that has a surprising amount of polish in some places, and then none at all in others (sound design is the most neglected, if you ask me).”
- “While the concept is interesting and the art is decent, the control of the ship feels very rough. Every game we play is different from the previous one, which makes it replayable, but at the same time, it can be frustrating, as there are times when you will be practically immune and other times when you can be killed instantly.”
grinding
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding in space battles to be somewhat tedious, particularly when lacking the right items for crew effectiveness. While ship combat can be challenging, it is generally viewed as more manageable than some reviews suggest, and the introduction of hyperdrive has alleviated some of the travel-related grind.
- “Space battles are somewhat tedious, and unless you get all the right items, your crew is somewhat useless.”
- “Ship combat can be a little tedious and hard, but it's not as bad as other people say it is.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The optimization of ship combat has been criticized for its lack of streamlined controls, making the gameplay experience difficult and frustrating for users.
- “Difficult ship combat: the controls were not streamlined or optimized in any way.”
- “The game's performance is plagued by frequent frame drops and stuttering, making it hard to enjoy.”
- “I encountered numerous bugs that hindered gameplay, indicating a lack of proper optimization.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the emotional impact of the game to be significant, noting that its rough and unfinished quality adds to the heartbreak of the experience.
atmosphere
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Reviewers note that while the game's atmosphere has potential, it is significantly undermined by subpar voice acting, which detracts from immersion. They suggest that hiring professional voice actors or utilizing a voice acting coach could enhance the overall experience.
- “The atmosphere feels flat and uninspired, lacking the depth needed to immerse players in the game world.”
- “The sound design is underwhelming, making it hard to feel any real tension or excitement during key moments.”
- “The environments are visually appealing, but they fail to evoke any emotional response, leaving the overall atmosphere feeling hollow.”