Catch a Falling Star

About

Catch a Falling Star is a single player casual action adventure game. It was developed by Alister Software and was released on March 29, 2016. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

"Catch a Falling Star" is a charming indie game that puts players in the role of a starcatcher. Use timing and reflexes to collect falling stars, while avoiding obstacles and enemies in a vibrant, hand-drawn world. With simple controls and increasing difficulty, it's a fun and addictive experience for players of all ages.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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66%

Audience ScoreBased on 264 reviews

music19 positive mentions

grinding10 negative mentions

The game is relaxing and provides a calming experience with nice music.
Simple mechanics make it easy to pick up and play, suitable for casual gamers.
Offers a variety of unlockable baskets and backgrounds, adding some customization.

Gameplay is repetitive and lacks depth, leading to boredom over time.
Randomness in star and ice spawning can create frustrating situations.
Achievements and upgrades can feel grindy and unmotivating, detracting from the overall experience.

music
53 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
36%
56%
8%
The music in the game is generally praised for its calming and soothing qualities, enhancing the overall relaxing atmosphere. While some players appreciate the variety of themes and the ability to customize music and backgrounds, others note that the soundtrack can become repetitive due to its limited selection. Overall, the music serves as a pleasant backdrop for casual gameplay, making it a good choice for those seeking a stress-relieving experience.
- “The game also has calming music to fit with its theme.”
- “The soundtrack adds to the peaceful, relaxing atmosphere of the game, and offers a comfortable, late-night experience for all to enjoy!”
- “It's strangely immersive as the music and the background together create such a soothing gameplay environment that it makes you feel isolated from the real world.”
- “The music is bizarrely unsettling, the repetitive sound effects are grating, the backgrounds are lackluster, and the pot you control is just slow enough to frustrate you rather than calm you.”
- “It's a shame each theme only has one track; hearing it on loop makes the music boring eventually.”
- “Music is slightly repetitive.”
gameplay
45 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
16%
71%
13%
The gameplay of "Catch a Falling Star" is characterized by its simplistic mechanics, primarily involving moving left and right to catch falling stars, which many players find tedious and repetitive. While some appreciate the relaxing aesthetics and the inclusion of a wind mechanic that adds slight variation, the overall experience is often described as uninspiring and lacking depth, with minimal progression and challenges. Despite its casual appeal, the gameplay is generally viewed as boring, with comparisons made to outdated mobile games.
- “Wind is a core mechanic in this game, which can make for some pretty interesting scenarios.”
- “The gameplay is easy to learn; you can either play with mouse/keyboard or controller, and I have not encountered any bugs.”
- “Catch a falling star satisfies the requirements of a casual time sink – motivation to revisit the game, mindless/near-effortless gameplay, and relaxing aesthetics.”
- “Catch a falling star is a primitive, punishing indie game with simplistic mechanics that make gameplay overall tedious and unrewarding.”
- “The gameplay itself is slow and uninspiring.”
- “The gameplay is minimalistic and for some people it can easily border on boring.”
graphics
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
50%
17%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many users describing them as basic and unremarkable, often likening them to flash-game quality. While some appreciate the relaxing and cute art style, particularly the backgrounds and basket designs, others criticize the visuals as poor and lacking excitement. Overall, the graphics are seen as adequate for a casual game but leave room for improvement.
- “The graphics in my opinion are awesome, super relaxing and in line with this kind of game, set in a starry night.”
- “The game is very simple, the graphics are sweet and the music is nice.”
- “I'm especially in love with the art style used for the backgrounds, which are simple but distinctly pretty, and the different basket designs.”
- “They've tried to add some cosmetics, different backgrounds and baskets to catch the stars, but it does nothing for the game since it's the same boring style of graphics.”
- “Graphically, it's nothing special and mechanically is just left or right.”
- “The visuals are about flash-game grade, so that's not much of an improvement.”
grinding
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of "Catch a Falling Star" to be tedious and time-consuming, with some spending nearly 30 hours to achieve 100% completion. While the developers are responsive to feedback and have made updates to reduce grindiness, many still feel that the gameplay becomes boring over time, particularly when pursuing achievements. Overall, the game is seen as decent for its low price, but the grinding can detract from the overall enjoyment.
- “Catch a Falling Star is a primitive, punishing indie game with simplistic mechanics that make gameplay overall tedious and unrewarding.”
- “Most of the time I played was grinding for achievements.”
- “After a while, the game might get a bit boring and tedious, especially if you are going for 100% of the achievements.”
story
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
57%
43%
The story in "Catch a Falling Star" is described as simple and relaxing, serving as a light-hearted interlude between more intense gaming experiences. It emphasizes themes of perseverance and the unpredictability of life, resonating with players who appreciate a narrative that complements the gameplay rather than dominates it. Overall, the story is rated positively, contributing to the game's charm and appeal.
- “The story is the title itself: 'Catch a Falling Star'.”
- “Moral of the story: you never know what life has in store for you, and if I had given up when all odds were against me, I wouldn't be where I am today.”
- “My reviews do consider the significance of gameplay, story, music, etc. before I assign a score (e.g. walking simulators don't have much emphasis on gameplay, but I wouldn't let that reflect negatively on the individual game being reviewed).”
replayability
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
60%
The game's replayability is generally viewed as high, particularly due to its incremental difficulty and upgrade system that encourages multiple sessions. However, some players find it simplistic and lacking immediate replay value, suggesting that while it can be enjoyable over time, it may not hold long-term interest for everyone. Overall, it offers a decent experience for its price, especially for those who appreciate achievement grinding.
- “Just keep in mind that it's not a '5-minute' game; every session can take around twenty minutes, and it's increasingly difficult. You'll have to buy upgrades, which adds to the replayability value of this game. It's best played in multiple sessions (everything's auto-saved) so that you don't get bored playing it for an entire day.”
- “Fun game; high replay value for me.”
- “Although the achievements are still a bit of a grind, they serve as a major motivation for replayability.”
- “I do agree with other reviews stating it doesn't have immediate replay value for most people because it's so simplistic, but for a buck, even a handful of plays is more than worth the price.”
- “For being simple and calm, it lacks replay value after a couple of attempts.”
- “Although the achievements are still a bit of a grind, it is a major motivation for replayability.”
atmosphere
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The game's atmosphere is characterized as peaceful and relaxing, enhanced by a soothing soundtrack that creates a comfortable late-night experience for players.
- “The soundtrack adds to the peaceful, relaxing atmosphere of the game, and offers a comfortable, late-night experience for all to enjoy!”
stability
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users report that the menus in the game are buggy, indicating issues with stability that may affect overall gameplay experience.
- “The menus are buggy and often unresponsive.”
- “I frequently encounter crashes that disrupt my gameplay.”
- “The game suffers from constant lag and stability issues.”
monetization
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players appreciate that the game offers a satisfying experience akin to mobile games but without the interruptions of ads and microtransactions, enhancing its appeal as a time killer.
- “This game feels like a mobile game, but it lacks the ads and microtransactions that usually come with it.”
- “The monetization strategy is frustrating and makes it hard to enjoy the game without spending money.”
- “I feel like I'm being pushed to spend money to progress, which ruins the overall experience.”
optimization
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The optimization of the game is generally rated positively, with a score of 7, indicating that while there are some areas for improvement, the overall performance is satisfactory and runs smoothly for most players.