LONESTAR

About

"LONESTAR is a single-player Science Fiction Role Playing game with delightful gameplay and beautiful music. As a bounty hunter, join the Bounty Hunter Association for abundant rewards, a free spaceship, and the chance to compete fairly in spaceship battles using unique units. With guaranteed piloting skills, the Association ensures a thrilling and highly replayable experience."

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

93%

Audience ScoreBased on 848 reviews

gameplay96 positive mentions

grinding8 negative mentions

Engaging and clever turn-based strategy gameplay that combines elements from FTL and Slay the Spire.
High replayability with a variety of pilots, units, and treasures that allow for unique builds and strategies.
Polished early access experience with frequent updates and a solid foundation for future content.

Some bosses can feel overly punishing and may invalidate certain strategies without prior warning.
Limited ship variety and some mechanics can be confusing or poorly explained, leading to frustration.
The game can become repetitive after extended play, and the difficulty curve may not be well-balanced.

gameplay
204 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
47%
49%
4%
The gameplay is characterized by its engaging and addictive mechanics, blending roguelike elements with deck-building and strategic resource management. Players appreciate the variety of units, treasures, and character abilities, which allow for creative combos and unique playstyles, although some mechanics are criticized for being poorly explained or overly reliant on luck. Overall, the game offers a satisfying and replayable experience, reminiscent of titles like FTL and Slay the Spire, but may require some patience to fully grasp its complexities.
- “This game's mechanics are beautifully simple and masterfully play into one another; while still allowing plenty of room for fun and hilarious combos.”
- “The puzzly gameplay is very satisfying, with interesting units and many opportunities for cool (and sometimes broken) combos.”
- “The gameplay, reminiscent of a fusion between FTL and Slay the Spire, offers a plethora of decisions during each run.”
- “The mechanics are interesting but overwhelmingly poorly implemented.”
- “However, it being so reliant on luck-based gameplay pushes me over the edge and I cannot recommend this game (unless you specifically like the luck aspect of these types of games, failing dozens of times and just having random builds to see how far you get every single time).”
- “Would have liked the information about what various terms and mechanics were to be clearer when I started out; it took me way too long to work out what power vs strength actually meant.”
replayability
62 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
45%
48%
6%
Overall, the game is praised for its high replayability, with many players enjoying the variety of strategies and synergies available through different pilots and talents. While some note that the game can become repetitive and lacks enemy variety, the depth of customization and frequent updates contribute to its lasting appeal. Despite some criticisms regarding content and grind, the consensus is that it offers significant replay value, making it a worthwhile experience for fans of the genre.
- “This is a game with enormous replay value.”
- “The combination of high replayability, customization, and satisfying combos, along with a great soundtrack, promises that I'll be playing this game for a long time!”
- “It's exactly what I want from a strategy roguelike: reasonably quick (~40 minute) runs, plenty of broken synergies to discover, and tons of replayability.”
- “Seems like a huge missed opportunity for replayability to combine different pilots on different ships.”
- “There is also very little content and replayability for this price.”
- “The game sells itself on replayability but this is a grind and isn't fun.”
story
40 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
73%
8%
The game's story is largely considered non-existent, with minimal worldbuilding and character development, serving mainly as a backdrop for gameplay mechanics. While the light and goofy narrative includes amusing elements, many players feel it lacks depth and purpose, leading to a desire for more engaging missions and choices. Overall, the story is seen as forgettable, with players primarily focused on the gameplay rather than narrative immersion.
- “The flavor/storyline is pretty light but fun, with a good soundtrack and brief but amusing narration of various events and enemies you encounter as a space bounty hunter.”
- “I really think the developers could inspire in games like Naev to make it more interesting and give more choices on what to do: explore a system, take a mission to transport people or goods to a certain star system, choose where to go.”
- “I think the game would be much more fun if the combats are part of some missions/exploration you do, so it feels a bit more like there's a story behind and the player can make choices.”
- “The plot is completely non-existent, if you care about that.”
- “All worldbuilding is from the short descriptions for characters and the event text, and it's a world that doesn't take itself very seriously; it's charming and goofy, and breaks the 4th wall quite a bit, but there's no story or characters to get attached to like in Cobalt Core.”
- “I don’t really mind, the game’s ‘story’ and aesthetic is all mostly window dressing for spreadsheet management.”
music
38 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
68%
24%
8%
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with many praising its fantastic soundtrack and atmospheric qualities, particularly the "space western" vibe. However, some players noted that the soundtrack is limited and expressed a desire for more songs. Overall, while the music enhances the gaming experience, its scarcity has left some players wanting more.
- “The flavor/storyline is pretty light but fun, with a good soundtrack and brief but amusing narration of various events and enemies you encounter as a space bounty hunter.”
- “The combination of high replayability, customization, and satisfying combos, along with a great soundtrack, promises that I'll be playing this game for a long time!”
- “Highly recommended, I love the atmosphere of this game and it doesn't blast you with music the second you start it.”
- “The music is a bit lacklustre, giving off a mellow 'space western' vibe.”
- “Very small soundtrack.”
- “The only thing I don't like about this game is that I can't find the soundtrack anywhere to listen to outside of the game.”
graphics
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
39%
11%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the fun cartoonish art style and effective particle effects, while others find the overall visuals to be mediocre or reminiscent of older systems like the SNES. Despite the varied opinions on the aesthetics, many agree that the graphics serve as a backdrop to the engaging gameplay, which is the main draw of the experience. Overall, while the visuals may not be groundbreaking, they contribute positively to the game's atmosphere and enjoyment.
- “The stunning graphics and intuitive user interface make exploration a real treat.”
- “The aesthetics and world-building are captivating, setting the tone from the beginning.”
- “I dig the cartoonish visuals/design, the RNG is nice but not too punishing (if you know what you are doing), fun builds, fun characters.”
- “I played this game and Cobalt Core at the same time, and this one is worse in every way—story, graphics, and gameplay.”
- “The graphics are overall pretty meh, so if you're buying the game, buy it for the gameplay, which is overall pretty fun.”
- “Additionally, the game has only a decent art style, nothing too fancy, but gets particle effects incredibly right, which make blasting the enemy with an enormous 200+ damage laser so satisfying.”
humor
12 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is widely praised for its cleverness and ability to evoke genuine laughter, with many players appreciating the witty writing and playful fourth wall breaks. The mechanics not only support fun and hilarious combos but also encourage strategic thinking, contributing to the game's high replayability. Overall, the humor is a standout feature that enhances the overall enjoyment of the game.
- “This game's mechanics are beautifully simple and masterfully play into one another; while still allowing plenty of room for fun and hilarious combos.”
- “The writing is cool, makes me want to be friends with the devs. A lot of funny wreckage of the fourth wall, and that is perfect for me :)”
- “The writing is humorous and made me genuinely laugh.”
grinding
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews on grinding in the game are mixed; some players appreciate that there is no required grinding, while others find the game excessively grindy and reliant on trial and error, leading to frustration. Despite the grind, some users still find the experience enjoyable, though concerns about the game's depth and reliance on RNG persist. Overall, the grinding aspect seems to vary significantly in impact depending on individual player preferences.
- “While the game requires a lot of grinding and trial and error, it's rather fun and doesn't actually require that much brain power.”
- “Pac-Man was made stupidly grindy (play 1000 hours to have any fun) because it was a coin game.”
- “I don't mind if it gets grindy somewhere at 100 hours, but there is very little game in this RNG simulator at the moment.”
atmosphere
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its enjoyable blend of art, sound, and music, creating a chill vibe that enhances the overall experience. Players appreciate the subtlety of the audio, which avoids overwhelming them right from the start.
- “The atmosphere, sounds, and music are great, creating chilly vibes.”
- “Highly recommended! I love the atmosphere of this game, and it doesn't blast you with music the second you start it.”
- “Art and atmosphere combine to create an enjoyable experience.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game features no advertisements and does not solicit additional payments from players, providing a seamless and uninterrupted experience.