LONESTAR
- January 18, 2024
- Math Tide
- 2h median play time
Get on Steam"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."
Mac OS
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game offers a creative blend of mechanics, combining elements from FTL and Slay the Spire, resulting in engaging and strategic gameplay.
- There is a vast amount of content available, including numerous pilots, units, and treasures, which enhances replayability and allows for diverse strategies.
- The turn-based combat system is satisfying, with a focus on energy management and unit synergies that provide depth and complexity.
- Some bosses can completely invalidate certain strategies, leading to frustrating encounters that feel reliant on RNG rather than skill.
- The English translations and descriptions can be unclear or poorly worded, making it difficult for players to understand certain mechanics.
- Currently, there are only two ships available, which limits variety in gameplay and can lead to repetitive experiences over time.
- gameplay197 mentions
- 45 % positive mentions
- 51 % neutral mentions
- 4 % negative mentions
The gameplay is characterized by a rich variety of mechanics, units, and treasures, offering a blend of roguelike and deck-building elements that keep players engaged and encourage strategic thinking. While the core mechanics are generally well-developed and addictive, some players find the implementation and explanations of certain mechanics lacking, leading to frustration, particularly with luck-based elements. Overall, the game is praised for its replayability and unique gameplay loop, reminiscent of titles like FTL and Slay the Spire, though it may require patience to fully grasp its complexities.
“There's a nice variety of mechanics and different units (weapon and support systems) and treasures (items that grant various bonuses permanently), and each faction/species has their own set of weapons and support units, meaning there's a lot of variety as you play through with the various different characters.”
“Roguelike and deckbuilding gameplay that feels fresh, polished, and most importantly fun.”
“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.”
- replayability52 mentions
- 44 % positive mentions
- 48 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The game boasts significant replayability, with many players praising its depth, customization options, and engaging mechanics. While some note that the experience can become repetitive and that enemy variety is limited, the overall consensus is that the game offers a fun and rewarding experience that encourages multiple playthroughs. Regular updates and a solid design further enhance its replay value, making it a worthwhile investment for fans of the genre.
“This game is so much deeper and has much longer replayability, plus it gets updated every week and is cheaper!”
“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!”
“10/10 game for the money, loads of content and replayability.”
“While there is a ton of replayability, the game gets a bit repetitive at times.”
“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.”
- story36 mentions
- 22 % positive mentions
- 69 % neutral mentions
- 8 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally considered light and forgettable, serving primarily as a backdrop for gameplay rather than a central focus. Players express a desire for more engaging narrative elements and choices, as the current missions feel disconnected and lack a greater purpose. While the aesthetic and soundtrack are appreciated, many feel that the game would benefit from deeper storytelling and exploration mechanics.
“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.”
“I don’t really mind, the game’s ‘story’ and aesthetic is all mostly window dressing for spreadsheet management.”
“I played this game and Cobalt Core at the same time, and this one is worse in every way—story, graphics, and gameplay.”
“Lack of story and greater purpose.”
- music34 mentions
- 65 % positive mentions
- 26 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its mellow "space western" vibe and enjoyable country tunes, while others find the soundtrack to be limited and somewhat lackluster. Despite this, many highlight the music's ability to enhance the atmosphere without being overwhelming, contributing positively to the overall experience. However, a common complaint is the difficulty in accessing the soundtrack outside of the game.
“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!”
“The atmosphere, sounds, and music are great, creating chilly vibes.”
“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.”
- graphics22 mentions
- 55 % positive mentions
- 32 % neutral mentions
- 14 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players praising the fun, cartoonish art style and captivating aesthetics that enhance the overall experience. However, others find the visuals to be mediocre, suggesting that the gameplay is the primary draw rather than the graphics. Overall, while the art and audio are appreciated, they are often seen as secondary to the game's mechanics.
“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.”
“The aesthetics and world-building are captivating, setting the tone from the beginning.”
“The stunning graphics and intuitive user interface make exploration a real treat.”
“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.”
“I don’t really mind, the game’s ‘story’ and aesthetic is all mostly window dressing for spreadsheet management.”
- grinding8 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
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.
“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.”
- humor8 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is widely praised for its clever writing and fourth-wall-breaking jokes, which elicit genuine laughter and enhance the overall fun experience. Players appreciate the engaging and witty dialogue, contributing to the game's high replayability and a desire to connect with the developers. Overall, the humor is a standout feature that complements the game's art and music.
“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.”
“It's funny and fun with tons of replayability - get it!!!!”
- atmosphere6 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its immersive art, sound design, and music, creating a chill and enjoyable experience without overwhelming players. Reviewers recommend it for its captivating ambiance that enhances gameplay.
“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 all contribute to an enjoyable experience.”
- monetization2 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game features no advertisements and does not solicit additional payments from players, providing a seamless and uninterrupted experience.
