STAR-BOX: RPG Adventures in Space
- August 17, 2015
- Michael Flynn
Get on Steam"STAR-BOX: RPG Adventures in Space" is a retro-styled open-world RPG set in a sandbox universe in the year 4135. Players can explore alien worlds, abandoned cities, and space-stations while collecting items, weapons, and armors. The game features dynamic events and tactical combat, with players having the opportunity to lead a rebellion against a corrupt government and capture enemy vessels. The choices made by players will impact the story and gameplay experience.
Reviews
- The game has an interesting concept and a lot of potential for exploration and gameplay variety.
- The graphics and music have been praised, contributing to an engaging atmosphere.
- The developer is responsive to feedback and has shown willingness to improve the game.
- The game is plagued by numerous bugs, crashes, and performance issues, making it frustrating to play.
- Controls are clunky and unresponsive, leading to a poor user experience during gameplay.
- The interface is inconsistent and poorly designed, which detracts from the overall enjoyment of the game.
- story9 mentions
- 22 % positive mentions
- 44 % neutral mentions
- 33 % negative mentions
The story is generally engaging and enjoyable, but is often overshadowed by game-breaking bugs and stiff controls, which detract from the overall experience. While the narrative has potential, it feels underdeveloped and short, leaving players wanting more depth and variety in missions. Despite these issues, the core gameplay remains fun, with players exploring space and completing missions.
“The controls are a little stiff, but the storyline is engaging and enjoyable.”
“The game is actually really fun; you travel around space, beat some aliens and other opponents, completing various missions, and buy new spaceships, etc.”
“The biggest sin I think this game engine brings to the table is that it overshadows the story.”
“You are spending so much time being annoyed by it that you just don't even care about the story.”
“It is an ARPG at its core, with a story, albeit short at the moment.”
- optimization7 mentions
- 29 % positive mentions
- 29 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is severely lacking, with players reporting significant performance issues, including frame drops and crashes, even on high-end systems. Combat feels sluggish and unresponsive, and the options menu is criticized for being inadequate. Many users recommend waiting for improvements before purchasing, as the current state makes the game nearly unplayable.
“I would suggest holding off for a bit longer until the dev gets around to improving the game's performance, interface, and quality in general.”
“Even on a high-performance machine, I experienced frame drops and crashes; even when the game isn't lagging, it still feels like I'm struggling to execute the controls I want because of the awkward mechanics.”
“Very poor, even for a game made in RPG Maker. It is very unoptimized to the point that the game becomes unplayable after using the first wormhole in the tutorial. I selected 'random space' to explore before heading to the Earth faction, as the tutorial implied.”
“The game isn't optimized; it runs poorly on new systems. The options menu is an abysmal joke, and there are so many bugs that it's not worth $10.”
“Even on a high-performance machine, I experienced frame drops and crashes. Even when the game isn't lagging, it still feels like I'm struggling to execute the controls I want because of the awkward mechanics.”
- graphics6 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 17 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are a mixed bag; while some players appreciate the nostalgic old-school style, others criticize the low-quality visuals derived from various freeware packs that clash together. Additionally, technical limitations of the RPG Maker engine lead to performance issues, with no options for resolution adjustments beyond 1080p, resulting in lag and a subpar user experience. Overall, the graphics may appeal to a niche audience but fall short for many due to their inconsistency and technical constraints.
“The graphics and music are great too.”
“The game has fun old-school style graphics (I enjoy it at least; not everyone's cup of tea, I understand though).”
“Not certain how a game with RPG Maker graphics and only being about 212 MB in size can be so laggy.”
“No graphical options apart from being able to toggle full screen. The game doesn't work at a resolution above 1080p, and the resolution can't be changed within the game (INI hacks needed, even by the dev) as that is against RMXP's (RPG Maker) terms and conditions, mainly because that engine was only designed to work in 640x480. Frame rate (and user experience) plummets the more you try and push it past that resolution.”
“Graphics are taken from multiple freeware space graphics packs and really don't look good all mixed together.”
- music5 mentions
- 40 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 40 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews, with some players finding it atrocious and monotonous, while others appreciate the variety offered by the jukebox feature. Many users express a desire for better sound quality and the option to turn off the music entirely, indicating that while the concept of the game is solid, the audio experience detracts from overall enjoyment.
“The graphics and music are great too.”
“I love the music and the cute little jukebox to change up the tunes :) The game has a friendly dev that is open to suggestions.”
“The music and sound are atrocious; thankfully, there is an option to turn off the music.”
“This game is awful. The interface is clunky, the controls are basic at best, and even though you can change the BGM, I could poke out my eardrums with an ice pick if I have to listen to the 8-bit monotone music again.”
- gameplay5 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 60 % negative mentions
The gameplay has been criticized for its poor performance, including low framerates and laggy controls, which significantly detract from the overall experience. Despite an interesting concept, the awkward mechanics and technical issues lead to frustration, making it difficult for players to enjoy the action-oriented elements of the game.
“Can't tell you much more about the gameplay as I could only bear playing for about 30 minutes due to the very low framerate and associated laggy feel of the controls.”
“Even on a high-performance machine, I experienced frame drops and the aforementioned crashes; even when the game isn't lagging, it still feels like I'm struggling to execute the controls I want because of the awkward mechanics.”
“Concept is interesting but overall lack of integrity to gameplay breaks any hope you may have for it right now.”
- stability3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game is widely criticized for its instability, being described as buggy and unfinished despite being marketed as a completed product. Users note that while it shows potential and can be enjoyable, it requires significant improvements from the developer to address its inconsistencies and technical issues.
“Buggy and unfinished.”
“This game is buggy, unfinished, and fun. It needs so much work from the developer. I like it, it looks promising, but it is not in early access; it is really sold as a finished game.”
“It's buggy and inconsistent, which is more a limitation of cramming something ambitious into the RPG Maker XP engine.”
- grinding1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Players appreciate that the action-RPG emphasizes skill over grinding, distinguishing it from many turn-based RPGs that often rely heavily on repetitive grinding for progression. This focus on skill-based gameplay enhances the overall experience and engagement.
“This action RPG rewards skill, unlike many turn-based RPGs that focus on grinding.”
“The game feels like a chore at times, as the grinding can become repetitive and tedious.”
“While the combat is engaging, the excessive grinding detracts from the overall experience.”
