Star Nomad

About

Star Nomad is a single player arcade role playing game. It was developed by Huy Phan and was released on December 29, 2014. It received neutral reviews from players.

"Star Nomad" is an arcade-style spacesim that pays homage to classic games like Elite and Freelancer. With a simplified interface, players can choose their own playstyle as a trader, mercenary, miner, or pirate, upgrading their ship and engaging in epic fleet battles. Your actions determine your standing with various factions in the Wildlands Sector.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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50%

Audience ScoreBased on 56 reviews

story10 positive mentions

graphics3 negative mentions

The game offers a simple yet enjoyable experience, making it easy to pick up and play for short sessions.
For its price, it provides a decent amount of content and can be a fun distraction, especially for fans of retro-style space games.
The developer is responsive and actively supports the game, which adds to the overall positive experience.

The game feels like a poorly executed mobile port, lacking essential features and controls expected from a PC game.
Gameplay is repetitive and grindy, with minimal depth in mechanics and a lack of engaging content.
Combat is frustratingly simplistic and punishing, often leading to a loss of progress without the ability to save or recover easily.

story
50 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
74%
6%
The game's story is described as relatively entertaining, with a moral about perseverance, but it struggles to engage players due to tedious gameplay mechanics and repetitive missions. While some find enjoyment in the narrative as they progress, many reviewers feel that the combat and grinding detract from the overall experience, making it hard to appreciate the story fully. Overall, the story has potential but is overshadowed by the game's lack of depth and challenging mechanics.
- “Starting the game can be quite hard as you must avoid all pirates, but as the game goes on it becomes more and more fun as you battle through the story.”
- “It's a fun simple space adventure with a relatively entertaining story behind it.”
- “You can make your fortune as a miner, trader, or even a pirate (be warned, betraying everyone doesn't end well :p), but cracking on with the story was the most fun for me.”
- “The game could have been salvageable by being very atmospheric or having something hooking you plot-wise right away, but this game is not that either.”
- “You need money to buy expensive ships and weapons to do story missions, but the only way to get it reliably is by mining asteroids and trading, which have about the same degree of complexity and player's involvement as cookie clicker.”
- “The story cannot compensate for any of the messy combat in the game, so if you decide to try this game, make sure you are a sucker for punishment; otherwise, it will be boring.”
gameplay
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
61%
17%
The gameplay is characterized by its simplicity and lack of depth, which may leave some players feeling underwhelmed. While it offers a casual experience with intuitive mechanics, it may not appeal to everyone, particularly those seeking more complex gameplay. However, fans of retro-style 2D space shooters may find enjoyment in its variety of ships, weapons, and mods, especially given its low price point.
- “So is 'transcendence'... tons of ships/weapons/mods, almost infinite variety to be had, great gameplay, and is also totally free (though there is a purely optional pay-for premium version).”
- “Though this game might not be for everyone, if you're into retro style 2D space shooters with simple mechanics, and are willing to rise up to the challenge of restoring peace to the universe (or not), then pick it up and give it a go.”
- “I only played for 3 hours so far but I think I understand most of the game mechanics; it's a simple yet intuitive gameplay and for its price, trust me it's worth more than what I paid for.”
- “Not a lot of depth in the mechanics.”
- “Gameplay controls 2/10 - very poor minimal controls.”
- “Just that the gameplay feels a little simplistic (which can be a + or a - depending on your view), mind you a lot of other games of this genre also feel simplistic.”
graphics
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
65%
21%
The graphics of the game have been widely criticized for their simplistic and low-quality 2D design, reminiscent of outdated flash games, which fails to meet the expectations of PC gamers. Despite some praise for the artwork, particularly in character design, the overall visual presentation is considered cheap and lacking in depth, with no options for resolution changes or meaningful graphics adjustments. Many reviewers feel that the game falls short in comparison to its predecessors, offering fewer visual and gameplay elements.
- “There's not that many ships, weapons, upgrades, etc., but the artwork is very well drawn. The developer is very talented at drawing - especially drawing cute characters!”
- “First, the graphics and simple gameplay made me buy it, seeing a casual space roam to play in my short work breaks.”
- “There's no option to change the resolution and no useful graphics tweaks.”
- “The mobile app features somewhat lazy, simplistic 2D graphics, of the type you normally expect to see in low-effort flash/browser games and mobile apps.”
- “Considering this is being evaluated as a PC game, having the graphics phoned in like this isn't going to result in a high quality, visually impressive game that PC gamers are used to seeing.”
grinding
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, noting that higher-level ships lack speed and quests often require excessive back-and-forth travel. The gameplay heavily revolves around trading, with many describing the experience as filled with repetitive and pointless fetch quests. Overall, the grinding is seen as a significant drawback.
- “It was rather tedious that none of the higher level ships were very fast and the quests tended to send you back and forth across the whole system.”
- “Between restocking weapons and the slow grindy travel time, the only way to actually play is to trade, trade, and trade.”
- “Cut and paste from iTunes, complete with spelling mistakes, grinding, and pointless fetch quests.”
music
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
33%
50%
The music in Star Nomad is described as decent and capable of providing a relaxing backdrop, though it may become repetitive over time. While it serves as a suitable distraction for casual listening or contemplation, it lacks standout qualities that would elevate it further.
- “Star Nomad is not atrocious, and could be an okay distraction if you're listening to music or thinking about something.”
- “Star Nomad is not atrocious, and could be an okay distraction if you're listening to music or thinking about something, but that's about it.”
- “The music is alright, but it may wear on you.”
- “I relaxed for 5 minutes listening to this music, long enough to realize that I would be okay.”
humor
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users consistently highlight the humor in the game, describing it as genuinely funny and enjoyable.
- “The humor in this game is absolutely hilarious!”
- “The jokes and comedic moments had me laughing out loud!”
- “I love how the game incorporates humor into its storytelling!”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization of "Star Nomad" has been criticized as a cash grab, with users expressing frustration over its mobile origins and lack of quality as a PC game. The app, marketed as "Star Nomad Elite (Oreo+)" on mobile platforms, is perceived as an attempt by developers to profit from a subpar experience.
- “Star Nomad is a mobile app that's been dumped on Steam as if it was a real PC game (it's not)... it's a cash grab from greedy mobile devs. This mobile app is published as 'Star Nomad Elite (Oreo+)' on the app stores, in case you want to have a crap time on your mobile phone instead of having a crap time on PC.”
stability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game "Endless Sky" is noted for its stability, being technically simplistic yet functioning effectively without bugs, which contributes to a smooth user experience.
- “Endless Sky is technically simplistic but works well, is bug-free, and is also totally free.”