Star Renegades

Star Renegades is an impressive game that is easy to start and will keep you playing with its strategic depth.

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"Star Renegades" is a tactical rogue-lite RPG with a procedurally generated campaign and a reactive battle system. Fight against the Imperial army using interrupts and counters, while facing off against an adaptive Adversary system. As heroes fall, recruit new ones and continue the battle to resist and reclaim.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

Reviews

79%

Audience ScoreBased on 2,884 reviews

gameplay447 positive mentions

grinding102 negative mentions

Great battle system that encourages strategic thinking and planning.
Beautiful pixel art and animations that enhance the overall experience.
Engaging turn-based combat with a unique stagger and break mechanic.

Long run times (4-6 hours) can make losing feel frustrating and discouraging.
Cluttered UI and unclear information can lead to confusion during combat.
Repetitive dialogue and lack of meaningful story progression diminish replayability.

gameplay
1,159 mentions
39 % positive mentions
57 % neutral mentions
5 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Star Renegades" is characterized by its engaging turn-based combat system that incorporates a unique stagger mechanic, allowing players to manipulate the turn order and strategize effectively. While many players appreciate the depth and tactical nature of the combat, some criticize the repetitiveness of the gameplay loop and the lack of variety in enemy mechanics, which can lead to a sense of monotony over time. Overall, the game offers a visually stunning experience with solid mechanics, though it may require patience to fully grasp its complexities and enjoy its potential.
- “The gameplay is simple and fun and easy to pick up.”
- “The gameplay, aesthetic and character design are all top tier, the OST isn't too bad either.”
- “Overall a fun and cozy experience you want to keep coming back to because of the addictive gameplay loop and beautiful visuals that's become one of my favorite roguelikes - can't wait to put more hours into it.”
- “Ultimately, this game is just far more of a slog than it has any right to be, and beyond seriously questioning the design principles of a game with runs intended to be two hours or more, I'm not sure I could enjoy any run of that length with gameplay this repetitive.”
- “Little variation in gameplay coupled with very harsh and unfair difficulty settings which further limit your playstyle options certainly do not add up to a fun experience for me.”
- “The game design is questionable, interface - very clunky, battle mechanics - not fun.”
story
730 mentions
21 % positive mentions
70 % neutral mentions
10 % negative mentions
The story in "Star Renegades" is generally considered minimal and serves primarily as a backdrop for the gameplay, with many players noting its simplicity and lack of depth. While some appreciate the humor and quirky dialogue, others find the narrative thin and repetitive, often feeling disconnected from the characters and their development. Overall, the game is more focused on its mechanics and combat than on delivering a compelling story, making it less suitable for those seeking a rich narrative experience.
- “Very interesting fighting mechanics and a twisted story.”
- “The plot and characters are loving homages to ancient sci-fi series, Star Trek, Star Wars, and Stargate.”
- “The story is kind of convoluted but still interesting, and there's lots of tidbits of lore to find on planets or in character dialogue, with a good bit of wit mixed in.”
- “If you're wondering about the story and character progression... well, it's basically non-existent.”
- “The plot makes no sense at all, and none of the characters take it seriously.”
- “The story is non-existent aside from a couple cutscenes, which is really unfortunate.”
graphics
634 mentions
58 % positive mentions
39 % neutral mentions
3 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received widespread acclaim for their stunning pixel art style, blending 2D and 3D elements effectively, and creating a vibrant aesthetic that many players find captivating. While the visuals are often described as beautiful and well-animated, some critiques mention occasional blockiness at higher resolutions and minor graphical glitches. Overall, the art style and animations contribute significantly to the game's appeal, making it a standout in the indie roguelike genre.
- “Great pixel art style and blend with a 2.5D environment.”
- “The graphics are absolutely beautiful for the style it's going for, and I really liked them!”
- “The artwork is gorgeous and the soundtrack is awesome.”
- “The graphics are the terrible type of pixel art that doesn't resemble anything or have any consistency, with one character looking vaguely like a C64 sprite and the one next to it looking 16-bit.”
- “I'm very over the pixel graphics trend.”
- “It's still a great game, but I wished so much more from this game... I can't go higher than this; the graphics are so low.”
music
421 mentions
58 % positive mentions
36 % neutral mentions
6 % negative mentions
The music in the game has received a mixed reception, with many praising its catchy and energetic soundtrack that complements the gameplay, while others criticize it for being repetitive and lacking variety. Overall, the soundtrack is often described as fitting the game's aesthetic and enhancing the experience, though some players found it necessary to turn it off after extended play. Despite these criticisms, the music is generally considered a strong aspect of the game, contributing to its engaging atmosphere and gameplay.
- “The music is banging and pure cheese in the best possible way.”
- “The music is great and the pixel art is masterfully done, with very satisfying attack animations that change depending on which move is selected, so combat never gets old or repetitive.”
- “Star renegades had me enamored from the opening cutscene and sunk its claws deep with its tactically-sound combat, incredible aesthetic, pulse-pounding soundtrack, great story elements, and superb writing.”
- “My biggest gripes are a lack of music variety and the runs can last over 2 hrs.”
- “The music is ordinary and very repetitive; after a few runs, I just turned it off completely.”
- “Despite its beautiful sci-fi charm, I couldn't stand the repetitive gameplay and very, very repetitive single song track (I actually played this game on mute after 2 hours).”
replayability
244 mentions
48 % positive mentions
48 % neutral mentions
4 % negative mentions
The game is widely praised for its high replayability, with many players enjoying the variety of characters, combat mechanics, and customization options that encourage multiple playthroughs. While some reviewers noted a potential lack of long-term engagement and repetitive elements, the overall consensus is that the game offers enough depth and unlockable content to keep players returning for more. Many players find the combination of roguelike elements and turn-based strategy to create a satisfying and engaging experience that remains fresh across numerous runs.
- “Great game design, the soundtrack is astounding, the dry cynical humor is hilarious most of the time, replayable ad nauseam.”
- “Very fun game with great replayability value, highly rewarding combo and build possibilities, the kind of game where you can go from striving from a fight to a fight to absolutely demolishing everything on your path.”
- “This game delivers heavily on gameplay, with tons of replayability.”
- “Good game, poor roguelite: the characters, story, graphics are all nice but there is little replayability; after completing the game once, the enemies just gain more damage and health, so the game only becomes slower, not that much more challenging.”
- “That being said, I ground through the game at least a few dozen times, winning and losing, over the course of 50 hours before having the epiphany that just because a game imagines itself to be infinitely replayable, doesn't mean it actually is.”
- “Overall, I would say the game is worth a try if it's on sale, if nothing else at least for the eye candy, but don't expect much replayability here.”
humor
174 mentions
95 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
5 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is highly polarizing, with some players finding it genuinely funny and others deeming it cringeworthy or nonsensical. While many appreciate the witty banter and lighthearted tone, others criticize the repetitive and forced nature of the jokes, suggesting that the humor often falls flat. Overall, the game's comedic elements can enhance the experience for some, but may detract from it for those who do not resonate with its style.
- “Great game design, the soundtrack is astounding, the dry cynical humor is hilarious most of the time, replayable ad nauseam.”
- “The game never takes itself seriously providing hilarious dialogue, albeit sometimes repetitious, yet manages to maintain an air of combat superiority compared to 'serious' turn-based RPGs.”
- “Witty dialogue makes the game very funny and it will throw a few curveballs at you.”
- “However, I feel that the game has a different problem: terrible humor (many lines are supposed to be funny but they simply are not) and political messages across the board.”
- “Bland, unfunny, and repetitive dialogue.”
- “The writing is super cringey with a bunch of jokes where you can tell even the writers know it's not funny.”
grinding
108 mentions
4 % positive mentions
2 % neutral mentions
94 % negative mentions
The reviews highlight a pervasive sense of tedium and repetitiveness associated with grinding in the game, with many players expressing frustration over the lengthy and often unfulfilling character unlock processes and combat mechanics. While some appreciate the strategic elements and overall gameplay, the consensus is that the grinding can detract significantly from the enjoyment, making the experience feel drawn out and unengaging. Overall, the game struggles to balance its roguelike elements with a satisfying progression system, leading to a mixed reception regarding its grinding aspects.
- “The game is not really grindy in terms of run quantity, but one 'complete' run can take you at least 2.5 hours.”
- “There's no grinding.”
- “There is no grinding for hours to level up and spam the attack button over and over.”
- “But the actual act of playing it is so bland and grindy that I can't in good conscience call it an overall enjoyable experience.”
- “- The game does not respect your time at all, fighting the same battles a thousand times, grinding unfair difficulties, playing through way too long sessions and unlocking stuff mainly by being the winner at the end (if you fail after 4+ hours, you don't unlock that much).”
- “The character unlocking is a super tedious grind.”
stability
47 mentions
4 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
96 % negative mentions
The game has been reported to have significant stability issues, including frequent glitches, crashes, and unresponsiveness that can lead to lost progress. While some players have experienced minimal problems, many others have encountered severe bugs that disrupt gameplay, such as freezing during loading screens and graphical glitches. Overall, the game is considered fun but is marred by its lack of polish and stability.
- “The start screen might look a little off, but everything else runs great.”
- “A lot of visual glitches (massive tearing) and frequent crashes that result in the loss of saved data.”
- “Had a wonderful time, streaming a playthrough last night, learning the game, finally getting it all down, turned it off for the night and tried playing it now to which my file tries to load, but it just freezes showing the background of the main menu, and when I kill the program and restart it to try and see if options help, none of the menu buttons work, and then I can't even start a new game/delete files, restarting the PC or etc. deleting, reinstalling it doesn't help, and I've talked to others who've had similar issues - so maybe it's a bug.”
- “This game is fun, but there are too many glitches with the levels where you can't move forward and have to restart your mission.”
optimization
33 mentions
12 % positive mentions
61 % neutral mentions
27 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received mixed reviews, with many players experiencing frequent performance issues, bugs, and unreliable information that detracts from the overall enjoyment. While some users found workarounds, such as adjusting graphics settings, others noted that the game demands more from their hardware than expected, leading to inconsistent performance. Overall, the optimization appears to be a significant concern, impacting gameplay, especially during combat and in the late game.
- “Before picking your moves, you are told what your opponents are doing and who they're targeting, and it's up to you to manipulate the turn order in such a way to maximize performance.”
- “The game plays well, remains stable, and hasn't caused me any issues performance-wise outside of a single hiccup that was caused by me launching something else in the background.”
- “The poor performance, the many bugs, and the unreliable information (which is awful in a game where perfect information is the heart and soul of the encounters, leaving you to have to guess whether one enemy will really be staggered or killed or whether the game is lying to you and making subpar plays to account for that) makes for a deeply unenjoyable experience.”
- “The game is also poorly optimized.”
- “However, despite this game revolving around pixel art, it works my CPU and GPU much harder than other games that one would think would be more performance intensive.”
character development
32 mentions
69 % positive mentions
22 % neutral mentions
9 % negative mentions
Character development in "Star Renegades" is a mixed bag; while the pixel art and character designs are widely praised for their creativity and integration with gameplay, the depth of character development and storytelling is often seen as lacking. Players appreciate the unique gameplay feel of each character and the initial rapid skill progression typical of JRPGs, but many feel that the writing does not support a robust narrative or world-building, leaving character growth feeling superficial. Overall, the aesthetic appeal is strong, but the emotional connection to characters may not be as deep as some players hope.
- “By combining the roguelike restarting mechanic with the absolute best part of JRPGs - the first hour or so where you experience rapid skill and character development - Star Renegades manages to encapsulate the best of both genres, and it does it with some of the best pixel art around today.”
- “The character design is memorable and creative, integrates well with gameplay, and the backgrounds are stunning.”
- “But the writing is lackluster and not only that, it shows an active contempt for world-building and character development.”
- “The story and character development are very light, mostly just there to frame the core gameplay loop.”
- “Honestly, I was pretty lukewarm with the character designs, but the characters have been given enough depth to grow attached to them; I did not expect that.”
atmosphere
28 mentions
50 % positive mentions
39 % neutral mentions
11 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is visually stunning, featuring exceptional pixel art and a fitting sci-fi aesthetic that enhances the overall experience. While the soundtrack complements the atmosphere, some players find it repetitive and lacking in variety, which detracts from engagement. However, the blend of JRPG mechanics and character-driven storytelling creates an enticing environment, despite some criticism regarding the tonal inconsistency and underutilized lore.
- “Visually stunning with one of the best pixel arts I have ever seen in my life, a solid although repetitive soundtrack, great JRPG mechanics that blend extremely well with the setting and the atmosphere: Star Renegades is a great JRPG roguelite that will make you fall in love with its gorgeous backgrounds, animations, and character designs.”
- “The arty styles are really pretty and the atmosphere overall feels great.”
- “It's not the joke-filled atmosphere that bugs me, it's the wasted unexplored lore that disappoints me the most.”
- “The music gets tiresome pretty quick; it's like a droning hum that you tune out, instead of having moments that get you pumped, or establish the atmosphere.”
- “The sci-fi atmosphere and idea of a roguelite RPG with a character relationship system like the Fire Emblem games was super enticing.”
emotional
14 mentions
100 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game receives mixed feedback; while some players find the writing and character interactions heartwarming and touching, others feel misled by the trailer's promise of a deeper emotional experience. The humor and emotional depth in the art and soundtrack are appreciated, but the inconsistency in relationship banter leaves some feeling disappointed. Overall, the game offers moments of genuine emotion amidst its complex gameplay and witty writing.
- “Their relationship banter is a mixed bag, as some seem to have been written with more love than others, but most of it was heartwarming.”
- “Story is at times hilarious and at times does get really touching.”
- “The animations are emphatic, the portraits are emotional and the sprites capture the energy of every character you can unlock.”
monetization
10 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The monetization aspect of the game has drawn criticism for not aligning with its advertising, particularly regarding the promised meta-progression features. Many users feel that the game does not justify its price point and may even border on false advertising, as it fails to deliver on the expectations set by promotional materials. Overall, while the game is not deemed bad, it is seen as lacking value for money.
- “At first one has to see the obvious: a game advertising itself within the screenshot with as much positive critics as possible has to hide, prove, or compensate for something.”
- “Tldr: it's not bad, but not really worth the price point and doesn't live up to the advertising that's posted.”
- “It's actually verging on false advertising.”