Star Shelter
- October 23, 2018
- Overflow
- 6h median play time
Get on Steam"Star Shelter" is a space survival game set in a procedurally generated universe. Gather resources, build and upgrade your space station, and navigate dangerous asteroid fields while fighting off alien attacks. Your goal is to survive and find a new home for humanity.
Reviews
- The game offers a unique and immersive zero-gravity experience, allowing players to navigate and explore space using intuitive hand movements.
- The survival mechanics are engaging, requiring players to manage oxygen, food, and resources effectively, which adds a layer of challenge and excitement.
- The developers are active and responsive, frequently updating the game and addressing community feedback, which shows commitment to improving the overall experience.
- The game suffers from numerous bugs, including issues with item interaction, disappearing objects, and inconsistent mechanics that can lead to frustrating gameplay.
- The tutorial is lacking in detail, leaving players confused about essential mechanics and how to progress, which can hinder the initial experience.
- The difficulty curve can be steep, with players often dying early on due to resource scarcity and environmental hazards, which may deter some from continuing.
- gameplay53 mentions
- 34 % positive mentions
- 55 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
Gameplay in this title is a mixed bag, featuring solid core mechanics and an engaging survival loop that immerses players in a zero-gravity environment. However, many users report issues with controls, bugs, and a lack of clarity in tutorials, which can lead to frustration, particularly with resource management and grabbing mechanics. While the game shows potential and offers a fun experience, it currently suffers from repetitiveness and unfinished features that detract from the overall enjoyment.
“The zero-g gameplay is strangely very fun and super immersive.”
“The movement mechanic is very intuitive and very fun - like a real astronaut, you grab handles and bars to fling yourself around, and there will be plenty of gravity-style situations where you reach out to grab a passing satellite just in time before floating into deep space.”
“The game is very playable and already has deep mechanics, which is especially rare for a VR game.”
“The gameplay works like you scavenging around a central base of operations, the controls work not unlike Echo VR but your hands can go through stuff, making it somewhat frustrating to grab especially thin moving objects.”
“Constant bugs and glitches, poorly explained and executed mechanics, and a forum full of complaints about how the game runs/works.”
“There's a lack of clarity in tutorials, there are common gameplay bugs when interacting with most things, and generally gameplay balance feels off right now.”
- graphics31 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 68 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players appreciating the clean visuals and low-poly art style, while others criticize it as basic and lacking polish, often comparing it unfavorably to higher-quality titles. Many users note performance issues, such as needing to lower resolution for smoother gameplay, and highlight aesthetic inconsistencies and glitches. Overall, while the graphics contribute to the game's atmosphere, they fall short of expectations for a title in early access for three years.
“The graphics are gorgeous, the content is continuous, you are never left with nothing left to do.”
“Graphics are clean with room for texture work, crafting system has a solid framework.”
“The physics are solid, the graphics are crisp, and the controls are tight.”
“I also could only get the game to run smoothly by setting the resolution to 20% via SteamVR, and there were next to no in-game graphics options.”
“This partially comes from it being unclear what can and cannot be grabbed due to the graphics being on par with Unturned. This game was a valiant effort to make a fun space survival game, but three years into early access, it just doesn't feel anywhere close to an experience. It feels like the game's first version came out last week, not three years ago.”
“The low-poly art style ends up looking more like a crutch than a genuine art style, as there are plenty of errors, bad geometry, and general aesthetic mismatch with other parts of the game.”
- stability23 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is widely criticized, with numerous players reporting persistent bugs and glitches that significantly hinder gameplay, such as non-functional mechanics, disappearing items, and erratic controls. While some users find the core experience enjoyable and addictive, the overwhelming presence of game-breaking issues and frustrating mechanics detracts from its potential. Overall, the game is described as a "buggy mess" that requires substantial fixes to improve stability.
“This game was great before, but somehow they screwed it up and it's very buggy.”
“The game is buggy, starting from the statistics window not working and ending with infinite oxygen/energy in the vacuum of space.”
“Constant bugs and glitches, poorly explained and executed mechanics, and a forum full of complaints about how the game runs/works.”
- story17 mentions
- 18 % positive mentions
- 65 % neutral mentions
- 18 % negative mentions
The game's story is described as lacking depth and coherence, with many players noting it feels like a stripped-down version of other survival games, such as Breathedge. While some elements, like the AI companion and mission objectives, provide a framework for exploration and survival, the overall narrative is seen as underdeveloped, leaving players wanting more engaging content and story-driven mechanics. A sequel with enhanced storytelling could potentially improve the experience significantly.
“In a sense, this is the story of the origin, not your hapless spacefarer.”
“It's much more story driven and less survival.”
“Pros: story flows well, and Pie is the best AI companion, even if she is a little stupid sometimes.”
“This is basically Breathedge but with a ripped-out storyline and humor, pure survival and base building.”
“I've not explored a lot in the game, but if you're seeking something with a riveting story or any sort of fast pace, you will not find it here.”
“Aside from the complete lack of story elements and VR controls not always doing what you would like, this is a phenomenal game.”
- music11 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 45 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
The game features minimal music, primarily limited to a music box that plays a single track before stopping, with no ambient music present. Players can supplement the experience by playing their own music through external apps, and while the end credits song received praise, the overall lack of a musical score has been noted as a drawback. Despite this, the gameplay remains engaging for extended periods.
“But you can play music in the background by opening YouTube or another app while in VR.”
“Definitely worth playing, just be patient with the locks and put on your favorite spacey soundtrack.”
“End credits song was amazing, and I have to look into getting a copy of it for myself.”
“There isn't music in this game besides a music box you can add as a decorative structure, and even that will stop playing music after the selected track finishes.”
“This game has no ambient music.”
“Could perhaps use some ambient music.”
- grinding8 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and unenjoyable, often describing it as infuriating and overly repetitive. While some appreciate the challenge it presents, many feel that the lack of options to alleviate the grind, combined with cumbersome inventory management, detracts significantly from the overall experience.
“It's incredibly tedious and not in a fun way.”
“The end game can get grindy if you have to find these beacons once your base is at the point that you need them.”
“Once you get over the initial difficulty hump, it's unbelievably grindy.”
- atmosphere7 mentions
- 86 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its immersive controls, relaxing yet engaging environment, and polished visuals, which contribute to a captivating experience. Reviewers highlight the effective use of sound and artistic style, noting that it exceeds expectations set by the trailer. Overall, the atmosphere is described as both fun and atmospheric, enhancing the overall gameplay experience.
“Its atmospheric and relaxing with just enough occasional tension to keep things interesting.”
“Most importantly, it's very atmospheric, is super immersive, and does UI right.”
“It gives a very good first impression, with the polish of the visuals, the atmospheric sound, and the great zero gravity locomotion.”
- optimization4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 25 % negative mentions
The game's optimization has received mixed feedback, with some users struggling to achieve smooth performance without significantly lowering resolution and noting a lack of in-game graphics options. Additionally, players on Windows Mixed Reality report that the game is not well-optimized for their setup, leading to issues with movement and tracking.
“I could only get the game to run smoothly by setting the resolution to 20% via SteamVR, and there were next to no in-game graphics options.”
“Graphics and performance are quite nice.”
“I'm playing on Windows MR, and it is definitely not optimized for that. I have to watch each hand grip or release surfaces in order to move properly, and when I do that, I lose track of where I'm going.”
- replayability4 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 50 % negative mentions
The game offers excellent replayability due to its randomized environments and diverse gameplay options, allowing players to approach challenges in various ways, whether through building or speedrunning. Many users highlight its infinite replay value, making it a top recommendation for survival game enthusiasts in VR.
“I enjoyed it and would recommend it to anyone into survival games who is looking for something with full hand tracking and a randomized environment for replayability.”
“Still one of the best games on VR, with excellent replay value.”
“I enjoyed it, and would recommend it to anyone into survival games who is looking for something with full hand tracking and a randomized environment for replayability.”
“Infinite replay value.”
- humor3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is noted as a standout feature, providing a lighthearted contrast to its survival and base-building mechanics. While it draws comparisons to other titles like Breathedge, it is appreciated for its simpler, comedic approach, making it an entertaining experience despite some imperfections.
“This is basically Breathedge but with a ripped-out storyline and humor, pure survival and base building.”
“Breathedge is a simpler and very humorous attempt at the survival genre.”
“First game in VR that tries the survival genre, and even though it's not perfect, it's a funny game.”
- emotional3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Users express mixed feelings about the emotional aspect of the game, highlighting frustration with the imprecise item-grabbing mechanics that detract from immersion. However, they also appreciate the potential for emotional engagement through a sleek design and immersive gameplay reminiscent of titles like Subnautica, suggesting that the game's atmosphere could evoke strong feelings despite some mechanical shortcomings.
“However, imagine Space Engineers, with the design style of Subnautica, super sleek interfaces, and a level of immersion that'll throw you off - literally - when you careen into orbital debris without anything actually touching your real body.”
