Star Survivor
- September 20, 2024
- spaceowlgames
- 5h median play time
Get on Steam
Get on itch.io Store"Star Survivor" is a rogue-lite survivor asteroids game, where you must carefully control your ship with Newtonian physics to avoid enemy swarms and utilize weapon placement strategy in 4 quadrants. Gain resources from each kill to unlock new ships and stack the odds in your favor. The game offers 3 modes: Campaign, Challenge, and Endless, with 6 unique ships and various weapons to build overpowered combinations.
PC
Windows
Reviews
- Engaging deckbuilding mechanics that allow for diverse ship builds and strategies.
- Visually appealing with a vibrant art style and exciting weapon effects.
- Fun gameplay loop with multiple modes (Campaign, Challenge, Endless) that enhance replayability.
- Performance issues, including frame drops and lag, especially during intense gameplay.
- Unbalanced weapon systems, with certain weapons (like beams) being significantly more powerful than others.
- Feels unpolished and incomplete, with bugs and missing features that detract from the overall experience.
- optimization65 mentions
- 14 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 32 % negative mentions
The game's optimization is widely criticized, with players reporting severe performance issues such as frame drops, stuttering, and unplayable conditions on various hardware, including the Steam Deck. Many users noted that performance deteriorates significantly during longer play sessions or in busy endgame scenarios, leading to frustration despite the game's potential. While some players acknowledge that the developers are actively addressing these issues, the consensus remains that substantial optimization is needed for a smoother experience.
“If the performance issues can be addressed, this would be one of my favorite quick pickup and play games on Steam Deck!”
“Despite some ongoing performance issues, this game is a promising title.”
“The launch hasn't been the smoothest, with performance issues and glitches, but the developer is already active in working on those, so I'm not overly worried about it.”
“Abandoned game filled with bugs and memory leaks, causing any game session longer than 15 minutes to reduce your performance to 1-3 fps.”
“The worst problem is: horrendous optimization that gets worse the longer you play.”
“The performance can get unplayable very quickly, sometimes just a few minutes into a run.”
- gameplay53 mentions
- 30 % positive mentions
- 64 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The gameplay of "Star Survivor" is characterized by its innovative deckbuilding mechanics and a blend of survival and rogue-like elements, offering a fresh experience with a variety of weapons and upgrades. While many players appreciate the engaging core loop and unique mechanics, some express concerns about performance issues, balance, and a lack of depth compared to more polished titles in the genre. Overall, the game provides a fun and challenging experience, though it may require further refinement to fully realize its potential.
“The deckbuilding mechanic is an absolute game-changer.”
“Star Survivor is a space shmup 'bullet heaven' game that combines the popular magic survival/vampire survivors-type gameplay with elements of asteroids, deckbuilding, more intricate weapon mechanics, and a more typical rogue-lite campaign mode.”
“Fun and challenging gameplay, great soundtrack and sound design, good graphics for the style chosen.”
“Balance is nonexistent, the gameplay has little substance, updates have not made the game any better, and the dev has made achievements that were impossible to unlock at the time, so beware if you're someone that likes to 100% their games.”
“Primarily its issues revolve around performance, visibility, and confused gameplay design.”
“Horrible gameplay and upgrades.”
- story29 mentions
- 10 % positive mentions
- 79 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The game's story aspect is minimal, with players primarily engaging in repetitive missions that lack depth and narrative. The campaign structure allows for mission selection and progression, but the objectives often boil down to grinding through waves of enemies with little variation. While there are elements of choice and customization, the overall experience feels more like a series of disconnected tasks rather than a cohesive story.
“You pick your path through a series of missions on your way to beat the boss.”
“Campaign mode takes you to a hexagonal grid of available missions, XP and upgrades persist through the levels, and you fight a boss in the last level.”
“Each phase has a story to tell; soon you will add to that.”
“☑ no story”
“Another thing, I'm not particularly convinced the campaign is anything more than a gimmick; there's not enough to differentiate any given choice, outside of finding more/less shops, and you know where everything is and what they are. The only things to choose from for regular missions are 'kill loads of things in giant waves while breaking asteroids for goodies,' or any combination of those.”
“Very repetitive missions with simple objectives really just grind it down into 'how fast can I start to spin in place and kill everything while doing x, y, or z objective.' Only two really encourage you to move around, and one of those two specifically involves staying in one place for a period of time.”
- graphics28 mentions
- 36 % positive mentions
- 54 % neutral mentions
- 11 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players praising the beautiful environments and solid art style, while others report significant graphical and performance issues, particularly during busy end-game scenarios. Many users note that while the visuals can be appealing, they are often marred by lag and graphical glitches, especially when there is a lot of action on screen. Overall, the game features a charming aesthetic but requires further optimization to enhance the visual experience.
“Pure singleplayer with nice graphics.”
“The game has some really beautiful environments and the graphics are really well designed and laid out.”
“Fun and challenging gameplay, great soundtrack and sound design, good graphics for the style chosen.”
“There are also severe graphical and performance issues once you get into screen busy end game.”
“Not sure if it was the last update, but now the graphics get stuck and no damage comes out, making it impossible to do an all-beam run.”
“It seems like the game is going for retro without the aesthetic or simplicity to make it work.”
- music16 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 31 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally praised for its quality and variety, with many reviewers highlighting its upbeat electronic style and strong soundtrack that enhances the gameplay experience. However, some players expressed a desire for more music options, as the limited tracks can become repetitive over time. Additionally, there are reports of audio issues, such as music fading into the background or glitching during intense gameplay moments.
“Let's not overlook the music either—it's rock solid.”
“Fun and challenging gameplay, great soundtrack and sound design, good graphics for the style chosen.”
“The music is likeable enough but fades into the background while you're trying to survive.”
“Ah yeah, no music in the game, no borderless screen mode, and clipping space stations.”
“The music and sounds cut out/get glitchy and weird when a lot of stuff is going on, which made me mute everything after about an hour.”
- stability12 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 83 % negative mentions
The game's stability has received mixed feedback, with many users reporting significant bugs and glitches, particularly during key moments like the final boss. While some players find the game enjoyable despite these issues, others highlight frequent freezes and performance problems. However, as an early access title, there is optimism about ongoing developer support and improvements.
“Still in early access, but the basics of the game are solid, the game is pretty much bug-free, and hopefully, they will flesh out a couple of things to make it a good arcade romp.”
“Lots of replay value, runs great, looks (and plays) good, and active developers that listen to players.”
“This game is a buggy goddamn mess!”
“The campaign final boss is extremely buggy and boring.”
“I do enjoy this game, for the most part, but there is always a point about halfway through a run where the game freezes and then aliens teleport into my ship.”
- replayability11 mentions
- 55 % positive mentions
- 18 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
The game boasts high replayability, with various modes such as challenge and endless modes, alongside a wealth of unlockables and customizable decks that encourage repeated playthroughs. Players appreciate the depth and variety in gameplay, despite some minor balance issues with certain weapons. Overall, the combination of different game modes and the ability to experiment with builds keeps players engaged long after the initial campaign.
“The game shines with its expansive approach to replayability, offering a depth that keeps me coming back for more.”
“Each ship has an interesting gimmick to build around, the weapons are pretty neat, and being able to design your own deck of upgrades to take on endless mode is a really cool idea that offers a lot of replayability, along with unlocking permanent card upgrades by completing the campaign multiple times.”
“There are a fair amount of unlockables to keep you busy for a while, and the challenge mode, endless mode, and fine-tuning your custom decks provide quite a bit of replay value after that.”
“Loads of replayability with build types and selectable difficulty and modes.”
“The different game modes really add to the replayability as well.”
- grinding7 mentions
- 14 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 86 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be excessively tedious, particularly due to the need to unlock upgrades and objectives individually, which can detract from the overall experience. While the deck-building system allows for customization, it requires significant grinding to maximize upgrades, leading to a lack of variety and enjoyment in gameplay. Some players have found ways to make grinding more enjoyable through creative builds, but the overall sentiment leans towards frustration with the grind-heavy mechanics.
“You'll need a second life for grinding.”
“There is a deck building system stapled to this game, but it is shockingly grindy to get anywhere with it.”
“I got the achievement on one of the final sector missions which had a ridiculously grindy objective.”
“Think Rogue Genesia or Vampire Survivors, but you have to unlock every level-up option individually by grinding. It's really weird how much basic stuff is gated by that, and there's very little variety to play with.”
- humor1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is derived from the absurdity of certain mechanics, such as asteroids vanishing instead of breaking apart, which leads to comically tedious tasks like "hold xx credits." This quirky design choice adds a layer of irony that players find amusing.
“In full, the asteroids no longer split when shot, just disappearing in a puff of smoke, which makes 'hold xx credits' tasks hilariously tedious.”
- atmosphere1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game's atmosphere is highly praised for its carefully crafted tracks, which enhance the overall experience and create a cinematic quality that immerses players in the environment.
“Each track seems like it was designed with great care to complement the game's atmosphere, lending an almost cinematic quality to the experience.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Reviews express skepticism about the game's monetization strategy, with some users questioning whether it is merely a cash grab and if a full version (1.0) will ever be released.
“Is this just a cash grab and will version 1.0 never come?”
“The monetization feels excessive and detracts from the overall experience.”
“I feel pressured to spend money to enjoy the game fully.”
- emotional1 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Users express deep emotional disappointment, feeling that their investment of time and effort in the game's development was ultimately undermined by poor final decisions, leading to a heartbreaking experience.
