Starborne: Frontiers
- October 14, 2024
- Solid Clouds hf.
Get on Steam400 years from now, Earth has perished, and humanity has made its home among the stars. The struggle for a place in space has left a lasting legacy of internal conflicts and brutal faction wars. The galaxy is divided among 10 warring factions, each with its own agenda. Factions like the Children of the Everliving seek eternal life at any cost, while MPL aims for profit, and Tianchao combats corrup…
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game features deep tactical gameplay that requires strategic thinking and offers a variety of unit combinations, making each battle feel like a unique puzzle.
- The art style and music are highly praised, contributing to an immersive sci-fi experience with rich lore and character backstories.
- The community is active and supportive, with developers engaging directly with players, providing a sense of connection and responsiveness.
- The game is heavily monetized with frequent pop-ups for in-game purchases, leading to a perception of being a pay-to-win experience.
- Progression can be slow and time-gated, requiring players to log in frequently to manage resources and energy, which can feel tedious.
- Many players find the combat system to be overly simplistic and repetitive, as battles are auto-resolved without much player input or strategy.
- gameplay35 mentions
- 26 % positive mentions
- 66 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The gameplay is a mix of familiar gacha mechanics and strategic combat, offering a blend of tactical decision-making and repetitive grinding. While it features engaging elements like team building and various PvE challenges, some players find the reliance on microtransactions and the extensive farming requirements off-putting. Overall, it provides a decent level of enjoyment for those who appreciate strategy and depth, despite some frustrations with mechanics and documentation.
“It feels like they took a lot of good mechanics from other games and implemented convenience features so the game won't waste your time.”
“The main gameplay revolves around building a team of units (spaceships, in this case) and optimizing their stats and positioning to take on PvE and PvP challenges.”
“It’s got strategy, depth, and an addictive gameplay loop that keeps you coming back for more.”
“I despise the whole gacha game mechanics.”
“There is no battle skip or swipe mechanic; you are forced to play through hundreds of battles daily for mandatory farming chores, which takes 4-6 hours even on 2x speed.”
“The developers hide a frustrating number of mechanics from the players.”
- grinding20 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game is heavily criticized for being repetitive and time-consuming, reminiscent of other mobile gacha games. Players often find themselves stuck in a loop of mandatory farming for gear and materials, with limited options for progression and no ability to skip battles, leading to frustration. While some enjoy the farming mechanics, the time gating and lack of new content can make the experience feel tedious and monotonous.
“This is just Summoner's War or Raid: Shadow Legends in space -- a grindy mobile-style gacha game.”
“Now I am forced to do dumb grinding.”
“There is no battle skip or swipe mechanic; you are forced to play through hundreds of battles daily for mandatory farming chores, which takes 4-6 hours even on 2x speed.”
- graphics18 mentions
- 50 % positive mentions
- 33 % neutral mentions
- 17 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many praising the unique sci-fi art style and high-quality animations, particularly during space battles. However, some users criticize the overall visual quality, especially in mobile versions, describing them as subpar compared to other titles in the genre. Overall, while the artwork is often highlighted as a standout feature, there are concerns about inconsistency in graphical quality across platforms.
“The art style of this game is unparalleled if you're into sci-fi games.”
“Starborne: Frontiers is the perfect blend of deep strategy and beautiful visuals.”
“The graphics and art are great and tastefully done.”
“Raid in space with worse graphics.”
“Terrible mobile graphics, don't waste your time, carry on.”
“The devs don't care how little work they have to put in to get it, as is evident in the lazy artwork - both 3D and 2D.”
- story15 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 47 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The game's story is described as fun and engaging, with a mix of standard campaign elements and deeper lore found in individual unit backstories and faction narratives. Players can explore a rich world filled with mature themes, while the pacing of battles is well-balanced, making it accessible for newcomers. Overall, the storytelling is enhanced by impressive visuals and a commitment to originality, despite some generic aspects in the main campaign.
“Our game features rich and immersive storytelling, which includes mature themes within the backstories of certain units.”
“It would be so easy for a space-themed gacha game to pay lip service by padding the game out with generic and derivative characters and narratives, but it seems like Solid Clouds has gone to great pains to try to tell as original and compelling a storyline as they can, and to make it look as visually stunning as possible whilst doing it, which makes it seem like they are motivated by a genuine love for their art and the world they have made for this game.”
“Also, there is so much story and lore to explore, but it can also be totally ignored.”
“The campaign story is a bit standard, but the individual unit stories and faction lore are where the depth really comes in.”
“The pricing tells the whole story, and in case you start to forget, it will pop up offers to remind you often enough.”
- monetization11 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 27 % neutral mentions
- 45 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy of the game has drawn mixed reviews, with some players labeling it a cash grab and criticizing the high prices of microtransactions, while others argue that it can be enjoyed for free with patience. The game features a gacha mechanic and frequent pop-up ads, which some find intrusive, but it is possible to progress without spending money if players are willing to invest time. Overall, the monetization approach is seen as aggressive, with a strong emphasis on daily engagement and in-game purchases.
“Managed to get more progress on the first day than most other gacha and battler games. In-game purchases aside, this is not bad at all.”
“You can go fully free-to-play, or dive into microtransactions if you’re after that dopamine hit from pulling legendary units.”
“Starborne: Frontiers is an auto-battler with a core gacha/lootbox mechanic and microtransactions, which a moderately patient person can very happily play for free.”
“Played the game for about 40 hours. My take is this is a cash grab game. Poorly ported to PC, it does not have offline play and requires you to actively play and log in daily. Constant active play is needed to progress at all.”
“Monetization is awful; prices are way too high for games like this.”
“That DLC and microtransactions aren't realistically optional.”
- music4 mentions
- 75 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The music in the game is highly praised for its slick quality, complementing the strong art style. Reviewers appreciate the diverse options available in both PvE and PvP modes, highlighting the overall aesthetic experience.
“Shoutout to the art style and the music as well!”
“The art and music are really slick.”
“It has plenty of different PvE and PvP options along with very strong art and music.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- -150 % neutral mentions
- 150 % negative mentions
The game is generally seen as a low-commitment option with decent performance for multitasking, but users have reported occasional delays during gameplay, such as units pausing for several seconds despite quick loading times.
“I haven't played long, but it is immediately serving me well as a low-commitment, performance-lite game to switch to between other tasks on the computer, such as while waiting for short clips to render.”
“The performance is impressive; I couldn't read the loading screen tips because it loaded so quickly.”
“Worse is the performance - I couldn't read the loading screen tips because it loaded so quickly, but often, a unit would just pause its turn for several seconds.”
“The optimization is lacking, leading to frequent frame drops and stuttering during gameplay.”
“I experienced significant lag during battles, which made it frustrating to enjoy the game.”
