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StarBreak

StarBreak is a free-to-play video game that anyone’s machine can run, but a lack of substance and mundane gameplay make it feel like a waste of time.
StarBreak Game Cover
72%Game Brain Score
gameplay, graphics
story, grinding
77% User Score Based on 907 reviews
Critic Score 50%Based on 1 reviews

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StarBreak Game Cover

About

StarBreak is a multiplayer role playing game with a science fiction theme. It was developed by Crunchy Games and was released on May 10, 2016. It received neutral reviews from critics and mostly positive reviews from players.

StarBreak is a unique skill-based action platformer MMO where you explore strange sci-fi worlds alongside dozens of other players, kill legions of dangerous aliens and fight epic boss battles.

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StarBreak screenshot
StarBreak screenshot
StarBreak screenshot
StarBreak screenshot
StarBreak screenshot
StarBreak screenshot
StarBreak screenshot
StarBreak screenshot
StarBreak screenshot
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77%
Audience ScoreBased on 907 reviews
gameplay39 positive mentions
grinding24 negative mentions
  • Unique and challenging permadeath mechanic rewarding skill progression rather than pay-to-win.
  • Smooth, addictive action gameplay with fun platforming/shooting mechanics and different distinct characters (shells).
  • Free to play with friendly community at times and solid controller support; replayability with procedurally generated levels and cooperative multiplayer.
  • Engaging boss battles with unique mechanics and rewarding loot system.
  • Good soundtrack and retro-style graphics with appealing art style.
  • Fair monetization with cosmetics and convenience items only, no gameplay advantage purchases.
  • Lack of updates and dead or dwindling player base leading to difficulties in finding groups and progressing in harder missions.
  • High grind and repetition due to permadeath and loss of gear; slow progression especially for new players.
  • Controls can be awkward and unintuitive especially with keyboard, limited shooting directions, requiring remapping or controller use.
  • Small free storage space forcing reliance on paid items for additional character slots and item storage.
  • Visual clutter and difficulty distinguishing own character in busy multiplayer rooms.
  • Difficulty spikes and instant kill mechanics can feel unfair and frustrating in a permadeath context.
  • Poor or missing social features such as friend lists, party systems, and communication tools.
  • Randomly generated levels can result in fatigue and repetitive experiences.
  • Microtransaction currency required for certain game conveniences, but no p2w; cosmetics are lost on death.
  • Lag, crashes, and server issues reported affecting gameplay experience.
  • gameplay
    120 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The gameplay of Starbreak is a challenging, skill-based action platformer with permadeath mechanics that blend roguelike and Metroidvania elements, offering smooth controls and a high skill ceiling. While praised for its fun combat, variety of classes, and engaging boss fights, it can become repetitive and frustrating due to instant death mechanics, limited progression, and occasional bugs. Overall, it appeals to players who enjoy difficult, fast-paced gameplay with a steep learning curve but may deter those seeking deeper narrative or progression systems.

    • “Gameplay is basically bullet hell action platformer, quite fun, it's a shame that it got abandoned.”
    • “Really good and refined mechanics, skill ceiling is high.”
    • “The gameplay is great, with each class having a satisfying mastery curve that makes you feel like you're improving as you play more, with many, many small tricks that are very satisfying to execute.”
    • “The developer chose not to do the job of a real game developer and create meaningful bespoke levels, narrative-based gameplay progression and so on.”
    • “With a perma-death mechanic on top of that, Starbreak can get very frustrating, especially for brand new players.”
    • “Instant death mechanics—in a game where permadeath is a mechanic, and progression is based primarily on loot you pick up after your own skill, having instant death mechanics is a terrible idea.”
  • story
    50 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game features minimal storyline, focusing primarily on repetitive mission-based gameplay with no traditional quest system or clear narrative progression. Players experience a sci-fi, MapleStory-like environment but are encouraged to team up due to the high difficulty and lack of solo mission options. Overall, the story is underdeveloped and serves mostly as a backdrop to the fast-paced cooperative combat and grinding mechanics.

    • “I like how the tutorial both teaches how to play and sets up the story.”
    • “Only missing more story elements which I'm looking forward to seeing in future updates.”
    • “There's a story of sorts in the intro, but gameplay is very straightforward, running around a sidescrolling map and fragging everything that moves.”
    • “There is no story, "missions" keep getting repeated, and there is no end goal.”
    • “This game is very limited in controls with essentially no story.”
    • “The storyline in Starbreak isn't a major part of the game.”
  • graphics
    48 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The graphics present a mix of opinions, with many praising the game's unique, nostalgic 2D art style and charming visuals that complement the gameplay well. However, some users find the graphics outdated or cluttered, occasionally impacting visibility during large multiplayer stages. Overall, the visuals are considered pleasant and fitting for a side-scrolling action platformer, with performance generally smooth even on low settings.

    • “Great graphics, gameplay is fun, action packed, crazy looking creatures, tech, weapons, so much to love!”
    • “The visuals are fantastic and the game could run with max settings on a broken toaster.”
    • “Each area has unique aesthetics and mechanics, complete with boss battles that'll have you gripping your controller/keyboard in the hopes you can survive for some sweet loot.”
    • “On the topic of visuals, the weak-looking 2D retro assets seem like they'd be more at home in a browser game or a mobile app.”
    • “3D graphics accelerators hit the mainstream of PC gaming in the mid-1990s with cards like the ATI Rage and Voodoo3D; there's no excuse for such poor 2D graphics in 2025.”
    • “For some reason, even though I meet the system requirements, the graphics are completely messed up.”
  • music
    33 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The music in the game is widely praised for its brilliant, thematic, and engaging soundtrack that enhances the gameplay experience and atmosphere, especially during boss battles and dungeon exploration. It is catchy, varied to match different environments, and memorable, contributing significantly to the game's appeal. Some users note occasional repetitiveness, but overall, the soundtrack is a standout feature.

    • “The soundtrack is brilliant and works so well with the themes of the levels and really makes you want to keep going.”
    • “Each dungeon, public common area, and home have differing music. Mid-bosses and bosses have their own invigorating music. The music matches the theme of the dungeon. Sci-fi themed dungeons won't have medieval music and vice versa.”
    • “The visuals are pretty good for a 2D side scrolling action platformer, but what really stood out for me the most was the beautiful, beautiful soundtrack.”
  • grinding
    26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Grinding in this game is a significant and often challenging part of the experience, involving repetitive farming for levels and gear, sometimes exacerbated by permadeath which can cause loss of hard-earned items. While some find the grind tedious and frustrating, especially when replaying early areas or losing progress, others enjoy the skill-based combat, cooperative play, and balanced loot system that make grinding rewarding and engaging. Overall, grinding is essential but can be fun, particularly for players who appreciate risk and teamwork.

    • “The loot system is not very grindy at all; new players can get a functional loadout within an hour.”
    • “It isn't a game where there is a save and you can come back with your equipment after you die; no, if you die you lose the stuff you spent hours farming and have to farm again.”
    • “This game is okay, but quickly becomes tedious and boring as you repeat the same few levels over and over with a limited set of equipment.”
    • “It can be a pain in the ass and you will lose your sanity if you have good gear and die (hours, days, weeks of grinding gone to waste).”
  • monetization
    17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    Monetization in the game has been a contentious issue, with early versions heavily relying on microtransactions for essential features like storage and loot access, drawing criticism for pay-to-win elements. However, recent updates have removed all microtransactions, making the game fully free-to-play and focused on skill-based progression, which has been well received by players. Despite some prior annoyances with pricing and invasiveness, the current model emphasizes fairness and enjoyment without monetary pressure.

    • “Monetization has been removed from the game entirely and the premium currency used for buying bank space and character slots is now a drop from the final dungeon.”
    • “It was freemium back in the day, but as of over a year ago, the microtransactions have been removed.”
    • “No microtransactions, free to play, it's just fun.”
    • “The game was originally intended as more of a cash grab style game, requiring paid currency to purchase chests and shell slots to store loot.”
    • “This game is infested with mobile app store-like microtransactions.”
    • “All of the negative problems stem from one thing: microtransactions.”
  • replayability
    6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game offers high replayability through its engaging classes, challenging stages, and enjoyable multiplayer experiences, enhanced by RPG elements and permadeath mechanics. Despite some repetitiveness, players find it consistently fun and compelling to return to.

    • “Oh my god, I haven't enjoyed a game like this in a year. It has great replayability, fun classes to play, challenging stages in the first few tries, and I laughed so much playing with my friends.”
    • “The slight touch of RPG elements and permadeath adds to the replayability more than the actual gameplay.”
    • “It's a phenomenal concept that's absolutely full of fun and replayability.”
  • optimization
    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game runs smoothly and is well-optimized for Linux, though some users find they need to adjust graphics settings or clear browser data to maintain performance in the browser version. Overall, optimization is solid, but certain platforms may require extra steps for the best experience.

    • “It runs smoothly on and was made for Linux.”
    • “Overall a great game, I just wish that I didn't have to launch Ubuntu in order to enjoy it with optimal performance.”
    • “Runs smoothly and is fun.”
    • “Then I have to work my way down the graphics settings or, in the case of the browser version, clear my whole browsing data, only to have the performance degrade again within 20 minutes.”
  • stability
    5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The game suffers from frequent freezes, disconnects, and lag issues, causing frustrating stability problems that hinder gameplay and progression. Many players report rubberbanding and server connection errors, making it difficult to complete certain areas without losing progress or gear. Overall, the game's buggy performance significantly detracts from the experience.

    • “Way too many disconnects, can't even get past Fire Forest because the game freezes and then I get the infamous 'lost connection to server' error.”
    • “The game is a buggy mess, you'll end up dying due to lag or rubberbanding enemies/shots.”
    • “The game freezes every minute or so due to net lag.”
  • humor
    3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The humor aspect is noted as rare but appreciated, with players finding amusement in the game's mechanics and the debates they spark, particularly regarding the rogue-lite elements and in-game currency logic.

    • “Funny bug occurs rarely.”
    • “I find it funny when people debate how, with the rogue-lite elements, it's justifiable that you lose everything upon death, but they conveniently ignore that you still keep your in-game currency (EC) with you, which by their logic should also be destroyed upon death since you don't have a bank to keep that currency.”
    • “”
  • atmosphere
    1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative

    The atmosphere is highly praised for its fantastic music and immersive sound design, effectively drawing players into the game world.

    • “Fantastic music and sound design that draws the player into the atmosphere.”
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50%Critics’ scoreBased on 1 critic reviews
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8h Median play time
6h Average play time
1-10h Spent by most gamers
*Based on 2 analyzed playthroughs
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Frequently Asked Questions

StarBreak is a role playing game with science fiction theme.

StarBreak is available on PC, Mac OS, Windows and Linux.

On average players spend around 6 hours playing StarBreak.

StarBreak was released on May 10, 2016.

StarBreak was developed by Crunchy Games.

StarBreak has received neutral reviews from players and neutral reviews from critics. Most players liked this game for its gameplay but disliked it for its story.

StarBreak is a multiplayer game with local co-op support.

Similar games include Steambirds Alliance, Realm of the Mad God, Dungeon Souls, Roguelands, Survived By and others.