StarCrawlers

83%
Game Brain Score Based on 1,270 reviews
  • story
  • gameplay
  • graphics
StarCrawlers Game Cover
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"StarCrawlers" is a sci-fi RPG with an interesting plot, taking you to the fringes of space to complete shady jobs for megacorps. Its perfected game mechanics, procedurally generated dungeons, and innovative combat system ensure high replayability and lots of grinding. The masterful music and atmospheric visuals, complemented by dry humor, make for a fantastic gaming experience.

  • Mac OS
  • PC
  • Windows
  • Linux
Genres & TagsPlay Modes

Reviews

83%
Audience ScoreBased on 1,270 reviews
story220 positive mentions
grinding104 negative mentions
  • Engaging story with meaningful choices that affect gameplay and faction relationships.
  • Diverse character classes with unique skill trees and abilities, allowing for strategic team compositions.
  • Well-designed environments and a fun turn-based combat system that keeps gameplay interesting.
  • Repetitive combat and environments can lead to a grindy experience over time.
  • Some classes and abilities feel unbalanced, making certain strategies overly dominant.
  • Lack of mid-mission saving can be frustrating, especially during longer missions.
  • story1,294 mentions

    The game's story is a mix of engaging elements and repetitive missions, with a central narrative revolving around a derelict space cruise liner that serves as the focal point for most story missions. While the main storyline features interesting twists and choices that affect faction relationships, many players find the procedural side missions to be monotonous and lacking depth. Overall, the narrative is seen as a decent backdrop to the gameplay, but it often feels overshadowed by the grind of random missions and the need for character leveling.

    • “The story is surprisingly interesting, as well--I was not expecting that.”
    • “The dialogue is pretty well-written and captivating, the choices are meaningful, and the story missions themselves are well-crafted, with puzzles to solve, secrets to find, and bosses to defeat.”
    • “The story missions thankfully are hand-crafted treks through dungeons filled with secrets, side missions, tidbits of lore, and more than a few puzzles and bosses that both offer unique challenges compared to the rest of the game.”
    • “The final battle is also a baffling wtf and I don't think storytelling is this dev's strong suit.”
    • “The many good elements are, sadly, accompanied by a game world that seems lifeless and dead with a highly repetitive gameplay; every mission seems to happen after everyone went home to have dinner, and the main hub is nothing more than an abstract map of clickable doors and objects.”
    • “The story of the game holds little interest and is ultimately disappointing.”
  • gameplay278 mentions

    The gameplay of Starcrawlers is a mixed bag, featuring solid mechanics and a diverse class system that allows for engaging combat and exploration. However, many players find the experience repetitive and marred by a poor user interface, imbalanced difficulty, and some unintuitive mechanics. While the game offers a captivating atmosphere and interesting mechanics, it struggles with grindiness and lacks depth in certain areas, making it a hit or miss for players depending on their preferences.

    • “For one, this feels like a fantastic way to get into the dungeon crawler RPG genre; a lot of the classic mechanics are modernized and both easier to control and understand.”
    • “The gameplay is solid and pretty easy to understand, with most of the classes feeling powerful in their own right.”
    • “I had never played a dungeon crawler and was addicted to the gameplay and the feeling of finding that next weapon upgrade or legendary drop.”
    • “Bad game design, save on quit game, no healing, wrong hit percent and buggy gameplay.”
    • “The idiotic gameplay decision to disallow exit/abort in story missions absolutely ruins what would otherwise be a good game.”
    • “Even for the standard of a dungeon crawler this game gets grindy and repetitive very quickly and doesn't provide the gameplay depth to distract from this.”
  • graphics184 mentions

    The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with many players appreciating the art style and overall visual appeal, describing them as "nice," "lovely," and "beautiful," particularly in the context of a dungeon crawler. However, some critiques highlight that the graphics are not groundbreaking, with mentions of simplicity, occasional glitches, and a lack of hyper-realism. Overall, while the visuals contribute positively to the game's atmosphere, they may not impress those seeking cutting-edge graphics.

    • “The graphics are lovely and fun to watch, making combat a delight.”
    • “The graphics are simply beautiful.”
    • “The graphics are smooth and much better than I expected, honestly.”
    • “- the visuals look like the game was planned for mobiles: everything is simple, with low poly counts and low-res textures.”
    • “- the visuals are dated.”
    • “It’s a pretty game but some graphical glitches hold it back.”
  • music174 mentions

    The music in the game has received largely positive feedback, with many players praising its atmospheric quality and ability to enhance immersion. Composed by Ben Prunty, the soundtrack is described as captivating and fitting for the game's sci-fi themes, although some players noted that it can become repetitive over extended play sessions. Overall, the music contributes significantly to the game's charm and atmosphere, making it a standout feature despite occasional criticisms of its variety.

    • “The sound effects and music are AAA quality as well, giving the player great immersion.”
    • “The music is atmospheric, the gameplay is good.”
    • “The soundtrack is awesome and gives a great atmosphere to the game!”
    • “It doesn't sound good and the 'music' is terrible.”
    • “Music during missions should get me pumped, not put me to sleep.”
    • “After hearing the same music over and over and over, mission to mission, you kinda put on your own and mute the game.”
  • grinding104 mentions

    The reviews indicate that the game features significant grinding, with many players finding it tedious and repetitive, especially as they progress. While some appreciate the challenge and the opportunity to level up and gather gear, others feel that the grind detracts from the overall enjoyment, making the gameplay feel slow and unexciting. Despite the grind, some players still find value in the game, particularly for those who enjoy a cyberpunk setting and turn-based combat.

    • “You spend most of the game grinding for gear that suits your level, which levels you up, so you repeat the process until max level... and then the available missions scale to your level, making the grind feel meaningless.”
    • “40+ hours of pure grinding just to hit a brick wall like that is unacceptable.”
    • “Even for the standard of a dungeon crawler, this game gets grindy and repetitive very quickly and doesn't provide the gameplay depth to distract from this.”
  • humor92 mentions

    The humor in the game is widely praised for its cleverness and variety, featuring a mix of subtle wit, pop culture references, and engaging dialogue that enhances the overall experience. Players appreciate the balance between humor and plot, with many finding the writing consistently rewarding and funny, although some note that the humor can occasionally miss the mark. Overall, the game's lighthearted approach and personality contribute significantly to its charm and replayability.

    • “Starcrawlers has depth, a nice art style, and a good tongue-in-cheek sense of humor.”
    • “The humor sprinkled throughout the game is great both in the world as a whole and the dialogue.”
    • “The game has a good sense of humor and doesn't take itself too seriously, which is refreshing, as well as a lot of replayability even in its current state.”
  • atmosphere60 mentions

    The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its engaging music, satisfying sound effects, and unique artistic style, creating an immersive experience reminiscent of classic dungeon crawlers like "Eye of the Beholder" and "Legend of Grimrock." While the overall ambiance is described as cozy and captivating, some players note a lack of variation in the procedurally generated dungeons. The combination of strong writing, humor, and a well-crafted sci-fi setting further enhances the game's atmospheric appeal.

    • “The game has fantastic atmosphere, jamming music, and combat/sound effects in general feel really satisfying.”
    • “Essentially a modern day Eye of the Beholder type dungeon crawler, with great artwork, sound and music and a unique atmosphere.”
    • “What brought me to this review is mostly the atmosphere of the game, which is brought as well by the graphic/art style as well as the music.”
    • “The procedurally generated dungeons have too little variation in background and atmosphere.”
    • “I really love the solid setting and atmosphere, but it can do more with the unpredictability of the traps and interaction with the environment and enemies during out of combat (an option to avoid combat?).”
    • “The atmosphere also makes me feel cozy, like a game to play in bed bundled under some blankets.”
  • replayability48 mentions

    The game boasts high replayability due to its procedurally generated dungeons, diverse character classes, and multiple story paths influenced by faction choices. Players can engage in New Game Plus modes, explore various difficulty settings, and enjoy a wealth of side quests, ensuring a fresh experience with each playthrough. Overall, the combination of randomization and character customization contributes to an addictive and satisfying gameplay loop.

    • “Starcrawlers has interesting character classes, deep and well-constructed skill trees, an interesting multi-branch campaign story, and endless replayability through a constantly changing choice of randomly generated missions and side quests on behalf of dozens of factions (several megacorps, smaller independent companies, anarchist factions, pirates, and others).”
    • “A campaign can run you about 50-60 hours depending on your pace, and I've counted at least four possible routes. With the many classes and new game plus options, you have a lot of replay value, especially for an indie game.”
    • “Thanks to the randomness, there's lots of replayability, so it's something you can keep going back to, jump in, play a few missions; it's good stuff.”
    • “I should also note that the game does not have a lot of replay value.”
    • “The game has a good sense of humor and doesn't take itself too seriously, which is refreshing, as well as a lot of replayability even in its current state.”
    • “It will ease up on any grinding you will have to do as well as add replayability.”
  • stability42 mentions

    The game's stability has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting significant bugs, glitches, and optimization issues that detract from the overall experience. While some users noted minor annoyances and a few players experienced a relatively bug-free gameplay, the consensus leans towards the game being overly buggy and not fully polished, especially given its early access status. Overall, potential players are advised to approach with caution, particularly if they seek a stable gaming experience.

    • “Was well worth what I paid for it, seems fairly bug free.”
    • “-pretty much bug free, I played for 10 hours and did not experience any glitch or bug.”
    • “-almost bug free despite being early access.”
    • “The game is a buggy, rinky-dink and way overpriced mess of glitches and bad decisions.”
    • “Nice idea, but too buggy to play. The game swallows saves, the percentage is stated wrong, just not worth it!”
    • “Legend of Grimrock in space sounds like an utter delight, but that's unfortunately not what this game is: it is buggy, esoteric without providing explanations for half of the game's features (triggering alarms lowering faction reputation, for example) and questionably balanced (multitudes of point-of-no-return fail states).”
  • optimization10 mentions

    Overall, the game's optimization is a mixed bag; while it features appealing art and steady performance in some areas, many users report significant bugs and a lack of optimization. However, the developers are actively addressing these issues through regular updates and improvements, showcasing a commitment to enhancing the game's overall experience.

    • “A visually appealing mix of dungeon crawling, party management, and story coupled with a very steady, glitch-free performance makes Starcrawlers one of the few games that deserve the stamp 'early access done right'.”
    • “The devs have kept up with adding content, balancing, upgrading their game visually, and improving performance, doing everything they can to make it better, and it genuinely shows.”
    • “Finicky equipment optimization games for a single character can be fun.”
    • “Tldr: good art, very buggy, not optimized”
    • “Tldr: good art, very buggy, not optimized”
  • character development6 mentions

    Character development in the game is criticized for being minimal, particularly in New Game+ mode, where limited skill slots restrict meaningful progression. Players feel that the repetitive mission structure and forgettable story further detract from the overall experience, making it difficult to stay engaged with the characters. While the art style and character designs are praised, they are not enough to compensate for the lack of depth in character development.

    • “My main criticism is due to the limited skill slots; character development becomes next to non-existent in New Game+ where you really pick a few actives you like and then go for all the passives of every skill tree.”
    • “The whole structure of the game is based on doing the same missions all over again. The story is forgettable, and combat and character development are not good enough to keep you playing.”
  • emotional4 mentions

    Players express a lack of emotional connection to the game's lore, which diminishes the significance of quests, making them feel like mere chores. Despite this, the game's ongoing updates and developer responsiveness are praised, contributing to a sense of continuous improvement and engagement.

  • monetization2 mentions

    The game features a player-friendly monetization model with no microtransactions, allowing players to earn event items naturally through gameplay in dungeons. This approach encourages exploration and engagement without the pressure of additional purchases.

    • “There's no microtransactions; you just keep playing and you'll find event items strewn around the hulks (dungeons) you were going to do anyway.”
Positive mentions (%)Positive
Neutral mentions (%)Neutral
Negative mentions (%)Negative

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Play time

29hMedian play time
42hAverage play time
10-40hSpent by most gamers
*Based on 28 analyzed playthroughs

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