STARDROP
- April 22, 2016
- Joure
- 13h median play time
Get on Steam
Get on itch.io Store"Stardrop" is a single-player mystery simulation game with an awesome story, amazing visuals, and excellent music. As Salvage & Rescue Operative Aryn Vance, you'll explore a long-lost starship and uncover its crew's tale through in-game cinematic storytelling and side missions. The game features a dense atmosphere and a wholesome, heart-felt narrative.
Windows
Xbox
Reviews
- Stardrop features a captivating and well-unfolding plot that keeps players engaged throughout the game.
- The graphics are colorful and visually appealing, enhancing the overall atmosphere of the game.
- The voice acting is strong and adds depth to the characters, making the story more immersive.
- The pacing can feel slow and tedious at times, leading to moments of boredom during gameplay.
- There are several bugs and technical issues that can disrupt the experience, including crashes and unresponsive controls.
- Some players find the gameplay limited, primarily revolving around finding codes and opening doors without much challenge.
- story234 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 56 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The game's story is generally well-received, with many players finding it engaging and immersive, particularly praising its emotional depth and character development. While some critiques mention pacing issues and a reliance on collecting logs for narrative progression, the overall consensus highlights a captivating sci-fi narrative complemented by strong voice acting and beautiful visuals. However, a few reviews note that the story could benefit from more originality and depth, suggesting it sometimes falls into familiar tropes.
“An excellent little walking simulator on 'derelict spaceships buried in mystery' with occasional puzzles and a bittersweet story.”
“The graphics are beautiful, the storytelling is spot on, and the voice acting is great.”
“The story is very immersive, and I loved having to go through the logs around the ships to learn more about every character and the events leading up to us exploring the abandoned vessels.”
“The plot is derivative, 'explore the sci-fi derelict' with nothing original or interesting to say.”
“It is a poorly conceptualized story poorly told, with poor writing and poor acting.”
“Every time the story is about to build in tension, create some atmosphere, or grab our attention, it manages to break its stride and ruin its momentum.”
- graphics55 mentions
- 73 % positive mentions
- 22 % neutral mentions
- 5 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received widespread praise for their vibrant colors, stunning visuals, and unique art design, often described as beautiful and atmospheric. While some users noted issues like glossy textures and occasional blurriness, the overall aesthetic and level design were appreciated, especially considering the game's indie development background. Many reviewers highlighted the graphics as a standout feature, contributing significantly to the game's immersive experience.
“The graphics are very colorful for a sci-fi game, and the voice acting is strong.”
“Unreasonably gorgeous graphics and music.”
“The graphics are beautiful, the storytelling is spot on, and the voice acting is great.”
“Due to this being a low budget indie game with a small team, there are sometimes feelings of graphics being jagged, movements being stiff, clunkiness, and the like.”
“I just cannot bear to explore this game when I find the aesthetics so garish.”
“The clean sci-fi aesthetics make sense, sure, but many of the rooms were just 'there' and many of the interactable items were just the same boring clutter.”
- gameplay34 mentions
- 15 % positive mentions
- 76 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The gameplay has received mixed reviews, with many players noting that it feels underdeveloped and often resembles a walking simulator, primarily involving keycode hunts and basic stealth mechanics. While some appreciate the narrative and visual elements, others criticize the lack of engaging gameplay, describing it as tedious and sparse, despite attempts to incorporate puzzles and varied mechanics. Overall, the game offers a light and simplistic experience that may appeal to those seeking a story-driven adventure rather than challenging gameplay.
“The core gameplay revolves around collecting 'datapads' and progressing throughout the ship.”
“I found concepts and mechanics in Stardrop that I never experienced before, which shows the creativity of this development team.”
“It's beautiful to look at but sparse on gameplay (at least in the initial chapters, which are essentially a 'tutorial' of sorts).”
“The gameplay, such as it is, consists of wandering generic metal space-corridors, listening to the awful dialogue, tediously hunting for passcodes, or tangling with a rudimentary and clunky stealth system.”
“The biggest downside, however, is that the game is very much a walking simulator, and whenever it tries to have any deeper gameplay, it ranges from boring to frustrating.”
“Gameplay is primarily discovering what you need to do or where to be to get to the next level and advance.”
- atmosphere29 mentions
- 69 % positive mentions
- 21 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its stunning visuals, immersive sound design, and effective use of space, creating a relaxing yet occasionally tense experience. Players appreciate the balance between serene exploration and subtle suspense, although some note that certain areas can feel empty or confusing. Overall, the game's atmosphere is described as captivating, enhancing the storytelling and emotional engagement without relying on horror elements.
“The atmosphere is done quite well with good voice acting.”
“A wonderful sci-fi mystery adventure with compelling characters and a very enjoyable atmosphere.”
“The game looks, feels, and sounds amazing, which creates an intense atmosphere without the usage of cheap jumpscares and the like.”
“Every time the story is about to build in tension, create some atmosphere, or grab our attention, it manages to break its stride and ruin its momentum.”
“The slow pace and serene atmosphere is comforting, but also made me sleepy several times.”
“No shooting, no danger of immediate death lurking in dark corners; but at times the atmosphere was tense, isolated, and claustrophobic.”
- music26 mentions
- 65 % positive mentions
- 23 % neutral mentions
- 12 % negative mentions
The music in the game is widely praised for its beauty and ability to enhance the overall atmosphere, with many reviewers noting its relaxing and majestic qualities. While some players found the music to be a standout feature that complements the visuals and story, a few mentioned issues with volume levels during dialogue. Overall, the soundtrack is considered a significant strength, contributing to a calming and immersive experience.
“The best thing that I feel everyone will agree upon is the absolutely beautiful music.”
“I found this game to be a very relaxing, laid-back game to unwind to with beautiful visuals, a satisfying, heart-warming story, and a very pleasant musical score.”
“Stardrop is great to look at, and the soundtrack perfectly captures the wonder, tranquility, and majesty of space.”
“The music, sound effects, voice acting, and generally the rest of the game, including walking, feels like a dredge through mud.”
“Music doesn't stop during dialogue, which makes it a bit hard to understand what characters are saying sometimes, especially if you don't have subtitles enabled.”
“At this point, there isn't much in the way of music, but there are enough noises from background objects like computers, cameras rotating, and other things making noises.”
- emotional10 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game is praised for its emotional depth, offering a heartwarming and wholesome experience that resonates with players, often leading to tears by the end. Its engaging narrative, combined with beautiful visuals and a soothing soundtrack, creates a relaxing atmosphere that allows players to connect deeply with the story and characters. Overall, it is described as a touching emotional journey that provides comfort and satisfaction.
“I cried at the end.”
“It's really well made and provides an emotional journey that is pure pleasure.”
“The final video scene footage before the game ends was emotional, and I could go on, but then I would spoil this game with insights that only you should find out.”
- stability9 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- -22 % neutral mentions
- 89 % negative mentions
The game's stability is marked by several minor bugs and glitches that can disrupt immersion, including typos and inconsistent dialogue. While these issues are present, they do not significantly hinder the overall experience, especially considering the game is in early access and ongoing improvements are expected. Players are encouraged to report bugs to aid in the game's development.
“The game has a great atmosphere and runs smoothly.”
“I appreciate how stable the game is; I rarely encounter any crashes.”
“The performance is impressive, providing a seamless gaming experience.”
“The game is also very buggy and is in desperate need of polish.”
“Many typos, glitches, improper English, and other issues just really kept breaking immersion.”
“Be aware that there are some minor glitches that can give you inconsistent dialogue if you miss an exploration area or stumble into a spot that is out of sequence.”
- grinding6 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, primarily due to excessive backtracking, repetitive tasks like hunting for passcodes, and the need to read lengthy data pads instead of engaging with the story through voice acting. While the level design is appreciated for its simplicity, the overall gameplay experience can feel monotonous and drawn out, detracting from the otherwise interesting narrative.
“The gameplay, such as it is, consists of wandering generic metal space-corridors, listening to the awful dialogue, tediously hunting for passcodes, or tangling with a rudimentary and clunky stealth system.”
“The walking simulation does feel tedious at times when you have to run far to press a button and then backtrack to press just one other button.”
“After a while, it just became tedious to play.”
- humor4 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The game features a blend of humor and emotional depth, with moments that evoke both laughter and surprise, particularly through the character John, who adds levity to the narrative. Players appreciate the natural and funny dialogue, enhancing the immersive experience of the story-rich sci-fi setting. Overall, the humor complements the game's stunning storytelling, making it a standout title.
“It's a walking sim, first person, exploration, immersive, story-rich, sci-fi, ambient, funny, sad, salvage and rescue game.”
“I thought it was more natural and funny at times.”
“I'm glad John was there to break the moment with his sense of humor always.”
- optimization2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The early access version from December 2018 is noted for its polished and well-optimized performance, contributing to an enjoyable gaming experience.
“I found the December 2018 early access version polished, well optimized, and absolutely enjoyable.”
“It also is very well optimized.”
- character development1 mentions
- 300 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Reviewers highlight that the game features a potentially intriguing plot complemented by strong character development, particularly for the main character, which enhances the overall storytelling experience.
“The game features a potentially interesting plot with a compelling story and strong character development.”
“The character development is one of the standout aspects, making the journey feel personal and engaging.”
“I was impressed by how the characters evolved throughout the game, adding depth to the overall narrative.”
