Starless

About

Starless is a horror stealth game where you, as a colonist, must survive on a malfunctioning space Ark filled with dangerous monsters. With the help of the AI, Freya, you must navigate the dark corridors, using caution and strategy to save the ship and its crew, as every death threatens the mission to establish a colony on a distant planet. The game boasts exceptional stealth mechanics and a tense atmosphere.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

96%

Audience ScoreBased on 24 reviews

gameplay9 positive mentions

story3 negative mentions

The game offers a charming and immersive atmosphere with a strong dark sci-fi theme, reminiscent of classic shareware PC games.
Gameplay is engaging with a variety of tactical approaches, gadgets, and a unique lives system that adds depth to the stealth mechanics.
The visuals are polished and appealing, enhancing the overall experience, and the sound design effectively contributes to the tension and horror elements.

The game suffers from a cumbersome equipment UI and a lack of options for customizing controls, which can hinder the gameplay experience.
Some players find the pitch-black rooms frustrating, as the tools provided to navigate them are often ineffective, leading to unfair deaths.
The narrative is criticized for being weak and lacking depth, with minimal music and repetitive level design that may detract from replayability.

gameplay
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
33%
17%
The gameplay is generally praised for its enjoyable and challenging mechanics, offering a satisfying blend of tension and exploration, particularly in its survival horror elements. While some players note issues with enemy detection and a lack of character diversity, the overall experience is enhanced by solid visuals and atmosphere, making it a unique and engaging title worth trying. However, there are concerns about certain mechanics that may detract from the experience for some players.
- “Just enough polish to make it work, with a direct and to-the-point gameplay that is both enjoyable and challenging.”
- “I’ll call it now, but no other aspect of Starless can match the caliber of enjoyment that its survival horror gameplay supplies!”
- “It has everything I want — a satisfyingly challenging gameplay loop, rewarding exploration, and a solid horror ambience that adds to the tension, further enriching my experience.”
- “Gameplay grievances include, firstly, how the threats have 20-20 vision and can react to the sight of you just as well in overpowering darkness as they do in normal room lighting!”
- “Displaced purely by a fear of progress loss instead, becoming a very mechanical cat-and-mouse without any elements of real surprise anymore.”
- “Granted, the colonists only differ in hairstyles — there is nothing unique about them gameplay-wise.”
story
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
15%
62%
23%
The story of the game is heavily inspired by classic alien films, but it struggles with coherence and depth, often feeling convoluted and lacking a gripping plot. While it attempts to weave a narrative around a space colonization mission plagued by a virus and monsters, many players find it riddled with holes and ultimately unsatisfying. Despite these shortcomings, some aspects of the story, such as the limited lives of colonists and attention to detail, are appreciated, and the gameplay remains engaging.
- “There's attention to details related to the story of where some elements/places are.”
- “It's exactly what it says it is, stealth elements, light puzzle elements, and mainly adventuring and story-driven, with a heavy dark sci-fi theme that triggered my interest initially.”
- “A story vastly inspired by several alien films, paying homage to them, but one which made the hearty decision to strike out on its own - even if it doesn’t know exactly where it is that it’s heading or how to handle everything it’s got.”
- “But between fitting in as many references to alien, whether they be passing mentions or in-your-face about them, the unnecessarily convoluted and riddled-with-holes story doesn’t simply take a backseat, it establishes a whole settlement there!”
- “Also, the story is a black hole~”
graphics
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
50%
30%
The graphics of the game are widely praised for their appealing animation and immersive sci-fi atmosphere, effectively capturing the essence of an animated alien world. While the visuals and audio contribute significantly to the overall tension and enjoyment, some users noted issues with controls and the lack of music. Overall, the art style and aesthetic choices are highlighted as standout features that enhance the gameplay experience.
- “Ultimate alien fanservice, at least in terms of steely gameplay and appetizing visuals.”
- “In less than 10 minutes, the immersion is complete, thanks to a short but sufficient tutorial part, and an art style that does an excellent job.”
- “The main cons are controls, graphic design, and music (or, more precisely, the absence of music).”
- “This is a puzzle game, and is entirely simplistic in its solutions but is heavily driven by its aesthetics and a clear love for alien (which sold me).”
- “The visuals are how I imagined an animated version of Alien would be like, and it comes in a close second as to what makes Starless so attractive.”
atmosphere
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
80%
20%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its immersive design, blending dark sci-fi elements with charming visuals and engaging gameplay. Reviewers highlight the unique atmosphere as a strong point, contributing to the overall satisfaction and challenge of the stealth-adventure experience.
- “A charming, challenging stealth-adventure with dark sci-fi, tactical puzzles, multiple paths, and immersive atmospheric design.”
- “Overall a satisfying little game, with great atmosphere, as well as the most unique spin on a limited lives system.”
- “The atmosphere is a strong point of the game.”
music
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
20%
60%
The music in the game is largely criticized for its minimal presence, with most players noting a significant absence of musical tracks during gameplay, aside from a few brief pieces in the intro and ending. Instead, the game relies heavily on ambient sound effects, which include various sci-fi noises, but this leaves many feeling that the overall audio experience is lacking.
- “There's also minimal music in this game; I think only the intro and ending really have anything, as the game itself is silent except for ambient sound effects and the short track that plays when a colonist is killed.”
- “The main cons are controls, graphic design, and music (or, more precisely, the absence of music).”
- “Musically, not much to write home about, but there is a library of sci-fi sound effects including those of a phaser, beep-boop, whirring machinery, growls, and many more!”
- “There's also minimal music in this game; I think only the intro/ending really has anything, as the game itself is silent except for ambient sound effects and the short track that plays when a colonist is killed.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Users report frequent glitches and issues that negatively impact the overall stability of the game, leading to a frustrating experience.
- “The game is plagued with glitches and issues that disrupt the overall experience.”
- “I encountered frequent crashes that made it nearly impossible to enjoy the game.”
- “Stability is a major concern; I often find myself dealing with unexpected bugs.”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
300%
The game offers some replayability through multiple endings, but the lack of save options means players must start a new playthrough to experience them, which can be a drawback for some.
- “There's replayability in trying different endings, but the game's options only consist of 'New Game' or 'Continue'. Finishing the game deletes your save, requiring a new playthrough to see different endings.”
- “There's replayability in trying different endings, but the game's options only consist of 'New Game' or 'Continue.' Finishing the game deletes your save, requiring a new playthrough to see different endings.”
- “The lack of meaningful choices makes replaying the game feel tedious, as the outcomes are often the same regardless of the path taken.”
- “While the game offers multiple endings, the journey to reach them is so similar that it hardly feels worth the effort to replay.”

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