Starless

About

Starless is a single player survival shooter game with horror and science fiction themes. It was developed by Petr Sapozhnikov and was released on August 25, 2022. It received overwhelmingly positive reviews from players.

In Starless, navigate a space Ark infested with terrifying monsters in this stealth-action game inspired by classic sci-fi. Can you help the colonists survive, or will they be doomed to roam the endless void of space forever?

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96%

Audience ScoreBased on 24 reviews

gameplay9 positive mentions

music3 negative mentions

Engaging and challenging stealth-adventure gameplay with tactical puzzles and multiple approaches to each map.
Strong and immersive dark sci-fi atmosphere, complemented by polished visuals and sound effects that enhance tension and horror elements.
Innovative limited lives system where progression and items carry over to the next colonist, adding strategic depth and replayability.

Pitch-black rooms with limited lighting tools cause frustrating trial-and-error gameplay due to enemies' indiscriminate vision and scarce resources.
Minimal music and lack of variety in enemy types and environment design lead to a somewhat repetitive experience.
Control scheme and UI have usability issues, including limited customization, cumbersome equipment management, and lack of options menu.

gameplay
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
33%
17%
The gameplay is generally praised for being polished, enjoyable, and challenging, with a strong survival horror atmosphere that builds tension through stealth and exploration. However, some critiques highlight predictable enemy behavior and limited character uniqueness, making certain mechanics feel repetitive or overly mechanical. Overall, the gameplay is tight and rewarding, offering varied tactics and a compelling challenge despite some design drawbacks.
- “Just enough polish to make it work, with a direct and to the point gameplay that is both enjoyable and challenging.”
- “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.”
- “First, the gameplay is a good bit of fun trying to sneak through rooms without being detected by aliens and robots and the various tools you get will allow you to try different tactics.”
- “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
23%
54%
23%
The story is heavily inspired by classic alien films, featuring a space colonization mission plagued by a virus and monsters, but it suffers from being convoluted, lacking clear direction, and having plot holes. Despite its weak and sometimes inaccessible narrative, the dark sci-fi theme and attention to detail create an immersive setting that supports the gameplay. Overall, the story adds atmosphere but fails to deliver a truly gripping or cohesive plot.
- “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 heading or how to handle everything it’s got.”
- “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.”
- “The limited lives of the colonists is a good approach, and so is the respawn at a set point, making sense for story reasons.”
- “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!”
- “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 heading or how to handle everything it’s got.”
- “Also, the story is a black hole.”
graphics
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
30%
60%
10%
The graphics are praised for their appealing sci-fi art style and immersive atmosphere, effectively capturing an alien-themed aesthetic that enhances gameplay tension. While visual design is a strong point, some users note occasional issues with controls and a lack of music, but overall, the visuals contribute significantly to the game's unique appeal.
- “The graphics, animation, atmosphere, and gameplay idea are good, too.”
- “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.”
- “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).”
atmosphere
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
80%
20%
The game's atmosphere is widely praised for its immersive and captivating design, blending dark sci-fi elements with tactical puzzles to create a charming and challenging stealth-adventure experience. Reviewers highlight the strong visual and gameplay ambiance as a key strength, enhancing overall enjoyment.
- “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 graphics, animation, atmosphere, and gameplay idea are good, too.”
music
5 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
60%
The game's music is notably minimal, with most of the audio consisting of ambient sci-fi sound effects rather than a full soundtrack. Music is primarily limited to the intro, ending, and a brief track during certain events, leaving the in-game experience largely silent.
- “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; only the intro and ending really have music, while 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).”
- “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).”
- “What I miss is only some music.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Users report frequent glitches and stability issues, indicating that the game experiences notable technical problems affecting smooth gameplay.
- “Glitches and issues”
replayability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game offers replayability through multiple endings, but limited save options—completing the game deletes your save—make exploring these endings somewhat inconvenient by requiring full new playthroughs each time.
- “There's some 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 full new playthrough to see different endings.”