Starmancer

About

"Starmancer is a single-player Science Fiction Role Playing game with phenomenal gameplay and delightful graphics, but be prepared for lots of grinding and bugs. As a Starmancer AI, construct and manage a space station for human refugees, encountering monsters, alien probing, and forbidden technologies in this vast wilderness of space."

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

+15

65%

Audience ScoreBased on 681 reviews

gameplay26 positive mentions

stability69 negative mentions

The game has a charming art style and engaging gameplay mechanics that keep players hooked.
The core gameplay loop is enjoyable, allowing for creative base building and resource management.
The developers are responsive to feedback and actively working on updates to improve the game.

The game is plagued by numerous bugs and crashes that can disrupt gameplay and lead to lost progress.
Colonists often engage in random acts of violence against each other, leading to frustrating death spirals.
The tutorial is lacking and does not adequately explain key mechanics, making it difficult for new players to understand the game.

gameplay
128 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
72%
8%
The gameplay of this early access title is characterized by a solid core loop that many players find addictive, though it is marred by numerous bugs and a lack of polish. While the mechanics offer potential for engaging colony management and resource optimization, the tutorial is insufficient, leading to a steep learning curve and frustrating experiences. Overall, players appreciate the game's artistic design and customization options, but many express hope for future updates to address the current gameplay issues and enhance the overall experience.
- “This is already a pretty addictive game and the core gameplay loop is excellent.”
- “The sheer variety and customization in this game is amazing, but the construction, exploration, and discovery on top of the crisp colony survival mechanics will always make you come back for more.”
- “The gameplay loop is enjoyable and I hope the bugs that bog down the performance are cleared soon.”
- “The gameplay is incredibly boring, and the so-called tutorial is all over the place in terms of learning.”
- “Unfortunately, the game is riddled with game-breaking bugs such as disappearing items or very bizarre firefighting mechanics.”
- “Gameplay loop is a bit dry at the moment and the lack of control over your colonists makes the game frustrating too early on.”
graphics
78 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
68%
28%
4%
The graphics of the game have received widespread praise for their charming pixel art style, which combines 3D geometry with retro aesthetics, creating a visually appealing experience. Many players appreciate the consistent and beautiful art direction, noting that it enhances the overall atmosphere and enjoyment of the gameplay. While some users mention minor graphical issues, the general consensus is that the visuals are a standout feature that adds significant value to the game.
- “Beautiful and consistent art style that rivals the best.”
- “The graphic style for this one just feels good, a blend of 3D geometry and pixel art that just works.”
- “I immediately fell in love with the graphics, and the system by which you generate colonists was fantastic.”
- “Most games Chucklefish tends to touch are focused on graphics and less on gameplay, speaking to you Starbound.”
- “Of course there are many little fixes that need to be done such as missing graphics, but those don't have an impact on the game being played.”
- “Having said that, the game has a charming art style and plenty of room for improvement; I can definitely see that the core of the game is already present in its current version, it needs tweaking in the form of bug fixes and quality of life updates at the moment to fix some of the more annoying problems players come across while playing the game.”
story
71 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
8%
87%
4%
The game's story is currently underdeveloped, with many players noting a lack of genuine narrative and compelling plot elements, resulting in a sandbox feel rather than a structured campaign. While there are missions to complete and resources to gather, the overall experience is marred by bugs and a simplistic mission system that fails to engage players meaningfully. Many reviewers express hope for future updates to enhance the story and gameplay, recognizing the game's potential despite its current shortcomings.
- “With the ability to send your crew on missions and finding new items, there is definitely a huge potential to expand the game and keep it interesting.”
- “If you're looking for a fresh entry in space-station management with a dash of story campaign, congratulations, this is your game even in early access.”
- “Hopefully the bugs get worked out soon because I think this game has a lot of potential with its great story.”
- “Be prepared for a lot of bugs, no genuine story plot, and very limited space to build your base.”
- “I'm trying to love this game, but I don't know what else there is to do now... it's fun building and rebuilding, but at this point, that's about all there is to it as the story missions are just... I dunno, empty?”
- “The story concept is weak and lacking; there is no hook to what the hell is going on.”
stability
69 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game's stability is a significant concern, with numerous users reporting persistent bugs, glitches, and crashes that hinder gameplay. While some acknowledge improvements since early access, many still find it frustratingly unplayable at times, with issues like save failures and unresponsive mechanics. Overall, while there is potential, the game remains in a notably unstable state, requiring further development and polish.
- “A year and a half since early access launch and it's still extremely buggy.”
- “At the moment this game is buggy to the point of being unplayable.”
- “Currently it's a buggy mess, crashes... holy smokes, crashes... also, this is the first game where I couldn't finish the tutorial without restarting.”
grinding
28 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and frustrating, often citing slow-paced gameplay, erratic colonist behavior, and a lack of effective automation as major issues. The repetitive tasks and cumbersome controls contribute to a feeling of boredom, despite the game's potential and enjoyable elements. Many reviewers express hope for improvements in future updates, particularly regarding task management and AI behavior, to enhance the overall experience.
- “The changes made to how the game plays recently in terms of building material manufacture vs simple collection makes it wholly more tedious and even less enjoyable.”
- “The game is extremely slow and tedious due to the erratic colonist behavior.”
- “It's gameplay is grindy, not particularly interesting and slow; even on the highest speed setting, this game drags on.”
optimization
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
24%
57%
19%
The game's optimization is a significant concern among players, with many reporting severe performance issues, including stuttering, lag, and frame drops, especially as the game progresses and the space station expands. While some users with high-end PCs experience stable performance, the majority highlight a plethora of bugs and incomplete features that detract from the overall experience, suggesting that the game feels more like an unpolished prototype than a finished product. Overall, there is a strong desire for the developers to prioritize optimization and bug fixes to enhance gameplay.
- “Its also worth mentioning that the game runs well, so it's optimized to its current state.”
- “There are still a lot of quality of life improvements and optimizations necessary for this game to feel polished, and I really do hope the devs get there.”
- “I have a pretty beefy PC, but the game is well optimized.”
- “Between the stuttering and lag every 20 minutes, it's almost unplayable. How about focusing on how the game runs on all platforms and polishing it up before adding 100 new buggy items, acting like half of the content isn't just Discord fanfare.”
- “I enjoy the game; however, it suffers from performance issues as your space station gets bigger. It might just be an AMD issue, but an 8-person station, which I consider relatively small, absolutely murders my performance: sub 30 FPS.”
- “An insurmountable number of bugs, performance issues, incomplete features, and poor design decisions (from both a balance and logic standpoint) make this game out to be a product that should not have been put up for sale yet.”
music
19 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
42%
42%
16%
The music in the game has received widespread praise for its relaxing and atmospheric qualities, enhancing the overall experience without becoming repetitive or distracting. Players appreciate the fantastic soundtrack that complements the charming retro pixel art, making it a standout feature that keeps them engaged. Many reviewers noted that they typically mute game music but found themselves enjoying this soundtrack, highlighting its effectiveness in creating an immersive ambiance.
- “The art is charming, and the ambiance and music are enjoyable.”
- “Starmancer is a great game with a great concept, fantastic soundtrack, and very impressive pixel art.”
- “The music is nice to listen to, and the graphical assets of items, colonists, spaceships, planets, etc. look very pleasing.”
- “Main points that keep me playing till I can't keep my eyes open, and the music feels like it's vibrating in my brain.”
- “It's the first game I've played in a while I didn't have to immediately go into settings to mute the music.”
- “And the pixel art aesthetic and music is pretty chill and relaxing as my colony starts to go mad from space fever and fight each other to the death and go outside the ship to suffocate and die.”
humor
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is characterized by its clever writing, dark and morbid themes, and situational comedy, often stemming from the absurdity of the gameplay mechanics. Players appreciate the quirky and dry humor, which enhances the overall experience, although some find it inconsistent or lacking in certain areas. Overall, the game successfully combines humor with strategic gameplay, making it entertaining for many, despite a few criticisms regarding playability.
- “It's funny; the humor comes from the situations you find yourself in and the general blunt, dry nature of the game.”
- “It is hilarious and morbid.”
- “The aesthetics of space along with the funny and comedic things that can occur make this game fun to play for hours.”
atmosphere
13 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
38%
38%
23%
The atmosphere of the game is characterized by its retro pixel art, isometric view, and atmospheric music, creating an engaging and immersive environment. However, players express frustration with the lack of clear instructions on managing critical situations, such as fires, which detracts from the overall experience. While the game's intricate station design and management mechanics are praised, the overwhelming challenges related to atmosphere control can lead to player dissatisfaction.
- “The retro pixel art and isometric view, the atmospheric music, the total isolation... I dig it.”
- “But it has a nice atmosphere and cute graphics that make me stoked about the full release.”
- “I love the graphics, the concepts, the genres, and the atmosphere.”
- “I was willing to give it a chance, but when I had to Google how to deal with an actual major issue, in this context how to put out a fire on a spaceship (and no, they tell you nothing aside from to 'vent the atmosphere'), that's a big red flag.”
- “No fire extinguishers, no fire sprinklers, no stamping out fires, just venting the atmosphere.”
- “Atmosphere seems like it would be one of the features you'd really want to have nailed down before releasing your space station simulator.”
replayability
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
14%
43%
Overall, the game's replayability is mixed; while some players appreciate its in-depth systems and potential for extended playtime, others find it lacking in content and variety, limiting their desire to return. Many express hope for future updates to enhance replay value, but currently, it falls short compared to other titles in the genre.
- “This game has such an in-depth system that other games sometimes miss, and the replayability of this game makes me play for 70+ hours.”
- “Lots of replay value.”
- “In conclusion, I'm stoked for this game, and I cannot wait for its next updates to make it much more playable.”
- “The game is solid, fun, and full of potential, but in its current state, I can't see myself playing more. It just needs some more content and variety to become deeper and more replayable.”
- “While it's a little light on content and doesn't seem to have much replay value as it currently stands, I think the game is super solid given its dev team size and likely lack of experience.”
- “There are plenty of other early access games that are way more playable than this game; it's a bad clone of Space Haven so far.”