Starpoint Gemini
- February 16, 2012
- Little Green Men Games
- 50h median play time
An intelligent and deep open world RPG, Starpoint Gemini will give the thinking man a worthwhile adventure, though it may be a little too slow paced for some
Get on Steam"Starpoint Gemini is a tactical RPG set in a sci-fi universe, where advanced technologies coexist. After twenty years in stasis, a player returns to find Gemini isolated and drastically changed. With new political powers, advanced technology, and numerous anomalies, the player must navigate the challenges of this transformed system."
PC
Windows
Reviews
- The game offers a vast open world with numerous sectors to explore and a variety of ships and equipment to customize.
- The combat system is tactical and engaging, allowing for strategic gameplay and ship upgrades.
- Despite its flaws, some players find enjoyment in the game's mechanics and the potential for fun in its sandbox environment.
- The game is plagued by numerous bugs, crashes, and performance issues, particularly on Windows 10, making it unplayable for many users.
- Controls are clunky and unintuitive, leading to frustrating gameplay experiences, especially during combat and navigation.
- Voice acting and dialogue quality are poor, detracting from the overall immersion and enjoyment of the game.
- story52 mentions
- 12 % positive mentions
- 75 % neutral mentions
- 13 % negative mentions
The story of the game is described as having potential with an interesting premise, but it suffers from poor execution, including clunky dialogue and voice acting that detracts from the experience. While some players appreciate the variety in missions and the opportunity for free play, many find the repetitive nature of the missions and the lack of polish to be significant drawbacks. Overall, the narrative is seen as a mixed bag, with some players recommending it for its story alone, while others suggest focusing on the sandbox mode instead.
“Great missions and storyline mixed with great free play make this one a must-have.”
“The plot is interesting, the world is large, combat and movement is simplified but not too simple, and the missions have a bit of variety.”
“I wouldn't call it a 'rip off' of any other game; rather it combines many of the great elements from other games, while setting up a solid new story and universe to enjoy them in.”
“Story and dialogues voice acting are bad, borderline horrible.”
“Dull missions, terrible combat, and horrible voice acting.”
“This game has that and more plot holes.”
- graphics16 mentions
- 19 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 19 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have been widely criticized for being dated and unpolished, with many users noting issues such as washed-out backdrops and poor collision detection. Despite some players being willing to overlook these shortcomings, the overall consensus is that the graphics fall short compared to other titles in the genre, detracting from the overall experience. Additionally, the simplistic user interface and various graphical glitches further hinder gameplay, making it difficult for players to fully engage with the game.
“Generally, the first thing a gamer notices is the graphics, but that's only the most obvious thing and it doesn't make a game.”
“[Solid graphics, impressive combat, meaningful exploration, decent story, satisfying customization].”
“Unfortunately, the graphics are inferior to other space titles such as X3, and the Russian-accented narration is nearly unintelligible at points; this game is a solid addition to the genre.”
“The game is far from polished and the graphics are showing their age.”
“The graphics are dated, the controls take some getting used to (I keep having to look at the configuration to figure out what I pressed by accident, even after 15 hours).”
“Unfortunately, the graphics are inferior to other space titles such as X3, and the Russian-accented narration is nearly unintelligible at points.”
- gameplay8 mentions
- 38 % positive mentions
- 25 % neutral mentions
- 38 % negative mentions
The gameplay is criticized for being slow, grindy, and lacking polish, with mechanics that artificially extend playtime, such as mandatory level grinding for plot progression. While some players appreciate the game's mechanics and interactivity, the overall experience is marred by frustrating design choices and poor writing, leading to a lack of recommendation despite its potential.
“I'm not recommending this game, despite my love for its mechanics, tactics, and interactivity; not because it's dated, not because there are a few bugs here and there, and not because of the awful dialogue in the story mode - because ultimately, they actually kind of endear me to the title.”
“If you examine an item in the commodities and equipment, there's no problem with the system's mechanics at all. You can learn the average price of that commodity (presumably in relation to all the ports in the game), and then when you go to purchase it, you can determine its actual price in the outpost you're in at the time.”
“Expect 20-50 hours of gameplay before you finish the plot line or get bored of playing.”
“The gameplay is slow and grindy.”
“The game completely lacks polish and it uses frowned upon mechanics to extend gameplay (e.g. requirement to level up 1-3 levels to progress the plot even though levels aren't even really useful beyond level 15 and having to occasionally travel through a dozen sectors to get to where you need to be).”
“It looked like it had potential, but terrible writing and frustrating gameplay mean I can't recommend it.”
- music5 mentions
- 60 % positive mentions
- 20 % neutral mentions
- 20 % negative mentions
The music in the game is generally praised for its beauty and relaxing qualities, particularly the intro track, but players note a limited selection of tracks that can become repetitive over time. Some users expressed disappointment over the removal of a music video that they found particularly enjoyable. Overall, while the music enhances the gaming experience, its lack of variety is a common critique.
“My 100+ hours of playtime is mostly catching a 20-minute nap while listening to the absolutely beautiful intro music :)”
“The game supports widescreen resolutions, the Steam overlay, and is complemented by a relaxing musical score.”
“The music, though quite good, has a very limited number of tracks and is quite repetitive.”
“The music selection leaves a bit to be desired.”
- grinding3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be frustrating, citing slow gameplay and tedious travel between sectors as major issues. The inability to quicksave during lengthy dialogues and mission events exacerbates the grind, making the experience feel even more drawn out.
“The gameplay is slow and grindy.”
“Traveling to different sectors is tedious, having to navigate to the jump points.”
“It's a pity the quicksave button doesn't work, because you have to save a lot... except it doesn't actually let you save during the prolonged and tedious dialogs and during mission events.”
- stability3 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game is reported to be highly unstable, with frequent crashes occurring approximately every 30 minutes on Windows 10, even when using compatibility mode. Many users find it unplayable due to persistent bugs and freezes, leading to significant frustration in attempts to resolve these issues.
“Extremely buggy on Windows 10; crashes every 30 minutes even when run in compatibility mode.”
“I would have toughed it out through this mess of a game, but it's literally unplayable. I spent hours trying to fix/get around constant crashes and freezes.”
“Tldr: buggy.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The monetization strategy of the game is heavily criticized, with users expressing a strong preference for ad-laden webpages over the frustrating experience of the game's monetization tactics.
“I'd rather read a webpage 100 scrolls long with ads and annoying self-playing videos than sit through another minute of this 'game'.”
- optimization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Users report significant optimization issues, particularly on older systems, where severe stuttering hampers gameplay and navigation through menus, leading some to abandon the game entirely.
“Before, on my old system, I could get to the menus with no issue and play the game; however, on that system, the stuttering was so bad I had no choice but to give up.”
“The optimization is terrible; I experience constant frame drops and lag, making it nearly unplayable.”
“Even on high-end hardware, the game struggles to maintain a stable frame rate, which is incredibly frustrating.”
