Starsand

About

Starsand is a single player survival simulation game. It was developed by Tunnel Vision Studio and was released on November 16, 2022. It received mostly positive reviews from players.

"Starsand is a single-player Simulation game with an interesting plot and phenomenal graphics, accompanied by masterful music. Stranded in a desert, your character must survive and find rescue, fighting against the harsh conditions, bugs, and the need for grinding. Despite its flaws, Starsand offers a unique atmosphere that challenges players to persevere."

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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61%

Audience ScoreBased on 603 reviews

story32 positive mentions

grinding37 negative mentions

The game offers a unique desert survival experience with a compelling atmosphere and visuals.
Crafting and exploration mechanics are engaging, allowing players to discover new recipes and resources.
The game has potential for growth, with active developer support and regular updates.

The game suffers from numerous bugs and glitches, including issues with saving progress and inventory management.
Combat mechanics are clunky and unresponsive, making encounters with enemies frustrating.
The map system is confusing, lacking a player marker, which can lead to disorientation and aimless wandering.

story
110 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
67%
4%
The game's story is described as having potential but ultimately feels rushed and underdeveloped, with many players finding it linear and lacking depth. While some appreciate the intriguing lore and the immersive atmosphere, others criticize the limited guidance and tedious gameplay that detracts from the narrative experience. Overall, the story is seen as a mixed bag, with hopes for future updates to enhance its complexity and engagement.
- “The story is compact but brilliant from start to finish, and the poignant ending is something that I will remember for a long time.”
- “Every single piece of the puzzle interlocks in a thoughtful and imaginative way, meshing the gameplay and the story together to make for a truly immersive experience.”
- “The story is very intriguing, and I feel like the portion of the story that we have now is more than enough to make me come back after release.”
- “A fun janky survival game, that is set in a desert with some creative survival mechanics and a story that had the potential of being so great, which may have been a banger but felt rushed and unpolished at the end.”
- “Story-wise, I made it until past the 'door', before it got too tedious yet again.”
- “The story is so well done and you can tell the devs worked very hard to create something unique.”
gameplay
99 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
17%
66%
17%
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players noting its clunky mechanics, repetitive survival loop, and lack of polish. While some appreciate the immersive atmosphere and interesting survival elements, others criticize the harsh resource management and poorly designed combat mechanics. Overall, the game shows potential but requires significant improvements to its mechanics and content to enhance the player experience.
- “The gameplay is simple but super immersive—you’ve gotta try it to get it.”
- “The gameplay is purpose-driven, comes with a relatable story, and allows you a lot of freedom in how to build your life in the sometimes forgiving desert.”
- “Every single piece of the puzzle interlocks in a thoughtful and imaginative way, meshing the gameplay and the story together to make for a truly immersive experience.”
- “Shallow, janky, meaningless gameplay.”
- “The survival elements are way too harsh for the gameplay to be this clunky and tedious.”
- “The gameplay loop is repetitive: explore, hunt, craft, survive—rinse and repeat.”
graphics
43 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
49%
44%
7%
The graphics of the game receive mixed reviews, with some players praising the stunning visuals and immersive atmosphere, while others criticize them for being subpar, washed out, or plagued by bugs and performance issues. Many users note that the graphics can be impressive at times, particularly in specific environments, but overall, the lack of customization options and optimization detracts from the experience. Despite these criticisms, several players find the graphics to be a highlight, especially in the context of an early access title.
- “The graphics are gorgeous, the animals are well animated, and the ruins are intriguing, particularly the deserted villages.”
- “The visuals of this game are astounding and paired with the depth of interactivity, this game is worth playing in early access.”
- “Stunning visuals and immersive, was not expecting this from an early access game.”
- “The graphics are subpar, and even if you change motion blur, you still get it.”
- “You cannot alter frame rates or anything like that, and due to the poor optimization it ends up maxing out your graphics card even on the lowest setting.”
- “The graphics are also really faded and washed out when the sun goes down.”
grinding
38 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
3%
97%
The grinding aspect of the game is widely criticized for being excessively tedious and repetitive, with players noting that base-building, farming, and crafting require significant time investment without substantial rewards. Many reviews highlight the clunky mechanics and lack of engaging content, leading to a frustrating experience, especially in the later stages of the game. While some players find enjoyment in the grind, the overall sentiment suggests that it may deter those seeking a more balanced and rewarding gameplay experience.
- “If you're interested in the concept, you can feel fairly safe about buying it, because while the mechanics are not groundbreaking or really remarkable in any way, they're solid, functional, not grindy, not buggy--they won't get in your way.”
- “The survival elements are way too harsh for the gameplay to be this clunky and tedious.”
- “I see no reason to continue playing, because the only challenges left in the game require hours of farming in a featureless desert.”
- “The combat is tedious and unrewarding, which wouldn't be so bad if you weren't forced into so many inescapable encounters, even more so in the endgame areas.”
atmosphere
25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
28%
12%
The atmosphere of the game is widely praised for its immersive and captivating qualities, particularly in its depiction of a unique alien desert environment. Players appreciate the attention to detail, such as dynamic weather effects and engaging survival elements, which enhance the overall experience. While most reviews highlight the fantastic and realistic atmosphere, a few note minor shortcomings that slightly detract from the overall immersion.
- “Starsand is a great survival game with an amazing atmosphere.”
- “The atmosphere is incredible, the exploration is interesting, and the resource management is a fun challenge.”
- “I really loved the atmosphere of this game, and the little touches like the sparks when you hit metal, the sun flares, etc. Appreciate all your work, thanks!”
- “This kinda took away from the atmosphere of the place and made it a little disappointing when I imagined how cool it would look if it actually worked.”
- “The atmosphere is kind of ok.”
- “Relaxing atmosphere and you can even turn off the mobs if you wish to play that way.”
stability
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
13%
88%
The game's stability has received mixed reviews, with many players reporting significant bugs and glitches that can disrupt gameplay, such as freezing menus and erratic behavior from in-game elements. While some users find the game enjoyable despite these issues, others express frustration over game-breaking problems and a lack of polish. Overall, while it shows potential, the stability concerns are a notable drawback that may deter some players.
- “Still good fun - and it runs great on Linux (via Proton).”
- “No issues so far, no glitches.”
- “If you're interested in the concept, you can feel fairly safe about buying it, because while the mechanics are not groundbreaking or really remarkable in any way, they're solid, functional, not grindy, not buggy - they won't get in your way.”
- “Basically, it can be fun, but be aware of the glitches.”
- “But the biggest problems I have, and maybe others, is that when I open the menu or the inventory too many times it freezes, so I have to start from the beginning if I haven't saved.”
- “And why I am criticizing it so harshly is that many of these fundamental game-breaking issues, like being unable to save your game or something suddenly breaking, like running, to events getting stuck in a loop and animation freezes, just shows me that the foundation this game is being built on is already broken.”
music
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
36%
21%
The music in the game is generally praised for its quality, with a minimalist yet effective soundtrack that enhances the overall experience. While many players find the tunes catchy and enjoyable, some express a desire for more variety in the tracks. The sound design complements the gameplay well, contributing to the atmosphere with both relaxing and spooky elements.
- “The sound design is good, with a minimalist but effective soundtrack.”
- “The music in particular is great, although I wish they'd add some more tracks to add some variety.”
- “A very challenging and rewarding survival game with a huge open world desert and a gorgeous soundtrack.”
- “Call me stupid, call me mad, but when I sleep at night, the music makes me sad.”
- “Sure enough, not far from camp, the music started and I knew they were on my ass.”
- “The scenery, the music, the constant quest for the next item in the story or just for basic survival!”
optimization
9 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
34%
33%
The optimization of the game has received mixed reviews; while some players report significant performance issues, such as poor frame rate control and high graphics card usage, others note improvements in performance since the early access launch, leading to a smoother experience. However, many still find the game unpolished and lacking in essential features, contributing to frustration during gameplay. Overall, it appears that further optimization is needed to enhance the user experience fully.
- “There was no problem with optimization either, the game runs exceptionally well!”
- “Between my initial impressions with the demo and now with early access, I can say that the developers improved the performance a great deal, making for a much smoother experience.”
- “I would advise more people wait until the game is optimized a little more and maybe when they increase the spawn rate of oasis/mines.”
- “It's basically a crafting simulator. You spend the majority of the time looking for and processing resources. It's not optimized for wide screens, so you can't see 1/4 of the screen, and you don't get the recipes for the things you need to make. You spend most of the time frustrated trying to remember what you needed to make what. Don't let your curiosity get the better of you; save your money.”
- “Unpolished, incomplete, unoptimized, and a cash grab.”
- “You cannot alter frame rates or anything like that, and due to the poor optimization, it ends up maxing out your graphics card even on the lowest setting.”
monetization
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization aspect of the game is heavily criticized, with users labeling it a "cash grab" due to its unpolished state and lack of updates since June 2023. Many feel that the game prioritizes profit over quality, leading to a frustrating user experience that detracts from the intended gameplay. Overall, players suggest caution, recommending only a purchase if the price drops significantly.
- “Just a unity cash grab with a long tutorial.”
- “Another cash grab by the developers; don't buy, no updates since June 2023.”
- “This is a sloppy developer cash grabbing on release and abandoning games/players with their five bucks in hand.”
humor
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The humor in the game is highlighted by its quirky elements, such as the amusing feedback form for bug reports, which adds a lighthearted touch to the overall experience. Players find the game's comedic aspects particularly enjoyable, especially within the context of its desert survival theme.
- “However, a funny side aspect: if you want to 'help' the developer with bug reports, you have the possibility to fill out and send an integrated feedback form.”
- “Very funny desert survival game.”
emotional
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players express a profound emotional connection to the game, highlighting a sense of accomplishment and belonging as they explore and familiarize themselves with the environment, transforming a hostile wasteland into a personal home.
- “But then, when I had explored everything and landmarked it all and always knew where I was, there was a special sense of accomplishment in that — something that really made me feel as though I belonged in this hostile wasteland, that it had become my home.”