Starscape

About

Starscape is a single player shooter game with a science fiction theme. It was developed by Moonpod and was released on November 3, 2008. It received positive reviews from players.

Starscape is a single-player Science Fiction Shooter game that offers around 30 hours of playtime. As the last pilot of the spaceship Aegis, you must help rebuild its defenses, acquire alien technology, and create your own unique set of fighters. The game features beautifully rendered 32bit color graphics, 800x600 resolution, and a thumping music soundtrack with sound effects.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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82%

Audience ScoreBased on 148 reviews

story12 positive mentions

grinding8 negative mentions

Starscape is a fun and addictive top-down space shooter that combines resource mining and ship upgrading mechanics.
The game has a nostalgic charm and is enjoyable for both new players and those revisiting it from their childhood.
Despite its age, the gameplay is immersive and offers a unique blend of arcade action and strategy elements.

The game suffers from outdated graphics and a maximum resolution of 800x600, which can be frustrating on modern systems.
Boss battles are poorly designed, often leading to frustrating experiences due to clunky controls and unfair difficulty spikes.
Gameplay can become repetitive over time, with some players finding the overall experience lacking in depth and variety.

story
36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
59%
8%
The game's story is generally considered simple and somewhat generic, revolving around an advanced spaceship that gets lost and must defeat aliens to return home. While the narrative lacks depth and character development, it provides a clear motivation for players and is complemented by engaging gameplay mechanics and a strong soundtrack. Overall, the story serves as a backdrop to the action, making it enjoyable despite its limitations.
- “It's a great 2D space game that feels a lot like the X series but with a more focused story.”
- “The story is somewhat generic: an advanced Earth spaceship gets lost, has to defeat aliens and escape back home. Though told through text boxes, it's not too in your face, while providing a clear motivation for continuing, and there's more here if you're willing to go looking for it.”
- “You can explore the universe, fight through thousands of various enemy units, research new technologies, build a lot of stuff, and experience the storyline, something that 4X games usually lack.”
- “The storyline itself is somewhat shallow, character depth is nonexistent, and the game only runs at 640x480 and 800x600, forcing you to play in windowed mode if you have a 16:9 monitor.”
- “The story is somewhat generic: an advanced Earth spaceship gets lost, has to defeat aliens, and escape back home. Though told through text boxes, it's not too in your face, while providing a clear motivation for continuing, and there's more here if you're willing to go looking for it.”
- “Only the storyline could have been a little better elaborated, but still satisfactory, and this may be a matter of taste.”
gameplay
36 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
59%
8%
The gameplay is generally described as fun and addictive, featuring solid mechanics and a mix of resource collection, upgrading, and combat that offers good replay value. However, many players find it repetitive and shallow, with some mechanics feeling underdeveloped and the interface cumbersome. While the game has enjoyable elements and a pleasant aesthetic, it struggles with pacing and depth, leading to a grind that can detract from the overall experience.
- “The gameplay is solid and simple with enough variability to give it good replay value.”
- “The main feature of the game is addictive gameplay.”
- “Despite the simple idea ('collect resources to become stronger, but watch your back and take offensive actions to collect intelligence'), the gameplay is extremely immersive.”
- “The mechanics don't come together; it feels shallow, the interface is a pain, and it doesn't support resolutions larger than 800x600.”
- “From a purely technical point of view, the game mechanics are trivial: the more resources you collect, the more powerful you get, and few things can prevent you from collecting resources.”
- “The final ship components cause all end-game ships to look the same, and the final boss has a frustrating mechanic that requires either a more responsive ship than the game provides or an unsatisfying win through awkward maneuvers.”
graphics
24 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
58%
17%
The graphics are notably dated, with a maximum resolution of 800x600 pixels, reflecting its late 90s origins. However, the retro art style is charming and adds a unique character to the game, making it enjoyable despite its limitations. Overall, while the graphics may not meet modern standards, they are still considered appealing within the context of the game's price and nostalgic value.
- “Very enjoyable with good music and graphics considering its age.”
- “However, the ships and gameplay graphics look great!”
- “The graphic is quite dated, with a maximum resolution of 800x600 pixels, so it's better for me to play it in windowed mode.”
- “The anime style cutscenes do feature some pretty decent still artwork, but the in-game texturing is atrocious.”
- “It's showing its age with the limited 2D art styles, but as a quick and easy pick-up-and-play for only $10, it's quite worth the price of admission, especially with the sheer availability you will have on Steam.”
music
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
56%
27%
17%
The music in the game evokes nostalgia with its '80s anime action style, though opinions vary on its quality; some find it enjoyable and fitting, while others describe it as tedious and lacking in modern polish. The soundtrack is generally considered serviceable, complementing the gameplay but not standing out as exceptional. Overall, while the music brings back fond memories for some, it may not resonate with all players.
- “It's pretty fun and the intro music brings me back 20 years in the past.”
- “Not flawless, but the combination of tense combat, minimalistic strategy, and story, seasoned by a great soundtrack and design decisions, will certainly leave an impression.”
- “Very enjoyable with good music and graphics considering its age.”
- “The plot is okay, but the music is your typical over-pumped '80s style anime action music and gets tedious quickly.”
- “Poor soundtrack.”
- “Very good, but sadly without the improved music quality which was available back in the days.”
grinding
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Reviews highlight that grinding in the game can be tedious and repetitive, often compared unfavorably to Minecraft's farming mechanics. While some players appreciate the leveling up system and find the combat engaging enough to justify the grind, others feel that the lack of controller support and reliance on keyboard controls detracts from the overall experience.
- “No controller support, using arrow keys, and more farming than Minecraft makes this a very dull game indeed.”
- “The plot is okay, but the music is your typical over-pumped '80s style anime action music and gets tedious quickly.”
- “Though grinding meteors for minerals can get tiresome, the combat is challenging enough to make it worthwhile.”
replayability
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
25%
25%
Overall, the game offers solid and simple gameplay with enough variability to enhance its replayability. However, some players express uncertainty about the long-term appeal after the initial experience.
- “The gameplay is solid and simple with enough variability to give it good replay value.”
- “Enjoyable experience once through, not too sure about the replay value on it.”