Starship Traveller

About

"Starship Traveller" is a sci-fi PC game where you captain the starship Traveller, thrown into an unknown universe after passing through a black hole. Your mission is to find a way back to Earth while encountering alien races and planets. The game features physics-based dice rolling for battles, auto-mapping, and an auto-updated adventure sheet to keep track of your progress.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

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

59%

Audience ScoreBased on 64 reviews

story5 positive mentions

atmosphere3 negative mentions

Faithful adaptation of the original Fighting Fantasy book, capturing the spirit of Star Trek with engaging sci-fi elements.
High-quality presentation with nice artwork, a fitting soundtrack, and a user-friendly interface that enhances the reading experience.
Offers a nostalgic experience for fans of choose-your-own-adventure books, with multiple choices and outcomes that encourage exploration.

Gameplay can feel repetitive and linear, with limited meaningful choices leading to predictable outcomes.
The writing lacks depth and can be overly simplistic, making it less engaging for players seeking a rich narrative experience.
Short playtime and limited replayability, as many paths lead to similar results, diminishing the overall value of the game.

story
25 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
64%
16%
The story is a straightforward space exploration narrative reminiscent of Star Trek, featuring a captain navigating through a black hole in a quest to return home. While it captures the spirit of classic sci-fi, many reviewers found the plot to be repetitive and lacking in depth, with choices feeling inconsequential over multiple playthroughs. Despite its engaging premise and interactive elements, the overall execution left some players wanting more in terms of character development and plot twists.
- “Amazing music, art style and story, this one has it all!”
- “The story is simple but interesting as are the situations you encounter, although the difficulty can be a bit on the hard side given the exploratory nature of the narrative.”
- “Pretty solid hour or so branching story where you get to send away teams and figure out ways to get your ship and crew back across the galaxy through a black hole.”
- “The story is just your run-of-the-mill space exploration, albeit with the twist of having to escape from this new, strange dimension.”
- “Tedious multiple initial dice rolls which is inconsequential and poor fractured storyline.”
- “After the first few playthroughs you will learn quickly that your choices seem to mean little and the story is not random, so you will be picking from the same choices again and again after you die.”
graphics
18 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
33%
50%
17%
The graphics of the game are a blend of nostalgia and modernity, featuring redesigned and colored artwork that pays homage to the original 80s book while enhancing its visual appeal. However, some players find the graphics unoriginal and repetitive, lacking the dynamic elements that could elevate the experience. Overall, while the visuals are generally well-received, there are calls for more imaginative graphics and animations to justify the game's price.
- “The artwork and the text are the exact same as the original book from the 80s, but this time they're colored!”
- “The gameplay is just as it was all those years ago, and although the original artwork has been redesigned with new, colorful illustrations, it complements the game perfectly.”
- “Amazing music, art style, and story; this one has it all!”
- “The game is reminiscent of old text-based games of the early 80s, when computer graphics weren't really anything beyond what a Commodore 64 could offer.”
- “Admittedly, Peter Andrew Jones' artwork seemed to lack detail, but I'd have liked it all the same.”
- “Thought I'd give it a go, but the graphics are unimaginative and repetitive, the gameplay non-existent.”
music
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
60%
10%
30%
The music in the game is highly praised for its quality and ability to enhance immersion, with a soundtrack reminiscent of classic sci-fi series like Star Trek. Reviewers appreciate the fitting background music and sound effects, which complement the game's atmosphere and unique presentation, making it stand out in its genre. Overall, the combination of music, art style, and storytelling contributes significantly to the game's appeal.
- “The music and the presentation is top notch, it matches perfectly with the book and really helps immerse you; this is a big plus since otherwise, it's exactly the same as reading the book.”
- “Amazing music, art style, and story; this one has it all!”
- “The music and graphics are superb, and fit perfectly with the atmosphere and sci-fi theme.”
- “The background music by Ryan Grogan is predictably Star Trek-like, with the title screen and ending music specifically reminiscent of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and resembling Prokofiev's 'Troika'.”
- “The background music by Ryan Grogan is predictably Star Trek-like, with the title screen and ending music specifically reminiscent of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine and resembling Prokofiev's 'Troika'.”
- “It's worth noting that this game/novel is quite unique among its genre since most of the CYOA stories I've read are bereft of any graphical (i.e., artwork injected into the text) and/or musical representations.”
gameplay
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
14%
43%
The gameplay offers a mix of strategic crew management and exploration, though some players find it redundant and lacking in meaningful impact on survival. While it features a variety of gameplay tweaks and maintains a nostalgic feel, criticisms include unoriginal graphics and repetitive mechanics. Overall, it provides a sense of player agency, particularly in relation to crew outcomes, but opinions on its depth and engagement vary significantly.
- “The game works properly in full screen and has a variety of gameplay tweaks to let you pick your own pace.”
- “The gameplay is just as it was (all those years ago!) and although the original artwork has been redesigned with new, color illustrations, it complements the game perfectly.”
- “Options during gameplay give you a feel of having an impact on the story, and you feel bad when one of your crew dies.”
- “The gameplay might be redundant even from a gamebook perspective, in the sense that you need to take into consideration the stats of every crew member (let alone the spaceship itself) even though it barely makes a difference for your survival.”
- “Thought I'd give it a go but the graphics are unimaginative and repetitive, the gameplay non-existent.”
- “Many of the challenges come from the nature of the planets you visit or from mechanical malfunctions.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
150%
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised, with users highlighting the superb music and graphics that effectively complement the sci-fi theme, enhancing the overall experience and immersion.
- “The music and graphics are superb, and fit perfectly with the atmosphere and sci-fi theme.”
- “Having these additions is a nice change of pace and helps to establish the atmosphere the developer is trying to create.”
- “The atmosphere feels flat and uninspired, lacking the depth needed to immerse players in the game world.”
- “Despite the game's potential, the atmosphere is dull and fails to evoke any real emotion or tension.”
- “The environments are lifeless, making it hard to feel connected to the story or the characters.”
replayability
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
150%
150%
Players find the game's replayability to be mixed; while some enjoy the motivation to keep playing and complete it, others note that its short length limits overall replay value.
- “I have yet to beat the game, but I am really enjoying the replay value. The game makes me want to keep trying to beat it!”
- “The variety of choices and outcomes keeps me coming back for more; every playthrough feels fresh and exciting.”
- “With multiple endings and different character paths, I find myself replaying the game just to experience everything it has to offer.”
- “The game is quite short, offering little in terms of replayability.”
- “Once you finish the game, there's not much incentive to play it again.”
- “The lack of varied outcomes makes replaying the game feel unnecessary.”
grinding
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game tedious, particularly due to the multiple initial dice rolls that feel inconsequential, contributing to a disjointed and unsatisfying storyline.
- “The grinding feels tedious, with multiple initial dice rolls that seem inconsequential and contribute to a poorly fractured storyline.”
- “The repetitive nature of grinding makes the gameplay feel monotonous and unengaging.”
- “I found the grinding mechanics to be overly time-consuming, detracting from the overall enjoyment of the game.”
stability
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
The game has been criticized for its instability, with users reporting numerous bugs that detract from the overall experience, leading many to feel it is not worth the investment.
- “The game is incredibly buggy and not worth the money.”
- “Frequent crashes make it nearly unplayable.”
- “I experienced constant lag and stability issues throughout my gameplay.”
character development
1 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
300%
Reviews indicate that the character development in this work is minimal, as it is primarily aimed at a younger audience, leading to a straightforward narrative without significant growth or complexity in the characters.
- “It's a kid's book; don't expect character development or plot twists.”
- “The characters feel one-dimensional and lack any real growth throughout the game.”
- “I was hoping for a deeper exploration of the characters, but they remain static and uninteresting.”