Starstruck Vagabond

About

Starstruck Vagabond is a single player simulation game. It was developed by Ben 'Yahtzee' Croshaw and was released on May 24, 2024. It received positive reviews from players.

In "Starstruck Vagabond," a story-driven work/life simulator, players maintain a spaceship and deliver cargo between star systems. After awakening from a 2000-year sleep, the protagonist assembles a crew and becomes entangled in a conflict involving a ominous purple egg and two warring factions. With a Stardew Valley-inspired approach, players will forge relationships, manage their ship, and uncover new purposes in this unknown galaxy.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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87%

Audience ScoreBased on 868 reviews

story125 positive mentions

grinding73 negative mentions

The writing is sharp, witty, and filled with humor, making the characters and story engaging.
The core gameplay loop of maintaining the ship and delivering cargo is addictive and satisfying.
The game provides a relaxing experience, perfect for playing while listening to podcasts or watching videos.

The gameplay can become repetitive and tedious, with many tasks feeling like busywork.
The universe feels empty and lacks variety, with many planets and missions being copy-pasted.
Crew members often interrupt gameplay with dialogue, which can be frustrating and detracts from the overall experience.

story
593 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
21%
76%
3%
The story in the game is characterized by witty dialogue and humor, typical of Yahtzee's writing, but it suffers from pacing issues and a lack of depth, often feeling like a backdrop to the repetitive gameplay. While the main plot and character interactions can be engaging and occasionally heartwarming, many players find the story's progression slow and the missions monotonous, leading to a sense of frustration. Overall, the narrative provides enough charm to keep players invested, but it may not be robust enough to sustain interest throughout the entire gameplay experience.
- “The writing is very witty and funny (as Yahtzee is most known for) and the story moments and character interactions are all a delightful addition to the core gameplay.”
- “The story is interesting and funny, but it's sometimes too spaced and I would like it to be more present in the moment-to-moment gameplay.”
- “The game bursts with a cocktail of humor and surprisingly poignant moments, spinning a plot that keeps you guessing rather than yawning.”
- “The main plot is also not much to write home about; it's deliberately low stakes to avoid completely overwhelming the work-a-day life sim aspect of the game, but even despite that, there's not much to the story.”
- “You will spend the first half of the game repeatedly grinding the same missions over and over again - the same missions, structured in exactly the same way, in a completely lifeless universe with absolutely nothing interesting to see.”
- “The story and systems feel somewhat at odds with one another; they're almost a good fit but frankly after five hours of trudging through this, the gameplay loop is rapidly getting stale and the only carrot on a stick is what tiny morsels of story are being thrown my way.”
gameplay
419 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
35%
61%
4%
The gameplay is characterized by a simple yet addictive core loop focused on ship maintenance, cargo delivery, and exploration, reminiscent of games like Stardew Valley. While many players appreciate the engaging mechanics and witty writing, some find the repetitive tasks and lack of variety can lead to a tedious experience over time. Overall, the game offers a relaxing and enjoyable experience, particularly for those who appreciate casual gameplay paired with humor and character interactions.
- “This is nice because it encourages you to engage in all gameplay elements while actively rewarding you for doing so.”
- “The core gameplay loop sees jumping from star system to star system, travelling between planets (including a little mini game where you control your ship to avoid asteroids and other space debris), shipping cargo between the populated planets, and dropping survey beacons on the unpopulated ones.”
- “I am enamored with the core gameplay loop and completing all my little goals on the way to bigger ones.”
- “The gameplay loop of hauling packages and servicing/upgrading the ship starts out fine, but becomes irritating over time, because repetitive tasks pile up while challenge doesn't.”
- “Unfortunately, the core gameplay loop got old fast, the pacing feels very slow, and while the writing is quite good, you don't actually encounter it that often.”
- “The gameplay is a loop of fetch quests, killing purple blobs with boxes, doing a simple flying mini game, and walking up to stuff and holding a button.”
humor
167 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
99%
1%
The humor in the game is widely praised for its wit and clever writing, characteristic of Yahtzee's style, delivering both laugh-out-loud moments and poignant interactions. While many players find the dialogue engaging and funny, some note that repetitive lines from characters can detract from the overall comedic experience. Overall, the game balances humor with gameplay, making it a delightful choice for fans of sardonic comedy and engaging storytelling.
- “It's also very funny and well written, but what surprised me here is its ability to be a classic Ben Croshaw sardonic humor like his books without overwhelming the experience into just being a 'comedy game.'”
- “Genuinely funny writing (not just snort a little bit of air out your nose funny, but actually laughing funny) engaging and fun gameplay and a lovely soundtrack that's already stuck in my head.”
- “The writing is excellent and made me laugh out loud on several occasions.”
- “This guy has been an abrasive, unfunny jerk and no help whatsoever since the day I met him.”
music
114 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
51%
46%
3%
The music in the game has received widespread acclaim for its chill, addictive quality and ability to enhance the overall atmosphere. Many players appreciate the diverse soundtrack, which includes both upbeat tracks and emotional pieces that complement key moments in the game. However, some critiques mention that certain tracks can be repetitive and that the volume levels in specific areas, like the main menu, may be too loud. Overall, the music is considered one of the game's strongest aspects, contributing significantly to the enjoyment of the gameplay experience.
- “The music is stellar, the soundtrack has many bops but also quite a few emotional tracks that added to events throughout the game.”
- “It's very chill, quickly addicting, and the perfect game to listen to music or a podcast while playing.”
- “Genuinely funny writing (not just snort a little bit of air out your nose funny, but actually laughing funny) engaging and fun gameplay and a lovely soundtrack that's already stuck in my head.”
- “The music is repetitive.”
- “For a game this big, you need to give it a solid soundtrack because you're gonna be doing a lot of repetitive tasks, and if the soundtrack isn't dynamic, it reminds you of the tedium you're doing and the game isn't fun anymore.”
- “The bad - while I did mostly enjoy the soundtrack, it often was extremely repetitive.”
grinding
75 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
3%
97%
The grinding aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players finding it tedious and repetitive, particularly due to the lack of variety in tasks and the overwhelming amount of inventory management. While some enjoy the initial gameplay loop, it quickly becomes monotonous, leading to frustration over the need to repeatedly grind for upgrades and complete missions in a lifeless universe. Overall, players recommend the game primarily for those who appreciate grinding and repetitive gameplay, but caution that it may not appeal to everyone.
- “The gameplay loop is just tedious and click-heavy.”
- “You will spend the first half of the game repeatedly grinding the same missions over, and over, and over - the same missions, structured in exactly the same way, in a completely lifeless universe with absolutely nothing interesting to see.”
- “While the primary gameplay loop is fun at the beginning, after a while it becomes tedious.”
graphics
61 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
20%
73%
7%
The graphics of the game are generally considered its weakest aspect, with many reviewers noting a lack of refinement and a muddy, indistinct quality. While the pixel art style has its charm and effectively communicates gameplay mechanics, it often falls short compared to other indie titles, leading to mixed feelings about its visual appeal. Despite these criticisms, the engaging writing and nostalgic feel of the visuals contribute positively to the overall experience.
- “Great soundtrack, great gameplay loop, and cozy writing/visuals lend an instantly nostalgic feel.”
- “The graphics are both pretty and effective for communicating the mechanics of the game.”
- “Fantastic pixel artwork”
- “The graphics are muddy and indistinct, and big, blown-up detail shots are few, far between, and just not impressive.”
- “On the flip side of that coin, the graphics being the weakest aspect is also a trend, a pattern that won’t be broken here.”
- “My one complaint is the incongruity between the visuals in walkable parts of the planets and their backgrounds.”
emotional
17 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The emotional aspect of the game is highlighted by its heartwarming storylines, particularly involving characters like Melinda, which evoke strong feelings of joy and sadness. Players appreciate the blend of humor and emotional depth in the writing, alongside a stellar soundtrack that enhances key moments. The loss of characters can leave a lasting impact, contributing to a genuinely emotional experience that resonates with players long after gameplay.
- “But I just finished a scene in [spoiler]Melinda[/spoiler]'s personal storyline that was very heartwarming and also hinted at a budding romance.”
- “Losing Melinda to the crew death on my first save dealt an emotional blow that I really wasn't ready for and actually makes me still sad about to this day.”
- “The crew members are all brilliant, even the controversial Magu-chan, while the story is compelling and leads up to a genuinely emotional ending.”
stability
10 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
40%
60%
Overall, the game's stability is generally good, with smooth performance and excellent gamepad controls. However, players have reported occasional bugs and glitches, particularly related to procedural generation that can disrupt story cutscenes. The developer is actively addressing these issues with rapid patches, which has been positively noted by the community.
- “I've put in 41 hours as of finishing the game and had a mostly bug-free experience.”
- “It runs great and the gamepad controls are fantastic.”
- “There are also some random bugs and glitches, mostly related to weird unforeseen stuff happening with the procedural generation that can break some story cutscenes, but the developer has been patching these at a wildly rapid pace. I mentioned a bug I had on Discord, didn't even ping him directly, and he @ me with a fix in under an hour.”
- “Bugs and glitches are what ultimately sank this game for me.”
- “I put 20-30 hours into Landlord Super, an extremely buggy game where you literally build houses brick by painstaking brick.”
optimization
7 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
71%
29%
The game is praised for its strong optimization, allowing players to efficiently plan their deliveries for upcoming areas without encountering bugs or glitches. Overall, the performance is reported to be smooth and well-executed.
- “Optimization is the name of the game, ordering things needed for the next 2-3 areas you're visiting and making sure you have a delivery job that goes to those areas.”
- “Seems pretty optimized and I never came across a bug or glitch.”
replayability
6 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
67%
33%
The game offers significant replayability through multiple progression paths and companion NPCs, encouraging players to explore different experiences in subsequent playthroughs. However, some critiques highlight that the procedural generation does not deliver the promised "infinite replayability," as the quality of generated content may not match the effort of creating unique environments. Overall, while there is charm and variety, the depth of replayability may vary based on player expectations.
- “A charming sim in the same vein as Stardew Valley, with multiple progression paths and companion NPCs. You won't see everything in one playthrough, which provides some nice replay value.”
- “+ a lot of replay value between systems, hunting, and dialog.”
- “The game offers a variety of choices and outcomes, encouraging players to explore different strategies and storylines in subsequent playthroughs.”
- “There is a lot of replay value with the different systems and hunting dialogues.”
- “The game offers significant replay value through its varied systems and hunting interactions.”
atmosphere
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
50%
The atmosphere of the game is highly praised, with players expressing a deep appreciation for its music, writing, and character development, which collectively enhance the overall experience. Many reviewers find the atmosphere to be particularly rewarding, contributing significantly to their enjoyment of the gameplay.
- “Only six hours in and I am in love with the music, atmosphere, writing, characters, and gameplay.”
- “But for me, the gameplay and atmosphere felt more rewarding in that game.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The monetization strategy of the game is viewed as a sincere effort rather than a cash grab, though it may not resonate with all players. Overall, it reflects a genuine attempt to engage users, despite some personal dissatisfaction.
- “To be clear, I don't think this game was a lazy cash grab by any means, just an earnest attempt that didn't quite land for me personally.”