What is Sea of Stars?
Sea of Stars is a retro-inspired turn-based JRPG developed by Sabotage Studios that was released on August 29, 2023. It is available on Nintendo Switch, PS4&5, Xbox One, and Xbox Series S/X. I played it on PS5 through the PS Plus Extra Subscription service. Sea of Stars follows the story of Eclipse Warriors, Valere and Zale, as they adventure through the world to save it from world-destroying monsters and the antagonist, The Fleshmancer. It takes between 25-30 hours to finish the main campaign.
Game Review:
I am not nostalgic for retro JRPGs like Chrono Trigger. I didn’t ever play them because they were a little bit before my time and I typically have gravitated more towards action RPGs with real-time combat mechanics. My experience with turn-based games is mostly limited to games like Pokemon and Paper Mario. But Sea of Stars piqued my interest with its art style and music. Those got me in the door, and then the beauty and charm of the game took hold of me from there.
Sea of Stars is a modern take on retro JRPGs. It is turn-based and has beautiful pixel art. Gameplay is from a top-down isometric perspective. The characters can sometimes do things that are tropes of the genre (like do a little dance after something) that can disinterest some people and pull them out of the experience. But there is a ton of heart in this game, even in those moments where I typically would be rolling my eyes. Gameplay is inspired by but not limited to the mechanics found in JRPGs from the 90s. This game has really turned around my opinion on the genre and has made me more interested in similar titles that laid the foundation of what JRPGs are.
Like I said earlier, combat is done through a turn-based system. Turn-based combat systems in most games tend to remove the necessity to be mechanically skilled at a game and replace it with the mental gymnastics of strategy and resource management (Health, Magic Power, and Items). The strategy and resource management still exists in Sea of Stars but it also manages to include some skill that makes the actual move you select engaging. If you can time button presses correctly during an attack or a block you can get bonuses, both extra damage but also an extra attack in some cases. This timing-based combat is akin to Paper Mario games and I think it makes the combat that much more exciting. The strategy is still important but if you’re good at timing you can make yourself better, meaning you aren’t as constrained by the leveling system to determine the amount of damage.
Sea of Stars expertly communicates on screen when an enemy will attack, adding deep strategy to the combat. Knowing exactly what turn an enemy will attack helps you determine who is the higher priority target. Sea of Stars also adds to this by having enemies occasionally show symbols of certain attack types. If you can use the correct counter-attack types before they have their next turn, you can cancel their attack altogether leaving them waiting for another turn. Different characters in your party have different attack types so you will need to constantly be swapping characters in to do those specific attacks. Sea of Stars doesn’t punish you for swapping, because the game wants you to use every character and try new things. It’s an excellently crafted combat system and was enjoyable all the way through the game.
JRPGs are famous for having great stories that can go a lot of crazy places because these games tend to be really long and need something to fill that game length. Sea of Stars is like a miniature version of those retro JRPGs so it has a great story and cuts off a lot of the fat to be more streamlined and straightforward. That isn’t to say that it’s not intricate and not engaging. There were several moments where my jaw dropped and I didn’t know what to think; my wife can attest to this as I would have to tell her about what just happened. (Editor’s note: Yes I can! He was constantly updating me!)
The story the developers write here is heartfelt and impactful. They weave the intricacies of an epic novel while also making it simple enough that most people could understand. The story tackles themes of grief, the role and two-sidedness of duty/obligation, and the contrast between optimism and pessimism. It also manages to squeeze in a great take on the idea of the multiverse, which is done a lot in modern media, but I think Sea of Stars does it in a very straightforward but enchanting way.
In fiction there are two common approaches to worldbuilding: there’s hard-worldbuilding like Lord of the Rings and there’s soft-worldbuilding like Studio Ghibli movies such as Spirited Away. Sea of Stars utilizes the soft-worldbuilding method, meaning they don’t explain everything that happens. Creatures and characters will do strange and supernatural things and there isn’t an explanation necessarily, it’s just assumed that this is normal in this world. I love this method of writing because it leaves a lot to the imagination of the viewer/player/reader. You never know what to expect because the base assumptions of the fictional world don't necessarily line up with base assumptions in the real world so there’s a great opportunity for surprise and imagination.
The pixel art and music in Sea of Stars are both treats. The art team made a colorful vibrant world that looks gorgeous and communicates so clearly what the player needs to do with the context clues. And the music is incredible. Sometimes repeated music can be a little obnoxious and get on my nerves if played too often but that was not the case in Sea of Stars. I was jamming out every time I got into a battle or entered a tavern and heard the band playing.
A few criticisms I have of the game came up as I approached completion. The end of the game feels a little long in the tooth and like there’s some unnecessary characters added, including a character that joins your party. It feels like the new characters aren’t able to get as much detail and love as the rest of the characters in the game so I feel like they could have been left out. I also feel like the ending was a little anticlimactic. I didn’t feel like the final boss posed much of a challenge and so I felt a little bit of a deflation in an otherwise outstanding game.
Family Friendliness:
Sea of Stars is rated E10+ by the ESRB. I would agree with that for the most part, there are a few areas in the game where the atmosphere and monsters become a little scary, in the style of an HP Lovecraft type of monster. The violence is pretty tame as stars pop out when a monster is hit and the monsters just disappear when they die. There isn’t any sexual content, drinking, drug use, or profanity. It’s a generally upbeat and positive game.
Features for Parents:
Sea of Stars has turn-based combat and text-based dialogue. This means most of the game does not proceed unless you click the button to advance it, which makes it easy to be able to put down at a moment’s notice. There are also a ton of in-game accessibility features that you buy from the merchants with in-game money. I used several myself, such as visual feedback for when I timed a block or attack correctly. The save system is a little archaic as you have to get to a save point, however the game is very generous with its save point locations and there is an occasional autosave.
Final Verdict:
Sea of Stars was not one of my most anticipated games of 2023 but it has become one of my favorites of this year. It is a beautiful mesh of retro JRPGs and modern gameplay mechanics and sensibilities. It has a heartwarming and impactful story in addition to an amazing soundtrack and art design. In a year where AAA games are getting bigger and grander, Sea of Stars showed how smaller indie games can have more heart and quality. This is definitely a must-play game for 2023.