Sea of Stars

Sea of Stars is an old-school RPG inspired by iconic 8 and 16-bit games, mixing up the formula with action and platforming mechanics. It's a prequel to The Messenger, a warmly received indie game by the same team, Sabotage Studio. The game was successfully crowdfunded.

Plot

Sea of Stars is set long before The Messenger. In the course of the game we take control two Children of the Solstice. Wielding Exlipse Magic, they're the only ones capable of stopping the villainous Fleshmancer and his army of monsters threatening the land.

Mechanics

Sea of Stars starts off by choosing two playable characters out of six. Each of them has unique abilities and strengths. The gameplay proper makes use of top-down perspective.

The game's vast world consists of diverse islands travelled between onboard a boat. It's not only our means of transport, but also our base, where we can talk to our allies. After reaching the shore, we can start exploring and platforming, jumping over pits and avoiding traps. We'll also encounter numerous characters (some known from The Messenger, some being entirely new), offering us main and side quests. Progressing through the game lets us level up, increasing our characters' combat capabilities.

Combat is a very important part of Sea of Stars. Battles are turn-based, requiring proper strategy more than a high character level. If the player gets stuck, changing their tactics is a better approach than grinding their way past. Battles take place in the overworld, not on separate arenas.

A few new mechanics make combat constantly feel fresh. The first is the Synergy system, letting us chain attacks into deadly combos - another is the need to time your attacks, making them stronger. Regular attacks increase in power throughout the battle, while some moves can be charged for a few turns and unleashed to devastating effect. Enemies can do the same, but their charging process can be interrupted by hitting them with a specific damage type, sometimes needing a few hits in a row. Alongside regular enemies we'll encounter powerful, durable bosses. These fights are often long and divided into phases, requiring observing their patterns and finding their weaknesses.

Technical aspects

Sea of Stars runs on the Unity engine. The visuals combine old-school pixel art with modern effects, such as dynamic lighting. The game's atmospheric soundtrack was composed by Eric W. Brown, also known as Rainbowdragoneyes.