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A deep and addicting rogue-like space deckbuilder | Review - Star Survivor
829 View2023-12-10
✨Overview
Star Survivor, initially released in Early Access on PC earlier this year, has now made its way to mobile phones this December. The game is a top-down space shooter and seems to be a mash up of multiple genres. It features a Space Shooter premise, Vampire Survivor gameplay, Deck building mechanics, and Rogue-lite progression that all results into a unique experience that has translated well into mobile.
🟩Pros
+Diverse gameplay elements
+Chaotic engaging combat
+Strategic deckbuilding elements
+Dynamic rogue-lite progression
🟩Pros
+Diverse gameplay elements
+Chaotic engaging combat
+Strategic deckbuilding elements
+Dynamic rogue-lite progression
🟥Cons
-Ultra repetitive battle soundtrack
-Limited narrative experience
⭐️Score: 8/10
📖Story and Premise
-Ultra repetitive battle soundtrack
-Limited narrative experience
⭐️Score: 8/10
📖Story and Premise
Star Survivor lacks a traditional narrative, offering just a straightforward and rather basic premise of piloting a ship to combat space aliens and occasionally blow up some asteroids for credits. There is a campaign, but it’s not a story campaign as it instead follows a rogue-like structure, presenting players with randomized levels leading up to a final boss.
🎨Graphics and Art Style
🎨Graphics and Art Style
The game's visuals are characterized by a fusion of 2D top-down gameplay with simple 3D graphics. The graphics are colorful, flashy, and explosive, contributing to the chaotic atmosphere of surviving against space alien hordes. Despite some visual clutter that may impede vision during packed moments, the overall design is well-suited for the genre, delivering a fantastic arcade experience.
The soundtrack features an upbeat EDM style of music, although there seems to be only one battle track throughout the entire game, which can easily get repetitive. I would highly recommend listening to an external playlist instead. The sound bites of some weapons sound similar to retro titles like Space Invaders or Galaga, which gives me a bit of a mild nostalgia when playing.
🎮Gameplay
The soundtrack features an upbeat EDM style of music, although there seems to be only one battle track throughout the entire game, which can easily get repetitive. I would highly recommend listening to an external playlist instead. The sound bites of some weapons sound similar to retro titles like Space Invaders or Galaga, which gives me a bit of a mild nostalgia when playing.
🎮Gameplay
Star Survivor offers a fantastic arcade experience that combines elements of Space Invaders, Vampire Survivors, and the usual Deck Building and Rogue-lite game experience. Easy to learn but challenging to master, the game presents a variety of ships and weapons, each offering unique playstyles and weapon/upgrade synergies. Players can engage in three different modes: Campaign, Challenge, and Endless, providing a mix of random missions, strategic deck crafting, and continuous survival against an endless swarm of enemies.
🕹Controls
🕹Controls
The controls are pretty simple, left touch to move the ship, and a right button to activate a speed boost. You don’t have to worry about attacks as the ship auto-fires, but you have to orient the ship properly as some weapons have a limited cone of range to attack. Some weapons don’t have this limitation but are generally weaker in damage, so you’d have to choose whether to prioritize one or the other.
⚔️Combat
⚔️Combat
The combat in Star Survivor is dynamic and engaging, allowing players to create various weapon and equipment combinations. The game introduces deckbuilding strategy, enabling players to mix different weapon upgrades in quadrants for directional, random, and auto-targeting weapons. The choice of ships, weapons, and upgrades leads to diverse and overpowered builds, even resulting in “Combos” — combining two upgrades into one — making each run unique. The combat system encourages experimentation and strategy, adding depth to the gameplay.
I also loved how they visualized the HP of the enemy aliens by use of color codings without resorting to health bars. As you damage enemies, they become cooler in color; If they start orange, they will slowly become blue, which will mean it’s at low HP. It’s a subtle but very powerful element that makes a lot of difference in how the combat flows.
The player ship mostly takes damage only when colliding with asteroids or enemy ships, so you’d just have to physically evade these to avoid damage. You don’t have to endlessly avoid barrages missiles and lasers in assortment of patterns to survive. This isn’t that type of game.
⏫Rogue-lite Progression
I also loved how they visualized the HP of the enemy aliens by use of color codings without resorting to health bars. As you damage enemies, they become cooler in color; If they start orange, they will slowly become blue, which will mean it’s at low HP. It’s a subtle but very powerful element that makes a lot of difference in how the combat flows.
The player ship mostly takes damage only when colliding with asteroids or enemy ships, so you’d just have to physically evade these to avoid damage. You don’t have to endlessly avoid barrages missiles and lasers in assortment of patterns to survive. This isn’t that type of game.
⏫Rogue-lite Progression
Aside from the rogue-lite The progression in Star Survivor revolves around upgrading the ship through a random equipment choice by pick-up XP from fallen enemies. You also get to craft your own deck of equipment and power-up card. Players face an endless swarm of alien drones, with each kill providing resources for vessel upgrades, new ship unlocks, or stacking the odds in their favor.
The Challenge Mode introduces another layer of deckbuilding twist, allowing players to unlock and upgrade cards for strategic builds. In Campaign mode, players choose their path wisely, conquering each sector to face the Endless Queens in an epic space war.
📊Technical Performance
The Challenge Mode introduces another layer of deckbuilding twist, allowing players to unlock and upgrade cards for strategic builds. In Campaign mode, players choose their path wisely, conquering each sector to face the Endless Queens in an epic space war.
📊Technical Performance
Star Survivor performed relatively well on my Snapdragon 888 device, with acceptable performance and great battery life. No crashes or massive slowdowns, and the controls are very responsive. I have no complaints about the game in the technical department.
⚖️Conclusion
⚖️Conclusion
Star Survivor has proven to be an enjoyable gaming experience, successfully blending space shooter mechanics with deckbuilding strategy. The game's pacing strikes a balance between chaotic action and engaging progression, providing a satisfying gameplay loop. I highly recommend it hands down especially if you love space shooters, deckbuilders, and rogue-lite gameplay.
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