Sea of Stars is the break from the ever-churning conveyor belt and production line of modern gaming releases I didn’t know I needed, a title hearkening back to simpler times. There are no daily login bonuses, no strict quest checklists superglued to the right side of your screen. It’s just you, your sense of wonder, and the game. The team at Sabotage Studio have crafted an almost perfect throwback to the days of SNES RPGs, with the added bonus of modern quality-of-life improvements and visual enhancements thrown in for good measure.

Upon starting a new game, you’re presented with the opportunity of choosing your party leader: Valere, the battle monk and user of lunar magic, or Zale, a blade dancer who focuses on casting solar spells. Once you’ve made your selection and completed the introductory sequence that doubles as a combat tutorial, both of our heroes will have become fully-fledged elemental battlemages or, using the official in-game terminology, Solstice Warriors.



Tasked by their Headmaster to leave the cozy walls of Zenith Academy behind in a quest to bring down an evil entity known as the Dweller of Woe, Valere and Zale must make their way to Wraith Island before the next eclipse if they are to have any hope of success. Of course, this is just the opening premise, and the plot doesn’t end there, as events begin to spiral out of control and the scope of your journey grows significantly larger in scale.

Replenishing your mana is as simple as using your basic melee attack, with a perfectly timed second press of a button as your weapon connects with the enemy awarding an additional strike and more damage.

Never fear, however, as your powerful arcane abilities will make short work of any foes that dare obstruct your path to glory. Combat encounters are entered into via a seamless transition upon running into hostiles and play out in a turn-based fashion, with some quirks. All party members have their own health and mana bars, with more powerful damage-dealing, magical, or shielding skills dependant on the latter. Replenishing your mana is as simple as using your basic melee attack, with a perfectly timed second press of a button as your weapon connects with the enemy awarding an additional strike and more damage.



The same can be said for mitigating incoming offence, with correct timing of a block slightly reducing the pain dealt to the target. Live Mana orbs are additionally dropped after performing melee attacks (or landing a sneak attack on a roaming enemy), which can be absorbed up to three times and channelled to boost damage output and imbue your next melee selection with elemental magic unique to each character.

Both normal and boss enemies can appear with a selection of damage type icons hovering beside them, indicating which attacks are required on your part to put a stop to any incoming special offensive moves currently charging up. For example, in order to shut down a powerful sword-slashing move you know is coming, the enemy may display a series of moon and sun symbols - in turn, letting you know that you’ll need to pick attacks that deal lunar and solar magic damage for however many icons there are. Once damage type requirements are met, the enemy’s attack is cancelled. Live Mana is a huge help here if you’re running low on MP but need to do elemental damage in a pinch.



Inevitably, one of your teammate’s health bars will eventually hit zero. The knocked-out character will remain on the field with a number of stars floating above their body – one removed at the end of every turn. When there are no more stars in sight, the individual is revived with 50% HP. Every subsequent KO will add more stars to the incapacitated member, so keep those HP pools looking healthy.

You’re free to make your time with Sea of Stars as challenging as you want it to be.

As a result of this rather forgiving mechanic, the feeling of “all hope is lost” never truly sets in. Even during the most intense of fights, there’s always hope for a comeback as long as you’re managing resources effectively. And if you’re still finding battles challenging, there are several purchasable relics that serve as not-so-subtle difficulty modifiers. One may ensure every basic attack becomes a double strike, while another increases your HP by 100% and applies an automatic heal after every encounter. Thanks to these handy items, you’re free to make your time with Sea of Stars as challenging as you want it to be.



As you swap between your generic melee and your more specialised skills mid-combat, you’ll accrue combo points that can be used to pull off attacks utilising multiple people that expend no mana. These combo attacks, more of which are unlocked by collecting scrolls found through exploration, range from traditional damage-dealing spells to full-on group heals – the crazier the technique, the more points you’ll have to spend.

Make sure to use these combo points when they’re available, however, as they’ll vanish into nothingness the second the fight is over. Interestingly, it seems that every member within your party shares the same experience bar. Once you’ve hit the required experience target and level up, everyone gets the usual stat increases at the same time – even if they aren’t actively travelling with you for whatever reason. A selection of additional stat boosts (more health/mana, increased defence, etc.) are selectable for further specialisation, while some new skills are organically acquired at crucial story moments.



Heading back to the nearest campfire is often the safest bet when looking to rest and rejuvenate. Aside from refilling all party members’ HP and MP bars, Garl, your trusty combat cook (who fights with a pot lid) can whip up some tasty dishes using ingredients either purchased or gathered while out and about. These meals can then be used to replenish resources mid-fight. Here is where you can also hand in any looted artifacts to the travelling historian, Teaks, in exchange for tales offering more context and backstory to some of the people and places you’ll eventually encounter in your travels.

Sea of Stars boasts some fairly open-ended exploration throughout a decent variety of highly detailed and occasionally sprawling environments.

Outside of the combat loop, Sea of Stars boasts some fairly open-ended exploration throughout a decent variety of highly detailed and occasionally sprawling environments. From the bustling port town of Brisk, to the hauntingly beautiful and cursed streets of Lucent, almost every location is full of non-essential NPCs with one or two lines of unique dialogue to seek out. Some may even hint at secret areas or request a favour in exchange for a reward. Both major (like towns and settlements) and minor locations (like fishing spots) are separated by an overworld map – with no random encounters to speak of as you make your way from point A to B.



The art direction and aesthetics lean heavily into the classic 16-bit pixel-art style, albeit considerably more enhanced, and the sprite work on display here is impressively detailed, vibrant and positively packed with personality. Every zone feels visually distinct and both player characters and enemies are all equally receiving of this love and care. Boss battles always carry an aura of grandeur about them, featuring their own superb designs and often consisting of multiple targetable parts that make up the greater whole. Taking down a gigantic plant monstrosity, for instance, might require dealing with each tendril before it exposes its weak core for pummelling. These are all mechanics you’ve seen before in some capacity, but the appealing visuals and addictively simple combat keeps every duel to the death feeling fresh as a daisy.

It’s likewise an absolute pleasure seeking out hidden chests or optional environmental puzzles (some involving changing the time of day using your powers or requiring you to reach previously inaccessible areas by activating your grappling hook) because of how alive the world feels, and how much wandering off the intended path is clearly encouraged. Some of these chests contain improved gear, effectively eliminating the need to purchase better weapons or armour from a merchant – so pay attention to your surroundings if you want to save on gold.



While there are plenty of reasons to sing this game’s praises, there are a very small number of minor issues present. Nothing bug-related or technical, mercifully. Rare textual errors in dialogue, as well as some of the side characters relying way too much on repetitive catchphrases are the kind of near-insignificant gripes you’ll brush off with ease. The brief animated cutscenes that pop up every now and then are well-done, but the smooth and crisp animation is jarringly divorced from every other aspect of Sea of Stars’ art direction.

It can sometimes be difficult to ascertain what parts of the map are enterable, allow for passing through, or serve as a usable platform as a direct result of the 2D presentation.

Once again, nothing to worry about here. Perhaps the biggest source of frustration you’ll run into playing this game rears its head in the considerably denser areas of the world. It can sometimes be difficult to ascertain what parts of the map are enterable, allow for passing through, or serve as a usable platform as a direct result of the 2D presentation. These instances are rare, but they can happen. As you might expect, this, too, barely makes a dent in the grand scheme of things.



I’m sure many will come to Sea of Stars as a direct result of the nostalgia factor and artistic appeal, ultimately staying for the easy-to-grasp combat and enjoyable gameplay. The story might not be particularly revolutionary, and a few side characters may rub you the wrong way, but the sheer fun factor rises above all other potentially detracting elements to deliver a truly memorable experience - easily earning a recommendation.

*Reviewed by Ryan Pretorius