Sea of Stars

 Switch
User Score
7.6

Generally favorable reviews- based on 79 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 59 out of 79
  2. Mixed: 4 out of 79
  3. Negative: 16 out of 79

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  1. Straid
    Sep 10, 2023
    10
    Absolutely fantastic old school RPG.
    Does the SMRPG meets Illusion of Gaia thing well.
    Props to Sabotage.
    Can't wait for DLC.
  2. secretmrX
    Sep 8, 2023
    10
    One of the best games I have played this year. I absolutely love the art style and even more the story and all its plot twists. Normally not a huge JRPG fan, but I love this game.
  3. DeviceHigh
    Sep 8, 2023
    10
    I loved every single aspect about this game, one of the best experiences I had ever by playing an indie game. TY Sabotage Studio, SoS deserves all of love and positive ratings from people who trully enjoyed this masterpiece.
  4. btl630900
    Sep 7, 2023
    9
    Sea of stars is a great RPG with fantastic pixel art, areas and world design coupled with strongly engaging combat and bosses plus a solid soundtrack with some great hits. It does very well with a tons of fantastic looking areas, great and well varied enemy design changing up each area and a really cool world with some really unique ideas and sequences. For an indie game its really solid,Sea of stars is a great RPG with fantastic pixel art, areas and world design coupled with strongly engaging combat and bosses plus a solid soundtrack with some great hits. It does very well with a tons of fantastic looking areas, great and well varied enemy design changing up each area and a really cool world with some really unique ideas and sequences. For an indie game its really solid, with very few things that hold it back. At times characters and plot, moments feel straightforward forward and predictable classics heroes tales but enough solid moments and one that really hits home. At times the sequel being present feels like you are missing moments if you didn't play it and forces thing where ending will feel a bit abrupt or off. scope of world starting to outgrow some of what is presented. Main protagonists could improve and feel a bit chosen one, but are fine. It could use more explanation of moments, motivations and expansion of story and especially gear system at times and skills towards end. But for what it it a great worthwhile time and feels like a good combination of the past and its own ideas. Really good time.… Expand
  5. sosad
    Sep 6, 2023
    9
    Got my plat, very nice and beautiful RPG with good music. Like brought me back to 90's JRPG. You can feel they have put lots of time to make it.
  6. EduardoMoya
    Sep 6, 2023
    10
    I can't help to give 10/10 to any game that have any traces of love in it. Amazing art, music, craft and creativity. Good work.
  7. jadge
    Sep 6, 2023
    10
    Amazing game. Best implementation of action mechanics in a JRPG since Mario & Luigi. Lots to explore, fantastic writing style with a very organic feel, great variety of enemies and attack types
  8. Chromozones
    Sep 6, 2023
    10
    Amazingly detailed game, fun combat and a great story to go along with it with some good jokes slipped in.
  9. Lanxgo
    Sep 6, 2023
    10
    O jogo é muito bom! Para quem gosta de RPG de turno, ele trouxe um game tão bom quanto os clássicos que conhecemos, uma gameplay mais inovadora (mas que foi inspirada/copiada de outros jogos) com pescaria, culinária, lutas um pouco mais dinâmicas pois te dão a possibilidade de boostar teu ataque e defender alguns golpes. Estava com saudades de um jogo assim!
  10. Corpsedog
    Sep 5, 2023
    10
    Review below.

    Don't BOTHER with the wasteful negative reviews. They are simply not a valid critique but an effort in seething at oneself instead and blaming the game. Ordadek, you seriously didn't save your game after FIFTEEN HOURS and you rage in your own review and blame the game for what clearly shows is merely a reflection of your own short sightedness to do the simplest of    Review below.

    Don't BOTHER with the wasteful negative reviews. They are simply not a valid critique but an effort in seething at oneself instead and blaming the game.
    Ordadek, you seriously didn't save your game after FIFTEEN HOURS and you rage in your own review and blame the game for what clearly shows is merely a reflection of your own short sightedness to do the simplest of requirements in any RPG.

    Onto the review:
    INSTANT. CLASSIC.
    This could have easily stood out amongst the SNES-era RPG giants of the time had it released back then and it would also have been a childhood favorite. That being said, it STILL holds its own in 2023. I knew I was right to expect something great when this announced. The way you traverse the world in this game is so satisfying with its buttery smooth transitions into gorgeous animations of jumping, sliding, falling, edging along a cliff, diving into a lake and so on. The game just stays so fun to interact with. Yasunori Mitsuda is still crushing it with music as memorable as Chrono Trigger and the many environments are beautifully scored. The combat system is engaging, letting partners even swap out members in battle without even taking a turn to do so or worse having to switch at a static location and as such feels very fluid and makes use of every character at any time removing the feeling that you aren't utilizing each character. While not so challenging of a game so far, it has its moments and the relic to bump the difficulty will be a welcome addition for veterans or it can be very friendly for newcomers. The story is actually phenomenal and executed beautifully. It is not filled with typical JRPG tropes en masse and even side characters are very entertaining or intriguing. The unfolding plot is as engrossing and as worthy as Chrono Trigger. I mean it. This is a great game that shouldn't be judged too quickly. The characters have adequately entertaining backgrounds and it all seems to work really well while letting the player fill in some of the gaps with imagination as you stroll along and each character has just enough spark to make them endearing along the journey and not overly simple or complex. My favorite area so far has to be the Marsh on Mesa, home to Yomara. Just wow. Beautiful environment and excellent scoring here. Sprawling and very fun to navigate. There are plenty of fun things to do in this game and even more ways to do them. There are so many secrets to discover, Easter eggs, a parrot that helps locate missing treasures in the world and even a very cool minigame called Wheels.

    I can't put this down and I'm already getting a physical copy for my switch when it releases next year. What a solid RPG. This game is truly great. Ignore the negative reviews and immerse yourself in this world and you'll find plenty to love.

    Also below, check out Jirard The Completionist on youtube's very emotional and intimate connection with the history of the game and Sabotage team.

    https://youtu.be/u9mBsmiXR0I?si=VTsJXJ3oDvIYvw8G    … Expand
  11. Albertomhg
    Sep 5, 2023
    9
    Un gran juego y sin duda de los mejores indies de lo que llevamos de año, un apartado visual precioso, combate por turnos clásico pero con un giro de tuerca que le da más profundidad, y una buena historia que cumple. El único defecto que se le puede encontrar es que puede llegar a ser algo repetitivo en algunos tramos, pero el juego es lo suficiente divertido para pasar esto por alto.
  12. FeleRodriguez
    Sep 5, 2023
    10
    Sea of Stars no es solo un juego inspirado en los JRPG retro de los noventa, es mucho más que eso. Toma prestados varios elementos de los juegos en los que se inspira, pero los utiliza de tal forma que sentimos como si los estuviéramos jugando o viendo por primera vez. Si bien, durante las primeras horas de juego la historia avanza algo lenta, esto nos permite disfrutar, por mientras, deSea of Stars no es solo un juego inspirado en los JRPG retro de los noventa, es mucho más que eso. Toma prestados varios elementos de los juegos en los que se inspira, pero los utiliza de tal forma que sentimos como si los estuviéramos jugando o viendo por primera vez. Si bien, durante las primeras horas de juego la historia avanza algo lenta, esto nos permite disfrutar, por mientras, de los hermosos paisajes y gráficos del juego (que deberían comenzar a ser el estándar para JRPG en pixel art). Sin embargo, transcurridas las primeras 5 a 10 horas de juego, cada información nueva que vamos recolectando, cada pieza de historia, cada nuevo personaje, va tejiendo un panorama más complejo y profundo de este mundo al borde de la destrucción. Y a pesar de que la historia siga siendo una lucha clásica del bien contra el mal, está construida de tal forma que nos permite ir descubriendo junto a sus protagonistas todo lo que realmente está en juego.… Expand
  13. Themajority
    Sep 5, 2023
    1
    The trailers and art style got my attention but when actually playing on ps5 included with ps plus. I was glad I didn't actually buy it on switch. The game is well advertised but the game itself is super boring and did not grab my attention. The majority speaks
  14. Odradek
    Sep 4, 2023
    0
    After 15 hours played something "funny" happened. I got killed by some random birds and chose the option "continue" to keep playing. So the game loaded a file -who knows how -of a past saved game where I had been playing for just 4 hours-ish... Needless to say this means goodbye for me playing this game. Might check the ending on youtube. Thanks for making me waste that time...
    I wanted    After 15 hours played something "funny" happened. I got killed by some random birds and chose the option "continue" to keep playing. So the game loaded a file -who knows how -of a past saved game where I had been playing for just 4 hours-ish... Needless to say this means goodbye for me playing this game. Might check the ending on youtube. Thanks for making me waste that time...
    I wanted to end it in order to have a complete opinion. But here goes nothing.
    (Clears throat)
    Nostalgia is a dangerous thing. Specially because it is all about what you understood of an entertainment product when your brain was not fully developed. And there comes the problem of this game. You just need a few hours to noticed how half-baked it is. Sea of Stars shows a colorful and attractive visual style... and that's it. It's OST is extremely overrated,it's combat system is too simple and repetitive and it's dialogues are far from funny or interesting. There's no dramatic weight whatsoever during the story, some characters make decisions completely out of the blue and only to make the story move on artificially. Let alone it has the most obnoxious, irritating, shallow character ever written in all fiction story. I'm serious, the main engine that kept me playing the game was the hope to see this character die alone in pain. Every like spoken by this character was worse than the previous. Just terrible.
    After wasting all these hours my only hope is that somebody reads this and decides not to play this game. Or at least waste their money on it. Thank the gods I played it on Game Pass.
    If you are thinking about checking it out, don't. Go play (or re-play) Chrono Trigger. Revive your own nostalgia. Don't let others try to convince you of their vision of what was cool, or funny, or moving, or epic, or just fun... this game is not.    … Expand
  15. darkobi
    Sep 4, 2023
    10
    Sea of ​​Stars is one of the best JRPGs of recent years. A game full of love in each of its sections. The game is strongly inspired by Chrono Trigger, the map where we move, the level design, the combat with combos between characters, and the music with melodies by the same composer Yasunori Mitsuda.
    For JRPG lovers it is a breath of fresh air and shows that these games still have a place    Sea of ​​Stars is one of the best JRPGs of recent years. A game full of love in each of its sections. The game is strongly inspired by Chrono Trigger, the map where we move, the level design, the combat with combos between characters, and the music with melodies by the same composer Yasunori Mitsuda.
    For JRPG lovers it is a breath of fresh air and shows that these games still have a place in this world    … Expand
  16. Fennec
    Sep 1, 2023
    10
    Easily the best JRPG I've ever played, it combines all the best parts of Chrono Trigger and Super Mario RPG. Absolutely stunning pixel art, half of the game i spent stunned at how beautiful it was and the other half I was enjoying the combat system not just solely being strategy and not just being pure witling down, a mixture of both that compliment each other perfectly and meant I neverEasily the best JRPG I've ever played, it combines all the best parts of Chrono Trigger and Super Mario RPG. Absolutely stunning pixel art, half of the game i spent stunned at how beautiful it was and the other half I was enjoying the combat system not just solely being strategy and not just being pure witling down, a mixture of both that compliment each other perfectly and meant I never felt I was bored even in the late game.

    Better yet the story tops it all off. Genuinely one of the best games I've played this year I can only compare it in enjoyment to playing tears of kingdom.    … Expand
  17. Ozymandias30
    Aug 31, 2023
    8
    A beautiful game. crisp colors and great gameplay.
    downfall is , its just too short and turn based is just not i wanted
  18. Vdll44
    Aug 31, 2023
    10
    I don’t get people saying the story is bad. It’s a JRPG, there is a great evil, and protagonists shall do everything they can to beat it. Like what did you expect ?

    Characters have enough depth for this genre, the wheels minigame is so **** satisfying, combat is amazing and engaging, difficulty is fair but not too easy, (you have a relic that make it both more or less difficult, btw)    I don’t get people saying the story is bad. It’s a JRPG, there is a great evil, and protagonists shall do everything they can to beat it. Like what did you expect ?

    Characters have enough depth for this genre, the wheels minigame is so **** satisfying, combat is amazing and engaging, difficulty is fair but not too easy, (you have a relic that make it both more or less difficult, btw)
    Pixel art is stunning, art direction as well, DYNAMIC LIGHTING is FABULOUS, character design is on point.
    Easy, solid 10/10.
    Thank you Sabotage    … Expand
  19. Tharso
    Aug 31, 2023
    10
    Mas que jogo incrível, era exatamente o que eu queria em um RPG de turno, amei o combate (no estilo da franquia "Mario & Luigi" da antiga AlphaDream), me lembra muito vários RPGs clássicos que jogava na infância e até que de certa forma mata minha saudade, que jornada incrível que tá sendo essa experiência ♥️
  20. GamerNerdXl
    Aug 30, 2023
    10
    É o melhor Jrpg da década, nos trazendo ótimas recordações dos antigos grandes jrpgs, Super Mario Rpg, Chrono Trigger, Breath of Fire... É um game que nos mostra que mesmo não sendo AAA, as empresas Indie, podem sim, bater de frente com as grandes empresas, que por sinal, não vem trazendo jogos com extrema qualidade igual Sea of Stars!

Awards & Rankings

6
#6 Best Switch Game of 2023
13
#13 Most Discussed Switch Game of 2023

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
90

Universal acclaim - based on 19 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 18 out of 19
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 19
  3. Negative: 0 out of 19
  1. Starbit
    Mar 4, 2024
    80
    Its beautiful and detailed visual settings and marvelous soundtrack place the players right where they would love to be, and the game's exploration mechanics and combat keep pulling ahead towards discovering more new lands. Classic JRPGs can't get much better than Sea of Stars.
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  2. GameCritics
    Oct 12, 2023
    95
    Sea of Stars is an outstanding RPG experience that, for me, has become an instant classic. Story elements, combat, and worldbuilding all feel simultaneously retro-inspired and deeply innovative. I am floored with the creativity, wonder, and life Sabotage Studio poured into their second game, and I cannot wait to see what they have in store for us next. Until then, whether you’ve played hundreds of RPG’s or if this is your first, Sea of Stars is a must-play.
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  3. Impulsegamer
    Sep 24, 2023
    94
    Featuring excellently paced turn based combat and a memorable story taking place in a beautiful, interactive world to explore – Sea of Stars is a dream come true for 90’s RPG fans, RPG fans, and fans of great video games.
    Read full review
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