(Starbound is, at the time of posting, unfinished and does not have an ESRB rating.)

Have you ever played a sandbox game? No, no, not building a sand castle as a child – sandbox games are video games that drop you into a large world and leave you to your own devices. Some sandbox games literally do just that – thrust you into the fray, pants or not, such as the wildly popular Minecraft and Terraria. Others, such as Grand Theft Auto, have a more linear backbone. Starbound manages to fit itself perfectly between the two. I inevitably ran out of fuel above an alien planet, saw countless indescribable horrors, and fought my way through prisons, temples, and research facilities for this review of Starbound.

(At the time this review, Starbound is unfinished and currently in public beta. This review covers the “Furious Koala” version of the public beta.)

Plot – The Story

(Above: a bit of the Floran backstory.)

In Starbound, you can currently select from 6 different humanoid races. They are, in no particular order, Human, Glitch (androids), Hylotl (fish-esque beings), Floran (sentient plants), Avian (bird-esque creatures), and Apex (hyper-intelligent monkeys). Each race you select to play as has a unique backstory, but each one starts out with the same basic principle: for one reason or another you have run out of fuel above an alien planet, and must search the planet for food and a fuel source for your ship. Beyond this core element lies a different storyline for each race.

Playability – How The Game Feels In Your Hands

(Above: Using the Energy Dash tech allows you to quickly dash forward.)

As with any 2-D sidescroller, it’s imperative that the controls are tight and feel natural. Starbound features simple and elegant controls, solid and accurate. The left and right mouse buttons use whatever is in your left and right hand respectively, WASD keys move you around, and Space is used to jump. Everything feels fluid and responsive – if you miss a jump and go flying off of a cliff, it’s probably your own fault.

Another interesting option you have is pressing N and clicking on things, which causes your character to explain something about that object. While this is useful for determining what something you don’t recognize may be, what’s really interesting about this is that every race has something different to say. For example, if you investigate your spaceship’s thrusters, a Human explains how the engine “eats through fuel.” Investigate the same thruster with an Apex, and they’ll talk about how that particular style of booster has a tendency to “malfunction and explode.” Again, investigating that very booster with a Hylotl causes your character to simply state “Propulsion.”

While the investigation mechanic adds depth to the game and personality to the characters, some items aren’t (or at least seem not to be) quite finished in regard to the text displayed – trees, for example, are simply defined as what they are in very basic terms. For example, a large white tree, upon investigation, is “birch with orangeflower”. Another type of tree literally causes your player to say “something with frumpy”. Even with these little quirks, however, the attention to detail is astonishing.

Presentation – How The Game Looks And Sounds

(Above: Starbound features beautiful visuals.)

The Starbound team boasts some incredible artists and composers. The detail in the game is unbelievable, and every new world you visit brings with it a slew of unique and interesting things to see and hear. There are trees with eyeballs instead of leaves, beautiful night-time meteor showers (shown above), and astounding backdrops to top it all off. That cluster of asteroids you saw next to the planet you’re visiting? It’s in the sky once you touch down. There’s just so many things this game does right visually. And I haven’t even talked about the audio yet.

The musical tracks in this game are nothing short of outstanding. Lots of instruments combine to form pieces that would cause any big-budget Hollywood producer to drool. Blending perfectly into the whole experience, the theme changes based on what’s going on around you. Say you’re walking along on some beautiful planet. The music is happy, with violins and pianos and soft vocal choirs – oh, no! Suddenly a giant monster starts attacking you! The score then seamlessly transitions into a fast orchestral epic. After the battle is over, there’s another flawless transition back into the original song.

Again, the detail is incredible. If, for example, you jump into a big pool of water, all the sounds – the music, the sound effects, wild creatures’ cries, etc. – become muffled and waterlogged. There’s absolutely no reason this had to be done. The game would have been perfectly fine without this feature. It’s the attention to detail that makes the appearance, the sound, really everything about this game so memorable.

Performance – The Sum Of Its Parts

(Above: A Hylotl sympathizes with a fellow aquatic creature.)

Like most sandbox games, there’s virtually limitless amounts of things to do. You simply have to do them. Go find out what’s on the other end of the planet. Obliterate all who oppose your ransacking of an Avian temple. Grow countless different crops in a massive super-garden. While you are not held back in any way while playing alone, where this game, and the majority of other sandbox games, shines is in the multiplayer. Experiencing Starbound with friends is an entirely different experience, full of friendly (and sometimes not so friendly) competition and a heightened sense of adventure when exploring a new, deep, dark cave with your allies. Knowing there’s someone watching your back with an Uzi in one hand and a giant flaming sword in the other helps to take the edge off of any situation.

That’s not to say there isn’t fun to be had for for the more peace-inclined. There’s hundreds of unique blocks that can be broken and re-placed wherever you like, as well as hundreds of items such as furniture and décor to deck out your creations, offering hours upon hours of creative fun. Want to build a few skyscrapers? Sure, why not? What if you want to remind the denizens of your home planet who’s in charge? Erect a magnificent statue to your glory, that should keep them all in line! Perhaps you are a more caring individual, and want to build everyone a bigger, better home then they currently have? Go right ahead! Starbound lets you do all of these things and more.

A large part of this game is exploration – finding out what is just around the bend. You never know what it could be. A large Glitch village? Perhaps an abandoned Apex research facility? Or what if it’s a large anchor, attached to a chain that leads to a massive Avian airship? Every world is unique, and exploring and finding everything there is to find on each planet adds immensely to the game’s charm. Bored? Simply jump into your spaceship, press the “Find Random Planet” button, and off you go!

Postlude – Final Thoughts

Starbound is a game that gives you all the tools you need to have fun. You can build anything you want to! You can adventure to thousands of unique planets! Or you can uncover ancient secrets, amass a mighty collection of clothing, become the single most wealthy creature to exist by mining up loads and loads of gold… the list goes on. But this is where the game may fall short with some players: you have to make your own fun. The game offers you a bucket of building blocks; you have to decide what to do with it. The lack of “this is what you must do next” may be a turn-off to some players, which is understandable. However, if you are a fan of games such as Minecraft or Terraria, for example, or simply want a great way to spend a few hours at the computer, then this game is literally right up your alley. Chucklefish still have a lot on their plate, but so far the fruits of their labours are sweet, and oh-so satisfying.

You can pre-order the final version of Starbound, which, in addition to granting you a copy of the final product upon completion, allows you immediate access the the public beta and all of it’s features, directly from Steam, or from their webpage via Humble Bundle.

DSBwizzardscall, 2/10/2014