Modern game design can be a fickle beast, in that it often falls on either end of the spectrum of innovation. On one hand, you have games that are content to ‘play it safe’ and only stick to well-worn genre conventions that are satisfying, if not unsurprising. On the other end, you have games that try a little too hard to create something new, and end up losing their own sense of identity as a result. Star Renegades – the latest release from Massive Damage – falls somewhere closer to the latter group. Here we have a game with inspirations that include, but are not limited to, Octopath Traveler, the Middle Earth games, Grandia, Hyper Light Drifter, and Into the Breach. That’s quite a spectrum of different ideas to condense down into just one experience, and perhaps the most surprising thing is that Star Renegades actually manages to nail the execution – for the most part.
Star Renegades’ story primarily sees you taking control of Wynn Syphex, a snarky leader of the rebellion against a cosmic military group called ‘The Imperium’ in some galaxy far, far away. The key thing here is that The Imperium is on a multidimensional conquest campaign, so they’ve come from the next dimension or two over to assert their will. This is where the roguelite element comes in. You most assuredly won’t succeed on your first attempt to fend them off, meaning that universe will be conquered and you must try again to stop their crushing march in another, similar reality.
As you’d expect from a release with a looping, roguelite design such as this, the storytelling is fittingly surface-level. Sure, there are plenty of confusing proper nouns thrown around and the world as a whole gives off the impression of being quite ‘lived in’, but on a moment-to-moment basis, it’s clear that the narrative is simply there to provide a rational framework for the endlessly repeating game design. Some may decry this, but this story serves its purpose well and at the very least keeps you interested in the world itself as the hours roll by.
A typical run will see you running from planet to planet to repel the invading force there in a lengthy, multi-day campaign. You’re given a few days to reach the objective before whatever Big Bad can reach it, but the objective is usually placed at a node on the map which will take you a few in-game days to reach. Each planet’s map is divided up into nodes which you capture one at a time, and you can only take three per day before you have to set up camp and rest prior to the next excursion.
You don’t have enough time to explore every node on the map, which introduces a light, meta-strategy element to how you approach each planet. Do you take the shortest and most efficient route to reach the objective first, or do you take a few detours to pick up some valued materials? Some nodes will have nice boons – like credit caches or health refills – while others will house powerful enemies that grant you rare gear and huge EXP bumps if you can manage to overwhelm them. There are no right answers here, of course, but your decisions day to day will nonetheless affect your long-term success, which gives each decision you make a rewarding sense of weight. When you inevitably do fall, it’s almost always traceable back to a few choices you made at some point, and the consequences you did or didn’t accrue as a result.
When you take on enemies, battles play out in a turn-based fashion that’s one part Octopath Traveler and one part Grandia. Each turn is governed by an overarching timeline which decides the order of enemy and player actions. At the start of every turn, you know exactly which enemies will attack, who they’re targeting, what kind of attack they’ll use, and exactly when the attack will land. Given this information, you’re then expected to respond in a way that best negates the enemies’ actions while advancing your own.
Some attacks have the ability to push enemies further back on the timeline, which then can create windows for heavier attacks with longer windup times or outright cancel the enemy’s action if you can manage to push them off the timeline completely. This also triggers a ‘Break’ status which sees their defence lowered and creates a perfect window to really bring the pain. Of course, such tactics can equally be employed against your team, too, resulting in some team members getting positively bodied if you don’t pay attention to where their move lands on the timeline.
Decisions have to be made with both the long and short game in mind, which makes every turn of every battle feel fittingly important. Each party member’s health is governed by a combination of Shields, Armour, and Health points. Shield health goes down first, and is replenished at the conclusion of each battle, while the latter two go down permanently and can only be fixed in limited circumstances. Given the difficulty of each fight, it’s all but assured that your party will take quite a beating, so each turn becomes a matter of not just figuring out how to most effectively dispatch the enemy, but also how to best distribute the incoming damage across the whole team.
Battles are made more complex by ‘named’ enemies each having specific resistances and weakness, too, which is where the Shadow of Mordor influence comes in. Some foes, for example, may be particularly weak to Heavy attacks while others are resistant to AoE attacks. These sorts of values are determined randomly each run and differ depending on the enemy Captain you’re fighting against, meaning that every battle requires you to tweak your tactics and techniques to best fit the unique challenges you’re faced with. Though it certainly isn’t a system as deep as its clear inspiration, we rather enjoyed the Nemesis-lite system at play here, as it goes a long way in ensuring that each run is challenging in its own way.
Each team member levels up in a linear, straightforward fashion in which new attacks and cards (more on that later) are unlocked at an easy pace. Again, your decision-making skills are put to the test here, however, as you must manually distribute the EXP required to level each character. After winning a battle, this can lead to many tough choices between shoring up the clearly weak members of your party, or further buffing up the already overpowered ones. Whichever route you take, the effects luckily feel suitably impactful, meaning that each level feels like a big step up over wherever that character may have been just prior.
This feeling is echoed upon successfully defending a planet, where you’re then given the chance to choose a new member to add to the party. Not only does this give you yet another upgrade path to consider with your EXP, but it also gives your party a whole extra set of actions it can potentially take each turn, which can be a continental shift in some cases. Suffice to say, Star Renegades does an excellent job of making you as the player feel consistently empowered in your decision-making, as it routinely gives you several avenues of tangible, effective growth.
Case in point, at the campfire between battles, your team gets to engage in a Persona-esque relationship exchange that has a substantial effect on your chances of success. Each team member has a small collection of cards that represent varying boons – from health recovery to temporary increases to damage output – and these have both a cost to them as well as a ‘heart value’. You can use many of the cards ‘selfishly’ for that character, but you’re encouraged to grant the effects to other characters so you can bolster the relationship between them, which then has the knock-on effect of granting passive stat buffs after certain milestones are passed.
These campfire portions never last more than a minute or two given how you can only use four or five cards before you run out of points to spend, but they nonetheless can have a massive effect on the battles immediately to follow and longterm as you build relationships between characters. Like everything else in Star Renegades, you have nowhere near the resources you need to do everything you want, so a critical prioritization of your needs is necessary. Aside from all the practical benefits, these campfire portions also put int a lot of legwork for deepening the characterization of each of your party members, which nicely bolsters the somewhat thin storytelling elsewhere.
In case you haven’t gathered thus far, Star Renegades is a distinctively pondering kind of experience. This is not an RPG that you can simply play casually and expect to succeed; every decision you make both on the small and large scale has an irreparable effect on the run as a whole, meaning that you really need to spend your time scrutinizing every stat and value as you mentally play out all the angles. Those of you who enjoy such staunch consequences in an RPG will want to take note, then, as there’s plenty of customization options and important decisions to make along the way to determine whether or not you succeed.
On the other hand, those of you who prefer more simplistic RPG experiences may want to steer clear, as Star Renegades could best be summed up as an extremely fraught analysis of spreadsheets and numbers to best determine the suitable outcome. This is a deep game if you put in the effort, and if you aren’t willing to put in the effort, you’ll simply fail and never come close to finding any meaningful sense of satisfaction in the gameplay.
As for its presentation, Star Renegades does a fantastic job of selling a neon-infused high science fiction world, one rife with plenty of synthesizers and impeccably drawn pixel art. Every character and enemy sprite is drawn in the kind of ‘High-Bit’ art style that really stretches the limits of what pixel art can achieve and the environments are rife with all kinds of varied geographic features – such as mountains and fallen titans – to make for plenty of visually interesting spectacles. Attacks almost always play out in a dramatic and flashy explosion of motion and light, which goes a long way towards instilling these turn-based battles with lots of energy. Those of you with an affinity for well-drawn pixel art will find plenty to love here, then, as Star Renegades proves itself to be the gift that keeps on giving on this front.
Before closing out this review, we feel it bears mentioning that Star Renegades is held back somewhat by some technical issues. Frame drops are rampant throughout the experience, especially when you’re executing some of the flashier moves that trigger a lot of screen-shake and zoom effects. Though the framerate never gets in the way of gameplay, it does still hamstring the presentation somewhat and cheapens a lot of cool moments by bogging them down in stuttering motion.
Conclusion
Star Renegades deserves to be in the conversation of the best games of 2020 that you’ve never heard of. Like a lot of indies, its primary sales pitch is how it fuses ideas from a bunch of popular and well-respected releases, but it succeeds where many others fail in actually making something inventive and compelling with those borrowed ideas. At its best, Star Renegades is a gorgeous, deep, challenging, and thoroughly gripping release that successfully delivers a fun and enjoyable experience. There are some technical issues that hold it back from perfection, but there’s little else here that otherwise feels below par. Star Renegades is a title that absolutely belongs in your Switch library; if you’re a fan of roguelites, RPGs, or strategy games, you owe it to yourself to give this one a shot.
Comments 48
This sounds right up my alley. I can really get into a game like this. Being science fiction based instead of fantasy is a plus, since I have a ton of fantasy games and not a lot of sci-fi. Hoping for a physical release.
played this on game pass and its a good little game
Hmmmm! Totally out of nowhere but for sure on my radar!
I’m hoping that some patches fix up the notes frame rate issues.
I’m playing through Jenny Leclue now (REALLY cool, if you haven’t tried, and we’ll worth the 80% off sale I got it for..), but after that I may be looking here.
Hopefully some more comments from people who have played the game will surface as well.
And if any mention of a physical release, I’d be in 100%
Not my style of game at all, but damn is it gorgeous...that alone makes me really really interested.
Never heard of the game till now (even though it's been on steam for nearly 3 months) but I am already interested. Trying to decide if I should get this for switch or pc.
Definitely one I’ll play on Game Pass. I’ve been playing Haven and River City Girls and they’re both amazing.
I find it ... interesting that being at just the right difficulty is a positive, and being too hardcore is a negative. I'm struggling to figure out how those can simultaneously be the case. I'm sure I'll figure it out eventually.
Good review that has peaked my interest. Was a little disappointed with John Wick so will have a look at some gameplay of this in next few days. Cheers.
Had my eye on this game but I've spent too much recently already.
The game sounds intriguing but I'm wondering how 'rogue-like' it is. Does losing mean starting from scratch completely or does it mean trying again with a stronger team until you eventually succeed? I'm interested in the latter, and it's a hard pass if it's the former.
Another good game out of the blue for me. Sounds like something I would be interested in. Some of the other games you mentioned in the revw that have similarities to this one are ones that I have enjoyed as well.
@JimmySpades Another way of looking at it could be like a souls game. Some souls games can be really difficult while others can be just right or too easy but as a whole the souls genre can be too hardcore for many people.
I've heard good things about this game already. Also, very nice Read 💯
Might give this a Go
@Dualmask It's a bit in between those two options, from my understanding. There are some resources that carry over from run to run that allow you to purchase new characters or weapons to select on subsequent runs.
It looks a bit like FTL or The Binding of Isaac in that sense, where you're unlocking more options as you play, rather than specifically getting stronger with each playthrough.
@Dualmask You acquire two currencies over a run, and when you have to start over, you then invest these into both your team and your gear. So, you can upgrade classes and unlock new ones for use immediately (you start with just 3 and get a new one after conquering each planet), and you can buy new loot that then has a chance to show up in the loot crates along the way. You can even ‘promote’ gear, to guarantee it shows up earlier.
Rogue-likes/lites are the new Metroidvania. The oversaturation is killing me. I was interested right up until that part.
@JimmySpades it's a warning shot to casuals like me. Point taken!
Like some others have said in this article, I love the graphical presentation in this game. It just seems to difficult to grasp for me though.
@SwitchVogel @PerishSong Hmm, sounds like it might not be for me. I like games where my progression is more so in my own hands rather than relying on luck or RNG. Thanks for the info. I won't dismiss it entirely, some rogue-like games have held my attention, but I won't rush to get it.
@Dualmask Yeah, you don't have direct control in the same way that you would in Scourgebringer or something, where you've got a skill tree that you fill out a bit after each run.
I'd still say it's worth a look tho! I made it to the final boss on my first run (just on normal difficulty), so it's definitely one of those where you can get by fine even before you've gotten any of those upgrades in place.
My wife asked me what I wanted for Christmas. I said "get me an SD card and tons of game gift cards for the eShop. That's all I really want. That, and a vaccine."
@SilentHunter382 what exactly is the souls genre?
I always thought its games like Dark Souls (hence the name), but these days I hear the description a lot together with Immortals Fenyx Rising. Which - in my opinion at least - is something completely different.
I also did a google search before asking here. But I could not really get a clear answer on what the souls genre is in short terms. Maybe my english is not good enough to understand the nuances.
@Yanina The way I see the Souls genre is games that are difficult where if you die you drop unused experience points where you need to go back and collect it where you died. If you die again before collect the experience it is lost forever.
That to me is the bare minimum in my view to be classed as a souls game.
This game is a real gem. Minor issues aside, really reminds me of ftl in a sense, but is turn based. Highly recommend.
I really want to get into this game, but the crashing issues are a huge deterrent.
Hopefully it gets a patch sooner than later.
I didn't like it at all & i love rpgs. You have to attack before the enemies to "break" them, which denies them a turn (but can only be done so many times depending on the enemy). The story was extremely boring & i didn't like the graphics either (i usually hate retro style, so it has to be really unique for me to like it). I was hoping for the gameplay to pick up the slack. But for me it didn't come close, sadly. I'd prefer fantasy over the setting here, also. You should avoid if you think it will be anything like a jrpg or traditional rpg, even if you adore turn based gameplay, as i do.
@SilentHunter382 they also have a stingy stamina gauge, limiting your attacks & dodges. Also they have very tough & unforgiving (but fair) gameplay.
@SilentHunter382 it's on game pass, so PC would be cheaper, at least to see if u like it.
@Yanina Game reviewers love to draw any comparison to Dark Soulw, no matter how contrived 😂
I'd say the Souls genre is defined as a high-difficulty melee action game where all your actions are governed by a limited stamina meter AND an important currency is temporarily (possibly permanently) lost upon your repeated deaths.
Never played a rouge lite game before. I was interested in Hades but the whole randomization and die/start from scratch doesnt really do it for me from the description of them.
@nessisonett River city girls is on my list when it next hits a sale.
@Yanina Think Mystery Dungeon, dying has consequences. Pair it with an interconnected world and stamina based combat and that’s the basic ingredients.
@Kidfunkadelic83 It’s fantastic. The combat is just complicated enough to avoid being boring while still being simple, the characters are really well written and it actually provides a decent amount of challenge. I’d strongly recommend it.
I'm a huge fan of Into The Breach so this review has really got me interested.
Just wondering how complicated it might get. I felt that ITB was the most perfectly balanced game I'd ever played - just the right amount of interlocking decision making that you can feel like a genius without busting out a spreadsheet, which is hinted at as necessary here.
@nessisonett i think its more the style of game really for me. I will check out a few more reviews and get a better idea of what its like.
I did watch Dodger stream this a while ago. The gameplay and story are intriguing, but I really can't understand some of the design choices. This is a prime example of when design hurts gameplay.
Important to note that the art itself is great. My problem is with broder design choices.
Example: In battles the perspective combined with character sizes and placement, together with an moving environment, makes it hard to focus your eye. I think they should have studied the golden ratio a little when designing these segments.
The world is also a little messy.
Seems like a good game that I want to test on game pass but where I'm weirdly bothered by the design.
It remind me of Jotun. Good game and generally nice drawings, but the perspective was always a little off in almost every background.
@twztid13 Chears for letting me know about it being on gamepass but I don't like using the Windows store to download games is that I am unable to back them up. That is the only reason I don't buy or use gamepass from there.
@N64-ROX There's definitely some of those vibes here. I spend every turn considering all the angles just like in ITB, but here it feels just a little bit nicer to you. Lol ITB was never about winning, just figuring out how to lose the least.
@SwitchVogel Thanks for the reply! I felt Into The Breach gave me some brutal choices, but if I was careful about everything it was somehow winnable every time (not that I never messed up of course). I don't know how they pulled it off. I think my save game still has one dude whom I've managed to bring with me through about 10 timelines.
@SilentHunter382 @SwitchVogel thank you a lot for taking the time to explain it to me. 🙏
So basically Diablo was already a souls game right?
@Yanina Naa Diablo is classed as a dungeon crawler
Just downloaded for free on game pass.if it's good I'll buy it on the switch
Played like 20 hours on PC before it got stale. Really a fun little gem of a game. A bit on the easy side for a rogue-lite, but then again that might be plus for some. Don't be surprised if you "beat it" right out of the gate. There a couple of issues with it, like there being some team compositions that are clearly vastly superior to others, and some classes that are borderline necesary while others are close to useless. Still, combat is great fun and the visuals are just stunning.
Highly recommended!
@SilentHunter382 Oh ok. I remember being able to go back to your corpse and collect your stuff and xp.
@Yanina I wouldn't say so, the main difference is the gameplay there. It's certainly similar, but I'd say a Souls-like needs to have a more player skill-based action combat system. Every swing and roll matters in a Souls-like, while Diablo is more centered around resource management.
@JasmineDragon Already is a physical release.
Sounds like you should of reviewed Sakuna, then it would have at least got an 8
Shame about the overdone unambitious art style (or lack thereof), especially when the artwork in the header looks so good.
Based on this review / comments I bought the game. Whereas it took a while to warm up, I really enjoyed it in the end ... My save game has over 80hrs clocked up.
It's not that hard - I finished it on my 4th run, but each time you do, the difficulty options increase and it becomes more challenging.
I have had enough after completing " Entropy 1", which is after the "extreme" difficulty.
The combat system is probably the best turn based combat system I have played - if only Pokemon has concepts like this.
There is plenty to unlock, and the gameplay changes a lot based on the party combination ... Some characters are better than others, but they are all good and balanced in their own way.
Great game, definitely worth a go. Would love a sequel with more depth and options.
Most important information for a roguelite is missing in the article: What are you picking up to the next run? Experience? Cards? Team Members?
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