Review – Sea of Stars (Mobile)

Sea of ​​​​Stars shined brightly when it was released in August 2023. The indie RPG from Sabotage Studios (the developers of The Messenger) pleased both nostalgic players and the current generation. On one side we have a game made the old fashioned way, with a retro 16-bit pixel art look; on the other hand, we have gameplay that presents fresh ideas in exploration and combat. Not to mention the story, which in itself is worth full marks. gives all these details and more.

It took a while, but Sea of ​​Stars finally got its well-deserved mobile port. Available for iOS and Android since April, the game has been completely adapted for the touch screen, bringing a completely new interface to interact with your greasy fingers. And I could even end this review here, saying that it’s the same game from 2023 and the end. But, in fact, this adaptation offers much more than expected.

Under the light of the sun and moon

Sea of ​​Stars narrates the adventure of Zale and Valere, young apprentices with powers of the Sun and Moon. Although linear, the plot separates the events well and has the support of the friendly Garl, who provides support with his cooking and combat skills. And, naturally, other characters will appear throughout your journey, which lasts around 30 hours.

The game is not difficult, but it requires a lot of strategy to avoid losing in combat. The variety of enemies is immense and each one attacks in different ways, always testing your reflexes. By pressing the screen at the right time for an attack, whether yours or the enemy’s, you influence the damage. This aspect extends to spells, requiring the same attention to the timing of actions per turn. And, unlike many RPGs from the 16-bit era, there’s no need to grind to advance.

The combats are not random: just like in , a SNES classic, you see the enemies in the scene before starting the battle, and you can also avoid them. Exploring the map and experiencing the story matters more, although Sea of ​​Stars is extremely fun in combat. The environments are very varied, with their peculiarities, biomes and puzzles that use Zale and Valere’s magical abilities.

Excellent adaptation for mobile

As it is a pixel art game, Sea of ​​Stars is even more “crunchy” on the smartphone screen. On the other hand, it is more difficult to notice animated details in the scenes, especially details in the background and during parallax. In terms of performance, the game runs smoothly as long as there are no notifications going around in droves. The game supports 120Hz for those with a compatible smartphone, but not even this will prevent the sudden drop in frames per second if you receive notifications or another open (and heavy) app sucks up the processing along with it, even if it is running in the background. For me, with WhatsApp notifications, it dropped below 30 fps and a few seconds later it returned to normal.

The mapping of controls for touch was excellent and there is a fixed joystick option, for those who don’t like the floating analog stick. Vibration also works very well on the smartphone, when there are impacts occurring in the game. The mobile port also ensures that the interface remains clean, adapting the combat options boxes to something more minimalist and functional. Having said all that, Sea of ​​Stars is an unmissable RPG, and having it in your pocket makes the experience even better.