Starbound
You’ve fled your home, only to find yourself lost in space with a damaged ship. Your only option is to beam down to the planet below, repair your ship and set off to explore the universe...
Starbound is a open world survival craft, sandbox and survival game
developed and published by Chucklefish.
Released on July 22nd 2016 is available in English on Windows, MacOS and Linux.
It has received 164,332 reviews of which 151,782 were positive and 12,550 were negative resulting in an impressive rating of 9.1 out of 10. 😍
The game is currently priced at 4.19€ on Steam and has a 70% discount.
The Steam community has classified Starbound into these genres:
Media & Screenshots
Get an in-depth look at Starbound through various videos and screenshots.
Requirements
These are the minimum specifications needed to play the game. For the best experience, we recommend that you verify them.
Windows
- OS *: Windows XP or later
- Processor: Core 2 Duo
- Memory: 2 GB RAM
- Graphics: 256 MB graphics memory and directx 9.0c compatible gpu
- DirectX: Version 9.0c
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
- Storage: 3 GB available space
MacOS
- OS: OS 10.9 or later
- Processor: 64 bit Intel CPU
- Memory: 2 GB RAM
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
- Storage: 3 GB available space
Linux
- OS: Debian Stable or Ubuntu 12.04 LTS or later
- Processor: Core 2 Duo
- Memory: 2 GB RAM
- Graphics: 256 MB graphics memory and opengl 2.1 compatible gpu
- Network: Broadband Internet connection
- Storage: 3 GB available space
Reviews
Explore reviews from Steam users sharing their experiences and what they love about the game.
Note: This game itself isn't the best without mods, in many ways like a bethesda game. However, its got a massive host of mods that ultimately expand on it, some, such as frackin universe, are essential albeit a mixed bag, but in the end are worth it. The huge combination of planets you can find and mods that expand on that, the base building imo is actually cooler than terraria in a number of ways even(more furniture and decorations overall), and the expression players can put in is up there. Great game in which mods make this game truely shine and feels complete.
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Many people compare Starbound to Terraria due to the fact that both of those games are 2D sandboxes, and I can see where they're coming from. However it's important to say that these games are fundamentally different even if we don't consider Starbound's space setting, still, to make things easier to understand I'll make some comparison: - Story: Starbound has its main storyline, unlike Terraria which is just a survival boss rush, there's the first difference. The story in Starbound is actually pretty good considering how short most dialogues are, first you survive on a wild planet and then it turns out it's just the epilogue and now you're becoming the next avatar by uniting all races, so the story isn't the outstanding part about this game but I am still impressed, not gonna give any more spoilers, but I also must say there's some really deep lore if you read all of the books you get, I am not a lore master myself but I read some of it and there's stuff like past wars between these playable races and some really cool cataclysm stories. - Customisation: as I mentioned about races, you have a choice between 7 races, each having its own gameplay bonuses, character reactions to different things, NPC reactions to your character, unique haircuts/outfits and so on. That's just the part with races, during your exploration you'll find A LOT of different clothes, accessories and weapons (I'll talk about them lower), Starbound has a lot of stuff, and so does Terraria, but from my experience the former has more of these things which may pique your interest, still, it's subjective and I don't want to count all items in both of these games. And the last, but not the least - furniture, Starbound has a huge freedom of choice in this department for builders, my FPS literally drops to 20 when I open the furniture catalogue to craft some of it, there's a lot of interior or exterior items and just decorative blocks, I am more than certain that there's more of it than in Terraria. - Combat: it's surprisingly good, to return to the topic of weapons - there are 1 hand weapons, meaning you can hold 2 weapons at a time and use them by pressing your mouse buttons, and 2 hand weapons, all of them having special skills when you press the right mouse button, basically all melee weapons having combos of attacks instead of Terraria's repetitive single slashes, so fighting in Starbound felt pretty good. Boss battles are much more interactive since you don't have to spend an hour digging an arena to shoot Plantera from above, all bosses can only be met in main story domains where you can't build and you actually have to learn enemies' attack patterns and adapt to their styles, and indeed, all of them have different strategies of using your special skills. - Progression: instead of 1 Hardmode world upgrade in Terraria, you actually find new ores on each planet type which is more dangerous than the last one, some of them having harsh conditions like being covered in water, being radioactive, having acid rains, being extremely cold or extremely hot or just straight up not having the atmosphere, you need to adapt to these conditions using special gadgets or consumables, and that's not to mention that some planets can only be found near specific stars, meaning you need more fuel, meaning more grind, that's how this game will try to slow you down. However, I had an issue with this progression - I had a very hard time trying to clear one of the story domains, so then I decided to spend a few hours mining on the highest level planet and came back to my ship to craft some stuff, and apparently crafted items are the strongest ones, there's also a division between melee, ranged and magic weapons but only in the very end of the crafting progression, similarly to the 4 pillars in Terraria (but I like this system more in Starbound because non melee armour isn't useless, while in Terraria your magic build helmet will literally have 5 times less defence than a melee one, considering the fact that basically all endgame melee weapons are ranged), then I returned back and all story domains became too easy to appreciate and enjoy them enough, I still loved it but now I understand the point of locking you from mining easily... - Atmosphere: probably my favourite part about Starbound, sure, Terraria has some iconic colours and soundtracks, but this game just felt too gorgeous for a 2D sandbox. Backgrounds look very good and not repetitive at all, especially the toxic planet ones, they add a lot to the immersion. Structures always feel realistic no matter which style they represent. Textures and lighting somehow make it feel satisfying. Sound effects and OST just make it even more perfect, I unironically listen to some of these soundtracks outside of the game, they're really good in my opinion. There is a lot of wildlife and the random generation of hostile and passive mobs make the world more alive. Wherever you go you might encounter some big settlements where NPCs make some small movements instead of just randomly walking left or right and sitting on a chair at night. Your character's movements also make the gameplay more pleasing, since the character may have different idle stances back when you create them, and they always look differently if you crouch, walk, run, fight - you get what I mean. So, if I had to compare Starbound to Terraria in just a few words, it would probably be: "More casual, more atmosphere". - Comfort: there's the casual part, after playing both of these 2D sandboxes I must say that Starbound has many comfortable parts which I would love to see in Terraria, for example - I hate putting walls in Terraria, they're bigger than normal blocks and they're hard to predict where you're even building with them, it's easy to miss a spot between walls because again - they're bigger than normal blocks but in reality you still need the same amount of them if it was just a normal block, and what I dislike even more is the fact that you always need a hammer when working with walls, you missclick - great, go take your hammer and then come back; in starbound it's very simple, background blocks are the same size as normal blocks and you're literally using the same blocks instead of crafting walls separately: LBM - put a physical block, RBM - put a background block, easy and casual, if you missclicked just take your manipulator which is an all-in-one tool: pickaxe, axe, hammer, flashlight, wire connector, liquid collector and even an inspector tool to see your character's reactions to different items, again, LBM - mine the physical block, RBM - mine the background block, THAT'S IT. There are many instances when you ask Terraria "Why?" and Starbound answers instead "We don't know why so here's the solution". - Endgame: this situation is a bit tricky, first of all - yes, Terraria has more bosses and you could say that it has more endgame content. However it all depends on what you call the endgame, because Starbound has a lot of different features for you to do, their main issue is the lack of motivation to do any of it, for example catching random enemies to make them fight for you, since the generation of their bodies is very different it might take some time to find a creature you like visually; another example of these features is farming, there are many peculiar plants you can find on different types of planets, then you grow them and discover recipes to become the Gordon Ramsay of Starbound, I loved making some new unusual food with different effects, but it's not what all players want, and it alone is not enough to satisfy a person who likes cooking; in other words, Starbound has many ways to entertain its players but they're too different to call it all endgame. Mods can give you more content but sadly Starbound's community isn't nearly as big as Terraria's is, still, even with all of these problems this game has some big potential. I will always love this gem of 2D games. 9.5/10
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As a beta tester, even though I joined late into development I knew this game would be great. Built-in modding environment and Workshop support, a massive collection of Items, Blocks, Weapons and Furniture, a unique array of 7 races to play as, and more planets than you know what to do with. However, despite Chucklefish abandoning this game and going on to other projects this game remains active. Why? There is no simple answer: It stems from the fact that this game did what other, similar games (such as Starfield and No Mans Sky) could not by virtue of being a 2D sidescroller, and the aforementioned modding support. But that's the basics of why this game is good from an objective standpoint, here's my reasoning why: For one, as mentioned before, being a 2D sidescroller drastically reduced the processing power required to run it, I was literally able to run this at 60fps on a Windows XP Laptop. Besides that, many of my old friends (Who I have long since disbanded with) were made over a love for Starbound. The last and most important reason why I love this game is quite personal: It was always there for me. I had a terrible childhood, relegated to Special Education in 2nd Grade (and stayed there until Graduation) and my late Mother was an alcoholic and smoked. I played games to help me forget just how out of control my situation was, and it made me feel terrible. I was missing out on life, all around me, because I could not convince her she needed help. In the end, it ended up killing her 16 or so months ago at the time of writing, complications during an operation to treat pneumonia made her suffocate on tar from years of nicotine abuse. But no matter how bad things were or how terrible my PC or Laptop was, it could run Starbound. As of writing, I have been away from my Mom's house for 4 years, been out of school for about 3 weeks and am about to get my COMPTia Liscence, so my Father can get me a job at one of his friend's offices as a Tech Desk Assistant. Thank you Starbound, you have brought happiness to my life where there was none to be found.
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127 hours. I found out today that when transferring PC's I had accidentally deleted my main character file in this game. Which is a weird way to start a review, but maybe, it's a chance to reflect on that character, a Novakid named Captain Orio, and I'll let that speak for itself... Significant spoilers ahead: In my time as Captain Orio, I have... - Made my living as a small farmer - Crafted an awesome cowboy hat, which I would wear through the rest of the game - Explored the most inhospitable planets the galaxy had to offer, just to say I did it - Put together a motley crew, of every species imaginable - Become the galaxy's Chosen One, finding and reuniting the heavily guarded artifacts of every species - Beat up a mean tentacle planet - Created a history museum filled with artifacts from my journeys - Become a Space Policeman and rid the galaxy of all manner of criminals This game taught me to beat bosses harder than I ever thought I could. I have seen landscapes and skies more beautiful than I could have imagined from a pixel-art game. My 127 hours as Captain Orio have been filled the joy of discovery, and the satisfaction of perseverance. "I applaud your tenacious moxie in the pursuite of complex goals" - I have this quote from the shipboard AI written above my real-life desk, because it's just stuck with me... There is no feeling quite like the first time you find yourself gunning through a radioactive alien landscape with Curtis Schweitzer's "Inviolate" setting the pace... Or the first time you watch the aurora borealis break through the clouds in the unfamiliar sky over a remote frozen world... "I've seen things you people wouldn't believe... Attack ships on fire off the shoulder of Orion... I watched C-beams glitter in the dark near the Tannhäuser Gate..." So long, Captain Orio, and thanks for all the memories. Time to put another 127 hours into a new captain.
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Ah, Starbound... Think of it as you being compared to your brilliant cousin, that is Terraria, but you told your parents that you wanted to be an astrophysicist, not a best-seller fantasy novel writer. The difference being, Terraria fulfilled, or even surpassed, its parents expectations. While you, Starbound, are potentially stunted because you had to do odd jobs here and there, and kind of missed all the things that's required for you to be an aspiring astrophysicist. Positive things: • Starbound's art direction is visually pleasing. Thematically on point, and I have no qualms on the visual department. I like the pixel art, I like the ambiances, I like how they portray space and its inhabitants. • Simple narrative to follow, nothing too convoluted. It's much easier to digest or follow compared to its cousin. You're a Protectorate graduate, who just happened to have a sh*t luck. You begin your adventure with basically nothing but your matter manipulator. And you're kind of free to do whatever you want from the get go. • The music! Oh my God, the music! Curtis Schweitzer has absolutely made Starbound even grander that it should have been. Without his music, exploring barren planets would be boring as hell. The sound department is also on point! • The space is vast, random, and there are like more than thousands of planets to explore, with unique items, inhabitants, dungeons, and quests. This is where, I think, Starbound has the upper hand. The variety satisfies my thirst of exploring. And if you're considering mods, Frackin' Universe is one of the best to enhance your experience. • It's a sandbox game, you do whatever you want. You want to be a space-faring adventurer? Fine. You want to settle down on a red planet with cute critters? Fine. You want to be a landlord and collecting payments from NPCs who stay at your accommodations? Suit yourself. You want to explore Glitch Castle to relinquish the crown? Cool. Or you want to go to a speakeasy that's filled with sadistic penguins as regular patrons? Go for it. Or you just want to destroy a planet because you don't like the colour of the dirt? Do it. • So many decorative items to steal collect! Use your matter manipulator to mine or copy them. You can also 3D print most of the furniture that you have encountered. • You can recruit NPCs as your crew member once you beat and spare them, or complete quests from them. They could help you in battle, as additional firepower or someone who could buff or heal you. • The ship customisation! My dream of having my own space ship and designate a room for my crew members to hangout with pinball machine, soda machine, car beds. I could even lease some of my rooms in my space ship to NPCs. • The puzzles in dungeons are quite fun, the boss battles are simplistic but also fun too. • Similar to Terraria, your friend could drop in and drop out very easy in this game when playing multiplayer. Negative things: • I don't know where to start, but a wasted potential is one of the glaring issues that I found in Starbound. This game could have been Chucklefish's own flagship Terraria-like. The basic stuffs are there, the lore are there, the mechanics are there. The game sorely needs support like how Re-Logic supported Terraria. • Some of the side quests feel fetchy, and that is the nature of randomly-generated quests. • This game sorely needs more variety. • If you have explored the game for more than 40-50 hours, you will feel that you have seen everything the game has to offer. • If you're coming from Terraria, this game would feel like a downgrade, not a side-grade. I have to highlight I loved the game in itself, not being compared to Terraria, but the similarities are there to be compared, and that's natural. I don't really like Terraria that much, I loved the progression, but always wishing Starbound had more care like Terraria is. I hope Chucklefish would revisit this game or make a sequel to it while addressing the issues that made Starbound feel inferior to its competitors. Do I recommend this game? It depends. Yes, if you haven't played Terraria and looking for a sandbox metroidvania exploration game. No, if you have played Terraria. Also, don't forget to check out Frackin' Universe as soon as you beat the story, as this mod enhances the gameplay and the variety.
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Last Updates
| Steam data | 22 November 2024 00:30 |
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| SteamSpy data | 18 December 2024 20:09 |
| Steam price | 23 December 2024 12:46 |
| Steam reviews | 23 December 2024 01:50 |
Online players
1,508
Developer
Chucklefish
Publisher
Chucklefish
Release
22 Jul 2016
Platforms
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