Star Overdrive

I wanted to love this as much as the style deserves, but the gameplay didn't catch me enough. First of it looks great, the tricks animations are amazing and the (sparse) soundtrack is cool. As long as you're on the hoverboard, the game is dynamic and fun, once you're off it platforming is a bit too floaty, combat is a bit too jank and the puzzles are a bit too simplistic. Would still recommend it, simply because riding the hoverboard is that fun.

very chill game to pass the time, jumping around the dunes is very fun and awesome, the story's ending is just plain annoying and boring IMO, wish we could've gotten more

Apesar de se inspirar bastante em Zelda: Breath of the Wild, infelizmente Star Overdrive não consegue prender da mesma forma. O mundo não é muito interessante de se explorar, embora andar de hoverboard seja legal. O gameplay é meio "clunky", e os puzzles que são semelhantes aos shrines do Zelda definitivamente não são divertidos. Os rápidos trechos de história até onde joguei estavam me prendendo e me deixando curioso, mas não foi suficiente pra me fazer continuar jogando.

Era pra jogar 30 minutos, acabei jogando 4 horas. Divertido.

Muitos afirmam que estamos diante de uma "hidden gem". Mas apesar de ambicioso, o jogo tem problemas fundamentais que eu não consigo relevar. Esse sistema de crafting que eles implementaram caso você queira melhorar o seu hoverboard (o meio principal de combate e movimentação do jogo) é horrendo e das 7 shrines que eu fiz, boa parcela delas eram chatas pra caralho. No geral é um jogo muito clunky, principalmente quando fora do hoverboard. Joguei algumas horas e percebi que o gameplayloop não melhoraria, larguei. Só consigo recomendar caso o preço abaixa bastante e caso você consiga aguentar os problemas.

[b]TL;DR:[/b] Great atmosphere, frustrating gameplay, and an ending that feels unfinished. It’s the kind of ending that makes you wonder why they didn’t go all the way. [hr][/hr] Star Overdrive is the kind of game that makes disappointment hurt more because there is clearly something good at its core. [b]What works:[/b] The atmosphere is strong, the world has style, and NOUS is genuinely charming. Her voice performance is excellent, and the photos, messages, and memories do a very good job of creating real emotional attachment. When the hoverboard gameplay clicks, it feels great. Some races are exciting, some boss moments with the rock soundtrack are genuinely cool, and the game absolutely has identity. [b]What doesn’t:[/b] The execution keeps getting in the way. A much larger part of the game than I expected is made up of punishing dungeons, awkward platforming, and trial-and-error sequences that feel more exhausting than satisfying. Too many sections demand precision without giving the controls the clarity needed to make that fun. The crafting system is also vague and underexplained, and it never felt rewarding enough to justify how much uncertainty it creates. The final stretch made things worse, not better. The last boss is more annoying than exciting, and by that point I was pushing through mostly because I wanted to finally see the ending. [hr][/hr] [b]The real issue: the ending[/b] This game puts a lot of effort into making you care about NOUS and the relationship through the photos, the memories, the distance, and the emotional framing of the journey. So after all the frustrating sections, I expected payoff. I wanted a happy ending. Instead, the game goes for a bittersweet sci-fi route where love becomes the reason for sacrifice, but not the reward. What makes this more frustrating is that the ending is not just "sad" or "open". It actively builds the logic for a better payoff - and then refuses to follow through. NOUS makes it clear: [i]they will never be together again[/i], [i]she had to become something else[/i], [i]their bond made it possible[/i]. In other words, she becomes an interface, not a person who can return. [b]And then the game introduces something critical:[/b] a world where mind and soul can be separated - and even reunited with the body later. It shows her body preserved. It builds the idea that reunion might actually be possible. And then it stops. That is exactly why the ending did not work for me. This isn’t a story that had to end this way - it feels like it chose to. The game spends hours building emotional investment around love, longing, and reunion - only to turn all of that into setup for separation. That makes the ending feel less like a powerful tragedy and more like [b]withheld payoff[/b]. The "consciousness transferred into a system" twist also doesn’t feel particularly original for sci-fi, which makes the lack of resolution even more noticeable. This is especially frustrating because the ending is a cutscene. An alternative ending - especially a proper happy ending - would have gone a long way here. [hr][/hr] If I had known in advance what kind of ending this had, and how much of the game would be slow, punishing dungeon/platforming rather than hoverboard freedom, I honestly doubt I would have bought it. Star Overdrive has a beautiful concept, a strong emotional setup, and some genuinely cool moments. But it never delivers the ending needed to make the whole journey worth recommending.

Assim, é um jogo com uma premissa interessante, muito divertido na parte de navegar pelo mapa, mas, sinceramente, a sensação de estar jogando um jogo incompleto é bem constante. Não por falta de conteúdo, até porque a exploração é boa, é um bom mundo aberto, bem inspirado em Zelda, mas com seu próprio charme. O problema é mais técnico mesmo, envolvendo sound design e principalmente game design em algumas áreas. O sound design do jogo parece ser tão escasso que eu não sinto impacto nenhum. É difícil explicar, mas parece que ele fica se repetindo de uma forma muito seca. As vezes ele simplesmente surge, e some do nada, sem nenhuma transição, só o áudio jogado, rezando pra ser funcional na cena. Sobre as áreas de puzzle, muitos parecem ter sido feitos só para estar lá. Não tem muita criatividade, parece que eu faço a mesma coisa o tempo todo, então acaba ficando maçante e nada interessante. Sem contar que um dos puzzles que eu fiz parecia ter sido feito no limite do limite, como se, mesmo resolvendo da forma certa, ainda dependesse um pouco de sorte. Mas não é por isso que eu vou dar uma nota negativa. Esse jogo tem seus bons pontos, principalmente no quesito originalidade. Ele consegue misturar exploração, movimentação e combate de um jeito que passa uma identidade própria. Mesmo sendo claramente inspirado em Zelda, ele não parece uma simples cópia e consegue ter personalidade. Talvez esse jogo seja muito bom para alguém. Agora, atacar um jogo que tem uma proposta clara e, no geral, conseguiu executá-la bem (ainda mais sendo feito por uma empresa pequena, com recursos limitados) é coisa de quem só quer procurar motivo para reclamar.

english below français: Ok, j'ai découvert l'existence du jeu via sa démo, qui m'avait, à l'époque, beaucoup plu. Ce qui n'est pas le cas du jeu entier maintenant que j'ai pu le finir. Commençons par le commencement : Pour le positif: - Le jeu à un style graphique très épuré mais qui marche très bien, je n'ai rencontré aucun bug et aucune perte de fps tout du long, la carte est très sympa à parcourir (sauf vers la fin, j'y reviendrai), et les pouvoirs que débloque le héros sont quasi tous intéressant. Pour le négatif : - L'overboard peut-être très capricieux à certains moment rendant certains mouvement insupportable, et certaines zones du jeu rendent l'expérience de surf assez contraignante (la zone de verdure et les montagnes notamment). - Les combats sont moyens et sur la fin ont se retrouvent avec des pack d'ennemi demandant chacun d'utiliser un pouvoir précis rendant le tout confus et le personnages et les animations sont assez lente. -L'histoire est banal au possible, sans spoilé, on se est perdu sur un planète supposément hostile pour retrouver notre compagne, sauf qu'a la moitié du jeu on voit arriver à des kilomètres ce qu'il va se passer à la fin. -Un arbre de talent passable qui n'apporte pas grand chose et un système d'amélioration de l'overboard assez incompréhensible, ce qi m'amène à un autre point : -Beaucoup trop d'activités secondaire/collectibles assez inutile allant du cosmétiques pour modifier son surf à des "donjons" entier pour des points de compétences. -La musique, pendant la démo et les qulques vidéos que j'avais pu voir du jeu je m'attendais à un style éléctro/pop/synthwave le personnage se battant en plus avec une keytar... Mauvaise surprise de se retrouver avec une BO de rock ultra banale et de toute façon absente dans 80% du jeu (0 musique quand on surf). Y'a pleins de petit points négatif ou positif dont je n'ai pas parlé, certains pour ne pas spoil, d'autres par oubli. En conclusion je pense que le jeu incarne parfaitement le moyen, et j'aurai aimé un bouton "neutre" pour les évaluations steam. Quand le jeu marche, notamment quand on se balade en overboard, c'est une expérience plaisante, mais le jeu à tout de même pas mal de défaut. Si vous aimez les monde ouvert rétro futuriste avec du puzzle allez-y. English : Okay, I discovered the game through its demo, which I really enjoyed at the time. But now that I’ve finished the full game, I can’t say the same. Let’s start from the beginning: The good: The game has a very clean, minimalist art style that works really well. I didn’t encounter any bugs or frame rate drops throughout my playthrough. The map is fun to explore (except toward the end—I’ll get back to that), and almost all the powers you unlock for the hero are interesting. The bad: The overboard can be very finicky at times, making certain movements frustrating, and some areas (especially the green zone and the mountains) make the surfing experience quite tedious. The combat is mediocre, and by the end, you face groups of ennemies that each require a specific power, making everything confusing. The character and animations are also quite slow. The story is as cliché as it gets. Without spoiling, you’re lost on a supposedly hostile planet trying to find your companion, but halfway through, you can already see the ending coming from a mile away. The skill tree is underwhelming and doesn’t add much, and the overboard upgrade system is confusing, which leads me to another point: There are way too many unnecessary side activities and collectibles, ranging from cosmetic surf customizations to entire “dungeons” just for skill points. The music, based on the demo and the videos I’d seen, I expected an electro/pop/synthwave style, especially since the character fights with a keytar… But the soundtrack is just generic rock, and it’s missing in 80% of the game (no music while surfing). There are plenty of other small positives and negatives I haven’t mentioned—some to avoid spoilers, others I’ve just forgotten. In conclusion, I think this game is the definition of “average.” I wish Steam had a “neutral” rating button. When the game works, especially when you’re cruising on the overboard, it’s a pleasant experience, but it still has quite a few flaws. If you like retro-futuristic open worlds with puzzles, give it a try.

An open world game very fun and with great music and vibes. It has a lot of jank but a really good game nonetheless

I bought this for less than 3 USD, and for that price I'd recommend it, it is a weak recommendation though. The open world traversal is fun and original, especially when you upgrade the hoverboard, it's fun to plan paths, adapt to what you find, boost and jump. The music is neat. Art direction is not ugly but a bit bland. Combat is basic. The story is inoffensive and close to non existent, main character doesn't talk and the girl you are trying to rescue; you mostly get to know through tapes, so that won't carry the experience. Still the game feels empty but not cynical, I think the devs cared about it. What MURDERS the fun factor are the puzzles, especially the puzzle dungeons, they have zero personality, feel like a chore, and given the open world nature of the game and poor design; I stumbled upon several I was lacking upgrades to finish, or I came with a solution the game didn't account for and wouldn't acknowledge. So I would have to realize that on my own, throw away all my progress, and hope the next puzzle would be doable with the tools I had (and not too boring/long) If said puzzles click with you I can see how this game could be a pretty great time. I'd recommend sticking to the path the game leads you towards, rather than exploring too much, to avoid the frustration of not being able to finish stuff due to lack of upgrades.