Starstruck: Prologue

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[i]Disclaimer: I was involved in play testing this demo before release.[/i] This review only reflects the demo and will change as the game evolves. If you're just looking for a description and a recommendation, yes go play it if you like Earthbound or Parappa or Blast Corps! [h1]Summary[/h1] Starstruck's punk attitude is present in its organized but chaotic blend of adventure game, rhythm game, and arcadey destruction game, as well as its general aesthetic. You'll be trespassing, getting arrested by cops, causing mass destruction, and playing guitar with your good friends. I won't reveal many plot details, as the less you know going in the more enjoyable the experience is. [h1]Gameplay[/h1] There are several modes of play. The bulk of the story is told through overhead RPG type scenes reminiscent of Earthbound. You'll also transition to different styles of rhythm game depending on the situation. And it's all tied together as you play as a disembodied hand destroying the town. The mix of gameplay styles flow amazingly well togther and are glued together by a narrator-observed frame story. The game's main menu looks a little confusing at first but is easy to navigate and features an excellent checkpoint system with plenty of bonus content and flavor text. [h1]Graphics[/h1] Even though this is only a demo, the graphics show some amazing polish. A mix of claymation, papercraft, and those weird flat plastic toy trees you probably had in your toybox at one point or another all come together perfectly to make both cute and surreal environments. The visuals are clear and crisp and the font is very large, stylish, and easy to read. There's never a moment where something isn't clearly visually communicated. [h1]Music[/h1] There is an awful lot of music for this short demo which is appropriate given that it is as its core a rhythm game. The music ranges from upbeat jrpg tunes, to rocking guitar solos, to surreal walls of sound. The soundtrack is overall very eclectic and enjoyable, and composed largely of live instruments from multiple musicians and vocalists. All and all it's a fantastic experience and I can't wait to play more. However given that it's a demo and subject to change, there are a few gameplay elements I would love to see polished. [h1]A Wishlist[/h1] The walking speed feels just a tad slow at times and a dash button would really speed up some of the exploration bits. A rhythm game should in many ways feel like a platformer. There should be a lead in which sets the tone or main gimmick - a chord pattern or a riff. Then it should introduce variations on that idea in a logical difficulty based progression, or in rhythm game turns, change up the patterns and add more notes to accent things like ghost notes, mutes, etc. It should also have some moments of rest, like returning to the intro patterns for a few measures. Then as a final challenge it should ramp up the difficulty. The way most of the beatmaps in the game now feel a bit cluttered. Some songs will start out with difficult patterns and then go into what feels like a solid minute or two of the same two notes. While it's cool when the controls of a rhythm game accurately follow the music, adding more notes to keep things interesting doesn't need to be justified in the music. A two note pattern could turn into three. Two buttons that have outlines one chord can be changed to another chord. Single and multiple note patterns could be varied, etc. Quality of life features are also missing from the rhythm game sections. Easy access to difficulty swapping, the ability to quickly and easily replay songs, song restarting, the ability to skip long intros with no gameplay to name a few. The directional button press sections are handled amazingly well and provide plenty of diegetic and non diegetic feedback. This may all sound like I don't like the rhythm game, however I think the multi-staved layout is very fun and interesting. It just needs a wee bit more polish to go from good to great. As I said this game is a great experience and I highly recommend it to anyone. It's free, give it a try!

Every single thing about this game is undeniably strange and wonderful, but I really love that they captured the feeling of how much the music matters to you and your place in the world. Stellar. What I mean by that: playing a song really well had meaning for the character and his place in the narrative, but I also felt that same thing myself. *I* wanted to play well, so that *I* wouldn't let down my crush. She was so cute and caring and I didn't want to let her down. The term "immersion" is bandied about some much, it feels like it barely has meaning anymore, but this is true immersion; when your goals align with that of your character, that veil drops, and the two merge. #Spoilers I don't know who these people are, but they have really put forth a unique vision here. Your launch into space from a one-inch solid metal rocket-on-a-string from the future, the reverse-engineered claymation, the live shots on some sketchy dude's couch, the Amadeus demon that Medusifies your bro and you have to rock opera his way out, your astronaut's chatty MSpaint-scrawling computer sidekick, the ♥♥♥♥♥♥♥ Katamari hand that lays waste to the tilt-shifted Earthbound town filled with garbage cans, that jacked up laughing donkey that will haunt my dreams forever, the squishy Ouroboros of YOU, the steampunk frogslave, the papercraft warehouse party where you must prove your metal mettle, the not-so-secret super-secret that I won't tell, the creepy tripped out succubi clan on the spinny hill that clearly want to have sex with your face. Everything. These people are nuts; the developers, I mean. Utterly flying-over-the-cuckoo's-nest bonkers. And I love them for it. Imagine a punk band, a really talented punk band, where each member has a day job and they gig at night, but those day jobs are the guy that programmed W.O.P.R. in Wargames, the animator that worked on Neverhood at Dreamworks, and maybe the girl that scored Eraserhead. That is who made this game. There is no other plausible scenario. They got really wasted one night, after a show, and decided "♥♥♥♥ it, let's do this" and they made this game. If you have gotten a bit jaded, think every game is a clone, or feel like true craft has been lost in the world, play this demo. I have reviewed over 1500 games on Steam and I have never played anything quite like this. It may be a hidden gem now, but that won't be true for long, if I have any say in the matter. This is pure genius and I am Starstruck. [i]Please follow my curator page,[/i] [b][url=https://store.steampowered.com/curator/6856591-Designer-Plays/]Designer Plays[/url][/b],[i] for a truly massive number of concise and honest reviews from a 25-year veteran Game Designer.[/i]

its really good. its late and im eating a hamburgerso i cant be assed to write a good review BUT im writing a review at all. you should play it.

생각보다 괜찮고 재밌는 게임이네요

A beautiful looking indie game with a lot of potential! I'm REALLY excited about this game and i can't wait to play the full version

Really really love this game, surreal is my thing for sure. You can feel the influences in this game, got an earthbound kinda world, and the clay models add to that too. Other things remind me of games like Moon and Chulip too. The rhythm games are fun to play, they ramped up in difficulty pretty quickly too, I can imagine them getting pretty hard in the main game. Make sure you play until the end if you try it out, it might change your mind about the entire thing :)

please make the game so I can throw money at it

Starstruck'ın ücretsiz ilk bölümü: Gitar çaldığınız ve zaman yolculuğunu kötüye kullandığınız, hikaye açısından zengin bir ritim macera oyunu olan Hands of Time! Minyatür bir kasabayı yok eden dev bir eli kontrol edin veya orada yaşayan iki gitarist çocuk olarak oynayın. Ekstra eğlence için Guitar Hero kumandasını takın!