I’ve often said that as a gamer, I fall somewhere higher than casual but far below hardcore. I’m someone that loves the “idea” of video games, who’s always impressed by gorgeous graphics, but who also has an attention span that doesn’t necessarily lend itself to longterm playing. A three hour movie I can get into. Books and comics that are hundreds of pages long, no issues. But finishing games that could take me hours and hours, what can I tell you? I just don’t always finish them.
Usually, my go-tos are wrestling games for some quick pick up and play, but recently I encountered a game that not only do I pick up and play, but which I’m able to lay on the couch and drop hours into.
It’s called Sea of Stars, and it’s phenomenal.
Sea of Stars tells the story of two Children of the Solstice who combine the powers of the sun and moon to perform Eclipse Magic, the only force capable of fighting off the monstrous creations of an evil alchemist known as The Fleshmancer.
• Engaging Turn-Based Combat – Timed hits, combo attacks, boosting, damage types and spellbreaking.
• Unshackled Traversal – Swim, climb, vault, jump off or hoist up as you traverse the world seamlessly.
• A Story Rich Adventure – Dozens of characters and story arcs will take you on a captivating journey.
• A World You Can Touch – Need a change of pace? Go sailing, cooking, fishing or find a tavern to relax.
Sea of Stars on Nintendo Switch is a gorgeous, engaging game, filled with a compelling story and characters that I actually have gotten invested in. Perhaps it’s because of the melding of beautiful backgrounds and small yet nicely detailed characters like Valere and Zale, but I find myself always looking around the screen, trying to see everything in the world I’m playing in. Developer Sabotage has created a world in Sea of Stars that somehow, some way brought me immediately into it, and has me happy to invest my time.
This is especially noteworthy when it comes to battles. Historically, I am not someone who enjoys turn-based RPG games. I’m impatient, and I feel like waiting for my turn always takes me out of a given game. Not so with Sea of Stars . The mechanics of battles, hitting things with precise timing, and the use of diverse magical abilites has me not only engaged (there’s that word again), but also thinking about each and every attack that I make against my enemies. And when I lose a battle, and I do, I’m not frustrated for long. Instead, I go back in and think about strategy, and how I’m going to defeat the monsters that have taken me down. Again, for a gamer like me to really get into a turn-based RPG, it’s a testament to both the mechanics and the storytelling.
A friend of mine had previously played Sea of Stars on the XBOX and raved about it, and I can absolutely see why he loved it so much. There are elements of the great RPGs of our youth in it, from the original Final Fantasy and Phantasy Star games through to the classic The Legend of Zelda, but for my personality, Sea of Stars is the most appealing out of all of them. I know that’s probably heresy to many a gamer out there, but hey, we all like what we like.
If you’re looking for a game to capture your imagination and take you through the winter as it quickly winds down, Sea of Stars on Nintendo Switch comes highly recommended.
