StarVaders Preview

StarVaders oozes charm, style, and a clear understanding of what makes roguelikes fun. The game requires an apt combination of skill and knowledge of its RNG systems. which makes runs never feel unfair. On top of that, its tactical RPG core is incredibly simple to get into and understand, but there’s seemingly quite a high skill ceiling, letting even relative newcomers to the genre, like myself, feel like a genius. At first glance, it’s pretty simple, but as I get to it, there’s some very pleasant depth and complexity.

The plot appears simple: you take control of a Mech Pilot, defending the Earth from an alien invasion, and that’s pretty much it. There seem to be more mysterious forces at play but it doesn’t go incredibly deep or complex, and I don’t say this as a negative. Despite the simplicity, the presentation makes things feel deeper than they might realistically be. Each of the playable Pilots has their unique abilities, along with some simple character details being given in the glossary. There’s a fantastic connection between the Pilot's personalities and their playstyles, which makes each character feel well-fleshed out, despite not spending too much time intentionally developing them.

Getting to the actual gameplay of StarVaders, it’s really simple but manages to fit in a lot of potential for more complex gameplay. It’s a roguelike tactical RPG, taking the player through a multitude of short battles across three distinct acts. The player controls a Mech, with its primary loadout being determined by the selected Pilot. There are multiple of each, with the Mech having unique core abilities, such as the energy system and its core cards, while the Pilot adds some more nuanced and playstyle-determining cards. The player has a set amount of energy, which is spent on playing cards to perform most actions. Different Mechs use different energy types, such as the Gunner using a heat system, giving the player the option to spend extra energy at risk of overheating, which ends your turn and burns the card. This leads to the overheated state, making it unplayable for the rest of the battle. Beyond this, you also have access to Chrono Tokens, a limited resource which lets you retry a turn, and redraw a hand of cards, but these are limited and have uses elsewhere, making decision-making incredibly important.

There’s an incredibly vast amount of cards to play with, along with artifacts, that provide passive buffs and effects, along with card upgrades. These add and alter the effects of cards. Each Mech has a selection of three Pilots and thanks to this, there’s an immense amount of potential options and variety in runs, making replayability immense. As you progress through a run you’ll be given options of which encounters to take, which determine their rewards. If you dislike your options or the rewards which come thereafter, you can spend one of the previously mentioned Chrono Tokens to reroll these or the items available in the Shop before the boss. The shop allows you to buy new cards and artifacts with Stars you earn from defeating enemies, giving you more if you defeat multiple in a single turn. It rewards stronger builds nicely, but it never makes you too insanely powerful.

I want to discuss the fantastic difficulty curve here, too; it’s a bizarre thing to highlight, but I was impressed with how smooth it feels. I won my first run with a pretty strong build and was worried that the game was a little easy. After this, however, you’re introduced to the second of three difficulties. Going into my next run, on the next difficulty, I was immediately humbled. It was harder: I couldn’t be as careless with my moves, nor waste my cards, especially going towards the latter acts. Despite winning or losing runs, you’re always unlocking something. Earning achievements can earn you packs, which contain additional cards to help make starting runs more unique, and losing or winning introduces new enemies and encounters. It’s an ever-evolving experience, which makes the potentially slower start that a lot of roguelikes fall into not a problem here.

I was also incredibly impressed by the overall presentation: the visuals are gorgeous, with the character designs all being super charming and unique, along with the fantastic music. It was a good time and one which I’m extremely excited to see release.