Developer: Dreamloop Games
Publisher: Dreamloop Games, Vasara Entertainment
Platform: PC
Tested on: PC
Stardust Galaxy Warriors – Review
Sidescrollers have always been a big thing, but mostly on retro consoles, as they were simple, action packed and allowed for a lot of recycled material, which was great for the hardware possibilities back then. Nonetheless, these games are often used by indie developers to become their big break, or score a quick few bucks as these games have a broad audience and not that much can go wrong, at least that’s what they think. A new contender appeared on Steam not that long ago and while it first seemed it would be the same old story once again, Dreamloop Games did their best to present you with a visually pleasing game, with a few personal quirks.
Story
Don’t expect that much here, all you need to know is that you’re one of the four pilots of an experimental mecha that hasn’t been properly tested just yet. While your team finally decides to take these bad boys out for a spin in the midst of a meteor field, things go from lifeless rocks to robotic enemy opposition. You’ll have to fight with all you’ve got to track down the person responsible for all the chaos that is going on, especially when another mecha gets stolen, that is even more experimental. It might just be the ‘experimentalist’ of them all.
Overall the story is simply brought by the usage of some dialogue boxes, with rather amusing conversations between the pilots and their older commanding offers and it certainly sets the tone of the game and adds a bit of value. It would have been nice if the story was fleshed out a bit more, as the developers show they can manage to write something witty.
Graphics
Stardust Galaxy Warriors is a very colorful and appealing game, which goes hand in hand with the comical story and some of the ridiculous enemies that will cross your path. Overall everything is rather detailed, especially the four mechas you can control. The diversity of enemies isn’t extremely broad, but there are enough for you, making sure they aren’t repeated over and over again.
As your screen is often filled with the bullets of you, your teammates and the enemy opposition it’s important that things stay clear, as you’ll have to do your best to avoid incoming fire. For the most part things are kept rather clear, but sometimes, especially when playing with more than one extra player, it’s a matter of getting used to what is happening on the screen.
While the combination of anime-like characters with the 3D rendered mechas and enemies certainly works well, it would have been nice if the developers did a bit more with the ‘anime’ aspect, as you have amazing looking characters who are confounded to a tiny dialogue box at the beginning and ending of your missions.
Sound
You’ll be treated to a very upbeat soundtrack that offers tracks from a variety of genres and for the most part everything fits with the game in a proper manner. That being said, occasionally you’ll find yourself in the midst of a true bullet hell all while a track plays you’d rather expect in a game’s menu instead of an actual active part.
Explosions and weapon fire are rather generic, but they certainly do the trick. Not everything seems to have their corresponding sound effects, but the music tends to overrule this. Overall decent, just not mind blowing.
Gameplay
Stardust Galaxy Warriors is a side scrolling bullet hell game, where you’ll spend your time blowing enemies to smithereens and dodging the incoming fire as best as you can, alone or with up to three friends locally. While there isn’t that much content to explore, the developers did their best to present you with several different options, different characters and an arsenal of weapons.
First time players will probably find themselves trying out the campaign mode first, which consists out of ten levels, which you can complete in about an hour and a half, meaning the campaign is not that thick on content. All of the missions have their set of enemies, which often pop up in later stages again, but overall there’s a proper amount of diversity. Each level is split into three stages, which flow in each other seamlessly, albeit with a small intermission where you can choose a free upgrade for your character(s). At the end of the level you’ll also have the chance to purchase upgrades, but these won’t come free anymore and thus you’ll have to cash in the credits you’ve earned by slaying the baddies.
At the beginning of each mission, be it in the campaign mode or the challenges or gauntlet, you’ll get to choose which robot you’ll be piloting and its loadout. Each mecha has its own unique skills but other than their skill set, all of them get to choose from the same arsenal of weapons. It’s clear that the game is intended to be played with friends, as some weapons simply don’t work that well when you’re playing alone, especially those that are used for close range combat. Outside of your main weapon, you’ll also be able to choose a secondary one, along the lines of missiles or explosives, to guarantee even more action onscreen. Other than that you’ll be able to use melee attacks, which can come in handy from time to time. Unlike other games, you can simply lock in your primary and secondary attacks, making them fire automatically which prevents those nasty cramps in your fingers.
When you’re done with the campaign, you can beat some high scores in the gauntlet or try to complete challenges. All in all, these modes are practically the same as the campaign, but they don’t offer as much story content, even though the game already did not have that much depth in that aspect. Overall fun modes for you and your friends, but after you’ve completed the story, you’ve probably seen the meat of the game.
The standard settings of the game are rather forgiving, as you’ll find yourself plowing through the campaign quite easily, even on your own. The hit detection of the game is also rather lenient, as there’s only a small hitbox, which appears to be smaller than your actual robot. That being said, the latter isn’t really an issue, as otherwise the game might have been too hard for many other players and in the end you can adjust the difficulty settings to make things more challenging.
While the overall gameplay experience is rather solid, the game does have several bugs, especially when playing multiplayer. More than often you’ll find that power-ups remain active for the entire level instead of mere seconds, health items don’t work and even levels start to glitch, making them go on forever. Also, sometimes when another player dies, he respawns with the gear of another player.
Conclusion
Stardust Galaxy Warriors is a breath of fresh air in its genre, when it comes to the visual aspect and the witty undertone, but it’s also not groundbreaking when it comes to the overall mechanics and the content it offers. Nonetheless, this game is certainly a fun addition to your library if you’re fond of bullet hell games and if you’re looking to dish out some punches with friends. All in all, worth looking into.
Stardust Galaxy Warriors - Review,
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