Starbound

I happened to have picked up this game shortly after it's 1.0 release having heard about it in passing before it finished development. I have been playing it on and off since then. Probably many hundreds of hours at this point. As you can imagine it's a crafting, building, survival game focused on space travel and exploration. An addiction combination! I've found many people will intensely enjoy this game for a brief period of time, especially multiplayer, until they finish the story portion of the game. Usually then they quit. I'd say that period is about 20-30 hours. For those into building and collectathons you are in for a loooooooong time as there is more than enough to do on that front. The community and moding scene is thriving even years later and one of the most fantastic features is what the community calls "custom items." Custom Items are user defined items which require no mods but can do drastically different things. The benefit of these items are that they're multiplayer friendly, so if you'd like to bring your mech repair tool, exploding box of donuts, or seed vending machine to your friend's universe YOU CAN! This also means you can make a weapon uniquely your own with the proper knowledge of JSON. It's a really neat system and I wish more games did it. It bothers me a that many negative reviews on this game are based off of their expectations from the in development period for the game post release and not actually to the game as is. I imagine it's some means to punish the developers for not living up to their expectations. All in all it's an excellent game, worth the price, worth your time. Play with friends for maximum enjoyment. Good community. Plenty of mods.

Ignore old reviews. Especially the particularly pissant ones who don't know what early access or in-development means. If you had told me every feature they were planning on implementing for this game I would have declared it vaporware even with 5 years to develop. They pulled it off. They pulled it all off. There are too many features for a massive 10-20 page review to actually describe and I have not run into a feature that stinks yet. It's basically Metroid/MInecraft/Gigantic-Galaxy-exploring-Sandbox but that woefully underdescribes everything this game is and has. I recommend the RPS review. It was what sold me and it was dead on. Word of advice. Check out crafting stuff early. I was under the wrong impression I'd be introduced to that as I moved through the intro-phase of the game. You aren't really but it's straight forward. Don't wait for it. You have it the second you land on a planet and cut down your first tree. Get that Anvil/Armor before you do your first mission to fix the ship.

Port is open and server is running but everytime i try to join the server the game crashes. I dont care how good the game might be if i cant play it like intended. I usually buy on steam and i will continue to do so. On steam there are zero problems with coop. This version is crap.

Starboard attempts to achieve a great deal, doesn't quite hit the high targets it set for itself yet still manages to be an enjoyable experience. Starboard does not offer a great deal to the solo explorer, the game does lend itself to multiplayer and there is enough background to give credence to some role playing. And this element, the self creation element, not only of the actual materials and equipment, but of community and questing is I think fairly important because in it's base form the game is actually quite bland. The basic quests included with the game are fairly boring with little variety, most involve finding specific information or items (or crafting items) then delivering them to a specific target. The other variation used is to proceed to location x and kill y then return. The developers have given little thought to their construction of variety in this regard. The gameplay is the best aspect of the game. The collection of materials and crafting is methodical (if a little boring) but fast and your collection tool (the matter manipulator) can be upgraded throughout the game to make it more effective which gives a sense of progression. The game is fairly standard in what you would expect, gather, fight/defend yourself, craft repeat. The controls are customizable and respond fluidly and menus are easy to navigate and search. The combat is a little dull, but is aided by quick switching of weapons on your Hotbar so the 'indescribable horrors', many of which are quite cute, don't tear you to shreds. The boss fights seem interesting at first but soon proceed to monotony as once you realize the attack patterns the procedure to attack and avoid becomes repetitive. Mods are available to enhance gameplay, or create yourself which is a welcom addition considering the blandness of the vanilla game. If you are a Terraria fan, Starbound will be a treat to play.

It's been a *very* rocky road for this game. There was quite a while when I feared it'd never live up to its potential and burn out long before completion. But thankfully the devs have pushed through the negativity and faults and have produced a fantastic work! For those curious/unaware, this game is a full-on mashup between Terraria and No Man's Sky and immensely enjoyable. I would highly recommend it