Starbound

Overview

Starbound is a 2D sci-fi open world action-adventure platformer developed and published digitally by Chucklefish for the PC, Mac, and Linux on July 22, 2016. The game was originally released in Steam Early Access on December 4, 2013 and will receive ports for the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, and PlayStation Vita at a later date.

Often described as "Terraria in space", Starbound puts emphasis on exploration, mining, crafting, and combat with hostile creatures in a procedurally-generated 2D sandbox environment. Players can travel from planet to planet using their dedicated spaceship (along with teleporters), each planet sporting a combination of over 45 unique overworld and underground biomes (from lush forests and swamps to perpetually-dark frozen lands and slime-filled caves). Along the way, they'll find numerous settlements (including friendly villages and hostile bandit camps) from one of over seven different races, where they can scan objects and codices to learn more about them.

Players control a graduate ('Protector") of an intergalactic peacekeeping organization known as the Terrene Protectorate. Shortly after the destruction of Earth, the Protector must find their footing (with the help of the Ship-based Artifical Intelligence Lattice, or S.A.I.L.) and are given a quest to find six unique artifacts throughout the galaxy. As players progress through the main story, the game's main hub area (the Outpost) grows with new shops (some of which give new features, such as hiring penguin mercenaries as crewmen). Players can also find parts to upgrade their signature Matter Manipulator tool and technical enhancements.

It is the first game developed in-house by Chucklefish (also known for publishing other indie titles, such as Risk of Rain and Stardew Valley). It is also known for its numerous pre- and post-release updates, completely reworking some of the game's major features (such as story, combat, space travel, and planet generation) while adding a variety of new content (including upgradable crafting stations, the ability to make space colonies, and rideable mechs with modular components).

System Requirements

PC

Mac

Linux