Starbound Review (Xbox Series S)

by Jim Smale · November 4, 2024

Starbound Review, In Starbound, you create your own story – there’s no wrong way to play! You may choose to save the universe from the forces that destroyed your home, uncovering greater galactic mysteries in the process, or you may wish to forego a heroic journey entirely in favor of colonizing uncharted planets.

Starbound Review Pros:

Decent pixel art graphics.
1.2GB download size.
1000 Gamerscore.
Game options – overscan, dead zone slider, and sensitivity slider.
Controller settings – you can remap the buttons.
Standard options – tutorial messages, enable Xbox network, enable PvP, auto aim, and show controls.
Crafting survival gameplay.
Tutorial messages as you play.
Four characters save slots.
Character creator – seven species, customize colors and gear (it’s different options for each species), name, male/female avatar, randomize for the lazy, and show clothes on/off.
Three difficulties – casual, survival, and hardcore.
Skip intro mission choice.
2D game World with 3D backdrops.
Play how you want, in fact, it is highly encouraged.
Online multiplayer support.
Save and quit upon shutting the game down but it does also autosave regularly.
You have a main ship where you can interact with rescued survivors, customize it, and fly to new planets.
Every planet is unique from the biomes to the enemies and resources and weather.
Loot chests are plentiful as are bits of furniture holding loot, you can choose individual pieces to loot or loot all.
Find and craft new weapons, items, and clothing.
The pop-up text shows what you have picked up.
The cursor can be locked or unlocked so you can manually move it around.
In-game cutscenes and interactions.
Quick select wheel menu system, one for tools, and one for items and weapons.
Twin stick controls which is great for harvesting resources but a bit of a nightmare when you need to change direction quickly.
Big boss encounters and sequences.
An absolute beast of a time killer.
Manually type in coordinates for travel.
The ship locker is the main storage locker.
Quests and tasks will die out through people you meet and your ship’s computer. You can manage and take them on how you like.
The map and game world are uncovered as you explore around.
Colonise planets and have them generate money or resources for you passively.
Gain new followers and team members for expeditions.
Pick flowers to gain seeds (or buy them) then plant them and grow them to harvest more.
I like that you can change weapons and items with a simple button press.
In Single Player, you can pause the game.
Day and cycle cycle with various weather effects.
Highly addictive in so many ways.
Little loot capsules are everywhere.
Find or craft tents and use them to rest and replenish your health.
So many characters to find and interact with.
Health bar system, eat food and sleep to replenish.
Capture Monsters Pokemon-style Tame creatures to fight with you or build a zoo.
It’s cool the way you can pick up a piece of clothing and you auto equip it. From a flower in your hair to capes and hats.
Credits can be found and spent in shops and with vendors.
The master manipulator is your multi-tool that does your harvesting from dirt to bricks to trees etc. Find modules to upgrade it.
Does the rock paper scissors system of collecting ore, melt into bars to craft items, and they go up in rarity level that affects how good they are.
The recipes are vast and plentiful, you can find them online or in-game with some exploration and experimentation.
A game that is just as addictive in single-player as it is in multiplayer.
There is no tether of players in multiplayer so everyone can just exist in the same space and not be tied to each other.
So much replayability.
Every session feels like a unique adventure.
Peacekeeper is part of a new update where you can now live out your Space Police fantasies and hunt down bounties, you can then turn them in, kill, them, or be bribed to look the other way.
It is definitely a game that can entice and delight Stra Trek and Star Wars fans alike.
Full mod support.