StarsAway Review (Steam)

by Jim Smale · Published March 18, 2024 · Updated March 18, 2024

StarsAway Review, Classic rail-shooter action. Find secrets and tactics to clear levels effectively across three difficulty settings. Unlock mini-games as you progress. Beating levels in different difficulties unlock a range of mini-games that involve flying and driving and more as you navigate and explore a range 3d environments. The mini-games are typically about 10 minutes long and, as with the main game, they are designed to be replayed in pursuit of high scores and best times.

StarsAway Review Pros:

Decent low poly graphics.
375.87MB download size.
Full controller support.
On-rails shooter gameplay.
Optional training section.
Shows your best scores on the main menu.
You can hold down the fire button.
Collect health during play.
The left stick moves you and the right lets you do barrel rolls or go up on the side.
Avoid obstacles and shoot enemies type deal.
Has a Starfox meets Space Harrier-type vibe with an Afterburner plane.
Three difficulties – Novice, normal, and hard.
Scores pop up as you take down enemies.
Run based, on one life and get as many points as you can.
Bonus little thing to shoot down.
Cool low poly-looking world with great-looking enemies.
Parts of the world can collapse and you have to outpace it.
Excellent tunnel sections where you have to navigate lasers with your movements.
Big boss events that are clever I will give it that.
Mouse sensitivity slider.
Unlock cool little mini-games.
Retro feel throughout.
Once you nail the movement it is a lot of fun.
Great little time waster.

StarsAway Review Cons:

Alt-tabbing or having a game downloading in the background of Steam causes the game to start misbehaving and needs a restart.
Minimal graphics settings.
Enemies feel very bullet spongey.
The shooting feels loose and it’s hard to shoot through gaps and is especially hard to move and shoot.
End of the run, a menu screen pops up, with no fanfare or event to it.
Parts of the world repeat itself.
No power-ups or any real difference in shooting during the main game.
Doesn’t have online leaderboards.
No Steam achievements.
Cannot rebind controls.