Starbound

Basically, it's terria in space. It's like you combined terria and no mans sky and smashed them together. That is the only correlation to other games, its all original. Play this game.

I purchased this as my first Steam game, and actually my first computer game ever (I grew up playing only Nintendo, but finally decided to try computer gaming). I have really been enjoying it! The combat is fun, and there seems to be endless exploration. Additionally, the story is woven into the game. Rather than a separate free-play and story mode, they are intertwined in the form of missions. This may also be its downfall for some who prefer to explore freely without being held back by missions, however. Overall I really like it and recommend it for people who grew up playing Terraria and highly enjoyed it.

Do you like Stardew Valley? Have you ever wished it was in space? Do you like Terraria? Did you ever wish there was "more space"? This is that. A few years a go, Starbound was kind of an unfinished game, but now with Fracking Universe its basically a whole new thing! Explore, mine, craft, collect, quest, build, decorate, buy, sell, kill, and save...but in space and on other planets!

The game was a lot better in early access. Progress is way slow and the new quest they added are completely TERRIBLE. Most of them are explained very poorly what you actually need to do or just completely wrong, requiring googling. Other are just insanely tedious. The actual fun progression part of the game was slowed WAY down.

Game was promising but devs got lazy and half-assed finishing the game.

Base game kinda sucks and is pretty easy, not to mention the plotholes in the main storyline. HOWEVER the modding community for this game is absolutely amazing and has created some very wonderful content. Shellguard and RPG Growth alongside Project 45 and Arcana come to mind mainly. On the flipside of the modding community though, avoid anything to do with Frackin Universe. A large portion of that mod contains stolen work and the mod itself was made intentionally incompatable with mods that the creator doesn't like. Not to mention the insane number of mods it's unintentionally incompatable with, which is intentionally not being fixed because the mod is perfect as is, which is kinda true from an unaware player's perspective because the mod itself is great in concept, but it was so poorly executed (the whole stealing thing, along with bad code in general) that it's not worth using.

Starbound itself can be beaten in probably a day if you know what you are doing. It's kinda like terraria but in space and with a lot less going on. There are 7 main bosses you have to defeat to beat the main story, and while there is still a tiny bit of content past that, it's not worth it without mods.

Shellguard is a masterpiece. A fully fleshed out campaign, more bosses than the main game, interesting concepts and missions, and a modular weapon system that is not only fun and easy, but also well balanced (in my opinion). Highly recommend this mod, as it gives you a good reason to keep playing past the main story.

RPG Growth changes the whole game. It adds new ways to play, a leveling system, optional enemy scaling, stat upgrades, specializations, professions and so much more. I think there is also some kind of magic system but I've not gotten into that myself. I like this mod because it makes it so that no matter how much you play, how many extra stories you run through, you still feel like you are progressing and gaining power.

Project 45 is kinda like Shellguard's little sibling. It focuses on giving you a more in-depth gun system, with reloading mechanics, recoil, and it's own upgrade system. This mod can get extremely unbalanced VERY quickly, so long as you have enough money.

Arcana seems like a very interesting mod aswell, though I've only found it more recently so I can't say too much about it. 4 new races to pick from, all with custom ships, is a pretty good start though. It seems like they all have their own fleshed out lore and the mod also adds a TON of new dungeons and planets to explore.

Something else I need to mention is an alternate version of the main game called OpenStarBound (OSB). It's in my opinion a very necessary upgrade that I can't enjoy the game without because it's a project that has been worked on by some of the biggest and most liked modders to puzzle together and upgrade leaked source code. Starbound on it's own can lag, so it's no wonder that adding mods into the mix can kill the game pretty quick. Even just with Shellguard. But with the upgrades and optimizations of OSB, I can run all of these major mods listed, and more, alongside a TON of smaller mods, with minimal to no lag at all. Not to mention the QoL features of OSB including custom keybind support for mods, a better lighting system, and overall more possibilities for modders to do what they want to do (because the base game code is actually a total spaghetti mess that often makes no sense (and in some cases done in the worst way possible)).

TLDR : If you plan on buying the game to play the base content, don't. It's not worth it. If you want to get into the amazing mods people have created, please do and go install OSB while you are at it, and avoid anything to do with Frackin Universe.

The fact this game was abandoned does indeed lend credence to the fact there is no god, and if they do exist- they hate us.

"It's not 2D Star field, but Starfield is 3D starbound instead."

This game is old, and therefore, precedes all your expectation (I myself first played it in high school 10+years ago as of beta ver. release in 2013).
If you just stumble on this old af game yesterday and complains why there's no live updates anymore....
I suggest you rethink the reason again.... (-_-a)

Is it good?, YES.
Is it perfect?, NO.
Is it worth the price?, ABSOLUTELY.

I only play this with Frakin's universe as its like 10 times more the game with 10 times more the fun. Good game as is, but advised to add the mod.

9.2/10

Has a huge and really good modding scene. I do not recommend vanilla (my only issue is the combat sucks) but if you like mods, space, and 2D games you'll like this game.

I used to LOVE this game. It used to be so much fun. But when i tried to go back to it, i didn't have fun. Like any at all. It was a chore. One long boring chore. Nothing much has changed for the game, really, so i guess *I* must have changed, and grown apart.

I try to restart this game from time to time and I have found that it is almost unplayable without mods. There is no real point to anything unless you install Frackin. And even that loses its edge pretty fast. Try it on game pass.

I really liked this game and wanted to play more, but it got abandoned by the devs which really pisses me off.

An extremely great Terraria meets No Man's Sky RPG with great base building and story. Sadly, the game has been effectively finished or abandoned by the devs which means no new effective bug fixes or updates for base vanilla. Mods hold this game afloat and there are a ton of them from adding additional races to entirely new storylines and revamps of the game itself, the amount you'll find is near endless. It's definitely single player oriented with all the mods at your disposal and is more akin to Minecraft in that you install mods and go on a weeks long play session before you put it down until the feeling comes back. Is base vanilla good? yes, but you'll do way better with mods helping cut down on the grind and allow freer exploration.

great game may have some friends to play alongside at a later point so i know mostly how to play also have friends to play with at same time. slowlly building a base up but gonna beautify it with telleporter eventually

It's space Terraria, and to be fair, it's very good at being that. However, there are a number of compounding issues that make this game not worth it: the game is woefully under-optimized; the gameplay loop following the final boss is quite bland; many of the achievements, while technically possible, are rng-based and statistically not accomplishable in any reasonable amount of time. Unfortuneately, this game is essentially abandonware, so none of these issues will be fixed.

- animals/creatures drop money instead of food, making you the richest man to starve to death

- the ui, crafting menu, buttons are just WAY to small, and i have a big monitor and im wearing glasses, i dont know if im just getting old or what, but everything is way too small and difficult to see even when you using the UI zoom in setting

- reading simulator in the worst font style possible that even books wouldn't do

Man there was a point where this game was bare bones but absolutely perfect. It was very much Terraria but you had a spaceship slowly exploring the universe, collecting materials, technology and even plants for your travelling terrarium. Then at some point the development just became weird as hell. Major points:
- They added an on rails story line which had you running chains of missions. The feeling of a big empty universe for you to traverse through was completely gone. You were very much funnelled into a combat, fetch quest style of game play which suckssss bad.
- The tool bar was reworked for some bizarre reason (why did this ever need to be touched) to some clunky dual wield mish mash that is unintuitive and is janky as hell to use.
Rather than exploring at your own pace you're now just a peon in a space gang running boring missions for people you don't care about. All the interesting mechanics, races and content they'd built up until then is now implemented in the most boring way possible.

Seriously, if they made an offshoot of this game reverting it to what it was I'd play the absolute heck out of it but it's sad these days I wouldn't touch this game with a ten foot pole. The best way I can describe it is that it wen't from Terraria in Space to Metroid but Bad.

Without mods this game isn't worth your time. Clearly just unfinished, barebones, content-less "game."

With mods, I had just enough fun to justify my time.

An overall fun game, not an absolute masterpiece but still good.

Also beware of the penguins, they are up to something shady.

Really fun and good, even more with mods, but it would have been better with more updates. Sniff

The worlds in this game can be scary, dangerous, and even chaotic, and yet the atmosphere is quite peaceful and the music beautiful. Nevertheless, it's all so amazing and worthwhile when you are surviving with that one really special individual by your side.

I don't get why people hate this game, or why it never seems to have many players. I'll put about a hundred hours into it, put it down and pick it up a year later and still have a great time.
granted, I downloaded FU.
But still, free mod, in the workshop.

sates my autism itch
10/10
highly recommend

I do say this is No Man's Sky but 2D, Controls aren't 100% but once you get used to it then this Game is Top Notch

This game is amazing, it involves space. there are many planets to visit and you can build in those planets and start settlements there.

Starbound is objectively very flawed game. The combat is tedious. The story is uninspired. The progression is even less interesting than Minecraft's. The story missions, while cool the first few times, get old quick, and do I need to even mention the developer controversies responsible for this game's abandonment?

And yet, five years since it's last major update, it still has an active community of modders and players.
They must have done something right for me to have sunk over 400 hours in this horrid thing.
In Starbound's defense, it does do a lot of cool stuff. Its not just Terraria with furries.

There just aren't any games like it tbh. It's still fun to be able to fly around to planets and explore. There's a lot of stuff to find. The moon planets are also pretty fun. The character creator is amazing and extremely moddable.

Further I'm particularly fond of its building and mining mechanics. The foreground and background layers using the same tiles is a welcome change from Terraria's walls. The sci-fi setting is more appealing to me, and the game has very many blocks and objects to play around with. And I definitely prefer the matter manipulator to the terrarian's pickaxe.

Overall, I would still recommend this game, but wait for a sale.

Pretty cool, like a 2d no mans sky with alot of terraria and Minecraft elements can't wait to dive deeper into it!

Infinite worlds with friends and enemies on all of them. A questline, side quests, a litany of things to craft, and a huge variety of blocks to build with. Outstanding modding community. Well worth its price.

This was my best side scroller experience the story is really good and the combat is great it is a little harder when your playing with a steam deck like me but the game is fantastic

A world with endless possibilities and a great storyline. Overall very well balanced! 10/10

Great Game. I want chucklefish to remake it, or give it something new. It does eventually get repetitive, but its great. 9 years later I still come back to its amazing soundtrack, and fun pixel art. the randomly generated weapons can be a little broken, but its kinda funny that way. Every race has great lore, and designs.

This game is a must play.

It's kind of a re-imagining of Minecraft but with much more to do see and consider. Feels like a true adventure. Multiple challenges, quests, lore, etc. I occasionally get a little bored with what I'm doing, but there's ALWAYS more to discover around the corner if I only take a break for a bit.

I love this game. this is probably one of my favorite games of all time. but man, I can't bring myself to recommend this game in the slightest.

this game is so incredibly bare bones without mods. it's such a nothing game. with mods this game is incredible! I've loved every hour I've sunk into this game because the community makes it great. but that's not what a game should be. the base game should still be enjoyable on its own. mods just enhance the experience or make it fresher for old players. this game feels so rushed and unfinished that you NEED mods to enjoy it.

so even though I've spent hundreds of hours in this game and I love it to pieces, I can't recommend it. it's a good game, just only if you are willing to add mods to it, which I don't think should be a caveat in the first place.

Listen, i'm not going to tell you what to think about this game but for me Starbound is a nostalgic game.
Every time I play this game i have a big ass smile on my face.
Sure it doesn't get updates anymore, but who cares!
It's finnished it doesn't need more content, you will never have fun in any game if you constantly criticize every single thing about it!

After finishing the game I can definitely say I had a good time. With its variety of planets and differing side-quests it's definitely a game worth checking out. The only thing is I'd say that if you're looking for a terraria-like experience then maybe look elsewhere cause while it's similar in some ways it's whole gameplay loop is completely different. Still a good time though especially with friends. 7.5/10

AWESOME. Worth 15 bucks any frickin day, after about 100 hours I decided I wanted more content and got the Frackin' Universe mod which makes the game even BIGGER, when I hadn't even seen or achieved everything yet. Honestly, the storyline is boring and I'd rather just progress without it. It won't ruin the experience, but just know if you're new, the pleasure of the game is not in the story but in the variety of different things you can do or grind.

It's very much like Terraria, but in outer space. Quite easy to start, with helpful but not too pushy tutorials. Charming pixel art graphics, nice colours, diverse planets and a lot of things to build, craft and farm.

you got a lot of stuff in the game : add arcana and arcana add ons to it : good day to you all

It's interesting. I like the building and exploring. Like most games I'm not great at the fighting.

a game made from broken promises and unpaid labor. incredibly boring "chosen one" story line. has been abandoned by its developer for years with no new content in sight.

still fun though
the mods save this game

So far it feels decent, just wished I had some magic to work with, elemental swords and guns are fun but magic is almost always more enjoyable.

Hunting spear feels useless, why not just drop the meat on regular kills but 25% drop chance?

A single moth ruined my whole plantation in only a dozen minutes without supervision. Built a whole dirt house over it like it's Minecraft on your first night.

Cooked meat looks too close to the raw variant, which I've accidentally ate raw meat and recieved way too much damage for just a slice.

Some texts and every dialogues are quite small in 1440p, there should be an option to make them 2x size. It's annoying to squint at 30cm from my 27 inch monitor just to follow the story and read item descriptions.



It's similar to a game I've played which had a level and skill system: "Realms of magic". Just wished it kind of had the same progression since you just kill and farm everything at an industrial rate.

Might update later, I'm way too early to make any conclusions.

Terraria in space! :)
There's a bit too much procedural generation for my taste, but overall it's quite impressive.

A pretty charming little game with a lot of heart, that shares similarities with Terraria. The story is pretty interesting and all of the npcs and races have some interesting lore. The game does unfortunately lack a lot of content. The game apparently had a trouble development and didn't ship with a lot of promised content.

That being said, what is here though is really nice, and there is an avid modding community in the steam workshop to fix any problem you might have with the game. There are also a ton of content mods to pack the game full of extra fun stuff. There are several overhaul mods, such as Francin Universe, that change everything from the ground up making for really fun replays.

I highly recommend this game, you will get your money's worth.

Great game, and you can add mods to make it to your liking.

Escapism. The final frontier.

There are few games that immediately wash the real world away like so much dust when you click on the cheery little icons. This is one of them. There are flaws, no doubt, and a turbulent history behind the making of this game, but none of that changes the fact that Starbound is one of the few things that makes life just a little easier to bear. In space, no one can hear me scream. Trust me, it's better that way.

Really fun game with a lot to explore and see. The planets are beautiful and being able to explore space is really fun. Would recommend this game for anyone who likes space and exploring a lot.

This is a fun game you get to travel to different planets and see other races and make colonies s of your own, the only thin i wish was more to do on Starbound once you completed all the missions oh and i forgot to say you can add mods wich is sick, i would recommend you try this game if your into space exploration games.

This game bridges the simple to the entertaining. It's simple enough that most can play while being engaging with dropped items and all available crafting. It's a cute game

I saw this game on youtube and it said that this game was 'unplayable' and 'unenjoyable' I very much think that this game is amazing it's basically just Terraria but you can go to space

Ignore the haters. Starbound is an amazing game with a huge variety of blocks to build with, a ton of fun content, and great mechanics. I couldn't recommend it more!

It's like Terraria but in space! My only complaint is planet variety and combat diversity. There is little to none.