NIGHTSTAR: Rogue Wings

Aggressively arcadey, hard to have strong opinions on. Even at its price point, I'd just wait for a different flight sim to go on sale.

The gamepad controls are absurdly sensitive and there's no way to change them.

The game audio doesn't respect Windows settings -- despite not being a VR game, it insisted on piping all audio through my Oculus headset instead of the regular computer speakers.

I miss Rogue Leader, too, but this isn't it.

A nice little casual Arcade Starfighter game. Several playable missions and hints of a story... It's a shame it never left Early access and a shame it is no longer for sale.

Meanwhile the dev has changed the name of his studio and is selling another "Nightstar" game.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/864970/NIGHTSTAR_Alliance/

No updates for more than a year (maybe two years), only unfulfilled promises. Not worth playing at all in its current state.

Just a warning: The game was in technically in early access but is super dead. Don't buy it.

The developer, Bruno Gruber (Bruno De Araujo), has a YouTube page and last posted a video for an unrelated game mod about a week ago. It would appear that they're still alive and active, but the fact that they haven't communicated anything with the community in over a year basically tells you everything you need to know.

I feel for Gruber as a solo developer, but when you start taking money to do a job, there's a certain obligation to communicate periodically. It's free to do and it shows consideration for your customer. That's doubly true when it's clear you're alive and working on other things.

Anyway, don't buy this game.

[My playtime didn't log the first time I played it, so the ~6 minutes is only the last time I checked it.]

I'll keep this brief as not many people happen across this game. Nightstar is an indie game that looks pretty good from the store page, but on playing it it feels like a PS3 port in both graphics and gameplay. Also to a lesser extent performance.

The game is/was Early Access but was only updated actively for a few mere weeks after release, gradually slowed then was never touched by the devs after about mid-2017. This makes me think of this product as abandonware.
It does have an interesting premise, and PC has a severe shortage on space dogfighters like this, but it's barely a game. I genuinely feel bad not many people bought this, but maybe it was going to be abandoned no matter how many people paid.

As I read in a discussion post, developers *seem to have* taken down the store highlighted 'update coming soon' news post, almost covering up there was a 'major' update on hold almost two years... But at least they didn't do that scummy thing of "releasing" from Early Access when they abandoned a product like some have done.


I'd refund if I could - it wasn't expensive but I just don't want the game and my money would have had better use as trading cards or something. I feel guilty owning it.
If the game was finished to the image described, I'd happily pay like eight times the price and not refund, but I don't endorse abandonware at all. I will remove this negative review if the devs ever stir from hibernation.

Unfortunately the very nature of waiting over a year for an update means that I'm no longer elligible for Steam refund, and a part of me wonders if that's intentional. At least I can review.

PLAYSTATION 1-ASSAULT IN SPACE!?: Looking for crackers & coming together to realise this game has the missing elements of the No Man's Sky oversimplified space battles and also what Everspace lacks with its overprocedureal context lead me to the suggestion that Nightstar: Rogue Wings is better than what I considered to be also Void Destroyer's overcomplicated take on Pulsar: Lost Colony's overdistributative means to resourcing, then realised its only flaw was lacking content in the same spectrum as Epic was on the P.C. all those years ago.

Realising it was a chapter in the Nightstar series then played my thoughts around into understanding it was also missing the robot it was actually fighting against. The main problem then became a focus on such unarbitrary aspects concluding most that the training level was 'weird' (it is like a flight simulating duel game on the ZX Spectrum).

The fluid-reality gameplay which realises you cannot slow down to a stop whilst playing the levels, understood you do not have to kill everything and then sometimes you do. A times I thought this game was amusing in the same vein as Assault was on the PS1; I played it for the same undulating reasons, not really because it is an episode in the Nightstar series. Epic Arcade!

Not worth your time or money. Just forget it. Devs don't seem to be very active.
Worth < 5$

From 1 to 5 where 3 is average

-EXPERIENCE-
Story - 1 - Dumb and hard to follow
Escapism - 3
Fun Factor - 4 - Quite fun to fly
Accomplishment - 1 - So Boring I stoped after 1 level
Social - N/A
Exploration - 2 - Almost a rail shooter feeling
Combat - 3
Replayability - 2 - If you're a masochist

-TECHNICAL-
Originality - 2
Features - 2
Graphics - 2
Audio - 2
AI - 2
Gameplay - 2
Controls - 2 - Some controls are awkward
Learning Curve - 3
QA - 2

-INTEGRATION-
Steam - 3
Workshpop - N/A
Hype - 1
Expansions - N/A
Support - N/A
Price - 1

This game is ok but I only played it for about 10 minutes and couldn't cope with the ship controls in flight. There is no way to invert your up and down preferences. I suppose if I take the time to practice I would get it but I don't have time to f with that. of course the game is beta and runs ok but again I can't control the ship in battles. The graphics are barely ok and I ran on ultra that should of looked much more realistic but has that low budget feeling kind of game. Videos on youtube looked promising but in actual play not the same. Oh well I lost 10 bucks and thats probably what its worth, or maybe 5 bucks would be better or free. Oh well there are plenty of other games like this one out there.

Game is dead. No updates almost a year. Dont be fool like me, dont bye this peace of code.

This title sure shows potential.
At this time it is true arcade yet I hope, in time, it will develop a bit more depth.
Visuals are more than OK, even for end of 2017.
Framerate is also fine on a not-so-fast PC like mine.
Thumbs up guys !

Although it has all the things I love: Starships, lasers and explosions - I cannot reccomend at this time.
It feels like a poor mans console port from PS3.

Pro: lasers, starships, explosions.

Con: simple graphics designed for consoles. non-existent enemy AI. music gets annoying after 10 minutes. orders update remove your targetting crosshair but not pause action. no way to customize controls. some enemies get's tagged on HUD, some don't.

I will reevaluate once it has some big update.

Fantastic game! Rogue Wings reminds me of classics like of Star Wars: Rogue Squadron and Star Fox. The levels are fun and have great variation, and the game looks beautiful. This game looks nicely polished, especially for an Early Access title, and the developer is constantly pushing updates and making the game better. My favourite recent addition is the new space level. That was a lot of fun to beat, and I can't wait for more levels! Highly recommended.

Great single player game. Need to spend some time getting into the controls but once you do it plays a lot like starfox with a more serious adult arcade vibe.

Technically it's a great indie product. Runs well and is very well crafted with constant update. I also think their price point is perfect and I look forward to continuing to give feedback as it develops.

Very cool !

This is a very early access game, but it has potential. The things I would like to see the devs put in right now to make it more playable is sensitivity setting for the mouse and controller because right now it's eather to high for controller, or to low for mouse. Joystick compatible with realistic controls would be nice. It is playable in it's current state but there's not much content.

Awesome Game! I can't wait to see what they do with this game. Fast and furious arcade action - really easy to pick up and play but harder to master (I'm not very good at this game haha). The few levels that it has so far are well worth the low price point. Fun in early access and loads of potential!

Play for 30 minutes before getting to work and complete the tutorial and the first mission! Protected the tower and receive the money! Got parts for new updates to the ship; Payment received! Need to ask this is truly an Indie title? Crazy to play next mission! Great music, scenario, and gameplay.

I love 3D aerial (planetary) sci-fi shooters. Yeah, all four or five of them, in time span like, what? 20 years or so? Meaning, there has not been lot of good ones. Terminal Velocity (all bow now..), Rogue Squadron 3D, Archimedean Dynasty, Crimson Skies (PC). G-Police. Yager. That's it. So, yes, I am super excited, when some new one emerges, and now we have early version of this "NIGHTSTAR: Rogue Wings". It is already good playable, and I believe, it will gets better and better. I know (I really do) that Author is working hard on visuals, controls and additional features. This means - we, eventual players, can shape what this game will be, with suggestions, discussions (I know I do). Right now I have strong belief in this one. If you look for aerial sci-fi shooting - please, come here, join community, help to build this game great.

It's always great when a developer listens to their audience and works WITH them to produce a better game. I've been meaning to re-review this game for some time now, since I hadn't reviewed it since it first became public and now I get to sink my teeth back into it, so lets look at what I mentioned prior, what's new, what could do with a little more work and what I'm very happy with.

Bear in mind that this game is still being developed, but it's safe to say that this is a much more compelling, smooth and enjoyable game now. Special thanks to RedLoster for getting in touch with me about the game.

- That story I mentioned to be lacking is now in place. Whether you think it is deep enough is subjective. I do like the angle they've taken and believe there is room for some interesting twists and turns to keep players playing. That said, the arcadey feel of the game might take you away from a driven plot and feel more like an overlay for a set of A - B tasks.
- The menus and user interfaces are a great deal improved, controls are easier to find, adjustments to the game's graphics and resolution are also a lot easier to change and the game just looks smoother.
- Which leads me on to gameplay, which has seen a significant overhaul. Not only are the controls far more intuitive and tighter, the game runs smoother and faster than the slug-fest it was before, locking on and firing at enemies feels a great deal more enjoyable and most importantly, I feel in control. Where the controls before felt all over the place and there were no clear indications as to what key does what, besides what you might find in the tutorial, everything just makes more sense now, making soaring around and taking out enemies a joy.
- Whether it's down to the plot or otherwise, enemies still feel like drones, or target practise, equally your allies also seem lifeless. There is a real need for charismatic memorable enemies that lead to heart pounding boss fights and allies in dogfights you grow to like and feel the need to protect. This will alleviate the A - B objective monotony as now there is a good reason to do so. "Urgency" should be a factor in every objective, why am I doing what I'm doing and who am I doing it for?
- The lock-on system and barrel rolls are a major gameplay plus point.

There is still a lot that can be learned from other games in the similar genre like Ace Combat, Star Wars, Freespace, Eve Valkyrie, Omega Boost, Zone of the Enders etc

A few extra things I'd still like to see:

- Ship customisation
- Choices that effect the story and ending (Stay with and defend a colony or take the battle to the enemy)
- Enemies hyperdriving in and out of battle, either fleeing or like a surge, ambushing out of nowhere (Eve did something like this and my god it blew my mind, but it was far too short)
- Massive battleships to destroy that feel like they are throwing everything at you
- More interesting use of music and sound as opposed to repetitive none changing music. Eg: Silence before the storm, so soft music when escorting a freighter on what you thought was an easy mission, than boom! You get ambushed and the music kicks into gear, beats and heart pumping bass. Maybe an alert noise when a major enemy enters the fray.

All in all, Nightstar is a much better and more enjoyable game, easily recommended and with plenty of potential.

It's really raw game now, so I can't recommend it.

- No way to configurate or even watch the keyboard controls
- No way to play with keyboard only (dev says its not a bug, but feature)
- The jet turns really slow and is really unresponsive even with mouse sensivity maxed out in the settings
- No throttle up/down buttons (only some short bursts activated by "shift") (not a bug, but feature again)
- No roll left/roll right buttons (surprisingly not a bug too)
- It's really easy to crash into big targets while you are locked onto them
- Lock on system is hard to use (Ace combat assault horizon have much better example of same mechanic)
- No replay value (yes, its ea game, but anyway)
- Really short (at least now)

Hope it gets fixed soon.