Starbound

Install Game

Download Starbound and set out on an interstellar adventure in a procedurally generated universe! Explore planets, build a home, and uncover the secrets of the cosmos. Your journey to the stars begins – play now!

a game by	Chucklefish Ltd
Platform:	PC (2013)
Editor Rating:	8.8/10, based on 2 reviews, 1 review is shown
User Rating:	6.0/10 - 3 votes
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See also:	Sandbox Games, Open World Games, Co-op Games, Crafting Games, Multiplayer Games, Exploration Games, Procedural Generation Games, Games Like Terraria, Low Spec/End PC Games, Underwater Games, Games Like Space Engineers, Games Like No Man's Sky

Announced over four years before it was finally released, Starbound is a pretty ambitious title that combines some existing concepts and aims to take them to the next level. Luckily the game was available for some years as an early access title on the Steam platform. Thanks to that we've been able to play the game and see how it evolved and changed over the years of development. Now that the game is fully released in 2020, we can review it the way it's meant to be done. So, what is this game Starbound all about? Let's talk about it.

About the game

Though the game evolved and changed a lot through the years of development the basics remained pretty much the same. In Starbound, there's a great incident at the graduation party that provokes our protagonist to escape into an old and damaged spaceship. An alien attack has destroyed the Earth, and we are left stranded in the immensity of space. In our old ship, we arrive at a small planet, ready to be explored.

Starbound is a sandbox game, and our first steps in the game show us the exploration and combat on 2D surfaces. It will also guide us through the bases of gathering resources and how to use blocks for crafting and getting materials.

The game is entirely procedurally generated, and this makes it a unique experience each time, with the loot and customization. Gather resources, craft weapons, and equipment, build a shelter, fight the enemies, and much more, this game developed by Chucklefish Games is always a surprise.

So, are you ready to dive into this adventure and find out what's behind the alien attack? Do you have what it takes to explore and meet new civilizations? Are you the explorer that will spend dozens of hours hooked by your screen exploring the unknown world and building your shelter? Well, Starbound is waiting for you.

A huge sandbox

When we mentioned that this game combines existing elements from other games, we meant two of the biggest and most popular sandbox adventures ever: Minecraft and Terraria. After you play Starbound this becomes clear, but you can also see that there’s a lot of ambition to take things to the next level regarding those two other games.

The formula of the game has remained the same since the first moment it became available for the public: survive in a hostile world inhabited by aliens and strange plants, meet friendly NPC, explore the planet, craft, and gather resources. It even has a mining system integrated that will allow you to get the rarest minerals and resources.

Even though the learning curve can be quite tough, the payoff is big. It is hard to imagine a better way to portray all the elements of a good sandbox game than twitch the space element in this blocky, 2D style. It feels as if you're playing a more creative version of No Man's Sky in 2D. Of course, this game won't gather all the audience of the Mojang giant, nor the number of fans of Terraria, but if you like sandboxes and space, this is a game you can't miss.

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