"I didn't feel like a giant. I felt very, very small." - Neil Armstrong, looking back at the Earth from the moon, July 1969.

I'd do just about anything to play this game for the first time again. The game is not very replayable, unfortunately, but being in the Starbound universe has given me a unique feeling that I always crave when I play the game. That feeling is what keeps me coming back, up to 200 hours (as of this review). Being in the vast universe, able to view the beauty of space in a 2D representation. That's something really special.

Although structures can become repetitive, the towns you see feel living and are always great to visit, and exploring in this game, on your own free will, is strangely addictive, as long as you aren't sitting there trying to find a certain race's towns on certain types of planets.

Regardless, let me actually talk about the mechanics, yeah?

Story: Linear, repetitive, interesting the first time you play, serves as a guide to where you should be, does not force you to play it. You can literally get the endgame armor and weapons before you even find the artifact for one race. The only thing you absolutely have to do is get your ship repaired.

Graphics: Actually very good for a pixelated game. I think the backgrounds and planets are gorgeous, and the sprites are very well made.

Mechanics: The combat is interesting, but not incredibly in depth. Energy and Health are your only resources, each class of weapon works differently, each two handed weapon has a special ability randomly assigned.

Building: Great potential, and having multiple bases on different planets is doable and spices things up. You can create colonies and have tenants. Think Terraria, but they're randomly generated under certain types, like cooks or soldiers, or even merchants. Planet difficulty mirrors their strength, what they sell, etc. Help them out and they'll become a crew member on your ship!

Mods: It's what keeps the game alive, admittedly. Starbound has only added branches of content, like bounty hunting and mechs, etc. since 1.0. Frackin Universe is the largest expansion I've seen, and any mods keep the game fresh. FU does change the beginning of the story, which helps. The mods range from adding a couple comedic items to revamping the game itself. Playing through modded greatly extends the lifetime of the game, and quality of life mods make it manageable.

My advice: Play the game vanilla (or quality of life mods only) first (use the "unstable version" if you subscribe to mods before playing vanilla, as unstable does not have steam workshop) to get the wonderful feeling I got when playing the game, then play modded after you get a feel for the game, as it revives the game and makes it replayable.

Overall: Starbound is a wonderful game that I'm proud to have spent 200 hours into. At it's core, I always describe it to my friends as "Terraria on space steroids", although it really does set itself apart by focusing on exploration. Would STRONGLY recommend to anyone who likes survival games, Terraria, or Minecraft, and is looking for something new. Plus, the price is very cheap for what you can get out of the game.

"I didn't feel like a giant. I felt very, very small." - Neil Armstrong, looking back at the Earth from the moon, July 1969. I'd do just about anything to play this game for the first time again. The game is not very replayable, unfortunately, but being in the Starbound universe has given me a unique feeling that I always crave when I play the game. That feeling is what keeps me coming back, up to 200 hours (as of this review). Being in the vast universe, able to view the beauty of space in a 2D representation. That's something really special. Although structures can become repetitive, the towns you see feel living and are always great to visit, and exploring in this game, on your own free will, is strangely addictive, as long as you aren't sitting there trying to find a certain race's towns on certain types of planets. Regardless, let me actually talk about the mechanics, yeah? Story: Linear, repetitive, interesting the first time you play, serves as a guide to where you should be, does not force you to play it. You can literally get the endgame armor and weapons before you even find the artifact for one race. The only thing you absolutely have to do is get your ship repaired. Graphics: Actually very good for a pixelated game. I think the backgrounds and planets are gorgeous, and the sprites are very well made. Mechanics: The combat is interesting, but not incredibly in depth. Energy and Health are your only resources, each class of weapon works differently, each two handed weapon has a special ability randomly assigned. Building: Great potential, and having multiple bases on different planets is doable and spices things up. You can create colonies and have tenants. Think Terraria, but they're randomly generated under certain types, like cooks or soldiers, or even merchants. Planet difficulty mirrors their strength, what they sell, etc. Help them out and they'll become a crew member on your ship! Mods: It's what keeps the game alive, admittedly. Starbound has only added branches of content, like bounty hunting and mechs, etc. since 1.0. Frackin Universe is the largest expansion I've seen, and any mods keep the game fresh. FU does change the beginning of the story, which helps. The mods range from adding a couple comedic items to revamping the game itself. Playing through modded greatly extends the lifetime of the game, and quality of life mods make it manageable. My advice: Play the game vanilla (or quality of life mods only) first (use the "unstable version" if you subscribe to mods before playing vanilla, as unstable does not have steam workshop) to get the wonderful feeling I got when playing the game, then play modded after you get a feel for the game, as it revives the game and makes it replayable. Overall: Starbound is a wonderful game that I'm proud to have spent 200 hours into. At it's core, I always describe it to my friends as "Terraria on space steroids", although it really does set itself apart by focusing on exploration. Would STRONGLY recommend to anyone who likes survival games, Terraria, or Minecraft, and is looking for something new. Plus, the price is very cheap for what you can get out of the game.