Recent reviews by actionmath

Hilarious dialogue. Nice fun exploring. Decent variety of game mechanics, but pretty clunky. Not unbearable tho. The fighting isn't too fun. The leveling up is fun somehow. I barely remember what it was like playing this when it came out almost 15 years ago, but i enjoyed the stealth mechanic when i figured it out, and i love stealth. The hilariously awkward dialogue is so fun to listen to though... it seems like Tommy Wiseau helped write it. Have your dad join you.
Why did i just review this?

Yeah this game is amazing. I'm 46. I played the originals at-length. I've played many game formulas and this version of open world is true to the original, with lots of good stealth and great gun play and intense moments with... CREATURES. There's survival and horror... survival horror stuff for sure. I scream while my wife is trying to sleep. I get to shoot dogs who have been unarguably bad. There are some short cut-scene interludes which made up less than 1% of my playtime, and are well-done. I like the story. I like the choices.

NOTE: I initially bought this when i had an 8 year old computer. Then played it on xbox for PC because my new PC had a free 3 month trial or whatever. Its currently on my steam wish list.

The factions are well motivated. I like learning about them. The characters are funny. The narrative is interesting. It's especially fascinating to me, personally, because the characters are written authentically of their own culture. I live in America and the Eastern European outlook on life, sense of humor, and expressions of the heart make me feel a connection to something human in a way that is different than what I'm used to. It's cool.

The game play is smooth. Not clunky. The whole thing works very well after a year of patches. The devs have proven solid.

The negative reviews seem like some kind of campaign or band-wagon shart talk.

I think I love the people who made this, and the originals, and i never met them. I think you should buy this game and play it... At least up to the point where you go down to the end of the peninsula through the swamp, and through the shack that leads you to a basement inside another shack. And then after a weird Eastern European cultist who survived endless war and mind control gives you some weird story exposition and tells you what life is like. yeah. Then make your decision.

Overall, I feel Star Renegades is a brilliant tactical gem with amazing pixel art, good music/sound, and satisfying progression. I have stayed up late many times on a "just one more turn" journey that i didn't regret. (Just Ignore the writing) I can't play it as much as i've played FTL, but i love it for some of the same reasons.

Here's my overall take on the game:

The Story
Visually there's storytelling, and there are cool world building elements. The story elements and overall big ideas are very cool as far as science fiction. But all you get is visual world building as you observe the beautiful pixel graphics, and there is a very cool intro movie that makes you want to play.
Now to get my main complaint out of the way:
Once you're playing, the attempt at humor in the writing is unbearable. The dialogue which reveals more about the world makes deeper elements of the story difficult to consume. I actually REALLY hate the writing... a lot. Annoying, unfunny nerd humor that over-saturates has turned me away from games as good as Divinity Original Sin I and II. I can't do them. And the writing here is executed more poorly compared to those.
Luckily, it’s not chock full of insipid JRPG style story tropes either... Cut-scenes are not forced on you every five minutes. You can safely mash through dialogue and still enjoy yourself. That's a good thing. I wouldn't want to wait for cut scenes between playing in a game like this or FTL. Though FTL is an example of well-written story elements that didn't feel tacked-on.

Tactical Brilliance
The strategic elements are so good. I feel like my efforts of thinking my way through a battle pay off. The time system featuring turn order and “stagger” mechanics add a whole extra layer of strategy, letting you plan out exactly how to delay or interrupt enemies. Even if the odds seem stacked against you, smart use of timing can cut enemy actions off before they happen, leading to miraculous turnarounds.
There are interrupts, buffs, debuffs—and Star Renegades amplifies them with a reactive timeline that rewards forward-thinking. You really feel like you’re outsmarting the opposition.

Rogue-Lite Progression Done Right
It does take a few runs to unlock better characters and weapons, but the game doesn’t force a grindfest on you. Each run teaches you more about the combat system and drops interesting rewards that expand your options.
As you gain new heroes and gear, you’ll feel your party’s power growing organically. It’s nowhere near the slog you might find in some other games (cough Banners of Ruin cough). Instead, these unlocks offer fresh strategies and keep the game engaging across multiple runs. And elements are procedural, so what map layouts, and rewards are different every time you play through.

Visuals & Style
The game is absolutely stunning in motion. Characters and enemies pop off the screen with vibrant animations that make every battle feel epic.
The interface has a cool neon-futuristic vibe, though it can be a bit cluttered at first. Still, if you’re used to dissecting complex JRPG menus, you’ll adapt quickly.

Music & Sound
The synth-heavy score perfectly matches the game’s neon-soaked aesthetic, amplifying tension in battles and making exploration feel futuristic and grand. Each track seamlessly blends pulsing electronic beats with atmospheric melodies that ramp up at just the right moments. It’s the kind of soundtrack you’ll find yourself humming to yourself.
Meanwhile, the sound effects pack a satisfying punch. Skills and abilities all have distinct audio cues, letting you know exactly what’s happening in the heat of combat—even before you see the results. From the crackle of an Archon’s lightning blast to the metallic clang of a Paragon’s sword swing, every effect feels meticulously crafted to heighten immersion. Fans of synthwave vibes and energetic battle themes will absolutely love what Star Renegades brings to the table.

Character Building & Loadouts
Building a squad feels incredibly rewarding. Each class has unique strengths—tanks, healers, DPS, support—and you can combine them for potent combos.
If you like managing gear, fiddling with stats, and optimizing your party’s loadouts, there’s plenty to dig into here. Gearing up is half the fun.

The Interface Hiccups
Some parts of the interface aren’t intuitive. Expect a few runs to learn which menus hide certain details or how to read the timeline effectively. Sometimes i can't read important parts of the timeline because little pop-ups cover them, which is a fail, but there is only one spot on the screen where this happens repeatedly.
Once you get used to the interface, you will be in for lots of satisfying replays. If you enjoy a bit of complexity, you’ll find it satisfying to master. I actually really like to pore through the details of what makes my team build strong.

Final Thoughts
I’m in the camp of gamers who do care about story, and for game types where the story is featured front and center, my standards are quite high. For the type of game it is, it's good that the existing story elements are snappy and can be skipped. . Star Renegades delivers well in turn-based tactics, progression, and replayability.

If you:

Appreciate well-crafted JRPG-style combat without the usual bloated narrative,
Enjoy rogue-lite progression systems like in FTL or Slay the Spire,
Love leveling characters and tweaking gear for maximum efficiency,
Then you’ll have a blast mastering the timing system, planning each encounter, unlocking new heroes, and watching your squad evolve into a formidable fighting force. I know I did.

Visually, Banners of Ruin is stunning, but it just doesn’t offer enough substance to back up its good looks. I really wanted a roguelite deck-builder with meaningful troop placement and movement, but the game barely lets you take advantage of those mechanics. The ruin system, for instance, feels half-baked, and there are so many underwhelming cards that just end up bloating your deck. Recruiting new party members just makes the bloat worse, so a lot of the systems feel like they exist solely to slow you down.

I haven’t tried any of the DLC, but I suspect its required to make the game fun. After a few hours felt like I’d already seen most of what the base game has to offer. Compared to other deckbuilders, Banners of Ruin feels limited and stiff, with slower progression that leans more heavily into grind than strategy. It left me wishing for a deeper system where synergies actually come together in a satisfying way, rather than a handful of random events and mechanics that never quite gel.

Its not completely unplayable, but I'm adding it to the "unplayable" steam game category I made so I don't have to look at it, and don't accidentally reinstall it, play it again, and experience the irritable mood it puts me in.

This game has some of the most interesting basic gameplay ever. The missions are interesting as you're learning how everything works and as you ramp up in your ability, you can pick and choose whatever difficulty missions you want. At 150 hours, i'm picking the most hectic, nutty missions i can in order to challenge myself and have a hilarious time accomplishing objectives and escaping without losing characters... As you progress and challenge yourself by taking missions of varying difficulty, you're forced to think. And it's cool because you can pause and look at what's around you and think of a strategy. The hardest missions - glory missions - are mind-bending puzzles with lots of moving parts and odds stacked against you. To beat them you mus think carefully about, and use every tool at your disposal, and implement all kinds of strategies you've learned. I played over 150 hours and was STILL learning new things about how the environment and tools work. As you learn how all the weapons and tools work, you start to surprise yourself by beating levels in ways that seem like you're breaking a rule. It's all about breaking rules and stuff. Emergent gameplay - gameplay characterized by completely unexpected events and situations - is the name of this game. It's so cool to see what you can pull off when you're in a tight spot. At first, i would avoid the missions set in "warzones" because i had a hard time dealing with entire rooms of the ship being blown away while i was trying to steal an item, kidnap or assassinate someone, or hijack the ship itself. These missions are so crazy, and when you manage to kidnap a guy who is wearing armor and a personal force-field while the rooms around you are being destroyed, getting sucked out into space with the guy you are trying to kidnap, then you switch to remote piloting your ship to try to manually pick you and the guy up in space before you both run out of oxygen... it's just so cool.

As you progress through the game, you are constantly rewarded by watching the different characters at your disposal increase in their arsenal and funds, so they can keep getting better stuff. When you lose someone, you usually get a special mission to rescue them eventually, which keeps things interesting.

If you love modding games like fallout or skyrim in order to make a chaotic playground or mayhem for yourself, you'll probably like this. If you like having the freedom of stacking the odds against yourself in order to experience tense situations that you have to get yourself out of, you'll love this game. I personally feel that this game is a clever, strategic masterpiece. I have played through the campaign probably about 10 times... maybe. I cleared the galaxy, and started over.

Some people might say this game is repetitive... and in a way i can see that. You are basically picking up missions, then getting into a personal transport shuttle and docking with larger vessels, then sneaking aboard and carrying out different missions over and over... But given the huge assortment of gadgets, and weapons, and enemy types, and mission conditions, and objectives and the totally fluid environment where you have to quickly switch between piloting ships and running around on-foot through ships... it's very hard to get board. There was a time after i played between about 5 and 15 hours where i was kind of confused about everything and learning how things worked... but i can almost guarantee that if you are a gamer who likes to use your mind, you like isometric games with a lot going on, and you like sandbox type scenarios where you are constantly learning new things about how the system works then exploiting those things to get through seemingly impossible situations so you feel like a boss, then i think you'll really like this game.

I have not reviewed many steam games, but this one deserved a review. Tom Francis seems to have perfected some kind of formula with this clever gem. It leaves me hungry for more of this kind of amazing design. I love his other game, gunpoint... I also recommend that. Good Job, Tom, and team. I can't wait to see other games you come out with.

It's ok, until you get to a certain point, realizing you barely get strong enough from doing runs to have any more of an advantage on consecutive runs. All of a sudden there is a non-boss mob that will kill you in one hit because he hits too hard to be a non-boss mob. There's a lot of balance issues. I am up for a challenge, but this game doesn't really reward someone who uses strategy. Its just a dice roll that usually ends in frustration.

I love it. It's pretty, and light, and easy to use... mostly. It requires a bit of customization with the use of the right track-pad, but once you get it right, it works nice. PC games have always required a bit of input customization when you consider all the key-binding options available. I prefer that level of flexibility.

This game is amazing. I was looking for something similar to freelancer, or solar winds... There's a lot to do in this. It's genuinely funny. The story isn't super long, but the size of the map is impressive and you could just get lost in sidequests, which are pretty much infinite. I highly recommend this game.

This game is very imaginative, and it looks beautiful, but it's very tedious. I can't get into it. After playing games like Hollow Knight and Hyperlight Drifter, it just feels so boring. Unfortunately, though, as the art style is so good. It's pretty linear, too. Not much exploring to be had.
I'd only recommend to younger children who haven't been spoiled by more interesting adventure and metroidvania type games.

I've got 19 hours in and I highly recommend this game. The experience is as close to Super Metroid as I've ever had in a title like this. I've been playing games for about 25 years, so at this point i'm super picky with boring formulas, or lazy design, or mechanics that are laborious. This game has surprised me because i've been getting used to being more disappointed with my game purchases.

Here's why i love it. It has thick, otherworldly atmosphere driven by incredibly detailed environments and beutiful music. Open world, extremely non-repetetive map with areas that weave in and out of one another... constantly finding surprises and discovering multiple connections to different zones. Tons of secrets.

The game encourages you to make thoughtful use of your tools. You have lots of choices as to what you equip, but limiting active ability slots keeps it challenging, and fosters experimentation so it's never boring.

The fighting is great because the controls are tight and the monster movement and attack patterns are interesting and tough for the most part. The bosses are amazing to look at and to fight. The characters are mysterious and likeable. The illustration style is amazing, with beautiful light and particle effects layered in. Its so good. I can't praise it enough. If you like video games get it... if you like Super Metroid and the well-crafted Castlevania titles.

I'll add to this review if i find more to complain about, but for now, this is where i'm at, and i'm super happy.