Simultaneously endearing and addicting, Starbound is one game capable of providing innumerable hours of enjoyable gameplay. Whether you wish to explore strange new worlds and civilizations, or battle a space mobster penguin in a flying saucer, the adventure is there awaiting you.

By and large Starbound is a stressless, carefree, and charming sort of game. While some of the bosses in the game can be somewhat challenging, it is not the sort of game that invites much frustration. Others may comment that the controls can, in some instances, feel a little clunky; I wasn’t too pleased I could only use my weapons while standing still… but overall, I cannot complain, and I cannot say that minor nitpicks like that have ever bothered me. There have only been two areas in which I have experienced minor frustration.

Number one cause of minor frustration: some of the modes of the game, such as Survivor, cause you to lose pixels (currency) and drop all of your current items upon death… and if you drop your items in an out-of-the-way, hard-to-access location (like a cave on the far side of a planet), it can become rather irritating to attempt to regain your lost inventory (you might die SEVERAL MORE TIMES in the process, only worsening your situation). However, players can choose to use the Casual mode instead, in which no pixels or items are lost upon death in the game.

Number two cause of minor frustration: while Starbound provides a lot of in-game teaching to help you learn how to use various items and equipment, there were a number of instances in which I had to Google how to do something I thought would be intuitive – how to plant and grow crops, how to build blocks with the matter manipulator, how to eat food, how to craft certain items, etc. Maybe this is solely my problem, caused by obliviousness, and others find these actions more intuitive. However, for me, at the start of the game, I often found myself fiddling around, confused about how to proceed with what I thought should have been simple tasks. But – that said, that was only a minor frustration at the start of gameplay. I have come to realize that Starbound is a lot about exploring options and discovering things on your own – and with that mindset, learning how to do new actions in a casual exploratory-sense became a lot of fun, and I lost all such taskmastering concerns about how to do things.

And that really is what makes Starbound so enjoyable: exploration. Exploration of planets and planets and planets and planets. Exploration of desert biomes, frozen mountain biomes, jungle biomes, ocean biomes, even flesh biomes. Exploration of various alien species civilizations. Exploration of worlds with one-eyed cat ghost alien creatures, fire-breathing bird alien creatures, hopping carrot alien creatures. Exploration of how to cook rice or build rope or construct shields or upgrade your space vessel. I will admit I haven't gotten too far into the story, even having done about 36 hours of gameplay... but I don't mind. It's just too fun to explore. I'll casually mosey my way through the story eventually.

I suspect some people could get bored of the biomes available on Starbound alone, or of the quests, or of the music, or of the general overall “feel” of Starbound. The game carries with it a sort of simplicity. For me, though, and the other individuals I know who play Starbound… it is carefree and addicting.

Mods for this game are definitely worth checking out, as they provide new layers to Starbound, and many more different types of things to explore.

Starbound is a game I would recommend to many people. Again, it is charming. It is endearing. It has a smile-evoking, amusing, uplifting sort of atmosphere to it. It is a game I have already spent many hours playing, and plan to spend many, many more.

Simultaneously endearing and addicting, Starbound is one game capable of providing innumerable hours of enjoyable gameplay. Whether you wish to explore strange new worlds and civilizations, or battle a space mobster penguin in a flying saucer, the adventure is there awaiting you. By and large Starbound is a stressless, carefree, and charming sort of game. While some of the bosses in the game can be somewhat challenging, it is not the sort of game that invites much frustration. Others may comment that the controls can, in some instances, feel a little clunky; I wasn’t too pleased I could only use my weapons while standing still… but overall, I cannot complain, and I cannot say that minor nitpicks like that have ever bothered me. There have only been two areas in which I have experienced minor frustration. Number one cause of minor frustration: some of the modes of the game, such as Survivor, cause you to lose pixels (currency) and drop all of your current items upon death… and if you drop your items in an out-of-the-way, hard-to-access location (like a cave on the far side of a planet), it can become rather irritating to attempt to regain your lost inventory (you might die SEVERAL MORE TIMES in the process, only worsening your situation). However, players can choose to use the Casual mode instead, in which no pixels or items are lost upon death in the game. Number two cause of minor frustration: while Starbound provides a lot of in-game teaching to help you learn how to use various items and equipment, there were a number of instances in which I had to Google how to do something I thought would be intuitive – how to plant and grow crops, how to build blocks with the matter manipulator, how to eat food, how to craft certain items, etc. Maybe this is solely my problem, caused by obliviousness, and others find these actions more intuitive. However, for me, at the start of the game, I often found myself fiddling around, confused about how to proceed with what I thought should have been simple tasks. But – that said, that was only a minor frustration at the start of gameplay. I have come to realize that Starbound is a lot about exploring options and discovering things on your own – and with that mindset, learning how to do new actions in a casual exploratory-sense became a lot of fun, and I lost all such taskmastering concerns about how to do things. And that really is what makes Starbound so enjoyable: exploration. Exploration of planets and planets and planets and planets. Exploration of desert biomes, frozen mountain biomes, jungle biomes, ocean biomes, even flesh biomes. Exploration of various alien species civilizations. Exploration of worlds with one-eyed cat ghost alien creatures, fire-breathing bird alien creatures, hopping carrot alien creatures. Exploration of how to cook rice or build rope or construct shields or upgrade your space vessel. I will admit I haven't gotten too far into the story, even having done about 36 hours of gameplay... but I don't mind. It's just too fun to explore. I'll casually mosey my way through the story eventually. I suspect some people could get bored of the biomes available on Starbound alone, or of the quests, or of the music, or of the general overall “feel” of Starbound. The game carries with it a sort of simplicity. For me, though, and the other individuals I know who play Starbound… it is carefree and addicting. Mods for this game are definitely worth checking out, as they provide new layers to Starbound, and many more different types of things to explore. Starbound is a game I would recommend to many people. Again, it is charming. It is endearing. It has a smile-evoking, amusing, uplifting sort of atmosphere to it. It is a game I have already spent many hours playing, and plan to spend many, many more.