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0 Are you ready for an adrenaline-fuelled, high-speed adventure on an alien world? Star Overdrive, developed by Caracal Games, is an action-adventure title set in a sprawling open world.
Star Overdrive was originally announced last year as a Nintendo Switch exclusive. Now, the game is now available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC, with this review focusing on the PS5 version. With several fun-looking gameplay elements and a genuinely striking visual style, is this the next must-play indie title?
Who Needs a Sword and Shield When You Can Have a Keytar and Hoverboard?
With Star Overdrive already available, I’d love to get your thoughts on the game if you’ve played it! Why not leave a comment and let us know how you found it? But, for now, it’s on to the review!
Story
Our hero, Bios, spends his days searching the stars for his lost love, Nous. When he receives a distress call from her out of the blue, he doesn’t hesitate to set out in order to find her. Unfortunately for Bios, his ship is shot down above the alien world of Cebete. On the bright side, this is the same planet Nous contacted him from, so it’s time to go on an adventure! This then sets the stage for roaming the world, tackling missions in order to progress the story. Alternatively, you’re also able to explore your surroundings and hunt for collectibles.
There’s an air of mystery surrounding the plot, and it’s one that kept me engaged throughout. Whilst I’m not a fan of silent protagonists, Star Overlord still manages to tell a compelling story. You’re slowly fed snippets of information about this strange planet and what exactly happened to Nous as you play. Various clues and audio logs begin to piece together the details, eventually revealing much more than just a girl stuck on a planet by herself.
Gameplay
Star Overdrive‘s gameplay consists of a mixture of traversal via your hoverboard, combat, and puzzle solving. First, let’s look at how Bios gets around. The hoverboard will have you flying around the map at breakneck speed, with plenty of environmental objects to launch yourself off. You can also perform tricks in midair to boost, and it handles well for the majority of the time. With the hoverboard being so floaty in how it controls, navigating through narrower areas of the map can be tricky. Bumping into objects will slow your momentum, but in wide open areas, this thing is an absolute joy to use.
You’re not confined to your board, though, and can hop off at any time. Controlling Bios himself is a little more sluggish, but you can still use the hoverboard to jump higher and dash short distances. The on-foot platforming does seem a little unpolished when compared to the often exhilarating hoverboard portions, yet it’s still serviceable enough that it never becomes frustrating to play.
You’ll also be constantly tinkering with the hoverboard thanks to the broad range of customisation options. Materials found in the world allow Bios to upgrade things such as the board’s speed, jumping height, and so on. Certain materials even allow you to alter the cosmetics of the hoverboard, ranging from various decals to colour options. Later on, you’ll also be able to enhance its capabilities to allow it to traverse across water or on metal surfaces. Whilst the crafting system can seem a little complex at times (certain materials not mixing well with others, causing certain stats to decrease, for example), it was fun to experiment after gathering enough materials. It can feel grindy at times, but none of this is essential in order to beat the game.
While My Keytar Gently Weeps
Combat is fairly simple. Bios will use his keytar to attack enemies in a combo. Holding down the attack button instead will charge a heavy attack. Bios will also earn new powers as you play. One early ability is a projectile attack, with another one being a bounce pad that leaves your opponents vulnerable to attacks. It’s not the most in-depth combat system; however, the additional abilities gained throughout your journey do slowly add more complexity to it.
These powers aren’t just used for combat, either, and will be essential for completing some of Star Overdrive‘s puzzles. In something rather reminiscent of Breath of the Wild, mini-dungeons litter the land and utilise these abilities to great effect. Simple puzzles, such as simply moving objects around using a push/pull power, won’t be too mentally taxing. Later ones will require the use of several powers in order to see them through to completion, although, again, they’re never really too difficult.
Graphics & Audio
I absolutely love Star Overdrive‘s aesthetics; the retro-future style works really well! It feels like it’s taken inspirations from media such as Guardians of the Galaxy and Ratchet & Clank. The various biomes you’ll explore are varied enough that it doesn’t feel like you’re retreading old ground. From huge sand dunes to areas littered with abandoned technology, Cebete is a visually striking world. There are times when it can feel a bit barren, but more often than not, there will be something off on the horizon that’s begging to be explored.
The way the music is presented is also wonderfully done. Whilst exploring, there’s often tranquil, subdued background music playing. However, this ramps up in intensity to a rock-centric soundtrack as you engage in combat. Add in to the mix the satisfying sounds of the keytar as you strike opponents, and you’ve got a real high-tempo energy to fighting.
As for the performance side of things, I had no issues with the PlayStation 5 version. The frame rate was a stable 60 fps throughout, with no major bugs other than the occasional wonky physics. The draw distance is perhaps the most technically impressive aspect of Star Overdrive, letting you see far, far off into the distance and really soak in the beauty of Cebete.
Longevity
There’s a good amount of content in Star Overdrive. The large map littered with collectibles to find and dungeons to explore makes this a lengthy title. That is, should you decide to do everything.
However, once the credits roll, there’s little incentive to return to Cebete for a second playthrough. I did spend a fair bit of time just zipping around the world on the hoverboard, though, as traversal was just that much fun!
Final Thoughts
Indie studios are consistently creating some fantastic games, and Star Overdrive is one such example. Caracal Games Studio is a small, Italian team of around a dozen people and, with the publishing help of Dear Villagers, have delivered a brilliant adventure. This was a really fun title to play, with some beautifully unique environments to explore. Whilst the combat is fairly basic and the puzzles not too taxing, Star Overdrive is, overall, a game definitely worth playing.
That’s why I’m giving Star Overdrive the Thumb Culture Gold Award!
Disclaimer: A code was received in order to write this review.
If you enjoyed this review, why not check out another space faring open world title, with Jordan’s review of Cubic Odyssey!
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