After completing the game a while back, and letting my thoughts stew since then, I cannot recommend this game.
Yes, it's gorgeous, yes the music is great (with a couple exceptions), and the combat is fine though it lacks any real progression.
The story, writing and character development.... they are so shallow it still irritates me as there were SO MANY missed opportunities to do something entertaining, dramatic, or meaningful with the characters and their interactions. It's impressive in that it seems they actively avoided every opportunity for good character interaction (with very, very few exceptions).
I want to like this game, I see the sources of inspiration, but the lack of understanding on what made those sources great, and the unwillingness to DO something with them besides painting a pretty picture really just brings the entire experience down.

Edit: fixed a couple typos

Works great on the steamdeck. Took about 36.6 hours for me to beat this game and get the "true" ending.

Sea of Stars is obviously a love letter to classic RPG's. Playing the game, it becomes very apparent where influences and references to prior notable titles are present. It's very hard to balance nostalgia between being endearing and overbearing, but I feel like they did a good job or capturing the former over the latter.

It is a simple game with simple mechanics. While I wouldn't use the word easy, it's very forgiving in terms of enemy placement and combat. While combat is simple, timing makes it satisfactory enough that it services as a looped feature. Enemy variety is also fairly good, which helps makes combat more interesting. The trade-off here is that progression is very linear in this game. There are a few weapons you can find early on that do additional damage to undead. These are the only weapons in the game that have bonus effects. Every other weapon is just a simple stat increase. The lack of variety in progression means there's no real choice in what to do with weapons you collect. You already know the next area will just have the same weapon but slightly more buff, and there's no reason to think about switching them. Different equipment makes up for that somewhat, but the pool is limited. You're also stuck with a limited move pool for most of the game. Unlocking ultimate and combo attacks does help, since those do go and get discovered later on, but characters individually reach a ceiling early on in terms of the variety of choices.

The story is fairly good and serves the game well. It balances being serious and silly pretty well, which a lot of stories doing the same thing often struggle with. It's not particularly complex, and the protagonists are never challenged in their beliefs or what they're doing (even though the story presented opportunities where this could have happened) so it's very straightforward in the "save the world and fulfill your destiny to make everybody happy" narrative, but I think there was enough to go off of to be engaged with what was happening.

Where the writing falls short is in the depth of world-building and characterization. The protagonists are simultaneously lifelong friends burdened with destiny and history with their community, mentors, and best friend Garl, while also acting like faceless nobodies as you play them. Without spoiling too much, Erlina and Brugraves story was particularly unfulfilling. And the world struggles to feel alive at times. It sometimes feels like the world was serving the story, rather than being a story taking place in the world.

The worst part of this game is the backtracking. Backtracking is made trivialized by the end game, but this feels makes any quest or exploration you did before you reach that point feel almost punishing. Like you would've been rewarded better and faster for waiting to do side content, rather than doing it at your convenience and when they become available. Despite this, there was some good side content to keep you engaged (wheels particularly).

Where the game shines the best in in enemy design and art style. It is an absolute gorgeous use of pixel artistry and it is clear that a lot of work went into making this game pretty. Several NPC's are just so vibrant looking and well designed too (Kennathan my beloved). Many enemies and bosses are just a feast for your eyes in terms of interesting design and details to take in.

Overall, I think this is a good game. It's a wonderful flawed game that I think you should play. It's the perfect kind of game to use as a cleanser after playing other extensive ones. If the developers ever make a sequel, or spiritual successor, or just a similar rpg in general, I hope they can learn from the shortcomings of this game while still keeping what made it fun and interesting in tact. I look forward to seeing future releases from the studio.

3/5

I loved this game and find myself thinking about it a lot, lately. Felt so familiar to the old classic RPGs I grew up playing, but with twists that made it feel like a modern game all its own. I enjoyed the story very much! Brought back memories of being up early on Saturday mornings, laying on the floor in front of the TV, on a fantastical adventure to save the world, and our friends!

Never felt like there was any character progression in terms of HP and damage output. Combat gets stale fast since you’ll use many of the same attacks throughout the entire game. Story and characters are forgettable. There’s no challenge; I died only a few times and that includes all optional bosses and true ending. Lots of other curious decisions

Makes me realize just how good Square’s older library really is.

I've kind of been scared to play this ever since the first trailer I saw that started "Starring guest composer Yasunori Mitsuda!" I felt like that was a really odd choice that was designed to trick people like me who played Chrono games as a child into thinking this can be part of that. At the end of the day, I can recommend aspects of the game, but I'm having a hard time recommending the game.

Combat: The combat system is engaging, but incredibly punishing. There are several times where I have gotten game over screens because I entered battle with full HP but half MP and missed a few critical defensive blocks and now I lost. I like these combats that are essentially puzzles you have to solve, like an simplified Octopath Traveler. The combat loops are one of the highlights of the game.

Story: I don't think enough can be said about how much the story is absolutely ruining the game. Its' a beautiful world crafted with detail and care, and every time a text box is on my screen, I just want to uninstall the game. For several reasons.

The game is fourth wall breaking and self-referential of RPG quotes, which was one of my main gripes with the Messenger. It really takes you out of the story when it feels like the people making the game didn't care about it.

The motivations for why things are happening are always nebulous, and sometimes really feels like things are happening because the writers decided things needed to happen. Why did that plot twist happen? Who is this person? Why are they doing this? The combat may be enjoyable but I don't know if it's enough to carry a game I'm trying so hard to care about but the game doesn't want me to.

Music:
I'm a lifelong Mitsuda fan. I'm a musician, a composer, I've taught composition. Mitsuda will always be my favorite video game composer of all time. I don't know if it's the MIDI set he's chosen to go with or what but it's all falling flat to me. It sounds hollow, like it's lacking soul. And when the first thing the game told me "It's got the greatest VG composer of all time" the music shouldn't be a question mark.

Feels a lot like Chrono Trigger

Above Average: 75-84 (75-84%)


Gameplay Experience (19/25)

Intuitive Controls - Easy to use.
☐ Very Difficult (+1)
☐ Difficult (+2)
☐ Moderate (+3)
☐ Easy (+4)
☑ Very Easy (+5)


Balanced Gameplay - Fair and equal.
☐ Poorly Balanced (+1)
☐ Somewhat Balanced (+2)
☐ Moderately Balanced (+3)
☑ Well Balanced (+4)
☐ Perfectly Balanced (+5)


Player Engagement - Involving and captivating.
☐ Not at all (+1)
☐ Slightly (+2)
☐ Moderately (+3)
☑ Very (+4)
☐ Extremely (+5)


Decision Relevance - Meaningful choices.
☐ Meaningless (+1)
☑ Not Meaningful (+2)
☐ Somewhat Meaningful (+3)
☐ Quite Meaningful (+4)
☐ Highly Meaningful (+5)


Rewarding Progression - Satisfying advancement.
☐ Very Unsatisfying (+1)
☐ Unsatisfying (+2)
☐ Neutral (+3)
☑ Satisfying (+4)
☐ Very Satisfying (+5)


Presentation & Immersion (20/25)

Compelling Storyline - Engaging narrative.
☐ Not Interesting (+1)
☑ Slightly Interesting (+2)
☐ Moderately Interesting (+3)
☐ Very Interesting (+4)
☐ Extremely Interesting (+5)


Immersive Atmosphere - Captivating environment.
☐ Not Immersive (+1)
☐ Slightly Immersive(+2)
☑ Moderately Immersive (+3)
☐ Very Immersive (+4)
☐ Completely Immersive (+5)


Visual Aesthetics - Stunning graphics.
☐ Not Appealing (+1)
☐ Slightly Appealing (+2)
☐ Moderately Appealing (+3)
☐ Very Appealing (+4)
☑ Extremely Appealing (+5)


Audio Quality - High-quality sound.
☐ Not Engaging (+1)
☐ Slightly Engaging (+2)
☐ Moderately Engaging (+3)
☐ Very Engaging (+4)
☑ Extremely Engaging (+5)


Polished HUD - Clean and functional interface.
☐ Very Unfriendly (+1)
☐ Unfriendly (+2)
☐ Neutral (+3)
☐ Friendly (+4)
☑ Very Friendly (+5)


Design & Technical Aspects (17/25)

Game Design - Well-crafted mechanics.
☐ Poorly Designed (+1)
☐ Somewhat Designed (+2)
☐ Moderately Designed (+3)
☑ Well Designed (+4)
☐ Excellently Designed (+5)


Content Quality - Rich and diverse.
☐ Poor Content (+1)
☐ Limited Content (+2)
☑ Moderate Content (+3)
☐ Extensive Content (+4)
☐ Abundant Content (+5)


AI Behavior - Intelligent and realistic.
☐ Very Poor (+1)
☐ Poor (+2)
☑ Average (+3)
☐ Good (+4)
☐ Excellent (+5)


Settings - Flexible and customizable.
☐ Very Limited (+1)
☑ Limited (+2)
☐ Moderate (+3)
☐ Flexible (+4)
☐ Highly Flexible (+5)


Technical Issues - Minimal or no problems.
☐ Numerous (+1)
☐ Moderate (+2)
☐ Limited (+3)
☐ Minor (+4)
☑ None (+5)


Final Considerations (19/25)

Overall Satisfaction - General enjoyment level.
☐ Very Dissatisfied (+1)
☐ Dissatisfied (+2)
☐ Neutral (+3)
☑ Satisfied (+4)
☐ Very Satisfied (+5)


Microtransactions - In-game purchases.
☐ Extensive (+1)
☐ Substantial (+2)
☐ Moderate (+3)
☐ Minimal (+4)
☑ None (+5)


Replay Value - Longevity and replayability.
☐ Very Low (+1)
☑ Low (+2)
☐ Moderate (+3)
☐ High (+4)
☐ Very High (+5)


Cost-to-Play Ratio - Money spent vs hours played.
☐ Overpriced (+1)
☐ Poor Value (+2)
☑ Fair Value (+3)
☐ Good Value (+4)
☐ Excellent Value (+5)

I HIGHLY recommend going through this game blind. Do not lookup the collectibles, story beats, characters, where to find XYZ. The game does a fantastic job of letting you find it all naturally.

The game. Keeps. On. Going.
An endless stream of information, events, and story. It's always got that "I could go just a little further" that pulls you in and lets you chug along.

Old-school RPG, in the vein of Chrono Trigger and Mario Superstar Saga, in the sense that you have input-dependent blocks and additional attacks.

Feels like a puzzle sometimes, giving you all the resources you need to finish an area, a fight, an actual puzzle, you just have to put your thinking cap on and figure it out.

This is by far the best game I have ever played, it brings back feeling of nostalgia of the old school games with the feel, the beautiful and amazing graphics and music. I would 10,000% recommend this game.

The art and music are great, but the writing is atrociously bad and the gameplay doesn't do enough.