Starbound
Review

Starbound (2018) is an action-adventure game from the developer of Terraria about the exploration of space. It's a world viewed from side-on, with simple visuals that enable it to offer complex systems and hundreds of items for players to discover their own adventures. You play in a procedurally generated space universe where you can explore and discover new weapons, armour, and items. You can also visit towns and villages inhabited by various intelligent lifeforms.

You start on a spacecraft after the destruction of Earth and must develop your craft to go on an intergalactic peacekeeping mission. Your shuttle orbits a habitable planet and an adventure begins that takes you hurtling across the universe. It's a combination of specific quests and overarching narrative-led open-world game-play.

The result is a game that's all about curiosity. What seems simple soon expands into a huge play space. You start with just a few tools but soon discover there are all manner of ways to interact and work with the environment. Like Terraria, it invites players to use their imagination, and provides a world that responds in surprising ways when they do.

Our examiner, Andy Robertson, first checked Starbound 3 years ago. It was re-examined by Jo Robertson and updated 5 weeks ago.