For the past few weeks, I’ve been deep in a few RPGs. I went directly from Clair Obscur: Expedition 33 (my GOTY so far) to Trails Through Daybreak II, along with the new DLC for Sea of Stars, “Throes of the Watchmaker.” Because of this, I decided that my next review needed to be something a little different.

StarVaders, developed by Pengonauts, is a Rogue-like Deckbuilder that instantly caught my eye. You play as various mech pilots trying to thwart an alien invasion. However, there are also time-loop elements. The story showcases how each pilot (three for each mech) deals with the aftermath of the alien invasion, while also unfolding further each time you fail.

This time element doesn’t stop there. As you play, you also get Chrono Tokens, which allow you to reroll hands, potential item rewards, shops, and more. The plot feels very eldritch-adjacent, as there is clearly more going on with this alien invasion as it connects to the various pilots.

What drew me to the game initially, however, is its combat. It plays in a way that feels semi-reminiscent of the Mega-Man: Battle Network series. There is a strategic grid, and you get movement cards, as well as attack cards (and other types of cards).

As you play cards, your heat meter builds. Instead of “energy” like in Slay the Spire, heat serves as a way to limit how many cards you can play. If you overheat, you burn the card you used to go over that limit. Obviously, there are ways to use this in deck builds to your advantage, but it is an interesting element.

The gameplay is strategic and engaging, but I’ll admit that I didn’t feel like it kept me in that “just one more run” frame of mind for too long. After a few runs, I felt like putting it down and moving on to something else. Though I can easily see it being a nice time-waster to kill an hour or so every now and then.

The visuals are colorful, the music is a nice, upbeat bop, and overall, the presentation is well done. I just don’t know if it stands out enough from other Rogue-like Deckbuilders to really surpass some of the contemporaries in the genre. I think back to Knock on the Coffin Lid (which I played recently), and while StarVaders has a storyline you engage in as you play, it feels more like set dressing than an actual focus.

Despite my lukewarm reception of its gameplay, there is a lot to love with StarVaders. The soundtrack is a bit of a banger, and the wealth of unlocks offers a lot of replay value. If you are tired of some of your usual Deckbuilders, you can’t go wrong with StarVaders. I just wouldn’t go in thinking that it is something that will revolutionize the genre.

A PC Review Copy of StarVaders was provided by Playworks for the purposes of this review.

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StarVaders

$24.99 USD

9

Score

9.0/10

Pros

• Great Soundtrack
• Interesting twist on Deckbuilding
• Lots of Unlocks
• Great visuals and design

Cons

• Gameplay gets a little Stale
• Storyline is bare