I had a lot of fun with Star Renegades; it sits somewhere between FTL, Darkest Dungeon, and Chrono Trigger. Starting the game I was a little disappointed with the tutorial as it didn't make the game seem like it would be very fun, just super basic. Luckily, I didn't stop playing and gave it a fair chance because the problem-solving required to control the flow of battle really hooked me once I got into the main game.
Star Renegades is a turn based RPG similar in vain to Darkest Dungeon. It's far more generic sci-fi in style, but I dug it. Really, the flow of combat is closer to FTL as you juggle, adapt, get new party members, become familiar with the combat order, upgrade your weapons, armour, equipment, and characters, and choose locked in paths to get to the bosses.
The hook, and potentially key, to Star Renegade is the combat order at the top of the screen. It shows your team's and the opponents moves. Everything is laid out, and you have to strategize the most appropriate move to defeat the opponent. It's turn based, but you can stagger the opponent with certain moves and even push back their action to the next round. It all is balanced wonderfully, and since there is no random numbers, everything feels fair because you can see everything coming, but that doesn't make it easy.
There are elements of procedurally generated worlds, enemies, and runs, but it's done with an extremely light touch. It works, but the worlds aren't exactly complex, the handcrafted sections minimal and the Shadow of War nemesis-like system while exciting at first, it just boils down to a series of stats and enemy types. I don't knock Star Renegades for having these in the game because they do work, it's just not something to elevates the game. And the actual nemesis system is a masterwork; it's just too bad it's copyrighted by Warner Brothers and will only be in their games -- c'est la vie.
I said Star Renegade is generic in its sci-fi style, and that's because it steals from everything making it look like a collection of references; it works fine and it's light-hearted about it. The developers clearly loved Star Wars. It's impressively broad, but as a result it's mostly just window dressing.
The art style is pixelated with undertones of the SNES. The over world reminds me of Chrono Trigger as you companions trail behind you. Once in combat, the character and enemy models are all distinct and unique. There are some colour swapped enemy models, but whatever, it's tradition!... Okay, it's a resource saving move, but this is an indie game, and I'm not bothered by it. The animations are all wonderfully exciting with good visual flair and sound effects to make combat feel punchy. I seriously never got bored with it.
Story wise, the game justifies its gaminess by a multi-demsional threat. A little robot hops through dimensions every time your party dies, and you get to try again. I like the baked-in meta justification for the death mechanic. There isn't a lot in the story department; it feels very video gamy in that the story justifies the gameplay.
I played 10+ hours before I beat the game once, but that isn't nearly close to completing everything. There are tons of items to research, characters to unlock, character moments to unlock through camping, and even a slightly changed story after beating it once; I appreciate all of that.
However, there is nothing pushing me to engage with the rest of this material. Maybe I'll leave the game installed on my SSD and come back while playing other stuff, but I don't think I will, and I would be fine with that. I think there is something that could be done to make we want to experience all the mechanics, but I don't think the story is long enough as it is.
Music... it's there. It wasn't bad, but it is like elevator music; it's there to fill the silence. I suggest turning it off, leave the sound effects on, and launch Spotify. For those curious, I was listening to Shakey Graves and similar artists.
If you are a fan of sci-fi RPGs with strong turn based combat, a light sense of humour, and some replayability, I recommend it. The game's combat is a blast and the death mechanic works perfectly. I'd love to see what could be accomplished with a Star Renegades 2.
