Sea of Stars is a Beautiful Upcoming Turn-Based RPG

Who here remembers the Golden Age of the RPG? Back when games like Chrono Trigger were the norm? I guess you’re in for a treat then, as today we’re here to talk about Sea of Stars – an upcoming turn-based RPG that almost looks too good to be true.

This game, if you couldn’t tell from the trailer alone is.. absolutely gorgeous. The Kickstarter was set at roughly $100,000 and thus far, a little over half way through its funding process, has over $500,000 raised.
Yup, it’s not just you and I that’re interested in the game. But what is Sea of Stars?
Sabotage Studios describe the game as an attempt at “modernizing the classic RPG in terms of turn-based combat, storytelling, exploration and interactions with the environment, while still offering a hearty slice of nostalgia and good old, simple fun.”

I’ve always been a fan of turn-based combat in my RPGs. The majority of RPGs I played, Final Fantasy, Legend of Dragoon, Dragon Quest, Breath of Fire, Suikoden, all had turn-based combat.
Knowing that they’re focusing on that combat system but simultaneously trying to improve on it is promising.
One interesting fact worth noting is that there aren’t any random encounters in the game, nor is there a separate battlefield for encounters.
Instead, combat is triggered upon direct physical contact with an enemy, the ensuing battle taking place in the same field without any transition or loading screens. I cannot appreciate this enough.
It isn’t a huge change to the formula but it prevents unnecessarily wasting time. According to the devs the game will provide special synergies between characters, providing a plethora of different ways with which to tackle encounters.

A lot of freedom is provided in terms of exploration: You can swim, you can climb, you can jump off of or scale ledges. You have more options to explore that aren’t limited to basic tile-based movement.
The devs have a lot of experience with platformers, so they’re putting that to use here. While there will always be a linear, “main path” available to players, there will be rewards for treading off the beaten path.
This isn’t based on an original IP though. Sea of Stars is actually a prequel to a game called The Messenger that is available via Steam for those of you interested. It has “overwhelmingly positive” reviews with thousands of reviewers, so you know you’re in good hands.

Like older, classic RPGs Sea of Stars will provide players with a World Map that players can freely roam around exploring various areas leading to hidden towns, new dungeons or side quests.
Since the world map is open and freely traversable, you’re going to want additional means of travel, right?
Sailing is one such form that provides not only an alternate form of traversing the world, but also offers the ability to look for sunken treasure and islands that are hidden from traditional means.

While currently they’ve only revealed Zale and Valere, there are 6 planned characters in total each with their own unique personalities, objectives, back-story, play-style, abilities and synergies with the party.

Sea of Stars is currently on schedule to release during 2022. Currently, it is designed to be played on PC and console, however I’ve had difficulty finding out which consoles specifically. I’m sure they’ll touch on that in time though.
I cannot put into words how good this game looks. I cannot say a single bad thing about it. And the fact that they just announced Yasunori Mitsuda, the genius composer behind Chrono Trigger? Dude, this game cannot come enough.