Sea of Stars got the spotlight on the PlayStation Blog as it announced that it would also arrive on Sony’s consoles.
Sea of Stars Announced PlayStation Release and Teases Its Combat Systems
The love letter to classic RPGsSeas of Starshas announced that it will be gracing PlayStation consolesin 2023! Sabotage Studio made the statement on the PlayStation Blog itself. Sea of Stars is a game that attempts to bring in the classic look and feel of retro RPGs such as Chrono Trigger but also adds in a modern flair.
Creative Director Thierry Boulanger discussed at length some of the design philosophies he and his team took to heart while developing the game. In essence, they want to bring out the best of both worlds. Bring to current players everything good about the past, and leave everything else behind.
The Major Design Philosophies
There are a total of three major pillars that the team at Sabotage constantly keeps in mind.
First, two are the facts that 1. no random encounters and 2. Combat will not jarringly take the player out of the flow of gameplay. Random battles were popular in older JRPGs, such asFinal Fantasy VI.
For those who are unaware of this system, random battles would occur while out in the world even if you couldn’t see your foe. This would bring in a separate battle scene that would have environments that would resemble where the player was, though not exactly the same.
The last major design principle is that there will be no need to grind in Sea of Stars. Good news for players who don’t have a few hundred hours lying around. Experiencing level gating can be often a drudging experience, breaking up the flow of the story.
Sea of Stars’ Combat System
The PlayStation Blog post also took the chance to take a better look at the combat elements of Sea of Stars. While thecombat UIwas already teased back in April of this year, details have been on the down-low, until now.
Turn-Based with a Twist
Sea of Stars will be a fully turn-based RPG with proper turns. This means that there will be no “active time battle” gauge like in classics such asFinal Fantasy VII. Players can take as much time as they need to make decisions, like inBaldur’s Gate 3.
The twist in the combat system comes in the form of “Timed Hits”. Sabotage Studios added this in an attempt to make the player agency more meaningful and have the player more invested. All combat actions can be affected by the player’s simple button presses.
For example, when your characters attack, pressing a specific button at the same time as the animation can deal bonus damage. If an enemy’s about to get their claws (or mandibles) on you, hit the same button right as the hit connects and you may even reduce the damage taken. It will be interesting to see how many actions can be influenced in this way.
C-c-c-combo Breaker!!
Combat in Sea of Stars will comprise mostly of normal attacks, spells, and combo attacks. Normal attacks are pretty self-explanatory, but they do generate MP, which is extremely limited in this game. Spells require MP to cast, and the stronger the magic the more mana is needed. Sabotage Studios intends to have this system create a “flow” where you’d need to balance and weave the usage of normal hits and more arcane abilities.
Constantly hitting enemies will also generate Combo Points that can be used to have two characters combine hits into one.
Foes will also telegraph extremely powerful abilities that require cast time. This appears as a bar over their head with a fixed number of “locks”. Hitting enemies with locks can reduce the damage their ability will deal. Hit them enough and you may even outright negate the attack, possibly stunning the foe.
The Sea of Stars Party
Sea of Stars will have a total of six playablecharacters, but only 3 can be active at any time. While they do not have too many different abilities available to them (only about 4 special attacks or spells), you can swap any character in and out of combat on the fly.
Characters will complement each other, but not just via the Combo Point system mentioned earlier. Party members can “boost” each other by lending others their MP whenever needed. This is to ensure that someone’s critical ability can be used whenever the opportunity presents itself.
Silent Sea of Stars
Sea of Stars was aKickstartersuccess story that fully funded its goal of CA$133,000 in just under 7 hours. In total, the project was able to garner enough attention to obtain a whopping CA$1,628,126.
The game will follow two protagonists, the Children of Solstice. One is a child of the moon, and the other the sun. Valere and Zale must use their magical abilities together in order to use powerful Eclipse Magic - the only thing that can turn the tide of darkness that is encroaching the land.
Sea of Starswill release sometime in 2023. The team at Sabotage Studios hasn’t announced a price specifically just yet. Be sure to check back in on Fextralife for all the latest on the game!
For more news, check out ourWeekly RPG Digest,God of War Ragnarok Official Launch Date is Set for August 25, 2025, andBaldur’s Gate 3 Update 8 Patch Notes – New Bard Class, Gnome Race, Gameplay Improvements, And More!
