Xbox Series X PS5

Sea of Stars

Role-playing (RPG)AdventureIndie

Time to beat: about 32.7 hours

Overview

Sea of Stars is a 2023 role-playing video game developed and published by Sabotage Studio. It is set primarily on an archipelago of islands in a fantasy world, where the player controls either Valere or Zale, Solstice Warriors who use the power of the sun and moon. They journey throughout the world on a quest to destroy powerful monsters called Dwellers, and to stop the immortal alchemist who created them. The game is presented in a fixed isometric view using two-dimensional pixel art, similar to Super Nintendo Entertainment System-era RPGs such as Chrono Trigger (1995).

Sabotage Studio began work on the game in 2018 after the release of their first game, The Messenger. Creative director Thierry Boulanger's vision for Sea of Stars was to combine what he saw as the best parts of several older role-playing games, with an emphasis on modernizing and translating the feeling of playing them rather than directly copying them. This included the integration of the game's art and map design via seamless traversal of the terrain, strategic and real-time elements in combat, and variety and depth of the art and music. The studio wanted to self-publish, and launched a Kickstarter campaign in March 2020 alongside a press reveal to prove the viability of the project to themselves and investors.

Sea of Stars was released for Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Windows, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S in August 2023. It received positive reviews, with acclaim for its graphics and music. Critics had mixed opinions towards the story and characterization, and some said that the combat lacked depth. Sea of Stars sold over 250,000 copies in its first week, and was played by more than six million people by November 2024. The game received several accolades, including winning Best Independent Game at the Golden Joystick Awards and The Game Awards 2023, and nominations for Game of the Year at the Golden Joystick Awards and the Game Developers Choice Awards. A downloadable content expansion called "Throes of the Watchmaker" was released in May 2025.