QUEBEC CITY (Aug. 29, 2023) - Developer Sabotage Studio’s follow-up title to the best debut title of 2018, platformer The Messenger, the retro-RPG Sea of Stars launches today on PC and consoles for $34.99. The turn-based RPG debuts to astonishing praise from game critics around the world as it becomes available today for free on Xbox Game Pass, PC Game Pass and PlayStation Plus Extra (https://store.steampowered.com/app/1244090/Sea_of_Stars/).
An ambitious undertaking that harkens to RPG classics, the story unfolds with two Children of the Solstice at its center, youths Valere and Zale, as they face their fated duty to become Solstice Warriors. They wield the lone force capable of defeating the monstrous creations of an evil alchemist known as The Fleshmancer. The pair’s grand journey follows their mastery of Sun and Moon powers, referred to as Eclipse Magic, as they learn to combine their strengths to master powerful spells and abilities across a visually stunning backdrop full of peril and wonder to explore.
Fans eagerly anticipating the launch of the game were delighted to meet a new character revealed in last week’s launch trailer: Seraï, a deadly assassin with the ability to carve portals with her razor-sharp daggers and surprise enemies when they least expect it. And of course, there is the good old Garl, the lovable warrior cook with a heart as big as his smile. Each of these dynamic characters plays an intricate role in the lives of Valere and Zale on their journey as fate unfolds in this mystical, magical world…
Sea of Stars has received a wildly positive reception from game critics around the world, having already earned more than 20 perfect review scores and a 90 aggregated score on Metacritic. Praised as a masterful modernization of the golden era of classic RPGs with distinct combat mechanics, an engrossing world prime for exploration, and a story full of heart led by a memorable cast, Sea of Stars has been hailed as a spectacular reimagining and elevation of the turn-based RPG genre’s greatest strengths.
Sea of Stars is the second game from Canadian studio Sabotage and takes place in the same universe long before the events of The Messenger, the award-winning studio debut. Today’s launch culminates four years of development for Sabotage, which grew substantially after the success of The Messenger in order to produce Sea of Stars, a more ambitious project in scope and scale. During its successful Kickstarter reveal in the early Spring of 2020, the studio announced that legendary composer Yasunori Mitsuda (Chrono Trigger) would join composer Eric W. Brown on Sea of Stars to produce a rousing original soundtrack. Today, fans can finally immerse themselves in the epic tale of the Children of the Solstice.
Fans eagerly anticipating the launch of the game were delighted to meet a new character revealed in last week’s launch trailer: Seraï, a deadly assassin with the ability to carve portals with her razor-sharp daggers and surprise enemies when they least expect it. And of course, there is the good old Garl, the lovable warrior cook with a heart as big as his smile. Each of these dynamic characters plays an intricate role in the lives of Valere and Zale on their journey as fate unfolds in this mystical, magical world…
Sea of Stars has received a wildly positive reception from game critics around the world, having already earned more than 20 perfect review scores and a 90 aggregated score on Metacritic. Praised as a masterful modernization of the golden era of classic RPGs with distinct combat mechanics, an engrossing world prime for exploration, and a story full of heart led by a memorable cast, Sea of Stars has been hailed as a spectacular reimagining and elevation of the turn-based RPG genre’s greatest strengths.
Sea of Stars is the second game from Canadian studio Sabotage and takes place in the same universe long before the events of The Messenger, the award-winning studio debut. Today’s launch culminates four years of development for Sabotage, which grew substantially after the success of The Messenger in order to produce Sea of Stars, a more ambitious project in scope and scale. During its successful Kickstarter reveal in the early Spring of 2020, the studio announced that legendary composer Yasunori Mitsuda (Chrono Trigger) would join composer Eric W. Brown on Sea of Stars to produce a rousing original soundtrack. Today, fans can finally immerse themselves in the epic tale of the Children of the Solstice.
iam8bit will be releasing exclusive Sea of Stars physical editions on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X|S in 2024.
Sea of Stars features:
For complete game information, please visit www.seaofstarsgame.co.
Sea of Stars features:
- Active Turn-Based Combat: Pressing the action button in sync with battle animations strengthens a hero’s attacks and reduces incoming damage during defense. Along with interactive timed attacks, combat features boosting and a strategic “locks” system, providing options for leveraging different damage types in order to hinder enemies while they are preparing powerful attacks or spells, all in an immersive take on the RPG genre; no random encounters, transitions to separate battlefields, or grinding.
- Unshackled Traversal: Swim, climb, vault, jump off or scale ledges while seamlessly traversing through the world with a navigation system based on platformer expertise that breaks free from classic, bound-to-the-ground tileset movement.
- A Story Rich Adventure: Meet dozens of original characters and progress memorable narrative arcs throughout a captivating journey. Sometimes epic, sometimes silly, and other times emotional, Sea of Stars explores classic themes of adventure and friendship with heart, while also being chock-full of the unexpected twists and events you’d expect from a Sabotage Studio production.
- All Fun, No Tedium: Enjoy experimenting in combat without fear of hitting a wall requiring grinding or farming for unique items; in Sea of Stars, defeat calls for a change in battle plans, not hours of repetition to better the odds in a rematch.
- A World You Can Touch: There are many ways to hang out in the world of Sea of Stars if you feel inclined to change the pace during your adventures. Sailing, cooking, fishing, stopping by a tavern to listen to a song, or playing the beloved tabletop game known as “Wheels” … every system has been designed to deliver a journey that pays tribute to retro classics, while rethinking conventional elements to offer a smooth and refreshingly modernized experience.
- Radiant Lighting: Dynamic lighting effects pair with a world-influencing day/night cycle to make every area feel truly alive, pushing the traditional visual limits of classically stylized 2D pixel art games - the only way to properly tell the story of heroes conjuring the powers of the Sun and the Moon.
For complete game information, please visit www.seaofstarsgame.co.
