Starstruck: Hands of Time Reviews

Weird little romp with some cute humor and a music game hidden inside.

the moon is a different thing to each one of us

Super unique and creative. I loved the presentation, characters and combination of various visual styles between the gameplay and the cutscenes. All the different modes of gameplay that you're always switching between are really well done. The rhythm gameplay is really fun and the music is awesome. I've put a lot of time into Free Play to try to get better scores and just to listen to the songs again. That last achievement will remain locked forever for me though because some of the riffs on Expert are straight-up evil on controller lol. The story is told in a very... interesting way. The game has a lot to say, and uses a lot of creative (and funny) metaphors and symbolism to get its messages across. I eventually found myself getting a little lost when I became unsure what to take at face value anymore, and what everything meant. I always felt like I was missing one or two things to fully follow along and tie everything together in my head. The game sort of feels like one big student art project in that sense. Then again I am a moron, but I still got enough of it to enjoy the experience. It just has really strong direction and vision, which is a good thing.

A very thoughtful and artfully told story that has plenty of existential dread but also some fun charm and humour. Definitely worth experiencing!

Absolutely captivating the whole way through. If the trailer seems appealing to you, I think you already know it's up your alley.

This game is not good in my eyes. It feels like it jumps from idea to idea without really knowing what type of game it wants to be. There are good parts of the game that I like, but most of it is too slow or too heavy handed. The rhythm sections are pretty nice and I like the difficulty options available, but there are too few times you get to play, and the story in-between never really captured me. I understand it's a story about what it really means to be creative, if there really are truly original ideas, and if it's worth changing your entire self to appeal to others. But all of the games themes are so on the nose and not delivered in an interesting or thought-provoking way. While the little town is fairly interesting and fun to run around in, the last section of the game is so long and drawn out I was just waiting for it to end.