Starlight Drifter Reviews

This game has gone through quite a rough development, taking quite some time to reach what I would consider a completed stage, and even had more than its fair share of drama. I had previously given this a thumbs down based on some of that drama, and while I still feel that some things could have been handled better, the truth is, in its current state, it is exactly what I wanted out of this particular game, and the development team reached out to let me know (in a comment on this very review, which I have edited to reflect these changes). Now... I'm happy that I got the game. Thumbs up, guys! Good job. It's a sci-fi visual novel with cute characters, nice art and a decent story. What more do you want? I haven't played through the entire thing yet, so perhaps I'll return with complains, but I wouldn't expect it. It's a decent product, if you like this sort of thing (and I do).

After about an hour or so in, I couldn't stand it anymore. The writing was just atrocious. It was like the creators had never had any exposure to science fiction at all. I mean yeah it's a porn game, but c'mon, this isn't pornhub, but we're getting about the same amount of immersion. At least the plumber in that one had some idea of how pipes work... Refunded.

[h1]Preliminary Review[/h1] I'm a big fan of Dharker Studio. Any game they release, I buy as soon as I know of it. I have yet to dislike a single one. So, recommending this before I even play it! Well, I played it for 5 minutes, and already love it, but I am biased. I love Dharker Studio. :D [h1]After playing a tad[/h1] I've played a little bit of it, and I am finding it fun. Liking the story so far, I completed the introduction phase! :D So far what I like, the art style is really nice. However, the main features I TRULY love is - [list] [*]ABILIITY TO NAME MY CHARACTER [*]SEX CHOICE [*]HAIR COLOUR CHOICE [*]EYE COLOUR CHOICE [*]CLOTHING CHOICE [*]DIFFICULTY CHOICE [/list] I don't know what they have to do with the game so far, as in how the story changes. However, these are sorely overlooked options in MANY visual novels. I am female, I want my character to portray ME. I want to feel immersed in the story, and these options HELP a lot. Sure, my character doesn't have my personality, however I am making choices for my character, I want it to at least resemble me, or whatever I decide to be. Sex being very important in the context of almost every story, and naming my character is also nice! The others are not as important, but truly awesome. I will play more later and update my review. [h1]After picking it up a long while later and playing a lot more![/h1] So far, I am very very impressed with this game. I have played a lot more, and it seems very in depth. Lots of exploring, dialogue choices, interacting with characters. I have to say this is one of the more elaborate and complex Dharker Studio games. I put it down for a while, while I played other games, thus the late update to this review. It's just so in depth. I will add more later after I have got further.

I've had a big shit eating grin on my face for the majority of the time I've spent with this game so far. It's not for kids, but it's not nearly as trashy as it seems. Don't get me wrong, it's trashy, but not in the sexy sexy way. More in the, this is a bad story but I still love it anyway kind of trashy. I mean yeah, there is some boob, but no much else, and big deal either way. I dig the art, the music, the characters. It's a nice little package. I obviously didn't pick it up thinking it would be bad, even still, I'm happily surprised at how much I actually enjoy it.

The most ambitious title in Dharker Studios line yet. And it shows. The game has had growing pains as they've utilized Early Access to bug test and refine. I don't want to spoil the 'finished product' for myself, so I merely dip my toe in now and then to see how the game is evolving. I can tell you, its evolving in a very positive manner. From my first look, to my most recent look, its had numerous small fixes, artwork improvements, story improvements, and choice clarification. All excellent things for a title like this. The older reviews for this title havn't been really fair, or even updated as the title has evolved. And this dev studio is actively iterating on the title. Its refreshing to see it continue on, and still under active development. I've left this review 'generic' to avoid spoiling anything, and to allow myself to give a full review edit once the game comes out of Early Access.

this game has a lot of issues since its started. make note that this is no sunrider and won't even come near it. i think the map is nice but it just felt a lot of things weren't used. the choices just felt empty. I hope if a game like this is ever thought about again they should not change it too many times. make sure things are actually used. the topless part didn't bother me. i hope it wasn't just fan service to make up for stuff. it should always fit in.

Older visual novel from Dharker. Decent plot, exciting adventures, and the ability to have multiple flings. Decent enough. Only issue is that it seems set up for a sequel, which because of other issues has likely been scrapped.

Caveat: This game is in early access. My understanding of the purpose of early access is to allow those people whom may be interested in a project to help support that project. Yes a small part of that support is financial, but the much bigger part of that support is in play testing the game. My positive review is based upon the developer’s clear dedication to this project, and active solicitation of feedback from fans. That being said, there are typos, there are lapses in proper grammar, and there will be bugs. I’ve noticed that the negative posts thus far criticizes said short comings. I would recommend that if you are a person who has adverse visceral reactions to either spelling or grammar errors, that you wait until release before making a decision to purchase this game. As a graduate student, I understand the need for proper syntax. I have lost the occasional percentage point for a misplaced comma or dangling participle. But there is a place and time for everything, and frankly I care more about whether a game is fun than if it meets the APA standard for writing. That being said this game is fun, it is engaging, the characters are interesting, and most importantly the game feels original. I have high hopes for this game. However, I will expect some of the writing to be tightened up over the course of early access. For now I can definitively say that this game does not deserve the mostly negative rating it has!

Story isn't compelling from start to finish Characters aren't interesting, and getting in their pants is exactly the same for each of them Early choices don't make a difference Late choices are obvious (win/lose) conditions that dont take a lot of thought Hull Integrity looks important but literally is never used beyond the first asteroid sequence. Weapon energy is literally never relevant in the whole game Credits dont actually matter. You can't buy anything with your credits. the debt quest basically solves itself.

It's fine for what it is. I wanted some alien romancing, and this does that well enough. The characters have enough variety, and the art is pretty decent. However, it has a couple of problems: 1) it introduces money & hull as core elements of gameplay and then proceeds to ignore both. Rarely did I ever have to concern myself with the ship's hull. Money was only used to repair the ship and buy missles, and you really only need about 3-5 missles for the entire game. 2) romance is almost exclusively paired to on-ship interactions and not to choices during missions. I get that some players may like that but I think it makes the characters feel hollow. "You litterally shit on every single idea I propose, but you chatted with me three times alone, so I guess we can go to my bedroom." [EDIT: it sounds like Dharker is planning on possibly adding future content, so take the following with a grain of salt] 3) wasted opportunity. This game could recieve a bit more work in writing & choices and it would be easily twice as good. Missions could branch a bit more or provide more options for character-exculsive choices. The description of the game makes a big deal of "picking your crew," but your crew choices really only come into play about 5-10 times throughout the game. Also, allow me to do simple upgrades to the appearance of the ship, buy a different weapon, or buy costumes for characters or really anything that would allow me to spend the money in the game. Lastly, this is mostly a romance game, so would it be out of the question to have a little epilogue (no new art needed) with a romanced character of our choice? [spoiler] The text-block epilogue isn't enough. [/spoiler] That said, I am powerless against some alien ladies. If you're trash like me, you'll probably still like it. Dat purple lady / Luci is where it's at. Also, I bothered to get all the achievements, so clearly it still struck a chord.