Star Renegades Reviews

I'll preface this by saying I haven't finished Star Renegades on higher difficulties, so balance might be hugely off on Entropy+. However... This game totally rocks! I've long searched for a strategy game based on deterministic predictions and Star Renegades doesn't disappoint in that regard! Every action is based on time units. When you're quicker than the opponent you'll do critical damage and extra attack proporties. When you're slower you'll just do regular damage and still some attack proporties (though diminished). So the game quickly turns into who's hitting who at what moment of time in the timebar. It's possible to stagger opponents and even "break" them by pushing them completely off the timebar. Oponents loosing their turn are extremely susceptible to your heaviest attacks, even when these take a lot of time to execute. Sounds easy on paper, but in practice opponents will try to do the same thing to you and stagger/breaking them only works a few times, whereafter opponents will be immune to stagger for at least one round. It's quite an unique system and marvelous in its setup, There's a bit of roguelite going on between runs, but the unlocks don't neccessary make your characters a lot more powerful. The unlocks just present more choice in your party composition, so they're not much of a crutch in getting further in the game. You'll have to get better at Star Renegades yourself. Auidio and visuals are top notch. Visually I especially like the lighting, which seems quite advanced. The cyber techno music hits all the right notes too. The overarching plot is quite simple, perfectly fine for this type of game. The party banter however it totally nonsensical. Funny in some cases (the party must be sniffing those magic mushrooms all the time), but also extremely repetitive. It's best ignored after a while. What takes Star Renegades down a notch are the lingering bugs and these bugs all have to do something with the combat (damage) calculations. Very rarely the game predicts a "kill shot", but when the round plays out the target survives by a sliver of health. Not sure what's going on in those cases. More commonly the game predicts all the armor being stripped from certain opponents, but that's just a faulty prediction. It seems to happen more often with certain characters, like Empath and her mind knife ability. Lastly things get downright fuzzy when the game tries to correctly calculate reflect damage. Again too much inconsistencies. The calculations in these situations aren't competely undependable, but it happens a little bit too often the outcome deviates slightly from prediction. On medium difficulty this isn't much of a problem, but on higher difficulties this might spell trouble for your run. Besides these bugs however the game is great. And besides the above cases the deterministic predictions seem to work as intended. There's a lot to love in Star Renegades and I wholeheartedly recommend this game when you're looking for something new and different in the strategy genre. Rating: 8.5/10

Overall, I feel Star Renegades is a brilliant tactical gem with amazing pixel art, good music/sound, and satisfying progression. I have stayed up late many times on a "just one more turn" journey that i didn't regret. (Just Ignore the writing) I can't play it as much as i've played FTL, but i love it for some of the same reasons. Here's my overall take on the game: The Story Visually there's storytelling, and there are cool world building elements. The story elements and overall big ideas are very cool as far as science fiction. But all you get is visual world building as you observe the beautiful pixel graphics, and there is a very cool intro movie that makes you want to play. Now to get my main complaint out of the way: Once you're playing, the attempt at humor in the writing is unbearable. The dialogue which reveals more about the world makes deeper elements of the story difficult to consume. I actually REALLY hate the writing... a lot. Annoying, unfunny nerd humor that over-saturates has turned me away from games as good as Divinity Original Sin I and II. I can't do them. And the writing here is executed more poorly compared to those. Luckily, it’s not chock full of insipid JRPG style story tropes either... Cut-scenes are not forced on you every five minutes. You can safely mash through dialogue and still enjoy yourself. That's a good thing. I wouldn't want to wait for cut scenes between playing in a game like this or FTL. Though FTL is an example of well-written story elements that didn't feel tacked-on. Tactical Brilliance The strategic elements are so good. I feel like my efforts of thinking my way through a battle pay off. The time system featuring turn order and “stagger” mechanics add a whole extra layer of strategy, letting you plan out exactly how to delay or interrupt enemies. Even if the odds seem stacked against you, smart use of timing can cut enemy actions off before they happen, leading to miraculous turnarounds. There are interrupts, buffs, debuffs—and Star Renegades amplifies them with a reactive timeline that rewards forward-thinking. You really feel like you’re outsmarting the opposition. Rogue-Lite Progression Done Right It does take a few runs to unlock better characters and weapons, but the game doesn’t force a grindfest on you. Each run teaches you more about the combat system and drops interesting rewards that expand your options. As you gain new heroes and gear, you’ll feel your party’s power growing organically. It’s nowhere near the slog you might find in some other games (cough Banners of Ruin cough). Instead, these unlocks offer fresh strategies and keep the game engaging across multiple runs. And elements are procedural, so what map layouts, and rewards are different every time you play through. Visuals & Style The game is absolutely stunning in motion. Characters and enemies pop off the screen with vibrant animations that make every battle feel epic. The interface has a cool neon-futuristic vibe, though it can be a bit cluttered at first. Still, if you’re used to dissecting complex JRPG menus, you’ll adapt quickly. Music & Sound The synth-heavy score perfectly matches the game’s neon-soaked aesthetic, amplifying tension in battles and making exploration feel futuristic and grand. Each track seamlessly blends pulsing electronic beats with atmospheric melodies that ramp up at just the right moments. It’s the kind of soundtrack you’ll find yourself humming to yourself. Meanwhile, the sound effects pack a satisfying punch. Skills and abilities all have distinct audio cues, letting you know exactly what’s happening in the heat of combat—even before you see the results. From the crackle of an Archon’s lightning blast to the metallic clang of a Paragon’s sword swing, every effect feels meticulously crafted to heighten immersion. Fans of synthwave vibes and energetic battle themes will absolutely love what Star Renegades brings to the table. Character Building & Loadouts Building a squad feels incredibly rewarding. Each class has unique strengths—tanks, healers, DPS, support—and you can combine them for potent combos. If you like managing gear, fiddling with stats, and optimizing your party’s loadouts, there’s plenty to dig into here. Gearing up is half the fun. The Interface Hiccups Some parts of the interface aren’t intuitive. Expect a few runs to learn which menus hide certain details or how to read the timeline effectively. Sometimes i can't read important parts of the timeline because little pop-ups cover them, which is a fail, but there is only one spot on the screen where this happens repeatedly. Once you get used to the interface, you will be in for lots of satisfying replays. If you enjoy a bit of complexity, you’ll find it satisfying to master. I actually really like to pore through the details of what makes my team build strong. Final Thoughts I’m in the camp of gamers who do care about story, and for game types where the story is featured front and center, my standards are quite high. For the type of game it is, it's good that the existing story elements are snappy and can be skipped. . Star Renegades delivers well in turn-based tactics, progression, and replayability. If you: Appreciate well-crafted JRPG-style combat without the usual bloated narrative, Enjoy rogue-lite progression systems like in FTL or Slay the Spire, Love leveling characters and tweaking gear for maximum efficiency, Then you’ll have a blast mastering the timing system, planning each encounter, unlocking new heroes, and watching your squad evolve into a formidable fighting force. I know I did.

Yes yes its a pretty game. However the gameplay is dull and the writing is super cringey, Marvel Disney level juvenile slop. I returned it so you dont have to dear reader.

I was barely even past the tutorial but i already know i'm not gonna like this game. The combat has some really cool concepts in it and the spritework is honestly insane, but the writing is so obscenely bad I can't see myself liking a single one of the characters no matter much time I could've spent. The whole first section of the game just jumps around randomly and doesn't bother fleshing out any of the characters, even after introducing a friendship system that honestly seems like it could've been insanely fun to interact with. Then your first party is introduced, neither of them getting any explanation as to who they are or why they're where they are, just throwing out one-liners and showing no signs of actual personality or a single bit of dialogue that isn't trying to be funny for the sake of it. Very few times will I not even give a game a chance, especially since I only spent 5 bucks for this, but there's no way to skirt around it if you care at all about reading dialogue/being invested in the characters.

This game has been a blast for to play the last few months. The roguelike formula mixed with the turn based RPG mechanics comes together well, and utilizing delays to control the flow of combat and get your team an advantage rewards foresight and planning.

The balance needs work—most of the armory becomes useless at higher difficulties. The UI and information presentation also lack polish, making it difficult to understand what’s happening. Players are often left to rely on Google searches, Reddit, or Discord just to grasp the mechanics. Do I like the game? Absolutely. Could it be better? Without a doubt. Honestly, Steam could use a *"maybe"* option because while I enjoy the game, I wouldn’t give it a full thumbs-up unless the UI were improved. Higher difficulty tiers (called Entropy) can only be beaten with specific team setups and item combinations, which limits replayability. I get that it’s an indie game and time constraints may have played a role, so I’m willing to give them some leeway. Still, this had the potential to be great, but as it stands, it’s just *okay* to *good*. Rating: AA

The story is constantly getting in the way of game play. The map exploration just makes linear encounters take longer. The combat is interesting, but it just all types of armor and damage at you instead of giving you time to learn all your units attack types. I want to like the combat, but I feel it is so clunky to try and optimize your plays.

It's fun. A Turn-based party RPG, where you defeat your enemies by stealing their turns by causing break procs. It's quite sci-fi looking too. As a roguelike, it's not that special, the amount of procedual generation here is mostly static, and it comes and goes in the format of your party members you recruit to your party, or how a final boss of a stage is selected. I'd Say the coolest part of this game is the team-up abilities, where as if you bond enough certain characters with others during the campfire rest phase, you can get team-up abilities, which are massive game changers. The pixel art is gorgeous,the soundtrack is pleasing, but nothing to write home about. The game is a bit slow to get your runs going, and most of your progress will be rogue-liteish. i give this game a solid 6/10 [i] Sci-fi not cyberpunk, if you like turn-based RPG's this one will scratch that itch.(hey that rhymed!) [/i]

I've got 100% achievements in this game and i can say that this is a WONDERFUL piece of art. Visuals and Sounds aside.... The gamepley is extremelly well made. Game can be ruthless and you can't comit any mistakes when playing in the final difficulties and to me, that's what made the game SO good. Every battle is pretty much like a chess game and you REALLY need to think, rethink, think again. The strategy factor is VERY SMART and you need to UNDERSTAND how the game REALLY works to be good at it. Choosing the better route, knowing when to take risks and LEARNING how to properly build your team is CRUCIAL to success. If you enjoy HARD ROGUELIKES with SCI-FI atmosphere. Pick this. 10/10 game.

Very fun and challenging combat system. It's a fun interplay between deciding whether to push damage through on enemies or stun them until the next turn where they are likely to go before you unless you plan accordingly. The metaprogression is more about unlocking play patterns and minor stat improvements than steadily advancing towards an inevitable win.