This week I sat down with the a three chapter preview build of StarVaders, an upcoming tactical roguelite from Pengonauts that’s due to take off on PC (Win) in just a couple of weeks, on April 30th.
It’s actually not the first time I’ve played the game. I tried a demo last year in October, and after having a rather jolly time back then, it was an easy decision to take another look ahead of launch when offered.
What is StarVaders?
It’s an obvious question, but this one’s a real mash-up of diverse ingredients, so it’s not as simple to answer as one might expect.
For starters, it’s a roguelite. You go into each run with a different character/mech and their respective card pool, as well as new unlocks to spice up subsequent attempts.
StarVaders is also a deckbuilder, and that means you’re playing a range of offensive and defensive cards in order to take down your enemies. These cards affect weapons, movement, and so on, and you can play a certain number before you overheat. It’s nice and simple and intuitive.
Yet despite all the playing cards and the giant mechs, this one’s also a bit of a puzzle game, and there are turn-based tactics to consider, and it’s shot through with the spirit of an all-time classic: Space Invaders. It’s a strange blend of ingredients, but my gosh it works well.
Invaders from Space
Each new area of the game has seen the introduction of different enemy types, from spaceships to slimes. During each round they come at you from the top of the screen, Space Invaders-style, except here their relentless march comes one turn at a time instead of in real-time.
This constant shuffle down the screen creates great tension because if too many enemies get past you, the horrible-sounding doom meter in the top left corner of the screen fills up. To make matters worse, as your enemies close in on your position, their attacks make it harder for you to move without taking damage – there are tough decisions to be made as you advance deeper into the campaign.
You’ve got to play your cards just right if you’re going to avoid taking too much damage, but you can preview your attacks and see your movement options ahead of commiting to them, which helped a lot, especially against the bosses. In fact, these chapter-ending big bads were a nice change of pace, and I needed to use the full extent of my deck to defeat them.
Getting ready for take-off
Going into this preview, I knew what I was doing and so I skipped the tutorial and got stuck straight in. However, I also think it helps that StarVaders is really intuitive and easy to pick-up – everything works just like you think it’s going to. There is a tutorial if you want it, of course, and another accessibility feature are the chrono tokens, which you can use to turn back time when you make an oopsie.
In true roguish tradition, you are given a choice of encounters – on a vaguely XCOM-like global map, no less – and then afterwards you get the chance to grab new cards for your deck. These new cards include grenades, alt attacks, and movement options. You can also buy items from the shop, further boosting the effectiveness of your deck.
It doesn’t matter how stacked your deck is, you’re always restrained by your heat limit. If you push it too hard and create too much heat you’ll burn through a given card and lose it. However, sometimes it’s a case of needs must, especially if it’s that or take some serious damage. You’ve got to balance your heat, your positioning, and then stop too many enemies from getting past you in order to manage your doom levels.
With StarVaders ready to launch on PC (Win) on April 30th, based on my hands-on time with this final preview build, I’d say it’s already in good shape ahead of take-off. Naturally, I can’t speak for the parts of the game that I haven’t seen, but at the very least you should head over to Steam and stick this one on the ol’ wishlist.
