I've seen countless articles, reviews, and comments on Starlink over the past year, and every one of them does nothing but talk about the failure that the game was. All you see, is mention of the flaw of the customization system, and peripheral utilization by the company. It is labeled nothing more than a failed gimmick. This inanity could not be more ridiculous, and poorly representing of the actual game. This is a true analysis of what is going to be a hidden gem in years to come. Starlink- Battle for Atlus, is a space adventure and action game for the Nintendo Switch, created by Ubisoft and released in October of 2018.
I must start off by saying in admission, I am a huge fan of this genre. However, this does not bias me, as there is so much you have to get right in order for space exploration games to fly. The game does not take place in the Starfox story line as many idiots have you believe. It is not a spin off Starfox game. The Starfox characters and universe, align with, and are contained within this bigger mythos and universe. Atlus is an enormous encompassing universe in itself. You play as a team of space explorers working under St. Grand- an exceedingly brilliant scientist, who's protege and first selected crew member Mason Rana , created Starlink technology, allowing rapid transport throughout the galaxy. He chose, and trained the team, before being kidnapped to be used as a means of accessing the Warden race of space creatures, who have technology that the villainous Legion race desire.
That is where it can be a bit confusing at first. You see, St. Grand, has a buddy who is of the Warden race, named Judge, that he discovered and brings along to travel with him. He is then joined by the crew that he puts together. The Wardens were once a volatile and enigmatic race themselves, but Judge knows little to nothing of his past, and is peaceful. Many of the prospector races you encounter in your travels are also curious about Judge, but the Legion are the most villainous. They are headed by Grax, who deploys several Primes, Extractors, and Dreadnoughts throughout the galaxy that overtake and dominate planets systematically. Your team is equipped with ships that can equip multiple elemental weapons and shields that allow you to combat these forces, as well as travel seamlessly on the surface of planets, and into the vast space around them. Where the criticism has legs, is the fact that there was supposed to be the intention of using peripherals, in the form of model ships and weapon accessories, that you scan into the game, like Amiibos, which allow you to acquire the item. This required the purchase of these rare models in stores. It was a stupid idea, that locks up a lot of extra features and content, but does not affect the base resources of the game.
Your ship, as well as enemies, can equip Vortex, Fire, Gravity, Freeze, and Stasis damage effects. You have to balance the elemental triangle to utilize what the enemy is weak against. You are also equipped with a deflector shield that you may ignore early on, but trust me, you do well to learn to use it to reflect blasts periodically while fighting and dodging, or you will be decimated in the later parts of the game. While in your ship you will engage or cut your flight engines to enter and exit the atmosphere. You can also enter hyperspace and travel great distances in space rapidly, which is needed for how enormous it is. And every single square inch of the terrain in this game is alive. Nothing is empty. There are bunkers, and asteroids scattered throughout space with vital items and resources, as well as bounty pirates and outlaws that hide in traps to ambush you. Outlaws comprise the second group of villains you face, until you find a way to become allies with them. They inhabit almost every planet at some point, and also have a homeworld you can find and enter to barter and compete at some point.
The fight is very difficult and time consuming. After destroying extractors on the planet, you weaken the Prime that deploys them. When he is destroyed, the planet is liberated. A dreadnought is a large mothership that occupies that sector of the galaxy, dropping primes on planets. When enough primes are beaten, you can take it on, as a weakened form, and hopefully defeat it to stop the cycle of primes being deployed. When you liberate a planet, you do well to build military armories as well as research centers to defend future threats. There is nothing like coming back to a world you fought hard to free, to find it completely overrun with legion again, and oppressed and dangerous. Also, it is a good idea, I found, to discover and reestablish towns and sites on the planets, as then locals and researchers will join the cause and help defend.
This game looked amazing, and had such variety in settings. I was often mesmerized by the variety of creatures and plants and ores around the planet. I went from sunny and lush green planets to ones with various ice structures. And planets, unlike in other games, had various ecosystems. You had marshlands, forests, and mountainous areas etc. on each planet, so the variety did not require you to hop from one world to another all the time. There were also many abandoned Warden relics that required puzzle solving to unlock secrets and equipment. The game has a modification system allowing you to buff each weapon with different boosters, as well as buff your ships defense and characters abilities. Each character has unique powers and abilities that they use in conjunction with the ship they pilot, even though you don't technically see them ever exit the ship. These mods are rewarded in missions, in bunkers, and forged at various locations, or purchased. As you play with each weapon individually, you can work towards mastering its proficiency, and increasing the level of your pilot's powers.
If I have to launch any criticisms, they would be at the somewhat stagnant soundtrack, and the idiotic reliance on accessories. There are many blanked out items and weapons in the sub menu, that I wanted to use, but will never be able to thanks to the idea these idiots had, of selling them in physical stores. Other than that, the game was a success. While I did have rage points, where the difficulty, and quickness with how I died annoyed me, I can't find any aspect of the design to call flawed.
It was an enormous game that refined what was attempted with the game, "No Man's Sky" on the PS4. It has drive, and a purpose, even in an infinitely huge universe. You always know there are mountains of secrets you haven't found, yet you don't feel overwhelmed by that. The last bosses of the game, including Grax and the Dreadnoughts and Legion forces he has surrounding his base, were tough as nails. They were the kind of fights you don't want to have again. I like that kind of difficulty, even if at the time, I felt like raging. It must have taken about 50-60 hours for the campaign, but honestly, this can easily be a 200 hour game. Much like Mass Effect Andromeda, once you complete the game, you get closure, but also continued missions and aspirations that encourage you to further explore the galaxy and conquer the new threats. All in all, this was close to perfection. Oh how I love thee. Let me count the ways. 9.5/10
