Starbound: First impressions!

You may or may not have heard of Starbound, a pc game by an indie studio called Chucklefish. It is a diverse 2D exploration sandbox game set in the universe. Technopedia defines a sandbox game as:

..... a style of game in which minimal character limitations are placed on the gamer, allowing the gamer to roam and change a virtual world at will. In contrast to a progression-style game, a sandbox game emphasizes roaming and allows a gamer to select tasks. Instead of featuring segmented areas or numbered levels, a sandbox game usually occurs in a “world” to which the gamer has full access from start to finish. 

It's pretty accurate and is a fairy new game concept that has been quite popular lately largely in part to a game called Terraria which is all sorts of fun that I won't get into in this review. Now the tiny and boring description above is just a small part of what the actual game experience is like. You'd have to play the game to discover its potential. There are numerous possibilities and the game's still in Beta! You may also choose between singleplayer or multiplayer modes.

There are 6 races and numerous color/clothing options to help differentiate yourself from others. I'm a big fan of the 2d pixel graphics so no complaints for me! After customizing your character, you start out in a lone spaceship and are given your first quest to help intro you to the game. If this is a first for you, you probably should read a beginner's guide since all the features can all be very daunting.

There are special hotkeys to bring up inventory, crafting, etc. which I don't even think they tell you about but.. you'll figure it out! You are then told to beam down to the planet your spaceship is hovering over and this is randomly generated. Here's where the fun begins.

I was not prepared for the slew of cute and disgusting monsters that populate every planet. They hurt and they will kill you a number of times before you learn how to survive in this harsh new environment! Following the quests will help provide you with a hunter bow which makes it a tad easier to kill monsters and hunt for food.

Did I mention you have a food and warmth meter of some sort? You will need to keep your character fed and warm or otherwise die.. Food can be obtained from monster loot and random fruits/plants you see lying around on the face of the new world. Warmth can be remedied by crafting torches and other light/fire items. Your health sadly can only be recovered by sleeping in a bed you should craft or by crafting bandages from plant fibres. Also beware the night.. a whole host of hard-hitting aliens may swarm you if you haven't already died to the cold temperatures.

Overall, the game is very fun and immersive. You will find that you spend most of your time exploring or gathering resources and it is rewarding! Be prepared to find friendly/hostile npcs, houses, villages, castles, tombs and even underground facilities!

Best part is there are hundreds of planets out there.. you can always set off and find something that answers to your tastes.

Starbound is purchasable at its own website, Steam or over at the Humble Store for $14.99.