Derelict Star

I wasn't sure exactly what to expect jumping into Derelict Star, but what I ended up with is a game tailored almost exactly to my tastes. It's a platformer with a slow, deliberate, and purposeful pace. Which isn't to say there isn't plenty of high-speed action, but even at its fastest every input needs to be carefully considered. That careful consideration is infused into every element of the design, from careful micro-movements while navigating claustrophobic corridors to thinking several steps ahead of a multi-room puzzle to understanding the nuances of the unique movement system. That movement system starts out odd and alien, with a slow acceleration curve, an extremely floaty jump, and very high inertia - very different from most platformers today that are focused on speed and precision. But this alien system is actually finely tuned and the star of the show. Give it a chance, and you'll see that every part of the movement is carefully crafted. It was a delight to learn and master these controls through my 41 hours with the game (managing to pick up every optional collectable). The level design perfectly complements these controls; it seems very clear to me that both were desi…

[b]Conquering Without Conquest[/b] The first thing to note about Derelict Star is just how nice this game tries to be. Every step of the way, the writer reminds you that this a game made out of love and for the fun of the game, and that the player should just quit if they don't feel like playing any further; that there is not grand narrative unfolding, and that you won't miss anything but the comfortable satisfaction of having conquered a particularly difficult task. You know what? Scratch that last line. Conquering is exactly what Derelict Star tries to avoid. There are no enemies to speak of, no spaceship to call your own, and nothing but a couple of batteries to find so that your small astronaut can get back to their home galaxy. That lack of urgency and of the very idea of conquest is what sets this game apart from other precision platformers like Celeste (which is all about conquering a mountain) or Getting Over It (which is about conquering yourself... I guess, I've never finished that one). [b]Managing Speed[/b] Luckily, Derelict Star has plenty of fun to offer. Everything is based on an intricate movement system that ties jump height and length to speed. The player mus…

Wow, what a game! It's a exploration-based precision platformer and it asks a lot of the player, but I really enjoyed figuring it out and creating my own sense of accomplishment despite the ship not caring. Fundamentally you have a strange physics engine with precise (but mysterious) feedback, and all of your progression comes from understanding its nuances. It's a big game with lots to explore, and an impressive variety of puzzles and challenges given the seemingly small rule set. Some of the puzzles are incredibly elegant (I'm thinking of the green key rooms). Sometimes you will know what you need to do but spend 45 minutes grinding it out! I got all the power cells without any hints or assists, so I think the signposting is quite good in this game without being hand-holdy at all. Tip: I almost bailed on this once I reached my first power cell and realized what I would have to do in order to rescue it, but I think I actually came upon one of the hardest ones first. By the time I came back and set my mind to actually doing that one, I had gotten better enough that it wasn't that bad. I do firmly recommend getting all of the power cells to see all the game has to offer, but if s…

This is a ragebait platformer that expects perfect precision skill. If perfectionism is fun for you, enjoy. I am just going to uninstall and forget this ♥♥♥♥ exists.

For a game that focuses on pixel perfect precision, it feels really bad to have a movement system that feels so imprecise and frankly clunky. I'm sure players who put 6 thousand hours into the game will say the movement system is actually amazing, but seven hours in and I just feel frustrated with how little control I feel I have sometimes. Why does the game seem obsessed with constantly making me hover over two block gaps with spikes above and below? The problem is it (seems) to be a frame perfect input for the jump and no matter how many times I do it, it just does not feel consistent. This could be remedied by having a small sound indicator at the time you need to start holding or by just not repeating the same pixel perfect jump a billion times throughout the game. Also, for a game that advertises exploration as a main selling point, there really doesn't seem to be a lot to find. The only collectables seem to be qbits, which do nothing, and power cells, which are required to finish the game. The story might as well be non existent, so there is nothing on that front either. Overall, the main issue is that a game that requires pixel perfect precision shouldn't have suc…

This game is pure platforming. If you have any patience for Getting Good at anything, get good at this. You'll be so glad you did.