Star Rift Saga

Definitely not a AAA title, but holy moly, this is peak Metroidvania right here. Takes a short amount of time to get going, but once it does, it is an absolute blast. Very polished, smooth movement, fun and unique upgrades, secrets galore, various systems that all work harmoniously. Excellent, excellent, game. Hats off to the developers.

If you’re reading reviews for Star Rift Saga, you’re already half way there since the other 10 people who check the r/metroidvania subreddit already discovered this game. It’s a niche entry but it checks out. The graphics aren’t anything special but they are serviceable. The story is fun but pretty simple. Why give this a recommendation? To me, a good metroidvania tackles familiar game mechanics like exploration and ability progression in such a way that despite having played other entries into the genre I never get tired of unlocking the double jump or the hook shot (or whatever, you get the idea) because the game has piqued your interest in what secrets you’ll uncover once you have that new ability. That said, it’s also impressive when the developer mixes it up with some more unique abilities/weapons (I feel Supraland is the gold standard with this one). Star Rift manages to do both of these and also includes a nice chip system for unique weapon builds (like a much much more complex version of the Hollow Knight build system) which levels up so you can play Tetris with the chips you unlock on a bigger and bigger board. This means grinding is an option if you feel underpowered …

Charming, colorful, laid back little indie. I haven't played much of it (Sorry, Jacob!). When I beat it, I will have waay more to say. Besides, I want to see the credits; I wanna see the full team involved with this other than what I contributed.

This started out fun, then corpse runs and boss runs ruined the game. This feels like a 2017 metroidvania release that aged badly.

Solid indie metroidvania. A few minor bugs (eg can crash if you try buying out a chip vendor). There is a little too much inertia imo, but overall solid platforming mechanics and shooting mechanics. The chip system allows for customized builds and you get to save a few different quick presets. Not too long (most players will probably finish in around 10ish hrs). Story is okay! Font choice isn't super readable. Also the markings I made on my map didn't get saved - but late in the game you can unlock an in-game map feature that marks power up locations.

Star Rift Saga is a wonderful metroid style game, the music is fantastic, the pixel art is great to look at, the story is nice. The gameplay is really where things shine, it starts off slow, but eventually by around the middle of the game, things open up some more and damage you can deal makes most enemies feel less of a hazard and more of a speed bump, which is nice to be given that kind of power. The skill chip system allows for focus into different weapons and leads to build variety which is great for experimentation and replayability exploring the world is enjoyable, my only major complaint is for some rooms separated by one-way platforms leading to a long walk back around if you accidentally go past them, but otherwise the level design, layout, and environments are all good and fun to explore. At time of writing I have 59/60 achievements, the last one I need is completing the compendium (item list), I appear to be missing an entire type of item based on how the compendium is laid out which I find puzzling since I've reached the end of the game. Item drop rate could use a bit of a boost I feel. Definitely worth picking up at any price for fans of Metroid and me…