

Starheim
Null Reference Games · October 27, 2023 · Massively Multiplayer, Action, Looter Shooter, Casual, Space Sim
Starheim is free to play — no purchase needed. We track it so you know if that ever changes.
Screenshots
Starheim price
Starheim is free to play — there is no purchase price, on Steam or anywhere else we track. We keep watching it, so if it ever stops being free the price history on this page will show when that happened and what it changed to.
About Starheim
Combat:
The game focuses heavily on ship to ship combat, allowing players to blow up NPC ships en mass and collect the loot they drop, or fight other players.
The main idea is to simplify the spaceship piloting mechanic seen in other big space titles like Eve or Elite Dangerous by locking ships and bullets so everything is on a flat plane. Not having to deal with anything moving up and down makes it possible to control a very fast moving ship, dodge bullets, and warp around like not usually seen in MMO space games.
A major decision was made early in development to not feature any kind of "Heat seeking missile" type weapons, meaning you have to actually point your ship at a target to hit them. I've never really cared for the "Locking on and firing a missile and waiting to see if it hits" type of space combat, even if it is more realistic.
Boss fights are designed to be taken on by a party of at least 2 players, and party members share EXP, encouraging team play.
Physics:
Ships are all driven by real physics, meaning when you push the forward button, your ship gets pushed forward with realistic thrust, and momentum is maintained until you press back to activate the reverse thrusters to slow down. This can be challenging to get the hang of, but it does make for a more realistic spaceship pilioting experience, and opens up ways for players to play around with the physics.
Slamming into another player will effect their movement or send them spinning off, instead of you ship just bouncing off.
Asteroids are driven by real physics too, allowing you to shoot them to launch them at people or NPC enemies.
All ships come equiped with a Tractor Beam, which creates a gravity well in front of the ship that attracts asteroids and NPC ships, allowing you to "grab" an asteroid and carry it around with you and shoot it to launch it at someone on demand.
Open PvP:
While fun combat is always important, the primary goal with the game was to create a sandbox where players can interact with eachother.
A lot of inspiration was taken from oldschool MMOs where you could just get on and mess around with random people in an open PvP enviroment, and the mechanics are as open as possible to allow players the freedom to play however they like.
Most of the world is Open PvP, with the ability to set it to "Peace" or "PK" mode.
Enforcer ships protect high traffic areas like upgrade centers, and will attack PKers on sight.
Death isn't super punishing unless you haven't put stuff in the bank, so it's all in good fun.
PKers (Player Killers) get 10 PKPoints when they kill another player, and getting 30+ PKPoints makes a player redname, where they can drop their equipped modules if they die, upping the stakes for attacking other players.
Factions:
The game has a Faction system that allows peoples to create or join a faction with other players.
Later the faction system will be used for a faction vs faction PvP event, pitting the followers of dark gods like Loki against the gods of order like Thor.
Making the strongest ship you can:
Players can build ships of several different classes including:
Fighters (Speed Focus)
Destroyers (Damage Focus)
Frigates (Survivability Focus)
Artillery Cruisers (Heavy Weapon Focus, think big railgun)
Dreadnought (Good damage and survivability but slower and a bigger target)
Modules to add additional offensive or defensive capabilities can also be bought or looted and equipped to ships to increase their stats.
Ships and Modules have an upgrade system similar to land-based MMORPGs, with stats that go up to Legendary, +9, 2 Sockets.
Since it's based on Norse mythology, we had to make the objects that go into sockets Viking Runes. These runes grant various stat inceases or effects like boosting EXP gained.
Elements:
The game is heavily element based, each weapon being able to change between 8 different elements, changing the visual of the projectile and changing the type of damage it does.
Nearly every ship has an element based energy shield that needs to be taken down before damage can be dealt to the ship's Hull HP.
Hitting a shield with an element that counters it does 50% more damage, for example hitting an Ice shield with Fire element.
Hitting a shield that counters the weapon deals reduced damage, for example hitting an Earth shield with a Lightning bullet.
Countering NPC shields with an opposing element increases their drop rates by 50%.
The game can be played with a Mouse and Keyboard, Touch Screen, and partially with a Controller (Mouse and Keyboard still needed to navigate the UI, Controller to control the ship).
It runs well on Steam Deck even in the early access version, and has an input mode specifically tailored to Steam Deck, but some functionality may always require the touch screen such as dragging items from one inventory to another. Steam Deck is kind of the perfect type of device to play it on since it's the kind of casual experience Steam Deck was built for, so good Steam Deck compatibility is high priority.
Starheim — game info
- Platforms
- Windows
- Steam Deck
- Playable
- Player modes
- Multiplayer, Cross-platform multiplayer
- PC Game Pass
- Not included
What Steam players say
Recent verbatim reviews from Steam — separate from playze.io community reviews below.
Game right now is still buggy and well far from “completed”. It seems it could be pretty amazing if the effort was put into it, but I’m not sure that will happen. It just feels cheap, the ship doesn’t move properly, the controls are busted and the sound cuts in and out at times. Skip this game.6 found this helpful
login says not connected to server.. cant register3 found this helpful
Hot garbage. Controls are sluggish and janky, the game explains nothing. Combat is sloppy. They should pay me to play this, I requested a refund of my time.2 found this helpful
A klugey mess. When I first made a new account, it spawned me in an enemy ridden area, where I was blown up almost immediately. Trying to leave, I found out that the keyboard/mouse controls are atrocious. Don't play this. There are better games out there.2 found this helpful
Accidentally hid UI and couldn't get it back. 10/10 Would uninstall again.2 found this helpful
Nice space MMO1 found this helpful
Community reviews
0 reviews
Sign in to write a review.
No reviews yet. Be the first to review this game.
More like Starheim
News
PCFinal Fantasy XI price: what you pay, then keep paying
The Final Fantasy XI price is two numbers, and the subscription is the one that matters. Our tracked low, what the Ultimate Collection includes, and when buying at list is correct.
Oct 16, 2026
PCCastlevania Belmont's Curse price: which edition to buy
The Castlevania Belmont's Curse price splits in two: Steam charges full list, authorised resellers a quarter less. Our record says that 25% has not moved since June, and is the floor.
Oct 16, 2026
DealsHogwarts Legacy price history: where the floor really is
Our Hogwarts Legacy price history runs to 100 daily readings and a $3.99 median. Why the sub-dollar figure in search results is noise, and what to actually pay.
Oct 15, 2026
PCEnshrouded price after 1.0: what it costs now
Enshrouded hit 1.0 today, but the Enshrouded price rose on 8 September and the key resellers have not followed. What our nine tracked sellers show, and whether to buy now.
Oct 15, 2026
PCStarfield price history: the sub-$20 window, and who set it
Our Starfield price history shows one reseller set the all-time low over five weeks in late summer 2026. What a good price looks like now, and why Game Pass comes first.
Oct 14, 2026
PCBoltgun 2 price: buy the sequel, or the cheap first game?
The Boltgun 2 price has no cheaper route on launch day — our record shows one listing, unmoved since September. The first game is the bargain, but a smaller one than it was.
Oct 14, 2026
PCRust price: why the cheap keys vanished, and when to buy
The Rust price has two answers: an official one that barely moves, and a reseller one that sat in single digits for 95 days and then disappeared. Our record shows both.
Oct 13, 2026
PCPlanet Zoo 2 price: which edition, and when it gets cheaper
Planet Zoo 2 is out today. The Planet Zoo 2 price splits two ways, the cheap pre-order keys stopped existing three weeks ago, and the original got dearer as the sequel landed.
Oct 13, 2026
PCTekken 8 ღირს თუ არა: 91 ქულა და შერეული შეფასება
Tekken 8 ღირს თუ არა, როცა კრიტიკოსებს 91 ქულა აქვთ დაწერილი, მოთამაშეებს კი „შერეული"? ფასი, ონლაინის მდგომარეობა და უკეთესი ალტერნატივა.
Sep 24, 2026
DealsStellaris იაფად: ოცდახუთი დამატება და ერთი გამოსავალი
Stellaris იაფად ყიდვა საბაზისო თამაშის შემთხვევაში მარტივია. ძვირი დამატებებია — და მათთვის არსებობს ვარიანტი, რომელსაც ბევრი ვერ ამჩნევს.
Sep 24, 2026
PCARK ფასი: Evolved თუ Ascended — რომელი ვიყიდოთ
ARK ფასი ორი სხვადასხვა თამაშის ფასია. რომელი ჯობია ქართული სიიდან, სად არიან მოთამაშეები და რატომ არ ღირს ახალ ვერსიაზე გადახტომა.
Sep 24, 2026
DealsCivilization 6 იაფად: რომელი დამატება ღირს მართლა
Civilization 6 იაფად ყიდვა მარტივია — საბაზისო თამაში იაფია და იაფად რჩება. რთული ის არის, რომ ცხრამეტი დამატებიდან სწორი აირჩიოთ.
Sep 24, 2026
FreebiesCS2 უფასოდ: რა ღირს სინამდვილეში Prime
CS2 უფასოდ ითამაშება საქართველოდანაც და ეს დემო არაა. ფული მხოლოდ Prime-ს სჭირდება — აი, რას იძლევა ის და ვის ღირს.
Sep 24, 2026
PCCuphead ღირს თუ არა: სირთულე, DLC და ორზე თამაში
Cuphead ღირს თუ არა: ექვსივე ქართულ მაღაზიაში ერთი ფასია, მეგობარს კი ასლი საერთოდ არ სჭირდება. სირთულე, ერთადერთი დამატება და როდის ვიყიდოთ.
Sep 23, 2026
DealsRimWorld იაფად: ბაზა, ხუთი დამატება და სწორი რიგი
RimWorld იაფად ყიდვა დამატებების რიგზეა დამოკიდებული, არა ფასდაკლების ლოდინზე. რომელი ხუთიდან ღირს ჯერ და რომელ მაღაზიას აქვს ფასდაკლება.
Sep 23, 2026
PCPhasmophobia ფასი: ოთხი ასლი და ერთი მაღაზია
Phasmophobia ფასი ქართულ სიაში მხოლოდ ერთ მაღაზიაში ჩანს, თამაში კი ოთხზეა გათვლილი. რატომ ღირს ფასდაკლების დალოდება და რა გჭირდებათ დასაწყებად.
Sep 23, 2026Top games right now
All rankings →- 1Counter-Strike 2Free
- 2Dota 2Free
- 3PUBG: BATTLEGROUNDSFree
- 4Grand Theft Auto V Legacy—
- 5Terraria$2.16
- 6Rust$25.83
- 7Team Fortress 2Free
- 8Black Myth: Wukong$36.50
- 9HELLDIVERS™ 2$25.04
- 10ELDEN RING$49.41
- 11Apex Legends™Free
- 12Left 4 Dead 2$9.99
- 13Stardew Valley$13.81
- 14Wallpaper Engine$3.99
- 15Euro Truck Simulator 2$10.20
- 16Dead by Daylight$6.83
- 17Red Dead Redemption 2$11.11
- 18Baldur's Gate 3$57.68
- 19Phasmophobia$17.27
- 20War ThunderFree
- 21Call of Duty®—
- 22ARK: Survival Evolved$13.45
- 23Among Us$2.99
- 24The Forest$19.70











