There's too many captain!
There’s plenty of good 4X space strategy games on the market at the moment and many in the genre are starting to emerge from Steam’s early access platform. Stars In Shadow is one such game although has a markedly different budget than that of its early access counterparts such as Endless Space 2.
Stars in Shadow is an indie 4X Strategy game that features turn-based combat and a striking 2d visual design which couples itself well with packing humour into both its art and writing. The game shares many similarities in its core design with that of Master of Orion 2 which many MoO 2 fans should be pleased about.
Gameplay
Performance & Graphics
Stars in Shadows 2D art style is vibrant and complements the embedded humour in the game well. All the assets are solid and there’s a nice blend of hand drawn assets and pixel based ones. Due to its 2D nature, the game runs like butter with no technical issues or bugs encountered in our playthough.
Minimum System Requirements:
o OS: Windows XP, Vista, 7, 8, 10
o Processor: Intel Core 2.6 GHz or equivalent
o Memory: 4 GB RAM
o Graphics: ATI Radeon HD 4000 Series or better
o Storage: 3 GB available space
o Additional Notes: Stars in Shadow requires the OpenGL framebuffer extension. This extension is present on almost all graphics drivers released after 2010, but lap-tops made before 2010 with vendor-locked graphics drivers may not be able to run the game.
Recommended System Requirements:
o OS: Windows 7,8,10
o Processor: Intel Core Duo 3.0 GHz or equivalent
o Memory: 8 GB RAM
o Graphics: NVIDIA Geforce 400 Series or better, 1 GB RAM
o Storage: 3 GB available space
Design Those Crusiers
Additional Thoughts
Stars in Shadow is a solid indie 4X strategy that doesn’t shoot itself in the foot by trying to do too much. It executes its core mechanics nicely. While the UI does have its issues, the art style of the game remains bright and vibrant, which couples nicely with the embedded humor.
Research Is Life
STARS IN SHADOW VERDICT
Stars in Shadow has some limitations that are defined by its indie development, but exceeds preconceptions with the amount of content and its near flawless execution. It’s an indie game truly for the 4Xer to revel in.
TOP GAME MOMENT
Curing Space Harpies.
Price and Purchase
Stars In Shadow can be picked up on Steam for $18.99 USD.
Good vs Bad
- Great 4X gameplay
- Great art style
- Turn-based combat is great with the ability to customize ship designs.
- Suffers mid to late game with content
- UI issues
