Sabotage Studio showed up during Wednesday's Nintendo Direct to announce that Sea of Stars will launch for Switch, PlayStation 5, PlayStation 4, and PC via Steam on August 29. Players can now get their hands on the retro-style RPG early via a free demo available for Nintendo Switch.
The release date for Sea of Stars was among the many announcements made during yesterday's Nintendo Direct event, with a demo version now available via the Nintendo eShop. The indirect prequel to the award-winning The Messenger, Sea of Stars had been targeting a 2023 release after a Kickstarter campaign in 2020. Shortly after, the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 5 versions were added to the lineup.
Sea of Stars is a turn-based RPG chock-full of characters and story arcs that take players on a different journey each time they explore new lands. It tells the story of two Children of the Solstice, who combine the powers of the sun and moon to perform Eclipse Magic. It is known as the only force capable of standing against the creations of The Fleshmancer. Inspired by the classics, Sea of Stars offers strategic combat revolving around combo attacks, timed hits, spell-breaking, and boosting.
Players will build up their parties with six playable heroes, each having their fighting style and character that will add to the game's story. They must coordinate adaptive strategies to discover new match-ups while unlocking heroes' true potential. Other than that, players will use pre-emptive attacks and timed strikes to change the course of the combat. Instead of enduring the same fights, Sea of Stars emphasizes new encounters that require players to change their play style.
According to the development team, Sea of Stars demands sharp timing and pre-emptive counters for victory. Players will climb, swim, dive, and leap across the lands of an apocalyptic world filled with hidden secrets and tales. They will become more acquainted with playable heroes as they progress in the story. The upcoming RPG also features a day/night cycle that pushes the visual limits of 2D pixel art games.
Sea of Stars is tapping into a free exploration system introduced with Sabotage Studio's breakout hit The Messenger. A free demo version is available now exclusively via the Nintendo eShop, though the game will release for PlayStation and PC platforms alongside Switch on August 29.