Last weekend I played the demo of Sea of Stars on Switch and had a terrific time with it. The game looks great and, given the way the demo hops around and closes off certain content, it feels like it will still offer a fresh experience when I pick up the full release in August.
Developer Sabotage Studio previously made 2018's The Messenger, a retro platformer that sneakily swapped from a NES-style 8-bit actioner to a SNES-style Metroidvania around the midpoint. Though Sea of Stars doesn't seem to have that kind of era-combining twist, it is just as much a throwback to the defining games of the '90s.
This time around, the chief inspiration is Chrono Trigger and, as the demo begins, you're leading a trio of adventurers as they explore, fight turn-based battles, and solve puzzles. The combat is where the inspiration is clearest, as your characters can build up points to unleash combos, working together to jointly attack an enemy. Death is always a real possibility during these fights. Though I didn't croak during my time with the demo, the climactic boss fight that closes out the hour-long session brought me to the precipice multiple times. I only managed to make it by healing frequently and doling out all the food in my inventory to party members. That was only possible because I took time to prepare before entering the battle, cooking up some dishes at a campfire before taking the portal to the boss' chamber.
Sea of Stars' difficulty stuck out to me because I also played some One Piece Odyssey this weekend. I'm enjoying that game, too, but I'm constantly struck by how much the game favors you at all times. The combat system would be interesting with a more reasonable difficulty curve, but it would take a special kind of genius to lose a battle in Odyssey. Luffy and crew do so much damage and every enemy does so little, that even boss battles are over in just a few turns.
I'm only about four hours into One Piece Odyssey, but reviews suggest that it never really gets much harder. I'm still enjoying it for the vibe. It's really colorful, the tropical vibes of the island of Waford are delightful, and the jaunty soundtrack is another datapoint in my working theory that pirate games always have the best music.
But the whole thing is let down by how easy it is. The combat system combines traditional turn-based fights with a spatial positioning system that has you moving your characters around to attack other enemies on the board. You have a ton of moves that all have different effects, and a sprawling crew of characters. But, for as easy as it is, it could be as simple as the original Dragon Quest's battles and it wouldn't make much difference. You are so overpowered and level up so constantly that I have never not steamrolled an opponent.
There was major whiplash as I went from Sea of Stars to One Piece Odyssey. Both are turn-based RPGs with pirates in gorgeous, sunny locales. But the developers at Sabotage actually seem to understand that difficulty is a key ingredient in a combat system. Meanwhile, One Piece Odyssey seems to have forgotten that eating the Devil Fruit comes with risks and rewards. Right now, the game is all reward.