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Starbound

Starbound

Chucklefish · released Jul 22, 2016

ActionAdventureCasualIndieRPGPCPlayStation 4, PlayStation VitaXbox One

You’ve fled your home, only to find yourself lost in space with a damaged ship. Your only option is to beam down to the planet below, repair your ship and set off to explore the universe...

Steam page ↗OpenCritic ↗Metacritic 81 · users 7.3 ↗
83
VGC Score
▼Declininghigh confidence
80%
At launch
90%
Steam all-time
85%
Press
57%
Player sentiment
77%
Recent sentiment

PC 83 · Xbox 45

Screenshots & trailers

What players say

Why the number is what it is: aspect mentions counted across 304 sampled Steam reviews (180 positive / 124 negative), recent and most-helpful. Plain keyword counting, fully reproducible; nothing here is written by a machine.

What positive reviews talk about

  • Story & writing16% mention it
  • World & exploration9% mention it
  • Progression & loot6% mention it
  • Music & audio6% mention it

What negative reviews complain about

  • Story & writing18% mention it

Satisfaction by hours played

Same score, different games: see how sentiment holds up the longer people play.

Under 5h

41%

29 reviews

5-15h

68%

37 reviews

15-40h

63%

43 reviews

40-100h

59%

63 reviews

100h+

60%

132 reviews

Review sentiment over time

Weekly positive-review rate (green) and review volume (bars). Dashed lines mark significant patches; the amber line is the start of the current scoring window. Hover the dots to see what drove a dip or a jump.

How this score was computed

The VGC Score is a weighted blend on a press-comparable 0-100 quality scale. Steam approval rates are first calibrated (95% positive on Steam ≈ 89.5 quality, since Steam approval skews high). Press and tracked creator reviews each count ~2x a player review and share one cap against player evidence (creator buy/skip calls pool into an approval rate, calibrated like Steam approval); all-time sentiment is capped and halved (it's context, not verdict); reviews of the current build carry the most weight when a fresh patch anchors the window; and a 'typical game' prior keeps small samples from pegging the scale. Because press reviews and Metacritic user aggregates describe the launch build, their weight decays as the game ages (3-year half-life after a 1-year grace). That's how a game that launched rough can outgrow its old reception once updates win players over. Reviews under 2h playtime (the refund window), non-Steam activations, and free copies are downweighted.

ComponentPositiveQuality (0-100)Weight (pseudo-reviews)
Press reviews (OpenCritic)–856
All-time Steam reviews90%841091
Metacritic user ratings–7637
Post-patch Steam reviews (trust-weighted)77%7261
Calibration prior (typical game)–7250

Scoring window: last 30 days (no significant patch detected) · 173 reviews sampled · 134 total reviews in window · weighted 105.5 up / 30.8 down · computed 3h ago · full methodology →

Press & Creators reviews (29)

Individual verdicts from outlets we track: scored reviews first, most trusted outlets first among them. The small badge is each outlet's trust score: how well its scoring history aligns with players.

  • 40
    Kinglink ReviewsKinglink Reviews
    trust 71Jul 1, 2018

    “It tries to be a little of everything and succeeds but it doesn’t really do anything that well, and because of that, it’s not a game I can recommend. Everything takes too long to do.”

    read full review ↗
  • 60
    MinimapMinimap
    trust 68Nov 26, 2024

    “While Starbound may not fully deliver on its lofty promises, there's enough charm and content here to justify a look, especially for fans of the genre willing to weather some turbulence for the sake of adventure. Just be prepared to face its challenges with patience, or better yet, start on casual mode and let the game's better qualities shine through its rougher aspects.”

    read full review ↗
  • 80
    The EscapistThe Escapist
    trust 66Jul 22, 2016

    “It's a bit rough around the edges, and the first few hours are a slog, but Starbound is a deep and vast constructor with a killer soundtrack.”

    read full review ↗
  • 90
    Games FreezerGames Freezer
    trust 66Feb 7, 2025

    “Starbound is a game that comes highly recommended from us here at GF and, in summary is a far superior space exploration game to Starfield, and it has a sense of humour.”

    read full review ↗
  • 90
    EurogamerEurogamer
    trust 66Aug 8, 2016

    “Starbound is very similar to Terraria, but bigger, more varied, more engaging. Recommended for sandbox genre lovers, thanks to a series of missions and a plot, that is the backdrop to the exploration of the galaxy, is also referred to those who have never enjoyed the games similar to Minecraft.”

    read full review ↗
  • 90
    MonsterVineMonsterVine
    trust 65Aug 24, 2016

    “Starbound is the kind of game you’d expect to be a cluttered mess, but all of the pieces work in tandem to create a dynamic experience with many interesting features and solid fundamentals.”

    read full review ↗
  • 90
    GameSkinnyGameSkinny
    trust 65Sep 16, 2016

    “Explore the farthest reaches of space to discover new planets and fight unique creatures while trying to find the perfect place to call home.”

    read full review ↗
  • 80
    Metro GameCentralMetro GameCentral
    trust 64Aug 5, 2016

    “Still a little unpolished in places, but with its huge variety of locations and gameplay elements this already stands toe-to-toe with both Terraria and Minecraft.”

    read full review ↗
  • 60
    PC PowerPlay
    trust 64Aug 27, 2016

    “A potential classic, hamstrung by unkept promises made during 2.5 years of Early Access. [Issue#254, p.64]”

  • 84
    PC GamerPC Gamer
    trust 64Jul 27, 2016

    “A charming space sandbox that will keep you busy and entertained for hours.”

    read full review ↗
  • 100
    DarkZeroDarkZero
    trust 63Sep 8, 2016

    “Starbound is a game that, after a few hours of play, starts to seem like an instant classic you’ll be revisiting from time to time over the next unknown period of years.”

    read full review ↗
  • 91
    IGNIGN
    trust 61Jul 28, 2016

    “Starbound excels as a crafting and exploration game, as a 2D platformer with varied and engaging combat, and as a Zelda-esque story RPG with a detailed world and memorable alien cultures to interact with. The sheer volume of different kinds of locations to discover, items to craft and build great structures with, and flashy ways to vanquish aliens prevent any part of the experience from getting boring quickly.”

    read full review ↗

…and 17 more tracked reviews.

Patch history

  1. 1.4.4 Hotfix Patch Notes
    Nov 19, 2024
  2. Starbound 1.4: Bounty Hunter Update
    Jun 13, 2019significant · resets scoring window
  3. 1.3.3 Hotfix Patch Notes
    Oct 18, 2017
  4. 1.3.3 Hotfix Patch Notes
    Oct 18, 2017
  5. Starbound 1.3.2 Changelog
    Jul 18, 2017significant · resets scoring window
  6. Starbound 1.3.2 Changelog
    Jul 18, 2017
  7. Starbound 1.3.1 Changelog
    Jun 19, 2017significant · resets scoring window
  8. Starbound 1.3.1 Changelog
    Jun 19, 2017
  9. Starbound 1.3 - Spacefarer Update
    Jun 8, 2017significant · resets scoring window
  10. Starbound 1.3 - Spacefarer Update
    Jun 8, 2017significant · resets scoring window
  11. Starbound 1.2.2 Changelog
    Jan 18, 2017
  12. Starbound 1.2.2 Changelog
    Jan 18, 2017significant · resets scoring window
  13. Starbound 1.2 - Vault Update
    Dec 15, 2016significant · resets scoring window
  14. Starbound 1.2 - Vault Update
    Dec 15, 2016significant · resets scoring window
  15. v1.1.1 - Changelog
    Sep 19, 2016
  16. v1.1.1 - Changelog
    Sep 19, 2016
  17. Starbound v1.1 - Changelog
    Sep 8, 2016significant · resets scoring window
  18. Starbound v1.1 - Changelog
    Sep 8, 2016significant · resets scoring window
  19. 1.0.4 - Changelog
    Aug 2, 2016
  20. 1.0.4 - Changelog
    Aug 2, 2016
  21. 1.0.3 - Changelog
    Jul 29, 2016significant · resets scoring window
  22. 1.0.3 - Changelog
    Jul 29, 2016significant · resets scoring window
  23. Starbound 1.0 is available now!
    Jul 22, 2016
  24. Starbound 1.0 is available now!
    Jul 22, 2016
  25. Starbound 1.0 is Leaving Orbit on 22 July 2016!
    Jul 8, 2016
  26. Starbound 1.0 is Leaving Orbit on 22 July 2016!
    Jul 8, 2016
  27. Final Approach to 1.0
    Apr 3, 2016significant · resets scoring window
  28. Final Approach to 1.0
    Apr 3, 2016significant · resets scoring window
  29. [STABLE] Glad Giraffe is here!
    Dec 8, 2015significant · resets scoring window
  30. [STABLE] Glad Giraffe is here!
    Dec 8, 2015significant · resets scoring window
  31. [UNSTABLE] Glad Giraffe Patch Notes, now with more bug fixes!
    Dec 2, 2015significant · resets scoring window
  32. [UNSTABLE] Glad Giraffe Patch Notes, now with more bug fixes!
    Dec 2, 2015significant · resets scoring window
  33. What to expect from the next update, 1.0 and beyond
    Nov 1, 2015significant · resets scoring window
  34. What to expect from the next update, 1.0 and beyond
    Nov 1, 2015significant · resets scoring window
  35. [STABLE] Pleased Giraffe Update is here!
    Aug 25, 2015
  36. [STABLE] Pleased Giraffe Update is here!
    Aug 25, 2015
  37. [UNSTABLE] Pleased Giraffe Patch Notes
    Aug 20, 2015significant · resets scoring window
  38. [UNSTABLE] Pleased Giraffe Patch Notes
    Aug 20, 2015significant · resets scoring window
  39. 27th April - [STABLE] Bug Fix Update
    Apr 27, 2015significant · resets scoring window
  40. 27th April - [STABLE] Bug Fix Update
    Apr 27, 2015

…and 46 earlier patch announcements.