You have 30 minutes to loot this place and pay your debts before the planet is destroyed. Intense stealth-action with permadeath. An exploration of agency and hope.
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Nice fun game definately feel the increase in gameplay tightness from No Sun Left To Worship.
A Star Long Cold aims to blend Antonio Freyre's previous No Sun to Worship and It Comes In Waves – unfortunately, it lacks the concise brevity of the former and the meditative emptiness of the latter. I don't think it's a bad game – I love the atmosphere and the visual style, I just don't think the core gameplay loop coalesces into something that I feel compelled to return to after a few runs.
I've seen folks talk of this game as superior to It Comes In Waves by virtue of sidestepping its extended periods of nothingness, but the action of Under A Star Long Cold often feels more vacuous than the literal emptiness of It Comes In Waves's desert.
It's worth checking out as a fan of Freyre's work, and as mentioned – it's extremely successful stylistically. I just wish I liked pretty much anything else about it.
High Score of $26,580/$50,000
I've seen folks talk of this game as superior to It Comes In Waves by virtue of sidestepping its extended periods of nothingness, but the action of Under A Star Long Cold often feels more vacuous than the literal emptiness of It Comes In Waves's desert.
It's worth checking out as a fan of Freyre's work, and as mentioned – it's extremely successful stylistically. I just wish I liked pretty much anything else about it.
High Score of $26,580/$50,000
I’d have preferred if this was more like no sun to worship with its much more interesting level design but I appreciate that the developer is experimenting with new ideas.
Best Star Wars game I played in recent years
In around 4 attempted runs so far, I've gotten as close as around 10k/50k with 1/3 of the time remaining. It started to get a bit frustrating around the hour mark, but I'll probably go back to it another time. I do love the dense atmosphere this game presents, as it is with almost every Merlino game. The gloomy dark environments contrasting with the breathtaking purple skybox make for a great setting. I just can't help, but wonder what stories you could set in a world like this... But as it stands I'm running around from outpost to outpost, collecting coins and sneaking around guards in a time rush. And I don't want this to sound like a dig against Antonio, that the game isn't as deep or fleshed out as it could be, because I'm aware of what limitations indie, and even more, solo game dev presents. I mean it more as a way of highlighting how great of an environment designer he is, that the game is even making me wonder those things, and how much I respect and admire his work, because for €3 this is great quality and totally worth it.
So far I had 3 failed runs with the third being the best result (10 minutes left and about 10k out of 50k collected). But I’m having so much fun that it doesn’t really matter. This game is kind of a spiritual successor to It Comes In Waves. It’s in the same universe, follows the same formula of limited time and permadeath if you don’t reach your objective or get killed. This had me worried as I didn’t like that one as much as other Merlino Games. This one does it much better though. I feel it delivered and then some, especially with the price of €2,39 including launch discount.
What makes it better? The simple answer would be everything! Firstly, the game combines elements of ICIW AND No Sun to Worship. The latter when it comes to controls and stealth elements. But not only that, there are more actions and more weapon variety for instance. I love this part as NSTW is my favourite Merlino game. The ICIW part is done better because you have less long stretches of running through empty spaces. There are more interesting things to do. And it feels like there is more variety dealing with situations in different ways. So a run feels fresh, there is something new to learn every time, at least so far. Lastly there is more polish as a whole. The graphics look more appealing than ICIW. I just love this mix of PS1 combined with modern technology. There is actual music and I like what I’m hearing.
I’m not a fan of timers and UASLC won’t change my mind. I would lie if I didn’t say that I prefer playing the game without a timer. But I can see myself playing at least once a day for a while to come. I hope to finish at least one run successfully but it’s okay if that doesn’t happen as there are no achievements to make my OCD go crazy. The fact that I’m enjoying this while I’m not a fan of the structure, is a good accomplishment. The game is worth getting and it’s worth supporting the developer. Keep expectations in check though, as this is still a €3 game.
What makes it better? The simple answer would be everything! Firstly, the game combines elements of ICIW AND No Sun to Worship. The latter when it comes to controls and stealth elements. But not only that, there are more actions and more weapon variety for instance. I love this part as NSTW is my favourite Merlino game. The ICIW part is done better because you have less long stretches of running through empty spaces. There are more interesting things to do. And it feels like there is more variety dealing with situations in different ways. So a run feels fresh, there is something new to learn every time, at least so far. Lastly there is more polish as a whole. The graphics look more appealing than ICIW. I just love this mix of PS1 combined with modern technology. There is actual music and I like what I’m hearing.
I’m not a fan of timers and UASLC won’t change my mind. I would lie if I didn’t say that I prefer playing the game without a timer. But I can see myself playing at least once a day for a while to come. I hope to finish at least one run successfully but it’s okay if that doesn’t happen as there are no achievements to make my OCD go crazy. The fact that I’m enjoying this while I’m not a fan of the structure, is a good accomplishment. The game is worth getting and it’s worth supporting the developer. Keep expectations in check though, as this is still a €3 game.