La review en la web aqui: https://www.nextn.es/2023/11/analisis-in-stars-and-time-nintendo-switch/

Desde aqui lo mismo hay spoilers (o no)

Tuve la suerte de descubrir este juego y tenerlo 3 semanas antes de que saliese para review. Y tuve la desgracia de no tener a nadie con quien hablar del juego durante 3 semanas porque ¡oh boy! sí me ha comido la cabeza. Historia de found family LGTB, con bucles temporales, angst, mucho angst, y temas jodidos. En cuanto salió me fui al discord a hablar con le dev porque tenia que hablarlo con alguien y joer. Que alegria de que haya salido bien. GOTY 2023 personal. Y que diga eso el año que ha salido ToTK y Bomb Rush Cyberfunk.... telita

This will be so many people's favorite game of all time. It's not mine, and I may have my issues, but I write this because I absolutely wanna celebrate games that have such unbelievably good production, such interesting and rich worlds, characters with expansive perspectives, such beautiful diversity and take something that has already been a staple of several amazing games over the past few years and just experiment with it further and further to see the way players react. It didn't perfectly click with me, but if it does with someone, HOOOOOLY I can't imagine that feeling. It's so rare that games with such incredible production try and reach further than they maybe can, than they maybe should, and not play it safe, and I think even this game maybe goes a bit safe at specific points, but it GOES for it otherwise. It's just such a rare thing to take something that works perfectly well and decide to risk it all. Just, fuck yeah, video games.

A story that's all about the emotional connection with the main character and his companions. It's overall done pretty well and you go on a lot of ups, downs, happy and sad moments that all work well together to form the narrative.

The actual gameplay itself is where it suffers. The concept is a loop and exploring the same things gets a bit annoying since some of it feels like just padding. Up to the third floor then welp back to the first floor then got to go back to the third floor but then back to the 2nd. This wouldn't be so bad except to move quickly between floors requires a currency that you get by killing enemies, so you're forced to kill enemies unless you want to walk your way back to where you want each loop.

Plus the combat itself isn't really engaging to begin with but just gets easier as the game goes on and ultimately serves little purpose after a certain point, the game does eventually give you a way to cause enemies to run though.

But the character writing is very good and the way each character feels unique but exaggerated is nice and it has a nice emotional punch if you can handle the more sloggy portions of the game. Game takes about 20ish hours to get through but can vary a bit depending on how much combat you end up doing.

I'd been following the development of this game for a while, really excited by its premise and art style. Although the proof of concept for this game, START AGAIN: a prologue, didn't do much for me, I was really excited to see what the full game would deliver. And wow, does In Stars and Time deliver.

Time loops, specifically Groundhog Day time loops, are one of my favourite story devices. ISAT explores an aspect of these kinds of time loops most stories take for granted, though: the nihilistic disregard for others. ISAT is carried by excellent writing and an endearing cast, and Siffrin's slow descent into madness and apathy form a central part of his development which got me invested. He struggles hard with refusing to give into apathy which is a take we don't get to see often. Anything more would be spoilers!

ISAT has the honour of sitting among the few games that made me cry. If you can put up with repeating the same gameplay segments, you owe it to yourself to try this one out.

First of all I wanna point out this game is not for everyone now let’s begin
In stars and time is filled with moments it will stay with you for a little while it will make you think , smile and cry all together with its unique tale
there are few parts of the game that felt like I was playing something unique and close to being masterpiece but then it got dragged by its awfully long runtime and repetitive exploration elements
I do understand it’s a time loop game but still felt like half of the time I was bored repeating stuff even thought you would have an ability to fasten dialogue , now all the bad things out of the way let’s talk about the goodness
Because even though the runtime is long the game is still so charming and fun from the art style to fun battle system and an outstanding emotional story that’s deal with mental illness , friendships and few other subjects if you hang in there until the end you will be rewarded with a wonderful emotional story that might go deeper than you think
I love this kind of game that’s inspired by undertale but here I felt it’s more of a visual novel meet undertale specially with the runtime 20h plus at least for me it actually give you a space to understand each character and they are all well written fun and interesting
The story paths and loops are interesting the concept of the time loop usually can be boring but they did it brilliantly here minus the runtime
the development of each character are outstanding you will love each and every one of them
Overall nice little game with a wonderful story and charming characters for whoever have patience and time to spend and can tolerate repetitive exploration and loops

Uno dei tanti giochi con meccaniche di gioco, tema e narrazione che hanno il proprio fulcro nel time loop; il protagonista rivive le stesse 48 ore, come in una maledizione, e com'è naturale che accada in queste storie deve trovare un modo per spezzare questa condizione

Inizio subito col togliermi qualche sassolino: un paio di volte ho riscontrato problemi di trigger, alcune frasi dette non avevano senso in virtù del fatto che lo avrebbero avuto solo in un loop precedente; ci sono state un paio di volte in cui capire cosa fare per proseguire è stato davvero difficile (e data la relativa lentezza del gioco è un qualcosa che pesa), ma ammetto che potrebbe essere stato per una mia distrazione; la situazione risolutiva che si svolge immediatamente prima la conclusione poteva, secondo me, essere gestita un po' meglio; avrebbero, secondo me, dovuto sostituire la buccia di banana con qualcos'altro di più convincente dopo la terza-quarta volta (per certi motivi che non voglio spoilerare, penso che il suo utilizzo, una volta arrivato a un certo punto in particolare, sia un po' incoerente)

Tolte queste cose, il gioco è una meraviglia

Non voglio stare troppo a lungo a parlare del gameloop, che secondo me nella sua semplicità ha comunque un buon valore.
GDR a turni (active-time), il proprio party è costituito da classi tradizionali come lo sono l'assassino, il chierico, il guerriero. Si cumula esperienza, si raccolgono nuove parti per l'equipaggiamento e via discorrendo. Tutto viene realizzato in maniera tale che abbia una propria coerenza contesto del loop temporale: certe cose sono in possesso del protagonista costantemente nel corso della partita, altre devono essere ritrovate di volta in volta; a livellare è soltanto il protagonista e non il resto del party dato che è l'unico a essere consapevole del loop.
Man mano vengono fatte certe concessioni col procedere della storia, di fatto proprio per migliorare la Quality of Life e non bruciare troppo il giocatore nel richiedergli di tornare indietro in continuazione

Due sono i punti di forza maggiori del gioco: il fatto che il gameplay si sposi perfettamente con la storia e con la narrazione (e infatti il worldbuilding, anch'esso relativo a quanto ho appena affermato, è davvero ben realizzato) e la scrittura dei personaggi. I testi non scorrono veloci, si prendono i propri tempi, hanno di volta in volta un certo ritmo a seconda della situazione e dello stato d'animo di ciascun personaggio, e vanno a livelli di profondità e quasi realismo tali che permettono a quegli stessi personaggi di sembrare quasi vivi talmente sono ben scritti. Certe cose che pronunciano durante l'atto 3 sono rafforzate da ciò che conosciamo di loro sin dall'atto 1, e certe cose di cui veniamo a conoscenza durante un loop temporale rendono i personaggi più complessi, concreti e tridimensionali in vista di cose che tecnicamente abbiamo scoperto e fatto in un momento nel futuro. Alcune volte si cadrebbe forse in una sdolcinatezza eccessiva per i miei gusti, ma i loro caratteri, le loro personalità e le loro azioni si intrecciano così bene tra di loro e con quelle del protagonista che anche quegli ipotetici momenti non li ho mai avvertiti con fastidio, anzi: più volte mi sono commosso, più volte sono rimasto disgustato da una certa cattiveria, più volte ho provato un senso di affezione. Queste sensazioni sono rinforzate dalla loro costante presenza: nella partita è possibile ispezionare quasi ogni oggetto in ciascuna stanza, e a ciascuna ispezione corrisponde un commento da parte di almeno uno di loro; la maggior parte delle volte, in realtà, intervengono quasi tutti, dando vita a delle piccole scenette e interazioni che danno sempre più informazioni su tutti loro

I personaggi secondari sono carini, e le loro subquest sono un buon passatempo nonostante si tratti di normalissime fetch quest (per fortuna son poche)
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Da qui, Spoiler

In Stars and Time è un gioco sull'amicizia, sul superare grandi ostacoli insieme, sul salvare un continente intero e diventare degli eroi

In Stars and Time è un gioco sul dolore, sulla solitudine, sulle paranoie, sulla paura di essere abbandonati e di non essere amati

In Stars and Time è un gioco sul trauma

Non in qualche senso colloquiale: il gioco si appropria di questo concetto e prova a dargli una veste e interpretazione anche metaforiche
Il protagonista, Siffrin, si scoprirà provenire da un luogo di cui nessuno ha memoria. Questo il gioco lo trasmette molto bene: per tutta la durata della prima metà c'è sempre del non detto riguardo le sue origini, facendole passare semplicemente come misteriose. In realtà, come detto, Siffrin non ha alcun ricordo del proprio paese d'origine, come neanche ce l'hanno i suoi compagni o gli abitanti del continente dove si sviluppa tutta la partita. Si sa solo che, un tempo, si trovava a Nord e che, d'un tratto, scomparve. Nulla più. Il modo in cui certe cose vengono raccontate vuol far intendere che è stato come cancellato dall'esistenza stessa, non semplicemente dai ricordi
Se ne ha traccia solo per testimonianza orale. I libri che ne riportano in modo chiaro l'esistenza sono apparentemente illeggibili: scritti nella lingua di Siffrin, che non è più neanche in grado di ricordare il proprio alfabeto

La perdita della propria storia, dei propri ricordi più intimi, della propria famiglia, del proprio paese natale. Questo evento così tragico per buona parte del gioco non fa quasi sentire la propria presenza, se non attraverso qualche suggerimento in qualche dialogo. E, col senno di poi, con alcuni comportamenti del protagonista, interpretabili su un piano sintomatologico

Eppure, nella seconda metà di gioco si scopre che è praticamente questo il motivo per cui Il Re (primo antagonista della storia e connazionale del protagonista) ha deciso di congelare nel tempo il continente su cui ci troviamo: anch'egli ha vissuto il trauma, anche lui è sopravvissuto a quell'evento tragico di cui nessuno (neanche lui) ha memoria, e non può tollerare che altri uomini, altre donne, altri bambini subiscano lo stesso destino della sua gente. Se per evitare che scompaiano è necessario che quel popolo diventi invisibile e immutabile, così sia. Questa reazione, nel contesto del gioco, è anch'essa figlia del trauma. Così come lo sono il comportamento molto schivo e paranoide di Siffrin, il suo desiderio - che sublimerà a sua volta in un'ossessione distruttiva - di rimanere un po' più a lungo con i suoi compagni di avventura, per non trovarsi di nuovo solo. Essere da soli e non sapere nulla su di sé cosa vuol dire, del resto? Le paranoie del protagonista gli suggeriscono che è un po' come essere meno di una bestia. Di chi si trova al cospetto, in quei casi, se non ha un sé stesso di cui tener conto?

Se il Re decide di rispondere a una tragedia con un'altra tragedia, Siffrin si trova in un costante inseguire quello che vorrebbe e quello che vuole, tra desiderio e volizione. Il primo è subdolo, inquinante; la decisione vacilla e alla fine Siffrin si trova a tu per tu con tu con quell'ombra che potrebbe portarlo a pugnalarsi in petto da solo

Alla fine lui stesso diventa come un'immagine del Re, soccombendo al proprio desiderio; solo momentaneamente però, perché è impensabile prendersi cura del dolore, del male che strazia la carne, senza farlo mai emergere e senza mai parlarne. Infine, nel momento risolutivo, attraverso la volontà e il supporto altrui, riesce a ridimensionare e a contenere quell'ossessione che fino a quel momento lo aveva divorato nella mente e nel sangue

Alla fine del racconto, non c'è nulla che si sappia della sorte del paese di Siffrin. Non c'è nulla che si sappia della scomparsa dei colori, si intravede solo un rosso acceso ogni tanto e solo durante i momenti più strazianti. Ed è un bene per la storia che sia così, per non perdere la propria forza per quanto intrisa di dolore; ma la storia, di fatto, vuole essere dolorosa anche per il giocatore. Vuole, sin quasi dall'inizio, che si avverta che c'è qualcosa che non va, qualcosa di più grande. Quel qualcosa, semplicemente, non può essere risolto, e non può essere compreso

Il Re, purtroppo, non riesce a controllare la propria ossessione e rimane congelato col ricordo lontano ma finalmente chiaro di ciò che un tempo erano state le sue terre, i fiumi, il mare.

Siffrin, come già detto, ottiene una risoluzione decisamente positiva ma quel dolore, quel vuoto, come si intravede dalle battute finali saranno sempre presenti nella sua vita. Arrivato a quel punto, però, sarà anche in grado di raccontare quelle poche impressioni che sono riemerse tra le sue memorie e di tramandare ciò che per lui è estremamente intimo

Queste considerazioni le ho pesantemente tratte da questo articolo, con cui mi trovo d'accordo: https://cohost.org/alicelai/post/3700640-what-s-forgotten-in

A greatly flawed experience that I nearly dropped on several occasions, the definition of pure Backtracking and tedious as hell to push through on account of everything happening in the same environment with narrow corridors and enemies that respawn as soon as you leave and re-enter an area. As an RPG ISAT sucks ass but as a time looping story in an RPG frame it's quite good. The main group is easy to love and the worldbuilding makes me want to see more stories set in it and not even necessarily with the same protagonists or stakes. The psychological breakdowns experienced by Siffrin, the protag, became harder to experience as the loops grew in number and as everything fell apart the game itself went from a tentative 2 and-a-half stars to a solid 3. I remember after playing the prototype feeling that the story worked best as a short experience and I still feel that way after 30 more hours of that same story but more fleshed out. I loved learning more about Siffrin's companions, about elements of the world such as the missing country, the loss of colors, how this world's people used Crafting in their day-to-day. I did not love fighting the same 7 enemies through the same three floors of the same castle. I know everyone likes to say that any RPG made in RPG Maker is doomed to have basic as hell turn-based gameplay but as someone who grew up obsessed with amateur RPG's made in the engine I can tell you now that, that is bullshit.

Enemies could have a timer to determine when they respawn giving the player some breathing room to backtrack especially in the early game and giving the handful of enemy types different AI and gimmicks to keep fights from being samey would have made the first few Acts more interesting (and this is very possible to do in even the base version of RPG Maker MV with some clever use of events). ISAT DOES use a Jackpot mechanic that introduces some degree of strategy soooo there's that but that's really the most interesting thing the game has going on in terms of battles.

I know the repetition is all in service of having the player share in Siffrin's exhaustion and gradually depleting sanity as they go through the loops but at the end of the day I will always feel that there should be some consideration put into game feel since, well, this is a game and not a book.

The last two Acts saved the game for me since I was getting well and tired of the gameplay loop (ayyyyyy) by that point despite finding myself engrossed in the character interactions and background mysteries and the shaking up of the formula kept me going to the finish line.

tldr; an interesting character story masquerading as an RPG, play the demo to get a feel for the writing at least OR alternatively the prototype but buy on sale.

(my review for the prototype)
https://www.backloggd.com/u/owlpunki/review/808002/

I love "In Stars and Time" - it appears to be a simple RPG at first glance. The game is all in black and white. There’s nothing flashy about the presentation. The battle system is based on rock, paper, and scissors. But digging into the game, it’s soon apparent that there’s a lot of depth here. The story, the character, and the world-building absolutely won me over. The looping mechanic is interesting and could be a real hindrance to the game if not implemented correctly. But so much love and attention went into this game - everything works perfectly together. "In Stars and Time" is a hidden gem - for those new to RPGs, this is a great game to start with. And seasoned veterans in the genre will appreciate the deep storytelling, looping, and battle mechanics.

Brillante sotto molteplici punti di vista, seppur io possa ben comprendere come la frustrazione di tutto il gameplay sia funzionale alla frustrazione causata dal trauma del protagonista non posso comunque nascondere la pesantezza per almeno la metà del gioco se non di più delle varie interazioni e in tutti i vari scontri anche perché la ripetizione di ogni cosa è finalizzata a pochi momenti che seppur brillanti sembrano lontanissimi tra loro. Questo gioco forse più di altri esplicitamente appartenenti alla sfera "cozy" ti ricorda che alcuni giochi è bene toccarli per un'oretta e basta invece che arrivare al punto di rottura di coglioni

In Stars and Time’s seemingly about a group of adventurers on their final quest to defeat an evil king on top of his tower. But really it’s about the protagonist Siffrin, who after quickly dying on their way to the top realizes they can somehow loop back to the previous day with their memories and experience intact

Initially this works to their benefit, being able to keep the party from failing by returning each loop with the knowledge needed to advance. And eventually they actually succeed and defeat the king, seemingly saving everyone in the process and completing their goal. But when it seems like the game’s about to end here, the loop still happens inexplicably and brings Siffrin back to the start anyway. With no knowledge on how to break it or any idea why it’s even happening, they’re now forced to repeat the same thing over and over again

What stood out most about this game to me was how committed it was to being… repetitive. Siffrin (and by extension the player) will redo this loop, fight the same enemies, run through the same floors, mostly read the same dialogue, backtracking to the same rooms, searching for anything different to try and stop it, for hours on end. There are some things that make the loops less annoying, like being able to jump to different floors after dying or retaining memories for your party, but that’s basically the gist of it. Though as tedious as that obviously sounds, something about that structure still kept me glued to it all the way to the end

I guess it was the way it’s used narratively and how it affects the characters. Siffrin was compelling to play as and you’ll watch as their sanity gradually unravels with each loop from the constant monotony of it all. I liked that you’re basically sharing their struggle the longer you keep playing in a meta sort of way, they’ll get frustrated with it and so will you. The others, Mirabelle, Isabeau, Odile, and Bonnie, are all good as well. While you do spend much time reading their same dialogue over and over (mercifully can zone out and skip it at least), was sweet to see how much they bond with each other throughout and make up the game’s more emotional core

The turn based combat was… alright. Bit too simple, but I liked that it was based on Rock Paper Scissors with the enemy designs actually having one of the signs to show which they were weak to. But really I’d definitely say the appeal for this is in the story than the gameplay, past a certain point you’ll wish you can just ignore or skip past most fights

I do think this is a well made game, but also one that’s (albeit intentionally) frustrating to play. It is pretty long for what it is at about 20 hours for me, and you have to meet it halfway to click with the story it’s trying to tell. But I think it worked for me by the end and appreciate what it went for, even if I doubt it’ll be for everyone

In Stars and Time feels like when a director takes their short film they made for school and decides to film additional scenes to turn it into a full feature, ruining it because its really just stretching out an idea that worked well as something brief.

Not that I particularly buy into the idea of a so called "unbiased" review but if you are looking for the perspective of someone who simply stumbled across the game and purchased it on a whim, this account most definitely will not be it. Back in 2021 I played a short game called Start Again, Start Again, Start Again : A prologue and fell in love with it. It was short and sweet, set up a very neat idea of an adventurer stuck in a groundhog day esque timeloop in the final dungeon of an RPG. Its concept was novel, its implementation for the most part smart, the characters were compelling, the LGBT rep was cool and obvious sequel hook aside, I think it worked well as a self contained story.

I liked it so much in fact, that I wrote a walkthrough for it, because none existed at the time I wrote it. It was an interesting experience, and made me respect every guide writer whos services I had benefitted from all these years. I did get a bit sick of the game by the end of it, having had to play essentially the same sequence about 6 times or so to write the guide. How naïve I was, If I thought that that was an overlong amount of runs for the game, but I'm getting ahead of myself.

I loved the game so much in fact it was one of my first reviews on this very site and I even evangelized for it, getting my friend @MagneticBurn to play it and if my delusional ego can take the wheel for a second, I think I might have gotten the ball rolling on the site and now the page for the game is a lot more full of activity, and maybe even some of my mutuals' wishlisting/backlogging of ISAT? or Maybe not, but either way I was anticipating ISAT for a while now. I have definitely learned why I prefer to not do such a thing usually, and just let games drop on me without fanfare or hype of any kind. I think that was part of why I soured on ISAT.

If you have not played Start Again : A Prologue and are wondering if you need to play it to understand In Stars and Time, not only do you not, I would recommend that you do not play it if you are planning to play ISAT. A more appropriate name in hindsight would be Start Again : A Prototype because in the 17 hours I have played of ISAT the first 10 or so played out like a streeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeetched out version of STAT:AP.

Sweet fucking merciful mother of mary, this game is way way way way way way way way way way too long for what it is. STAT:P was not a perfect game by any means but none of its flaws had a chance to become glaring in its short snappy package. The not particularly engaging combat? Whatever, the game was 4 hours long. The repetition of dialogue? 4 Hours Long. The writing not always landing the way it probably was intended to? 4Hours.

Its not as if ISAT is JUST STAT:P but stretched, there are some new bits of course, character moments, concepts, a whole ass hub town kinda. In short, it's a game which has expanded upon its original prototype to give a more complete experience, and oh how I wish I could appreciate it but I simply cannot. Clearly the developer has accrued a bunch of experience and the general production value has increased at least twofold, but its all in service of an idea which simply cannot support such an expansion. Its like building an airliner using toothpicks, impressive certainly but you'll have to forgive me for not wanting to get on it.

As much as the new interactions and character quests and all that are nice and well done, most of the game is in service to an appropriately named gameplay loop which is simply beyond tedious after a while. I don't even really want to discuss the mechanics at length but in short, like most timeloop games you will be going through the same areas over and over and over again. Somewhat ameliorated through the use of mechanics to skip forward and not have to redo the whole dungeon all over again, but still the game is not deep or interesting enough to make the repetition not grating. Especially when it seems to begrudge you at times for taking the skip dialogue options it keeps giving you. And that, in short is the issue I have. After 16 hours of the same thing over and over and not ending and not concluding and 3 million ways of saying the same thing I just want the goddamned game to end. And here's the thing, I'm sure at some point I am going to get the "that was the point!" from someone and admittedly I have not finished the game, but I reject this notion.

Spoiler Warning I suppose.

The whole thing in STAT:P which extends to ISAT is the absolute misery that Sif feels at having to relive the same day over and over again and their friends not even being aware of it, having to pretend to feel fine about it and not let them catch on to his existential nightmare. One could argue then, that the overlong nature of ISAT is meant to serve this, through putting the player through a similar experience. I reject this for 2 reasons: 1 in STAT:P a similar thing is achieved much more succintly, just because I agree to something being necessary does not mean you should not show restraint in how its implemented; and the other being that even if it was this point would not be worth making the game an unmerciful slog. Even the points which clearly are meant to at least be compelling on a first time around like the character quests and whatnot were so dampened by having to trudge through a million loops to get there that I didn't even really connect to their emotional cores much.

Anyways, the breaking point for me was getting to Act 4 after what feels like an eternity, trying to look up in the dev's own discord server the next steps in lieu of a walkthrough which does not currently exist (and Im definitely NOT going to be the one writing it this time) and seeing "act 6 spoilers" and my heart sank. NO, I'm sorry but get fucked. I will look up the ending on youtube whenever someone uploads a walkthrough, I am done. And I feel sad about it, I had looked forward to this game, I thought I would at the very least sort of like it. Clearly it has had a positive reception and I wish I could join the positive consensus but this game makes me miserable.

Ok I'm gonna be writing a bit about this but just gonna preface it with I think the game was extremely obnoxious with how it handled being a Ludonarrative. But I do want to clarify with this that yeah the story is pretty good imo.

Starting with the characters I think they're good. You constantly get to learn about Siffrin without the game telling you outright what he's like at the start and that is awesome! I think every1 is written in a fun way!

I will not go deep into story bcus yeah just in case idk whos gonna play it but there's that. But gameplay? Dude the gameplay? I love exploring the same 3 floor dungeon for hours. For so many hours. Yes. Its a time loop. I got exactly what I should've expected But like, Yeah? I guess I did but did I have fun scrambling back and forth for all those hours? No? Wow just like siffrin haha you see its a ludonarrative because I am suffering like siffrin haha. Having to see the same 3 floors over and over and over and over and over again

They try? To mix it up in act 3? They try kind of? But it does literally nothing? You start seeing enemies from floor 3 in floor 1 and its like "Oh cool I guess enemies will be stronger from now on I wonder what new enemies I am going to see in future floors" and it turns out that no not really its just randomizing where enemies show up thats cool. Its meaningless though. Nothing changed. Its still just enemies that I have to hit and kill in 2 actions. So if that can change though, why not change literally anything else? Anything at all?

This is what I mean by the ludonarrative is too much. It just overpowers everything else. Act 5 changes layout a bit yeah but it just. Sucks. Act 5 sucks. Other than the ending. I think the ending is really good. Im free. Siffrin is free. At least it gives us both catharsis from it all

But overall? I had a good time with the story yeah. But. Yeah I wrote what I did not like. I can't recommend anyone to play it in good faith. If you can accept a ludonarrative as overpowering as this then yeah, play it, you'd probably enjoy it. If not then probably don't play it.

A heartfelt story about identity and belonging with an immediately lovable found family cast.

Time loops aren't exactly a novel theme for games anymore, but ISAT still surprised me several times with its take on it and how it integrates the whole thing in its gameplay. The permutations that the time loop introduces to the classic command based RPG formula are genuinely impressive, especially considering this is an RPG maker game, and add variety and depth to what looks like a fairly straightforward adventure at first. You'll have to juggle elements such as being able to travel backwards /and forward/ and time, specific save points recording the current state of your party (including every member's level as well as your inventory at the time), a time travel currency that allows you to travel back or forward to specific floors of the main dungeon, with the option of selecting the version of it that has all normally locked doors opened, etc. And that's without mentioning the clever and sometimes harrowing ways time traveling is addressed in the story proper. It's brilliant stuff all around.

The premise itself is quite novel too. You're Siffrin, a mysterious, wandering rogue traveling with a party of heroes accompanying a chosen heroine tasked with defeating a villain that's been freezing the population in time. You're at the end of their journey, starting the day before the final confrontation, and the party has been traveling and getting closer to one another for some time now, so the group dynamic is already established, but all of them have their own struggles and secrets, which makes it so you'll continue unraveling new things about them as well as helping Siffrin break out of their own shell.

The cast is also racially diverse and predominantly (completely?) queer, which makes the found family aspect of the group hit all the harder. My favorite character was Odile, a japanese old lady (this is a fantasy world, but the story clearly takes place in fantasy France and a couple other real world countries are referenced as well) that's the defacto mom of the group. Always sarcastic and a bit jaded, but she'll never hesitate to put her life before the rest's at a moment's notice.

The combat uses ATB and a rock, paper, scissors system that's deceptively versatile and fun, and the dynamic character portraits you see at all times during battle help add further characterization to an already fairly charming cast.

The game does get a bit tedious and repetitive after a certain point, but never by accident, if that makes sense (your mileage may vary on how good of a justification the game's themes will be for that). It worked for me, personally, and honestly, my one gripe with the game would be that it allows you to ignore the critical path at almost all times, but exploring can often be a waste of time because some elements that will become important in further loops have no use before their respective story triggers come into play.

All in all, though, I thought the game was wonderful. It's clearly very inspired by Undertale, but it tackles very different topics, and those it shares with it are handled surprisingly differently. It has one of the most lovable casts I've seen in game in years too. Can't recommend it enough.

I'm just at a loss for words after finishing this game. This is up there with some of the best games of this year, if not decade, IF NOT ALL TIME if i dare go that far

Like i cant even put words in this box this game has me stunned silent. For vagueness sake, the art is superb the Town you start in and House you explore are simple yet hold secrets you will miss after a couple look overs. The characters are the highlight, I love every last one of them. The interactions are hilarious at some parts and thought provoking at others, these are truly 3-dimensional characters done well. Gameplay wise I hold no complaints, loved the explorations and especially the puzzles sewn into the environment, combat is serviceable and gets its job done without being that much of a pain. Story is phenomenal full stop wont say anything else i loved it after I got hooked it was over and I binged until I got sleepy.

This is a serious must play to any rpg fan or even if you just love a good story

I’ve always been a fan of games that, rather than prioritizing being “gamey” at all times or even necessarily “fun”, use their interactive medium to their advantage to tell stories and convey things in a manner that would be impossible in any other format. Your 13 Sentinels, your Undertales, your OneShots. In Stars and Time is one of the most incredible, accomplished examples of this I have ever seen. What starts off as a relatively normal-seeming RPG with time loop mechanics twists and turns into something that can only be described as a facsimile of RPGs, ostensibly traditional on the surface but as you progress further and further reveals itself as something else entirely.

As is known, In Stars and Time is about a time loop. About your wily hero being stuck there, being slowly whittled down by the repetitiveness, the tedium, the same battles and dialogue and interactions with the people you love over and over and over, eroding his sanity, slowly. And the game does NOT pull its punches for the player - there are quality of life features like looping to specific places, but Time and Time again you will find yourself experiencing the exact same agony as Siffrin. Constantly I found myself complaining about having to do yet another tour of the game’s singular location, only to catch myself realizing I was behaving exactly like him. It was the intended reaction, and they pulled it out of me unknowingly dozens of times across this 30 hour agony. It is not a “fun” game, most of the time, but ive never played anything that’s made me feel like it. And that is such a fucking risky thing to make, a game so deliberately boring and cyclical and mundane, all with the intent of furthering your narrative. It is not for everyone, definitely not, but if you can stomach going through it all over and over and over and over again then this game will resonate with you.

And yet, even with the framing of its plot, even with how much they just say the same thing all the time, the cast of characters in this game have become one of my favorites in any video game. They are simply just… phenomenally written. You never want to stop being around them, just like Siffrin doesn’t. And the game taking place at the end of a long arduous quest similar to something like Frieren allows for so much to be learned about them throughout the game by you rather than their development being spread throughout it like that - they’ve already grown to this point without your input. Though the series of sidequests in the midgame focused on them, acting as conclusions for their arcs you never entirely saw, are some of my new favorite moments in games ever. Cried at every single one of them….

My mind is still racing, I am sure there’s so more I could say about this thing, but I am not even sure what right now. But it is a truly truly special experience like nothing else out there, not even the inspirations it wears proudly on its sleeve. It might be too cryptic and tedious to reach the fame of something like Undertale but I hope more and more people can find it and it resonates with them as much as it did me. Make sure to regularly use the coin on the tree.

In this moment, you are loved.

This is the worst RPG I played this year.

Dogshit writing like "what if LGBT was a country".
Mandatory 5 minutes long dialogues about transition and dead names. Every exchange sounds like a desperate attempt to make characters seem wholesome.
Dogshit character writing: one having 10+ monologues about change and acceptance in every room, the other one's whole personality is about being trance and gay, bookworm lady (the only adequate character) - only talks about books, and stupid nb child that only talks about food.
Uninspired combat system: imagine calling your weakness types: rock,paper,scissors; awful enemy designs; the entire thing is generic RPG maker combat.

This game is a rare example of fucked up time loop story.
The entire point of such stories is to drive mc crazy (like arc 6 Subaru kind of crazy, the trailer hints on that aspect a lot as well), and let people see how even smallest deviations from previous timelines lead to big changes.
Only mc going crazy happens in the last hour of the 15+ hours long game. And the only thing time loops are good for is for backtracking (imagine having more backtracking in your game then in all the first 3 resident evil games combined). About backtracking: prepare to do random bullshit: like looking at the fucking mirror to unlock a dialogue option and to your mc refusing to read a book, because you didn't do another random thing.

If the entire point of this game was to drive the player insane faster then mc, then this game is 10/10.
It might also be 10/10 if you're 13 years old twitter user with pronounce and rainbow flag.

In Stars and Time is a rare experience where the credits roll and you sit in your chair staring at the ceiling for 10 minutes. I'm torn because there are a lot of things that would typically turn me off from a game here, and it's in no way a completely 'fun' game. Viewing this purely as a video game, sure, it's not that great. There's a LOT of backtracking and inconveniences to the gameplay that I'd rather have not been there. But as an entire experience? This is something really fucking special. If not for the fact that Act 3 is REALLY repetitive without adding as much narrative weight as the others, this would be a 10/10 experience, but sacrificing some fun for the overall experience does make a 10+ hour game lag a little in some areas.

I really recommend that people give this one a shot, because this kind of game only comes around every so often

isa please kiss me my catboy charm can only last so long isa im dying of gay deficiency isa please the star blorbo is going to post on their twitter account how much of a loser i am isa think of my follower count ISA

The funnest thing this game has ever done is make me cry : '( sniff-

But! This game isn't perfect- and I want to get through the flaws first before I highlight the good.

I'm just going to be honest. I. Hate. How tedious this game is. And- I get it- it was a deliberate choice! One thing this game excels at is really putting you in the mindset of someone trapped in a timeloop. Forced to repeat the same things again. And again. And again. And again. And I can't stand it. Oh, it just makes my blood boil everytime I need to loop back to Dormont or an earlier floor because oh-so-conveniently- the thing I need RIGHT THIS SECOND whilst I'm on floor 3 about to finish the run is juuuust out of reach, sorry! Better loop!

BARK. BARK. GRRR. HISS.

Anyway, like I said- it works thematically. But does it make for an enjoyable gaming experience? Uhhh- no, not really. I stopped being impressed at my ability to relate to Siffrin's pain twenty loops ago. Now... I'm just tired.

...And the developers know its tedious! Why do you think they have a skip option for most dialogue and cutscenes? They KNOW if they made it EVEN MORE TEDIOUS THAN IT ALREADY IS no one would like playing this game. There has to be a balance. You can tell your themes- you can make us relate to Siffrin- without making us dread even continuing. I like the skip function- I wish you could do it more and I wish that- oh stars- you can't accidentally skip dialogue you've never seen before. AAA!! THATS WHAT IM HERE FOR! THE NEW STUFF! DONT PENALIZE ME FOR A MECHANIC YOU ENCOURAGE THE PLAYER TO USE AAAAA HOW DO DATING SIMS KNOW HOW TO MAKE A BETTER SKIP FUNCTION THAN THIS GAME NOOOOO

Alright, so I've had my mental breakdown. Is there anything else bad about the game?

YES ACTUALLY BECAUSE WAIT TILL I TELL YOU ABOUT THE SECRET TRUE ENDING AND HOW YOU CAN ENTIRELY MISS IT IF YOU DONT DO THIS ONE THING THAT THE GAME BARELY WARNS YOU TO DO UH OH YOU DIDNT DO IT? OOPS! NOW YOU DONT KNOW THIS VERY VALUABLE THING ABOUT THIS VERY IMPORTANT CHARACTER YOU LIKE SO MUCH EVEN THOUGH YOU TRIED SO HARD WITH THEMBAND THOUGHT YOU DID EVERYTHING ELSE RIGHT BY THEM ooh im so mad. im so mad. catboy hours are over it is time to KILL

Okay, okay. It's not all bad. In fact- that last part only got to me so much because of how much I just love these characters. I love this story. So much! It's so good! These characters are SO good! It's SUCH a great game and it's frustrating that I have to give a game that I think deserves a perfect 5/5 score a 4/5 score instead because of its frustrating game design. I want to replay this game. I want to discover every little thing I might've missed- to learn more to experience more- I don't want the loop to end- I love it here!

...But I'm not going to replay the game. It's just. Too. Frustrating. And it's been so long. And I think... once is enough for me.

I guess I really do know how Siffrin feels. Despite the frustration- I'm glad I got to experience this with him. It touches so deep for me- as someone who is also going through the motions- just like he is.

If you ever feel like you're stuck in a timeloop in your life- and if you're afraid of change- this game does a really good job of making you feel seen.

I had so much fun, despite everything. I don't want it to end. But all things do. Maybe- that's a good thing.

I'm always wary of western indie devs inspired by classic jrpgs--they usually miss what was actually fun about those games and opt for some awful mix of mechanics done better in those old games glossed over with some pretty paint. So, I went into In Stars and Time with a bit of a prejudice.

And...it was pretty good! For one, this game borrows its core from the classic rpgmaker game on dlsite--the rpg mechanics here are threadbare and function more as a narrative tool than "something you play", and the narrative thrust is all about the main character Siffrin delving deeper and deeper into every time loop, trying to find how to beat King.

My other worry coming into the game was that it'd be too...wholesome and twee? I was on tumblr in the 2010s, I've seen this art style acutely, the sort of overly-cute "lets hold hands and talk about our feelings and everything will be okay" sort of thing was completely endemic, and this game sort of has it but its not like, annoying about it?

In fact, its actually quite a delight learning more about how that sort of ethos is presented as worldbuilding. See, basically every single object in the game has copious amounts of flavor text if you interact with them--like, obscene amounts. You very quickly learn the interior lives of every person you meet, every little belief or habit of everyone and the world around you, in near-excrutiating detail. At first, I thought this was just a bit of narrative flourish--but then I beat the final boss the first time, the time loop nature became clearly apparent, and I understood.

See, this game really sells you on the tedium. You will likely go through "the game" 30 to 40 times over the course of the game, and all that flavor text adds up. You will get to the end of one run to see something new, learn oops you fucked up and forgot the random doodad you couldn't know you needed back at the beginning of the game, then loop back go through all that fucking dialogue(which yes has a skip feature for some of it), get the doodad, go back again before finding more shit you didn't know you needed. You start optimizing your runs--dodge the corner here so you can bait the random trash mob into walking in the other direction to skip that encounter, interact with only the few objects you need to continue progressing, skip over that room you don't technically need to, take the left-hand path around an atrium so your barrier maiden doesn't see her friend dead, keep going...it'll still take 20-30 minutes to go from beginning to end, but its faster.

it's all to wonderful effect. You are stuck in this loop too, watching the same shit happen again and again, its incredibly tedious to go through and makes you as a player mimic Siffrin's decent. But, it works, and I love it for it--because the game is well-paced and in spite of the repetition, there is always narrative thrust, always one more thing to investigate, or a new line you somehow missed before that makes it all never feel dull. I genuinely think adding more qol, more ways to skip past the uninteresting parts would hinder this game and it's impact.

Of course, it all wouldn't work if it was in service of an uninteresting narrative--which it definitely doesn't have. The game I think I compare it the most to is perhaps Disco Elysium--there's a similar conceit at play, whereas Revechol is initially presented as a pretty normal pastiche of east europe in that game, and all the weird fucky worldbuilding slowly creeps up and takes over the setting there, its similar for this--the game presents itself as a cutesy maou/yuusha story, and its only through repeated loops and investigation do you see how weird the world actually is. And, in perfect time loop tradition, it brings it all back home in the finale--it won't surprise you if you've read any number of past time loop stories, but the execution is quite good.

Altogether, a good time that I don't regret at all.