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/

Truth be told I was pretty pessimistic about this game when it came out, not necessarily because I thought it would be bad, but because I didn't think it would appeal to me, mainly due to how easy of a game it seemed to be. I would say it still was, but it wasn't so black and white. The game handles this decently well via its badge system, while some can be used to make the game easier there are also expert badges that make the game harder too, so if it is too easy for your liking you can turn one on to mix things up.

The meat of this game however, (as expected) is in the wonder seed gimmick something that shows up in every (traditional) level. This gimmick is an incredibly fun one and I'd love to see it somehow implemented into a Mario Maker 3 in the future. The creativity in this games level design is as a result quite great and I love a lot of what it offers, however I do have one thing I feel was a little disappointing which was the bosses, this game has only 2 different bosses, Bowser Jr. And Bowser. Every boss fight against Jr. he takes on the same form and is the only boss you face prior and while he has unique gimmicks each time it does start to feel repetitive. There also isn't a boss at the end of every world which I found a little odd. As for Bowser his fight was alright but it felt too short, like when he went down I was expecting another phase but instead he was finished much easier than I had hoped.

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.

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.