Some minor writing quibbles aside, Sea of Stars is monstrously great. Immediately jumps out as a artistic masterpiece - pixel art has never looked more detailed or immaculately rendered. Yasunori Mitsuda being on the music here as well means this is one of the few times a "retro style" game has actually managed to replicate that era, which isn't surprising considering Sabotage's prior work. Simple RPG combat allows the game to really flourish as you are exploring wonderfully intricate puzzles - the world is the focus here and I think that's the key to it's success.

I think most discussion will center around whether or not it's lowkey, pretty basic approach to storytelling works. While I can some people rolling their eyes, Sea of Stars ultimately goes for simplicity over complication; emotions over big twists or turns. It ends up being resoundingly effective, going from a happy, light adventure to a melancholic, bittersweet ode to friendship, life, and those we have lost. Sea of Stars is not just something in the game universe - it's the place we all end up going once our time is up, and our friends can always find us if they look up and traverse the sea.