Developed by Contigo Games and published by Whitethorn Digital, StarCrossed is a colorful yet intense action game in which you are tasked with retrieving a Harmony Crystal in order to bring balance to the universe. StarCrossed was released earlier on PC back in February 2020 however now the title has finally arrived on consoles as well allowing a wider audience to try out this brilliant co-op action game. This is our review of the Nintendo Switch version of StarCrossed in which we try our best not to get lost in the beautiful and colorful world of the game.
StarCrossed is set in the Nova galaxy where an evil scientist has stolen the Harmony Crystal and without the crystal, the universe will cease to exist. To get the crystal back, you partner up with different characters and fight the enemy forces in brilliant, action-packed levels. StarCrossed comes with a fully narrated Campaign mode as well as an Arcade mode which is aimed at high score hunters. The game features amazing visuals coupled with a brilliant soundtrack and delivers one of the best co-op experiences we’ve had in recent times.
You get to choose from five magical girls in order to begin your quest. You have The Outlaw, The Hero, The Weapon, The Princess, and The Idol. Each of these magical girls is unique in terms of their personalities as well as their ultimate abilities. As you play the main story of the game, you get to know more about each of the character in the game and see how they mix and match with the other characters in your party. Switch these up and you have a brilliant new story experience to play through.
When it comes to the gameplay of StarCrossed, I am sitting on two extremes here. The game can be played in both solo and co-op mode but for me, StarCrossed is only good in co-op mode. Since it offers both solo and co-op, I tried both modes and I found the game excelling at the co-op mode since it is primarily built for co-op gameplay. The gameplay is essentially two characters bouncing a star between them which acts like a boomerang with both characters hitting it to send it back to the other player. You are free to move the character anywhere on the screen and the star simply follows them until it makes contact with them and then it starts moving towards the other player.
On its trajectory, if an enemy comes in contact with the star, they are damaged and if you keep hitting them, they are eventually destroyed. So your main goal of destroying enemies in the game is by positioning the characters in such a way that the moving star passes through enemies and damages them until they are destroyed. Based on how fast the star is moving; the enemies take additional damage as well. This is a really unique combat mechanic and once you’ve gotten the hang of it, it is extremely fun with one player controlling a character on the screen, moving around, trying to hit the enemies with the star in the middle.
This is where the game really shines. The gameplay is brilliant when it comes to the local co-op. However, when you switch to solo, this is changed all over. You are tasked with controlling both characters on either side of the screen and must try to eliminate the enemies using the same signature method of trying to hit the enemies with the star. This is relatively easy when there are fewer enemies on the screen but when you progress in the story and move on in levels, the enemies not only get tougher but also increase in number. This is where it starts getting confusing in solo.
Since you are the only player controlling both characters, you must keep an eye on both characters and keep them safe while trying to avoid enemy fire, moving around and also trying to hit the star at the same time to ensure that its momentum is high enough. All of this is fine as long as you are controlling a single character but controlling two becomes a little too much especially when there is too much activity going on the screen. I’ll suggest that you stick to the co-op because the lack of control remapping also makes it a little hard to play solo. As far as I am concerned, my only issue with StarCrossed is its Solo gameplay. Even having an AI control the other character would have made it a lot better.
However, even with all this, the gameplay is pretty solid when you are playing in co-op. In co-op, each of the characters is controlled by a different player so you are basically playing with another player. The missions get intense as you progress in the main story and the enemies keep increasing in quantity on the screen leading to some really intense moments in the game. You and your partner work towards keeping the momentum as high as possible of the moving star, destroying enemies and dodging enemy bullets.
The game somehow gave me Geometry Wars vibes however it is not as tough and it also comes with its own unique gameplay mechanics as well. Each character also comes with their own unique powers that you have to power up before you can unleash them. Despite having two characters, each of the characters share the power meter so only one of them can activate their power meter at the same time and then you have to charge it again before the second character can use their ultimate ability.
The story of StarCrossed is narrative-driven however it comes with another twist. Since there are 5 different characters to choose from and you can have two in each playthrough. This makes it ten unique combinations and every unique combination of characters come with their own unique take on the story. This means that you have ten unique story paths to explore. This is brilliant and offers tons of replay value to the game. If you are done with the main story, simply switch out a character to make a new combo, and you are set for a new and unique story experience. Complete the second story, switch to a brand new combo and you are in for a brand new adventure. This is brilliant as it keeps the game fresh at least until you have played through all unique variations of the story.
Final Verdict:
StarCrossed is a great co-op title but for solo play, the game does not measure up. Having to control both sides becomes really hectic in certain situations and with them being so far away from each other often ends up with one of the characters dying. StarCrossed also looks brilliant and as far as the co-op gameplay is concerned, it is a solid title. If you have someone to play the game with, I will highly recommend it but if you are a solo player, you can try it out on your own risk because I did not enjoy playing the game in solo. Other than this, the story is great, the visuals are colorful and the soundtrack is on spot. It is a blast to play in co-op mode and offers great replayability with different story versions as well based on your selected characters. Highly recommended if you are looking for a fun yet intense co-op game with unique gameplay mechanics.
Final Score: 7.9/10
