Beautiful, Gorgeous
If The Messenger was a love letter to the likes of Ninja Gaiden, Sabotage’s followup, titled Sea of Stars, is an adoring nod to the likes of Chrono Trigger.
I’m really digging what I’ve seen from Sea of Stars thus far!
From what we’ve seen so far, Sea of Stars is off to a fabulous start and fans of The Messenger surely won’t be disappointed with the studio’s latest venture.
Combat gameplay features active player input during attack animations (timed hits), multi-character combo attacks, boosting, and strategic defense options to hinder enemies while they are channeling powerful attacks or spells. For a more immersive experience, there are no random encounters or transitions to separate battlefields, and no grinding. Everything flows seamlessly between navigation and combat.
Swim, climb, vault, jump off or hoist up ledges as you run through the world with a navigation system based on platformer expertise that breaks free from the classic bound-to-the-grid tileset movement.
Dozens of original characters and story arcs will take you on a captivating journey. Sometimes epic, sometimes silly, and other times emotional, Sea of Stars does its RPG duty of exploring classic themes of adventure and friendship, while also being chock-full of the unexpected twists and events fans have come to expect from a Sabotage production.
Every system has been deeply analyzed to create an experience that pays homage to retro classics, while rethinking some elements in order to offer a modernized experience free of irritants and grinding, focusing on active moment to moment gameplay and a story that will keep you moving forward.
Lighting is 100% rendered dynamically, meaning things such as day and night cycles, weather effects, eclipses or blood moons all happen seamlessly, recoloring the world and faithfully rendering shadows.
As fully fledged Solstice Warriors you will eventually get full control over the sun and moon, so whether you just want to chill in your favorite area in the ambiance of your choice, need to solve a complex puzzle related to lighting, or there is a magic door that only opens at midnight, the control will be yours, all in real time.
Born on the Winter Solstice, Valere shows curiosity and balance. Gifted with Lunar Magic, she can absorb Eclipse Orbs in her moonstaff to dish out massive damage.
Trained in the martial ways of the monk, she walks the path of the Guardian Goddess Luana. The Elder Mist sees great potential in her, believing she might one day be the one to “create paths on water”.
Born on the Summer Solstice, Zale is optimistic and bold. He wields a sunblade, through which he can absorb Eclipse Orbs whenever his attacks need an extra kick.
As a blade-dancer, he walks the path of the Guardian God Solen. The Elder Mist foretold that, in order to find his light and achieve his full potential, he will first need to “stare at the night inside of him”.
Garl was born a regular kid devoid of any special powers. Along with his training as a cook, his innately strong constitution makes him a capable defensive fighter, giving him the tools to support his two best friends in their Solstice Warrior duties.
The Elder Mist saw something peculiar in the stars about him, as it seemed his heart just may be warm enough to “soothe a long tormented soul”.
We love many different game genres, and are on a quest to create our own versions of the ones that are dearest to us. We’re proud of The Messenger and are excited to build on its foundation with Sea of Stars. This is not saying Messenger 2 will never happen 😉
Yes, the core team from The Messenger has fully transitioned over to Sea of Stars. As making an RPG was a bigger undertaking for us, we ramped up the team to 23 full time members, all cut from the same cloth, and working from our studio located in downtown Quebec City, Canada.
The game is designed to be played on PC and console. For specifics, rest assured that we are in touch with the key players of our industry, and that the game will be where its potential players are.
It is hard to predict platforms as we are at the dawn of a new generation, but we are keeping close watch, have extensive porting experience, and fully intend on supporting all current generation platforms with Sea of Stars.
Aside from the ideation process which has been a lifelong hobby of creating a shared universe in which all of our games could take place, a few devs began laying the technical foundation late 2018. The rest of the studio transitioned full time in July 2019 after the release of Picnic Panic.
@SelieltheShaper Good point! This is still an early work-in-progress - we're currently iterating on everything rela… https://t.co/HCAoLDCCqI
Dive animation?
Still debating whether to add a dive animation. Thoughts? #screenshotsaturday #madewithunity https://t.co/oYyJadd5qH
