In Stars and Time [Review]
In Stars and Time, developed by insertdisc5 and published by Armor Games Studios, is a turn-based RPG. Five adventurers are on a quest to defeat the evil King before his curse can freeze all the inhabitants of the land. The game begins near the end of the adventure, the day before the party will enter the House of Change, where the king has taken residence.
The player controls Siffrin, the party’s rogue. At the beginning of their exploration of the final dungeon, a boulder falls on Siffrin, killing them, which initiates the game’s primary narrative device—a time loop. Siffrin is the only one who’s aware that this is going on, and must use each loop to gain new perspectives, find solutions to puzzles, and make better choices.
Image: insertdisc5 / Armor Games
Image: insertdisc5 / Armor Games
The game’s art style is a standout feature. Everything is in greyscale and the screen is in a 4:3 aspect ratio, like a hi-def Gameboy. Character portraits for dialogue and cutscenes are beautifully drawn and have tons of personality. Enemies have great designs, seen in an Earthbound-like combat screen.
The combat system is simple but interesting, based on rock paper scissors (literally). Rather than needing an energy resource for spells or special moves, there’s a turn-based cooldown, which encourages careful planning in encounters; if you manage to do five of the same attack type in a row the team does a powerful combo attack.
However, RPG combat isn’t really what In Stars and Time is about. The key element of the game is its story. Characters are brimming with personality; their feelings about themselves and for each other shines through the dialogue. While this is strong, I feel the game is overwritten. Nearly anything you do triggers an extended dialogue exchange. This gets particularly tiresome as you go through time loops, even if sometimes there are differences. To make things worse, I feel like the skip ahead feature for dialogue I’ve already experienced doesn’t always work as I’d expect. It seems to always stop at the internal dialogue, even if it’s the same as a past loop.
Image: insertdisc5 / Armor Games
Image: insertdisc5 / Armor Games
I just don’t think the time loop mechanic works well in this instance. The loops get tedious, because while combat is interesting, it’s not interesting enough to have to face repeatedly as I redo floors of the dungeon. That tedium plus the sheer amount of dialogue taken together undo the game for me.
I was excited for In Stars and Time because it seemed to check all the boxes for me. If this was a time loop visual novel, I would have loved the writing and the game. If this was a story focused RPG without a time loop, I think I would have loved it as well. I just think in the context of this game, the gameplay mechanics and time loop conceit don’t mix well. Maybe I’ll play it again some time in the future and feel differently.
In Stars and Time is available now on PC (Steam), PS4, PS5, and Switch.
