Star Vaders? Starvaders? No, it’s STAR★VADERS! Haven’t heard of it? Well, now you have. This game is a MUST TRY, for its sheer quality and innovation! Before I get into the nitty gritty. If you’re into MECHS, CARDS, DECKBUILDERS, OR ROGUELIKES… All I can say is this:
If “Into the Breach” + “Slay the Spire” excites you. This is the game for you!
For context, I played the NEXT FEST DEMO (October 2024), and beat the game three times, with three different pilots using two different classes (Only two classes are available right now). I enjoyed it that much! There’s also a QUEST to beat the game using three pilots during NEXT FEST to join a “raffle” for a free copy of the game. Cool right?
See our gameplay video on STAR★VADERS first impressions! Check it out for yourself!
STAR★VADERS in a Nutshell
So here’s how it works. You start by picking a class (your mech type), and pilot (basically a subclass) – the classes are vastly unique to one another. You’re then thrown into a gauntlet of a multi-act roguelike run with rewards after each match in the form of cards, card upgrades, or “relics”. Very similar to other Roguelike Deckbuilder games.
The gameplay itself is like a grid based tactical game, where you draw cards each turn to determine your actions AND MOVEMENT – There are movement cards – there is no default move! IMO I think that movement aspect puts Star Vaders at the next level. There are very unique movement cards as well as attacks!
Given this description, I think you can understand why I call this Into the Breach Meets STS. If I were to describe it in one go – “Mecha Turn-based Tactics Roguelike Deckbuilder”, which is a mouthful but that sums it up.
All Star REPLAYABILITY
First off you choose a class (which is essentially the type of mech you’re using), which are completely unique from each other in meaningful ways. In the demo for example, the Gunner uses ranged attacks, missles and bombs. The Stinger class is melee and mobility focused. Each class further have Pilots which have a unique starting relic.
After that, the runs are very sufficiently random in a fun way. You get to choose which fights (and their accompanying rewards) from a pool each round. Rewards are relics (global passive effects), card upgrades (-1 to cost, free move, other buffs) which affect a single card, or a completely new card to add to your deck.
A nice little touch is, before each run begins you pass by Bud’s Factory, where you choose +2 cards to add to your deck (to jump start your dream synergies!), as well as showing you what kind of upgrades, cards, and relics might be “favored to appear” in this run (if I understand correctly).
Relics play a huge part in this too, they can COMPLETELY alter how your run feels!
The HEART OF THE CARDS
Like all Roguelike Card Games, the cards play a big factor in the fun. Lemme tell you man, Star Vaders doesn’t disappoint here – the cards are very unique. While it’s easy to talk about attack cards one thing I’m actually more hyped about is the MOVEMENT BEING CARDS AS WELL, which adds a huge tactical aspect to the game.
There’s the basic move your mech starts with (IE 1-3 squares). “Swap with any entity on the map”. “Move as many squares diagonally”. Move then shoot! The movement cards are baked into the very core of the game in cool and meaningful ways.
But OK, attack cards? Bombs that you must shoot to detonate. Throwing enemies into other enemies. Summon a drone which copies your bullets. Throw a card to an enemy so you can pick it up later. Trust me, they didn’t go light on the imagination here!
Majority of cards and relics are CLASS SPECIFIC, but there are a few general ones. I think this is a good direction to take so each class really has their own identity.
Challenging but Fair – but it’s always FUN!
The game is balanced extremely well. There are MANY ENEMY TYPES. And there are bosses too. While you can favor a certain playstyle, there are enough rewards and shops and RNG along the way to ensure each run is unique! It’s exciting to try out new builds and synergies.
If enemies reach the safe zone, and are able to survive for a turn there – that’s the only way you take damage which can end your run. Otherwise, if your mech gets hit you only get a “junk” card shuffled into your deck which is essentially that – junk that you have to toss out.
You can also choose which encounter you want from a pool before you commit to a fight. So you can try to mitigate bad encounters with this.
STAR★VADERS Closing Thoughts
I had an amazing time with this demo. Will I follow it closely? Yes. Will I buy it on release? Yes. The devs obviously poured a ton of heart into Star Vaders, and I’m all here for it. If you’re a fan of Roguelike Deckbuilders – this is IMO the best one out there “right now”. It should be on your radar! Any fans of Turn-based Tactics should also give this one a go. If you had half of the fun I did – you’re in for a great time.
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Watch our gameplay video on STAR★VADERS first impressions! See it for yourself!
