I remember having a sense, when I first started playing Breath of the Wild, that it was possible adventure games would forever be changed. Granted, considering the time it takes to get new ambitious games to market, perhaps there was a necessary delay before that could begin to happen, but in general I’ve been shocked there haven’t yet been more titles made in that mold. I’m happy to report that at least Star Overdrive is one such title with some obvious ambitions… even if perhaps its execution isn’t anywhere in the vicinity of that modern classic.

The thing is, it’s hard not to at least start out rooting for it to be a success. Once you land on the lonely planet of Cebete, you’ll likely be taken in by its beauty and the scale of its landscape. Much like Breath of the Wild, but at a fraction of its budget and resources, there’s no question that Star Overdrive shows real ambition to push the hardware. When you jump on your hoverboard and begin zooming around the surface of the planet, exploring those wide-open spaces, it’s also quite exciting at first, and generally feels good. Throw in some smart puzzle dungeons, and a variety of convenient abilities that you’ll be able to make use of, like being able to lift and manipulate large objects with relative ease, and it can begin to feel like the experience is coming together nicely.

The problem is that the more you play it, the more you can’t help but see the cracks in the game’s ambitious and proud facade. When you need to be more precise with your hoverboard, either racing or even using it in a boss battle, inconsistencies with its behavior and the quirks of its controls become more apparent. As you move to different areas you’ll notice that in general the planet is pretty sparsely populated, and when you do encounter areas of interest the combat and your objectives can begin to feel awfully familiar. While the puzzle dungeons can be satisfying enough overall, there are times when simple traversal tasks can feel a little tougher than they should be, due to the controls not being as crisp as they could be. 

On their own, most of the issues you’ll run into are almost typically pretty minor, but when you step back and take account of them as a whole, they chip away at the overall experience bit by bit. That by no means brings it down completely, this is still a grand adventure with a refreshingly distinct sense of style that wears its inspirations and heart on its sleeve. For a smaller studio to show this level of ambition and get so many things right is no small feat, and they deserve some praise for crossing the finish line at launch with a very playable and enjoyable game. Just don’t assume this will have the level of polish and refinement that titles from the bigger studios often possess, but I’m absolutely looking forward to this team’s follow-up attempt, now that they’ve proven they’re capable of great things.