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In theory based on that tagline the game would be right up my alley, and to a degree it is, there’s something a bit mesmerizing about watching your small ship flow through increasingly elaborate “tracks” that make up each stage. Your goal is generally to collect as many stars as you can while not dying. That may sound simple but as you move on in levels the “not dying” part can be a particular challenge, and that rests on the shoulders of the more passive control you have over your ship. Somewhat like in pinball you have the means the alter the course your ship takes, but once it’s in motion headed in a direction you could be in for some trouble depending on your sense of timing. There are gravity beacons positioned around each stage, which look a bit like bumpers, that you’re able to tether your ship to and allow you to exert directional control over your ship by releasing it at the right time to establish a new path. Hopefully that’s in the direction of progress, boost strips, and stars and not walls lined with spikes or mines. Level designs vary pretty wildly from being almost maze-like with a focus on exploration to roughly being concentrated death traps that will test your ability to quickly use multiple beacons to only slightly alter your path to avoid hazards all around you. Where the trouble arises mostly is in the area of precision. It’s not so much of an issue with the timing to release from your beacon, for the most part that’s something you can get the hang of. The problem is more often than not ensuring you’re grabbing the right beacon. This is something I consistently struggled with, and while you’re able to try to point in the direction of the beacon you want in more concentrated areas you can find yourself grabbing a beacon further away from you leading you to time wasted or worse. Compound this with a general lack of specific direction on what’s a good or bad idea and there can be frustrations. There are spiked walls, mines, and sometimes roving enemies. Which ones do I take damage from in which circumstances and how much? I get points and even combo bonuses when I crash into some of them, am I taking damage slowly and getting points or are they objective? Are the situations where I’m invincible? Even after playing for awhile across many stages I still don’t feel like I truly know all of the ins and outs of the game and that’s not so good. Yeah, I can go into a level and likely complete it, sometimes with some work, but not really understanding what I should ideally be doing and why is frustrating. Especially since the game has leaderboards and people competing for high scores some clarity on how the scoring systems and combos mechanically work, even in simple terms, would be really helpful but doesn’t seem to be provided anywhere. If you’re looking for something a bit different with a challenge, and maybe a bit of wonkiness, StarDrone may not be perfect but it does manage to set itself apart as being unique even in a crowded Switch eShop.
Justin Nation, Score:Fair [6.5]