Two years ago, Canadian indie developer Sabotage Studio released its first game, The Messenger, a retro-style platformer with elements from popular 16-bit era games. It gained fame and went on to win awards like "Gameplay Design" and "Best of Show" from various conferences. Now, the studio is working on a new game which takes place in the same universe called Sea of Stars. It won't becoming anytime soon, but with Sabotage's previous success in the genre, it's likely to be another hit.
Sea of Stars will play differently from The Messenger, but it still looks to retain the same retro charm. Instead of a being platformer, Sea of Stars will be an RPG in the same vein as games like Chrono Trigger and Super Mario RPG. In fact, Sabotage actually got Yasunori Mitsuda, Chrono Trigger's composer, to create tracks as a guest composer.
The game's story is set in the same world as The Messenger and takes place before an event called the flood. The Kickstarter page includes a gif of the Sunken Shrine and two symbols, which are likely hints to the main characters. They are Children of the Solstice with the powers of the sun and moon. Much of the story comes from an alternate reality game in the Sabotage Studio Discord Server. The ARG involves characters from the world of The Messenger, and anyone on the server can jump in and interact. The main villain in Sea of Stars originates from here and is known as The Fleshmancer. So far, only three of the six playable characters have been revealed.
The combat is turn-based and takes mechanics from a various classic sources. The game has no random encounters, instead functioning similarly to Chrono Trigger, where bumping into an enemy in the overworld triggers a battle. Like any good RPG, there will be spells and special moves as you level, but they can be used strategically to maximize damage similar to Octopath Traveler's Boost mechanic. Players will also be able to interact more during fights thanks to Timed Hits like those found in the Paper Mario series. These can stop enemy spells when used at the right moment like in Grandia II. Sea of Stars borrows lots of great features from classic games.
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The world may look like something from a retro game, but instead of being tied to the ground like older games' worlds, Sea of Stars will allow players to climb, jump and swim to explore the world. The Kickstarter page shows off an overworld like Chrono Trigger's, and because the game takes place across different islands, there will even be a sailing feature. Since the characters will have the power of the sun and moon, there will also be a day and night feature.
Sea of Stars promises a lot, but considered how successfully the studio tackled a Ninja Gaiden-style game, Sabotage Studio may be able to deliver. The Kickstarter has already raised far beyond its goals, and the team is already promising multiple endings, DLC and console and PC releases. Though it's not expected to launch until 2022, it's clear a lot of work has already gone into the title. Sabatoge has also hinted at The Messenger 2 releasing some time in the future, so fans have plenty to look forward to.