Star Story: The Horizon Escape

Star Story: The Horizon Escape is one of the most unique and enjoyable games I’ve played in recent months. I was absolutely astonished by the degree or workmanship and level of talent displayed by small indie developer Evil Corporation Games. I had the great honor of hosting a live stream event for the developer, and during this fun event I learned a lot about the journey of this hidden gem.
Ultimately, a game can only go as far as its development team is willing to go, and this team really goes above and beyond. EvilCoGames spent 3 full hours with #GamersRule on stream, shared dozens of keys with viewers, answered questions, and even shared future development plans with us. That’s really something special.
Description:
Star Story: The Horizon Escape is a vibrant side-scrolling adventure RPG with turn-based and text elements. It takes place in a beautifully drawn and unique environment with nods to sci-fi, steampunk, and the Wild West.
I hesitate to compare the game to text-based questing games, because it’s so much more, and while I don’t generally enjoy the old text-based questing games on PC, I thoroughly enjoyed Star Story: The Horizon Escape. Therefore, I will instead describe it as an immersive, “Choose Your Own Adventure” brought to your PC EvilCoGames-style.
This small Russian development team has a wonderful sense of humor and creativity, and these were evident to me both during the live stream event and also during gameplay.
Gameplay:
Star Story: The Horizon Escapes begins as the player crashlands onto an unknown planet. From there, our journey continues with exploration thereby allowing us to gather resources, identify new substances, unlock new weapons, and make use of the crafting mechanic in home base.
Battle instances are turn-based but really felt about as close to real-time combat as a turn-based combat mechanic can be. With the addition of extra weapons, shields, and secondary weapons like grenades, it was much more enjoyable to me than I ever expected for what are technically turn-based battle instances. I spent just as much time exploring, collecting resources, and crafting as I did in combat, and for this type of game, that was a very nicely achieved balance.
In regard to time commitment, my first playthrough was right at 3 hours. However, it was also during the live stream event, so most gamers can probably complete it even faster. Even though there are 24 endings, they need not all be completed at once. This is definitely a game where short increments of playtime would be just fine. The game saves your progress, and even if your character dies, it simply respawns back at home base, so no raging necessary. It’s a casual game and certainly family-friendly for those looking to enjoy a game with children
Graphics:
Graphically, Star Story: The Horizon Escape is gorgeous, with vibrant colors and striking artwork. Upon launching the game, my eyes were immediately drawn to the crystal clear, almost sharp, images with beautiful shadowing and color combinations. The creative and artistic team really went above and beyond. Players will find a variety of resolutions as well as fullscreen options in the settings menu to ensure the best personalized graphics experience.
Sound:
The soundtrack lends another layer to the immersive experience. It’s truly enjoyable, a combination of ambient sounds, combat sound effects and musical soundtrack. During the live stream event, viewers took note of the soundtrack and commented that they also enjoyed it. Everything about Star Story: The Horizon Escape was charming and engaging, including the soundtrack.
Development:
Developmentally, this is a very solid game. While a recent patch was issued to fix an issue with Steam achievements, I can not say that I encountered any issues during gameplay. In fact, quite the opposite. I felt that the game was intuitive and included really solid construction. With a foundation like that, the only place that EvilCoGames can go from here is up.
Content is certainy not in short supply, and if I was surprised by anything, it was the naturally smooth game progression. Star Story is played with a mouse and keyboard; there is no controller support at this time, nor am I aware of plans for future implementation. However, being a gamer than prefers a controller, I honestly didn’t miss it here. For those who require or prefer a controller, I would recommend a Steam controller. There are already profiles available for games with a similar control scheme, so that should be possible when necessary.
At this time, Star Story includes support for both English and Russian languages with more to come in the future. In fact, that was one of many questions asked by viewers and answered by special guest EvilCoGames.
Another developmental question that was answered was in regard to availability on mobile and other digital platforms. At this time, Star Story: The Horizon Escape is available on Steam and Itch.io, but there are plans for a future release on mobile platforms.
Star Story is the winner of the Deconstruction Workshop at White Nights in St. Petersburg 2017 and GTP Indie Cup winner for Best PC Game in 2017.
Replayability:
This is a game where choices and outcomes are abundant, and what the player chooses to do really does change the outcome of the game. In fact, there are 24 different endings and a multitide of methods for getting there. After the first complete playthrough, I can’t imagine ever playing it twice in exactly the same manner. This game has replayability in spades.
Conclusion:
Ultimately, I absolutely recommend Star Story: The Horizon Escape. The unique blend of atmosphere, graphics, sound, and text-based elements with surprisingly enjoyable turn-based combat, that feels anything but, compels me to recommend the game. This is certainly a hidden gem, family-friendly, with a massive amount of replayability and 24 different endings. Star Story will appeal to gamers looking for a casual game and those seeking a new and unique RPG or adventure game.
Video:
If you missed the live stream event or would like to view gameplay footage, video is available on Twitch at:
GamersRule sends our very sincere grattitude to Evil Corporation Games for spending time with us during the live stream event, and we can’t wait to see what they come up with next.
...because #GamersRule

This is a cute, low budget and casual, choose your own adventure style point and click. The graphics are crisp, and cutesy, the soundtrack is not awful, but it does get a little redundant. The story is simple, but still engaging, but as other reviewers have pointed out, English is not this developing team's first language. There are mistranslations, and, in some cases, words outright missing. I didn't find it affecting the gameplay too terribly, but there were some decisions that I had trouble deciphering what EXACTLY I was deciding. With 24 endings, there is a lot of replayability here, but I don't think the game holds up well enough to finish an ending, and turn around and do it 23 more times. I do think it could be a game you come back to every few months or so and breeze through another playthrough to see where the wind takes you. $15 USD feels a bit high for this, so if you can get it on sale, there are worse ways to spend your money.
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Review updated February 16th, 2018 after full release.
What's new:
Charge mode. Weapons have a finite number if uses, which can be restored using raw materials found while exploring. As such, combat becomes more reliant on strategy.
Removed the fuel station in your base.
Fleshed out some existing scenarios and added new ones. Now the story branches, prompting multiple playthroughs to see every scenario. 24 total.
The paths you've chosen before are highlighted so that you don't make the same decision on accident. You also keep the stats you've earned from the previous run.
What still needs work:
Unfortunately with that addition came mistakes in grammar. Punctuation and tense changes mid-sentence. Kind of important in a text based adventure
.Bottom line.
Not much has changed since early access--just the fleshing out of an already solid choose your own adventure. Additional scenarios give more reason to replay the game, adding to its replayability.
You can find my initital thoughts below.
This is an Early Access Report, meaning it only comments on the game in its current state, which may or may not change by the end of the Early Access period. As such, it will be revised later.
Star Story: The Horizon Escape is a linear space adventure in which your choices actually matter. It features a unique art style, fast-paced turn-based combat, a crafting system where your available recipes are tied to your personality, and logic based puzzles that can be solved by choosing the necessary items based on their description. It’s a great casual exploration experience paired with not-so-casual strategic combat.
What it offers now
In its current state, Star Story is mostly finished. It tells the story of a space archeologist who crash lands and loses his memory. His story becomes your own as you make decisions and tackle the game the way you want to. Will you fight every enemy that comes your way or will you be tactful? Will you try to befriend alien natives or will you trick them into servitude? You decide.
The music is nice to listen to and I absolutely love the art style, so the atmosphere is great. Particle effects and the like are fittingly futuristic and the U.I is nice and clean, showing you what you need to see at all times without blocking any of the on-screen action.
It will take you around 4 hours to complete the content that the game has to offer right now--and that's if you take your time. If you strictly played to beat the story line, avoiding oprional combat and not unlocking any of the craft trees, you could probably do it in an hour.
The game also includes:
Crafting, the recipes for which you can unlock via personality points that are awarded upon making tough decisions. In order to craft, you’ll need the correct materials and blueprints—both of which can be found during your exploration.
Combat is turn based, pitting you 1v1 against an opponent. Usually they’re grotesque alien shrimp, but you’ll run into humanoid enemies as well. In order to attack, you select from the weapons on your toolbar, many of which inflict status effects. Weapons have cooldowns and durability (which can be reset if you go back to your ship), so you’ll need to balance between bare-handed attacks and armed ones.
Exploration is carried out by interacting with nodes. You’ll find components valuable to crafting as well as enemy encounters and random events that can be resolved non-violently and result in rewards based on your response.
The story of a space adventure told through interactions with our hero and the people/holograms/aliens he meets. How you approach them will decide how the universe treats you.
I haven’t found any bugs as of yet; it’s been smooth sailing despite the initial spaceship crash.
What it Promises
The game will be in Early Access for only a few months. During that time, it will have a complete story, more crafting recipes, new locations, more monsters, and bug fixes.
The price will raise after the game leaves Early Access, so get on this early if you want to save some cash!
What I’d Like to See Implemented
Hands-on moments. Even if these are just little mini games during the in-flight moments or added to crafting, it would be nice if the game was more hands-on. As it is now, merely clicking a button to do everything makes it feel like a choose-your-own-adventure that just so happens to be presented with pretty moving figures in a colourful setting. This is not a bad thing because the game is still immersive, but it’s something to think about.
QTEs. This is piggybacking off of the point above. Since progressing in your journey is done by clicking arrows, this could be done easily. A timer would add a sense of urgency, during which you’d have to think on your toes and select the right option. I’ve run into something like this once already (and selected ALL the wrong options), but it can be improved upon.
A way to go back to completed areas and find hidden secrets. This would just be fun. The areas are lovely and I’d like to spend more time in them. Maybe a tech upgrade later could make it so that you can scan for more nodes?
More variety in random events. The majority of them are a toss up between combat or get a random item. Maybe add natives to teach us more about the Horizon?
Bosses. Combat is challenging, sure, but nothing beats facing off against a big, hulking enemy that can squash you in an instant. The developer promised more enemies, so hopefully this is in the works.
New game plus. Or some sort of incentive to play again. As the game stands right now, it's pretty linear even with the randomized events since those draw from such a small pool of possibilities.
.Bottom line.
I recommend this game. It’s charming, it’s a nice way to pass the time, and it has a lot to offer with its problem solving and personality development aspects. If the art style is what brought you here, don’t be fooled because this pretty package has some depth to it.
I’ll definitely be playing this one to completion—or as close to it as possible until it leaves Early Access.
As of completing what the game has to offer thus far, I still recommend it. The price tag is a bit high considering the game is mostly complete and what is currently available will take roughtly 4 hours even if you dally. Keep that in mind if you're going to purchase.
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Nice game, pretty funny dialogues and charcters... but sadly it is pretty short =( Hope it will get more lengthy over the course of EA. Overall great work =)

Reminds me a lot of Stories: The Path of Destinies. Like on that game, you are trapped in a kind of Groundhog Day style time loop, where each time you die you come back to the start of the game, but with your items and some new knowledge from your previous life. The game has 24 endings, and in each one of them you die in the end. The goal of these endings is to find information. Once you find out all you need, then you can go back and do it properly, in a 25th, golden, ending.
The major difference between the games is on the gameplay. Whereas S:TPoD is a beat-em-up, this game is a Choose Your Own Adventure text based adventure, with some turn based combat thrown in. The gameplay basically consists of the game providing you some options, then you choose one and suffer the consequences. Some choices affect the story, and these are clearly marked, but most only result in you gaining resources and/or getting in a fight. The resources are used to craft weapons, ammo and consumables, which are used in order to not die in the fights. So, in essence, this is a resource management game. It is pretty casual, but also nice.
The story is less dramatic than S:TPoD, but also less frustrating. The endings I've gotten so far result in your death through no great fault of the protagonist, while the protagonist of S:TPoD is often too dumb to live, making bad decisions you have no control over.
The graphics in this game are very good as well. I like the cartoony, colorful style. The music is a little lackluster though. Also, the settings are not kept when I close and open up the game again, no idea why.
Overall I give this game a solid 7/10, which means I can recommend this game.

Another 'make your choice' game.. And your choice changes everything.. A very good game.. It's like reading a 'choice book' of my youth, but much more fun!..
I recommend this one.

Star Story: The Horizon Escape:
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

You have been sent by the Archaeological Society to the Planet Horizon to find an ancient artefact, The Generation Database. You’ve been preparing yourself for months for this incredible and daring mission. What comes next wasn’t part of your training. Upon reaching Horizon, your spaceship experiences extreme stress. A powerful force takes control of your vessel and drags it at full speed towards its surface. In fact, the only way to survive is to use the escape pod. From here, every decision you make is important to your story, The Star Story: The Horizon Escape.
Star Story: The Horizon Escape is a combination of a 2D adventure / visual novel / and turn based style of fighting. Your goal is to find the Ancient Generation Database Artefact.
As you start the game, you’ll go through a quick background of the story and take on a few bots to enhance your fighting abilities. Then the story progress rather rapidly and you find yourself in the pod making decisions. Every decision you make from that point on will go towards three of your character’s threads, which are: resolve, insight and goodwill. These threads are crucial as they’ll give you access to new abilities further down the track. There are actually 24 different tracks and endings to discover.
The gameplay is pretty much a combination of a visual novel (without endless texts), turned-based fighting scenes (very short), and crafting and upgrading your inventory at your base. As the story progresses, you’ll be prompted to make some decisions and this is where you’ll accumulate points towards your character’s threads. You must accumulate a certain number of points to be able to upgrade your character threads. Bear in mind that your first walkthrough will be around one to two hours. At the time of writing this review, I am in my third walkthrough. The beauty is that you’ll never lose what you have accumulated in terms of threads from your previous gameplay. Thank God! The enemies are progressively harder to eliminate in each play through. Yes, some of the decisions will lead you to battles. Your hero and his enemies will each have a gauge. These gauges have three aspects in them; orange is health, green is armour, blue is the shield and each section will have a number allocated to it. For example, you might fight a sand shrimp which could have 10 points on the health section and 10 points on the shield. And of course, you must use the correct weapon to destroy the shield before sending the shrimp to an eternal barbie. After each encounter, you’ll collect resources which you can use to upgrade or craft additional items and weapons at your base.
In terms of enemies, I personally like the sand shrimp. You’ll fight against bandits, bots, pigmy and a few others!
What happens when you finish your first play through? Well, you’ll keep your character’s thread points and restart the story when you’re in the escape pod. Then, depending on your choice, you might be on your way to finding the next ending.
This is truly an enjoyable game to play. The combination of reading, making choices, turn-based fighting and crafting is well-proportioned, and the fact that you have 24 endings to discover gives the game great re-playability.

Great 2D graphics and a good soundtrack, too. This game is very easy to get into!
Positives:
~~~~~~~
- Great 2D graphics
- Fun story
- Easy to play
- Simple to craft and upgrade items / weapons
- 24 endings / Good re-playability
- Achievements & trading cards
Negatives:
~~~~~~~~
- Needs more enemies
Check your mailbox - you’ve got mail from the Archaeological Society Council. It’s your time to visit Horizon and good luck with the escape!
8/10
Key provided by developer/publisher for review purposes. Any opinions expressed are entirely my own!
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