Starlink: Battle for Atlas

Starlink: Battle for Atlas is a joy to play. Every night for the past week I have spent hours popping spaceships onto my DualShock 4, interchanging pilots, and swapping weapons, all while watching them instantly form in my game. 20 years ago, a much more blissful Ben obsessed with Ninja Turtles action figures and video games would have lost his mind over the toys-to-life proposition. Starlink is a game that is so obviously made by people like me who grew up in a time where physical and digital entertainment were just beginning to shake hands. Because of that, the love for fantastical worlds and simple fun shines through every inch of the game.

Ubisoft is brave for taking a risk with Starlink. With Disney Infinity and Lego Dimensions crumbling to nothingness and Skylanders dormant, the desire for bringing tiny toys into a video game doesn’t seem to be as hot of a commodity as it used to be. In the two years since Starlink was announced at Ubisoft’s 2016 press conference, I was never sure what to make of it outside of the fact that it used physical starships that could be piloted in-game. But less than a half an hour into the game, players will have repaired their damaged craft, activated the hyperdrive, and set out on an unexpected adventure.

More Than Plastic

The biggest question surrounding Starlink is going to be something along the lines of “How do the toys work?” Most will look at the $75 starter pack with the game, a ship, a pilot, three weapons, and a controller mount and be intimidated. Those used to the genre know that the games are best experienced when given a whole table of toys that can total up a hefty price tag. Not counting the standard edition of the game, Starlink‘s extra toys come to a little under $200 for everything. It’s a number that might give players and parents a bit of sticker shock but it is in no way a required purchase.

The starter pack provides a mount to attach on your platform’s respective controller. A pilot will then be slid onto the mount and then covered by a ship. Mounted on each of the ship’s wings are weapon slots where players can choose any combination of two weapons they want to use. Wings can be detached and interchanged with the wings of other ships and weapons can even be mounted on backwards to fire from behind. The toys themselves are very high quality and feel durable. At first, I felt nervous trying to snap everything off but realized these are made for younger kids who are likely much less careful than me. Ships have lights on them that will glow brighter when activating the boost. Will someone over a certain age feel a bit goofy having a tiny spaceship attached to their controller while playing? Maybe, but it’s still pretty cool. The obvious complaint when having everything attached to your controller is that people with bigger hands or less coordination may have an issue with the backs of their fingers rubbing against the bottom of the ship.

In Starlink, each pilot has their own personality and dialog. When playing missions, the pilot attached to your controller will be the one doing a lot of the speaking, making story interactions much less one note because you know that each character can be equally chatty. For gameplay, the real use of a pilot is in their special ability that can be activated once its meter is built up. Mason can deploy an orbital strike, Judge can slow down time, Razor can activate an area-of-effect attack with timed button presses, etc. Multiple pilots aren’t really necessary if you are not looking into investing into every single physical item for Starlink. However, each pilot has an upgrade tree where points can be spent to increase their damage, defense, or special ability output. Some nodes on the tree also grant benefits to each pilot or ship, nudging you in the direction of investing in them. Again, though, it is not required.

Ships, on the other hand, act as lives. When one ship is destroyed in combat, players can swap it out for another and head right back into the fight. Out of ships? The game lets you spawn back to a safe spot for a small amount of in-game currency (not microtransactions). Each ship has different stats from speed, damage resistance, and energy pool. There is a notable difference in faster ships and the more tank-like ones. When making the investment into Starlink, an extra starship pack seems logical because it grants owners an extra life, another pilot, and another weapon to use. Plus, each ship looks awesome. It’s hard to deny the appeal of these toys as display figures down the line.

When it comes to “required” pieces, the only ones that feel necessary to ease some of the more difficult parts of Starlink are the weapons. Getting the starter pack gives you a cold weapon, a heat weapon, and a kinetic weapon. Kinetic weapons aren’t strong against anything but also aren’t weak against anything. The starting planet is packed with plenty of enemies weak against cold or fire, so there are few progression roadblocks. Hopping from planet to planet, enemies will begin to be weak against gravity or stasis attacks. The whole time, cold, heat, and kinetic weapons can still do damage. Additionally, there are chests and doors covered with elemental crystals that can only be broken when the opposing damage type is used.

This may strike some who have been burned on similar models as a problem but I’m comfortable with saying that it does not rear its ugly head in Starlink. The more intense battles against harder foes will be curbed by constantly swapping out weapons on the fly. Each damage type can be combined with another to do an elemental combo which doles out massive amounts of damage. If you see a fire giant, shoot a barrage of gravity missiles at it with the Nullifier and then shoot the gravity well with the Hailstorm’s frost bullets. The ensuing frost vortex will melt that fire giant’s health down fast. Having an extra pool of weapons also makes the game more fun by embracing the swapping mechanic and also littering the screen with cool effects.

My worries about Ubisoft trying to squeeze money out of players was quickly abated once I saw canisters littered around planets that contained specific elements in it. Though it may require a bit of extra legwork, players can simply grab these canisters and run them to whatever chest they are trying to open or enemy they are trying to weaken. Because so much of Starlink seems centered around the toys, it’s easy to think Ubisoft is pushing potential buyers down that avenue. Instead, the option exists to purchase the Digital Deluxe edition for $80 which gives players access to five starships, nine pilots, and 15 weapons. This options opens up everything in the game and doesn’t require any physical swapping of toys. Rather than forcing players down a certain avenue, Ubisoft is giving different options to enjoy Starlink. And those who purchase the physical toys and attach them to the controller mount will also have access to digital versions of them for seven days. As a consumer-friendly product, Starlink makes a lot of smart choices.

Saturday Mornings in Space

Atlas is a bustling star system teeming with flora and fauna that will dazzle the eye. The members of the Equinox crew arrive to Atlas in hopes of discovering more about their alien crew member Judge. Seconds into the opening cutscene, the Equinox is assaulted by Legion forces led by the masked alien Grax. What started as a quest for discovery turns into a rescue mission and the fight to help the citizens of Atlas’ planets loose the Legion’s control on the system.

You would be right to think that Starlink‘s aesthetic is targeted at a younger demographic. The sinister-but-not-too-scary Grax is creepy enough that he gives players something to fight against while ensuring no one is going to get any nightmares. Each member of the Equinox crew stands out with their distinct if not two-note personalities. Levi is the mildly annoying youth who likely follows every meme on the internet. Razor is a rock-and-roll girl who always wears headphones but acts as a kind of matriarch. Mason is the “primary” protagonist that goes through moments of triumph and defeat. Though none of the characters is written with the depth of many narrative-driven games, they are instantly recognizable and I never found them to be a pointless addition.

The way that Starlink‘s story is presented can be a bit overwhelming. Character backstories are introduced over the course of the game but there is always a feeling that I missed the game’s pilot episode. As mentioned, most aspects of Starlink are cut from the same cloth as 80s and 90s childhood. Vibrantly rendered heroes and villains fill the screen and you are expected to wake up every Saturday to tune in to what the gang is up to next. Though the Equinox crew is landing in Atlas for the first time, it feels like players are being told information with the idea that they are already clued in to broader plot points. I enjoyed how everyone bands together to fight for the same cause, that some aliens are grumpy until you help them, and every character is always communicating. It’s just that I felt a bit lost at times. Narrative will often be delivered in the middle of a busy fight and I will completely forget what was being said or what is driving me to do this specific deed. Hopefully I can catch a rerun…

While Starlink is not the most accommodating to players looking to get absorbed in a story, I can see younger players latching on to it easily. Ubisoft Toronto has created something special with its world building and character design. Starlink has some of the best character design for aliens I’ve ever seen, rivaling the likes of Mass Effect. The seven planets of the Atlas system are striking in their own way due to their scope and lush terrain. Flying across a sandy planet and seeing the massive bones of ancient creatures alongside otherworldly foliage never gets old. Planets are big and can sometimes feel empty but multiple landmarks ensure there are several wondrous sights to behold.

Is There Life on Haven?

The first time players activate their ship’s flight controls, burn through the atmosphere and see the dense purples and blues of space solidify that Starlink is a game like no other. The comparison to No Man’s Sky is easy because players can seamlessly hop in out and out planets and space and land on something never before seen in a game. But that’s mostly where those comparisons end.

Starlink never lets players out of the cockpit. On the surface of a planet, the ship will zip around the landscape and you attack enemies by strafing around them. Controls are easy to master because attacks are delivered by the press of either trigger buttons. The ship’s boost and deflecting shield use up the same pool of energy so it’s important to manage when to guard and when to dodge out of the way. One of my gripes with combat is that some enemies are harder to keep track of without a proper locking on mechanic. Weapon energy will often hit the nearest target but as the ship hovers, it turns like a tank.

Each planet is packed with similar activities to do. The opening missions of Starlink have players freeing outposts and upgrading them to progress the story. Different metals and organic materials can be plucked from the ground, initiating a mini-game where players pull back on the ship trying to keep arrows in the sweet spot long enough to extract. These items are delivered to specific NPC-controlled outposts where they can be sold and used to upgrade the level of the outposts. Once leveled up, observatories reveal more of the map, refineries deliver players more money, research labs develop mods faster, and armories send out more NPC support. Eventually players are required to free each planet from Legion control. The only way to do this is to build out the network of outposts and clear out locations of enemies.

Those familiar with Ubisoft’s box-checking gameplay will easily embrace Starlink‘s planets. There is an easily identifiable number of things to do and a multitude of ways to tackle it. The more entertaining of these activities are taking out Extractors and Arch Primes. Extractors are smaller battle arenas peppered throughout planets where players need to take out small towers and enemies to expose a central tower’s core. These fights are frequently hectic and will keep players on their toes. Arch Primes are boss-like enemies with multiple stages to go through and can be quite entertaining to fight. The real problem with Starlink‘s core gameplay loop is that there is a lot to do and it’s not always fresh. After flying from location to location to complete one task or another, players aren’t required to change up their strategy much. The loop of collecting items to upgrade outposts and defeating Legion forces can grow stale for some.

Dreadnought fights throw an interesting wrench into gameplay later on into the game. Similar to bandit outposts found across space, Dreadnoughts are massive ships that are extremely difficult to take on at first. By defeating Primes, Dreadnoughts will weaken and initiate engaging dogfights in space that wrap up with flying inside the ship’s core and blowing it up. The emptiness of space is definitely present in Atlas as there is little to do when traveling from one planet to another. Fast travel is eventually unlocked but outside of bigger capital ship fights, players will only seek out wreckage for chests and be attacked by bandits and Legion forces. As Ubisoft Toronto updates the game, hopefully more will be added to fill in these gaps.

My favorite aspect of Starlink‘s gameplay is the deep amount of customization that slowly unravels over the course of the game. Starships and weapons can be equipped with mods that enhance their abilities. Weapons can have their elemental damage increased, require less energy to fire, or reward more XP. Ships get damage and speed buffs or can become more resistant to specific elements. Eventually, lower level mods can be fused together to create more rare ones. I spent my time with Starlink playing on the second hardest difficulty and found the game to have the right amount of challenge. It isn’t a cakewalk and paying attention to mods and focusing on increasing levels is vital to survival. Being able to further customize with mods is the added spark to keep gameplay from being too bland.

Overall

Starlink: Battle for Atlas is a deceptive game. Not because it takes advantage of players while appearing to be kid-friendly. It’s because there is a lot of heart, soul, and entertainment to be had. This is a unique product because it has toys-to-life elements but refuses to push players down that path if they don’t want to. Though the gameplay loop can grow repetitive over a long play sessions, the fact that players have so many customization options and a beautiful world at their hands keeps most frustrations away. Ubisoft Toronto has a vision for this game and it’s apparent there are more stories to tell since each character of the Equinox brims with personality. Space is a vast expanse, full of new worlds to explore and toys to make.