68
Starseed Pilgrim is composed of interesting elements and neat twists, but suffers from the assumption that you can encourage exploration simply by refusing to tell the player what to do. [Aug 2013, p.73]
80
The Internet hype around Starseed Pilgrim is surprisingly only a bit exaggerated. [CD-Action 08/2013, p.85]
90
Put simply, this is a game in which you get out what you put in. It is incremental in its brilliance. It is a game of pure mechanics and of player skill. It's confusing in a good way and difficult in the best way. From a game design perspective it is perfect, but the ambiguity will definitely push some players away.
10
Original game concept. The game mechanics are almost as inventive as Tetris or something. Really addictive, played it over 100 hours. Can be frustrating at times.
0
People say "You need to experience this game for yourself." They behave in an obtuse manner, as if there is some grand secret there, something that is wonderous that is just hidden away. They're lying. There isn't anything here. The game is garbage. You plant seeds. They grow. There are some mechanics related to them - the pink seeds can be harvested for more seeds. The bush sprouts heart flowers which can be collected when you go into the void. The orange block's growth is dependent on whether it has space to grow horizontally. The red one explodes outwards in blocks and will throw you into the void if you stand too close. Your goal is to get to the void star blocks - not the one on the bottom, but ones which are off isolated on far edges of the screen. These turn into keys when you step into them, but unless you have brought your blocks up adjacent to it, you'll have no way out. Once you grab your key, you can go back to the start and go back into the main world, where you can plant seeds and grow to reach other areas with bits of esoteric poetry hanging in the sky. There's a hidden block with three little stars in it which spawns a three keyhole exit. Bringing three keys to it will let you unlock some secret levels which can then be navigated to completion. There are a number of levels in the game, and they all LOOK the same, but are functionally slightly different. The void doesn't absorb you in some. You can't destroy blocks in others. The list goes on. The way they describe it, it seems like an unlocking, unfolding type game, but it isn't. It is just the very basic growing mechanics which the game is obtuse about. That's the limit of the discoveries in the game. It is boring. And it is a waste of time.
9
-What is this game ?! -"Keep on as long as you have questions." -What the f*** do I need to do ?! -"Keep on as long as you have questions." -What is this thing ?! -"Keep on as long as you have questions." This game let you discover everything about it. Its mechanics, its story.. everything. You will be lost. You will search. Maybe you will succeed.. and you will understand what's the beauty of this game.
Starseed Pilgrim
Released On:
Apr 16, 2013
Metascore
Generally Favorable
83
User score
Mixed or Average
6.2
My Score
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All Platforms
Metascore
Generally Favorable
83
75% Positive
9 Reviews
9 Reviews
25% Mixed
3 Reviews
3 Reviews
0% Negative
0 Reviews
0 Reviews
May 29, 2013
100
The only hint you are going to find after your opening of the readme.txt file is laconical: "Keep on as long as you have questions." With my verdict it's the same thing.
Jun 4, 2013
90
Put simply, this is a game in which you get out what you put in. It is incremental in its brilliance. It is a game of pure mechanics and of player skill. It's confusing in a good way and difficult in the best way. From a game design perspective it is perfect, but the ambiguity will definitely push some players away.
User score
Mixed or Average
6.2
45% Positive
17 Ratings
17 Ratings
26% Mixed
10 Ratings
10 Ratings
29% Negative
11 Ratings
11 Ratings
Aug 25, 2019
10
Original game concept. The game mechanics are almost as inventive as Tetris or something. Really addictive, played it over 100 hours. Can be frustrating at times.
Apr 20, 2013
10
This is the best game that I have played about discovery. I can't say anything else without spoiling the game. There is a magnificent synchrony between the music, the gameplay and the art. They all fit together quite well. While you have doubt, keep going! It's rewarding.
Mar 29, 2013
90
Its purity of concept could be taken as wilful obscurity, original to a fault, but Starseed Pilgrim also has a system worth mastering, and a mystery worth pursuing.
Jul 2, 2013
80
The Internet hype around Starseed Pilgrim is surprisingly only a bit exaggerated. [CD-Action 08/2013, p.85]
Apr 26, 2013
80
Few games are as initially opaque as Starseed Pilgrim, and few offer as rich a dawning sense of discovery in return.
Jun 4, 2013
70
Like an oboe, this game gets ruined in the playing. Well, a bit. [June 2013, p.94]
Jul 19, 2013
68
Starseed Pilgrim is composed of interesting elements and neat twists, but suffers from the assumption that you can encourage exploration simply by refusing to tell the player what to do. [Aug 2013, p.73]
Jan 30, 2016
9
-What is this game ?! -"Keep on as long as you have questions." -What the f*** do I need to do ?! -"Keep on as long as you have questions." -What is this thing ?! -"Keep on as long as you have questions." This game let you discover everything about it. Its mechanics, its story.. everything. You will be lost. You will search. Maybe you will succeed.. and you will understand what's the beauty of this game.
Nov 14, 2013
7
This game causes you to think. It's not my normal cup of tea, but I believe it's really well made. If you like a creative intellectual challenge than you'll likely enjoy this game.
May 14, 2013
7
This game came very highly recommended so I was sad to walk away with mixed feelings. My first couple of hours with the game were incredibly satisfying as I tried and succeeded to understand the bizarre mechanics. Learning how to play was the fun of the experience and it was satisfying when you finally make real progress. However once you run out of things to discover it becomes an increasingly difficult and repetitive to progress. I imagine a lot of people will relish the challenge at this point, for me it's where I lost interest. The first few hours were great though.
May 4, 2015
3
Metacritic critic reviews give this an 83. I don't understand that. I didn't put a ton of time into this game, but I quickly lost interest trying to learn what was going on, and didn't understand what I was trying to do despite quite a bit of trial and error. Some people like games that are ambiguous and frustrating - making you feel like if you suffer through the start of the game for long enough you might eventually be rewarded with some understanding. If so, this game may be for you. My backlog has too many other options.
Apr 26, 2013
3
I could not make heads or tails of this game. The lack of direction, the confusing mechanics, make this a very hard game to get into. Maybe this appeals to some people, but not me. I probably could have enjoyed it more if I wasn't dying over and over and restarting from the beginning each time...
SummaryYou are a gardener, tending to empty noise and empty space to fill them both with colour. You are a refugee, building your own world away from the spreading darkness. You are an explorer, discovering new places, new rules, and new fascinations. The universe is bigger than you know.
