Warning: Spoilers ahead for Sea of Stars.Sabatoge Studio’sSea of Starsis only the indie developer’s second official title, but since its release in August, it has garnered wide praise and attention. Players who experienced its epic tale considered it worthy of being in the conversation as one of the best JRPGs of the year. Indeed,Sea of Stars’retro aesthetics and design philosophy combined with a loving reverence for its 90s-era inspirations has granted it a nomination in The Game Awards 2023 for best RPG, and rightfully so.
Sea of Starswas a day one inclusion simultaneously on PlayStation Plus and Xbox Game Pass, the first title to do so.
One ofSea of Stars' best elementsis its richly realized world. While this may often be a given in the genre,Sea of Starsstands out among its contemporaries for its particularly meticulously laid out setting and story. Sabotage set the groundwork for an incredibly detailed universe with a huge range of possibilities to expand further. However, this may turn out to be a case of being too much of a good thing in the future, especially forSea of Stars.
Sea of Stars' Vast Universe Holds A Lot of Promise With a Big Catch
The Messenger, Sea of Stars & The “Sabotage-Verse”
Sabotage’s first game,The Messenger,was a solid Metroidvania with surprisingly deep lore in addition to its precision action.Sea of Starsis set within the same world, taking place in its distant past, and has an even more in-depth history. During the course of the adventure, players travel to the area ofAutumn Hills inSea of Stars, one ofThe Messenger’slevels. Beyond that and some very minor Easter egg references though,Sea of Starsdoes not have any specific connections toThe Messenger.The studio clearly spent effort on creating a tapestry between titles, but it is much looser in nature.
Sea of Starssees players first explore a vast fantasy-styled land, and then a dystopian futuristic one. The latter is actually an alternate reality central to the plot, and part of a big reveal for one ofSea of Stars’fantastic cast of characters. It is the moment that truly opens up possibilities for multiverse-spanning stories in Sabotage’s future titles. While a great inclusion and vital story component, it seems to indicate the direction that Sabotage is leaning toward, and it’s one that may not necessarily please fans wanting moreSea of Stars.
What The Future May Hold for Sabotage & Sea of Stars
Sabotage has confirmed upcomingDLC forSea of Stars, focusing on an enigmatic NPC with interesting ties to its overarching tale. While this is good news in the short run, the possibility of it being the last piece of content forSea of Starsshould be considered. Because Sabotage has set up such a broad framework to work with, and in light of the studio’s history of handling connectivity between titles, it’s very likely its next full project will not be related toSea of Stars, at least in terms of continuing the existing characters' adventures.
OnceSea of Starsis complete, many signs point to Sabotage moving onto an entirely different story and genre. It will still likely be set in the established universe, just not a direct followup, in the same way thatSea of Starsonly tangentially connects toThe Messenger. If so, this is guaranteed to disappoint the many fans who grew attached toSea of Stars’endearing charactersand engaging tale. Whatever Sabotage does next will certainly be worth a look, but the prospect of not seeing aSea of Stars 2is a frustrating one, even though that will likely be the case.
