I want to clarify, that this isn't a review of the game. I am about 80% through it right now, and I will be finishing it, but I am a bit uneasy by the sheer volume of near-perfect scores this game has gotten. I will likely not bother reviewing it properly once I do finish, as between the ever-glowing praise the game has gotten, the most relevant part of my review would be to highlight a lot of the issues I do take with the game, so I'd likely just be repeating a lot of what I'm going to be writing here.
To start his little rambling off, I am going to say I do think this is a good game and worth playing. There is plenty to like about it, the issue I have is this near-universal praise is likely to elevate expectations and seem to ignore a lot of things people may take issue with in the game, or many times I feel over-praise elements of it. So I am here to, as the title suggests, temper expectations a bit.
The first major issue I am going to have is the writing of this game is, by and large, very bland. There is a reason why almost everything people are talking about on social media it is the parts that remind them of the old days, and there is a reason for it. The characters are all very simple, and frankly as far into the game as I am I care almost nothing for the main characters. There are a couple of characters I like, and I only think one of the characters is good. By and large, it's just an okay cast.
And even the story has a lot of bits that feel forced and hacky. The way the prophecies are fulfilled, for example, is way to on the nose and pretty dumb. Character reactions don't always help either. When a certain betrayal happens at one point in the story, the main characters just don't seem at all interested in why someone they cared so much about turned to the dark side, which is frustrating for me because playing this game I understand why, I sympathize. But so much time has passed, and I understand the emotion of anger, it just feels flat here. At no point has anyone even considered why, or seems to have any empathy. It's such a one-note reaction to what should be something huge it feels fake. It's just not an amazingly written piece, there are too many problems that plague the plot for me to give it a full endorsement on those grounds.
Mechanically, the game does something I call the Trick Puzzle. It's something that is first presented as a puzzle, but you can pretty much just barrel forward with no thought whatsoever. Generally, something like this can happen just to showcase how a certain mechanic works, which is fine. But when you are just walking forward, flip a lever that alters terrain, and all you end up doing is walking down the pre-ordained path flipping levers It looks like you are solving some kind of puzzle, but in reality, you are just walking forward with extra steps. This describes roughly 70% of the puzzles and areas I've come across in this game, and once I notice this much feels like needless padding to drag out the playtime.
And then there are several areas where you are just slowed down by crossing multiple ropes with nothing hampering your progress, climbing ledges, and other minor things that just feel like they go on. Occasionally this can work to showcase scale, but when it happens this consistently it feels like padding. Between the trick puzzles and excessive actions that just slow you down, I feel like a few hours of this game are just pointless. If you have puzzles, make them engaging.
I could also go into some nitpicks, and I'll say I would point out a specific plot element but I can't do that without major spoilers, but it falls in the same category as other issues with the writing I mentioned. But I think you get the overall point.
Sea of Stars is a solid game, and one I recommend. If all you are going into this game wanting is a Nostalgia trip, you're probably going to love it. If you are looking for something more, what you are going to walk away with is a solid game worth the price.
I'm happy to see the game doing well though, as I said it is a good game, and any time I see that old-school turn-based system still get a lot of love, that makes the bitter old man inside me crack a smile.