STARBITES
Top Critic Average
Critics Recommend
STARBITES Media
STARBITES - Release Date Announcement Trailer
STARBITES - Announcement Trailer (Nintendo Switch 2, Nintendo Switch, PS5, PC)
Critic Reviews for STARBITES
NIS America's new RPG Starbites is the debut of their partnership with Korean developer IKINAGAMES and a take on sci-fi adventures.
With its lighthearted tone, entertaining characters, and charmingly overzealous commitment to world-building, it feels almost mean-spirited to criticise Starbites - like telling a kid full of starry-eyed passion that they're just not good enough to make the sports team.However, to look past the game's glaring technical flaws would require you to avert your eyes from the screen entirely, and we all know that's not how games are played. Even if you can push past the myriad shortcomings of this shoddy Switch port, you'll be left with a middle-of-the-road RPG with an undercooked narrative and simplistic gameplay systems that strive for adequacy and little else.
Starbites is that JRPG that stays true to its promise, delivering exactly what is on the tin. Its turn-based gameplay borrows some formulas and mechanics from other JRPGs, which may feel uninspired to some fans but can be a novelty to others.
While this turn-based RPG has some significant downfalls, developer Ikinagames punches above their weight as Starbites provides satisfying character building mechanics and a fun combat system making it a simple, yet solid RPG.
Narratively, Starbites is a breath of fresh air for RPG fans. It's well-paced and engaging from start to finish (albeit with some exploration redundancy), and the turn-based combat is well-implemented. On the Switch, however, the visuals are a polluted mess. If you're willing to wait for the delayed Switch 2 version, do.
Starbites delivers tight, nostalgic tactical combat, but a thin story, and sometimes banal world hold this JRPG back.
STARBITES is a great homage to the game design of old. Great cozy grinding, customizing the mechas, and finding your favorite party members to build make it a time worth having. Though it can also feel dated to those who are looking for newer-designed games.
When it wasn't the bugs and performance doing it, it was the repetitive, boring dungeons that nearly had me cast aside my controller. Sadly, Starbites neither aims high enough to get anywhere near the stars, nor does it have enough firepower to even breach the atmosphere. If you do somehow feel compelled to play it, leave the Switch version buried in the desert where it belongs.
