The pixel art in this game is among the most beautiful I've seen this year with great lighting effects to showcase the cool glowing auras of the characters and the glowing visual effects for the attacks and skills. The music seems basic at first, but as you progress in the game and the story it becomes increasingly fun. It may also be nostalgic for SNES rpg fans.

The combat is super interactive and unique and allows you to affect how much damage a move does or which targets it affects depending on where you use it by pressing certain button inputs during a move or at the right time a spell hits, etc. sort of like the mario and luigi series. In this game there are also combos and ultimate attacks, which are both special moves that you can perform in battle by building up a meter throughout. These moves typically involve performing a skill with another party member and unleashing your ultimate signature move to deal tons of damage, respectively. Mechanics like these in combat is what makes sea of stars very fun and memorable and prevents it from becoming repetitive. As you unlock new party members, progress the story, and explore new areas, you will unlock new ultimate attacks and combos to use in battle. The combat also takes place in real time rather than entering a loading screen or some flashy animation to start combat. When you engage a target, or vice versa, the characters hop into place and immediately are ready for battle. It's practically seamless and is another reason why the combat doesn't get stale, unlike some rpgs like Pokemon with its extremely repetitive and long intro random encounters.

Another cool feature is that you can cook meals in this game. Instead of your standard elixirs and potions you would normally find in other rpgs, this game allows you to cook meals at rest spots like bonfires or stoves with ingredients you have collected along the way or bought from a merchant. each meal even has amazing pixel art in the menu as you cook them, and of course their own healing and mana restoration effects. You can tell a lot of love was put into the art of this game! Little deviations like the aforementioned, from the standard formula of an rpg is what makes Sea of Stars such a breath of fresh air in the genre.

The story is really cool from the start, but picks up even further around halfway through the game to tell an epic story of all the characters you will meet. I don't want to spoil anything because it's so good, so I won't say more on it, but if you're looking for a more story-driven rpg, I 100% would recommend this game. All of the different aspects I have mentioned as well as the story cement this game as my 2023 GOTY for sure. Buy it!