In a distant galaxy, a magical artifact called the Harmony Star brings worlds together.  But at a celebration revolving around the star, it gets stolen and five nearby characters are chosen to receive special powers so they can get the star back.  The five heroes include a pop idol, a fanboy, a princess, a buff outlaw woman, and an android.  They get the power to fly in space and bounce back a star between one another to destroy bad guys.  This unique arcade style ‘shooter’ combines elements from games like Pong, as well as obscure Japan only titles like the twin stick game Libble Rabble.  You may not have heard of that one, but it was created by the same guy who made Pac-Man, so it’s worth looking up.  Anyway, StarCrossed is available on Switch and PC, but reviewed on Switch here.

There are two main modes of play.  Story mode has you progress through levels to reclaim the Harmony Star, and Arcade mode is an endless stream of enemies for you to try to last as long as you can.  To play, pick two of the five characters.  You’ll control each one on screen with the L and R sticks.  Move them around to avoid enemies and projectiles.  As you move around, you’ll bounce a star from one character to another.  If the star hits an enemy, it’ll take a hit or be destroyed, depending on how powerful it is.  If you time it right, you can press a button to bounce back the star faster for more power, and if you do this enough times, you can activate a special skill.  Each character has a different one.  My favorite is the outlaw’s, as she makes the star super big!  If one of the characters gets hit three times, the game is over.

The only main problem I had with the game is that it is very difficult to play with one player, as it’s hard to keep track of two characters, a bouncing star, and all the projectiles and enemies at once.  It’s ideally played with a second person, so you only have to worry about your character.  Also, the artwork kind of has an amateurish “DeviantArt” vibe that some may not like, but I didn’t mind it much personally.  So if you have a friend and both of you like unique arcade style experiences, you may want to check out StarCrossed.

Kid Factor:

If an enemy gets hit by the bouncing star, they just flash red or disappear in a puff of purple smoke, and that’s about as violent as it gets.  Reading skill is helpful for the text, and younger gamers may find it a bit difficult.  StarCrossed is rated E for Everyone.

Tags: Game Reviews