Starbound ▶ Trailer
Starbound screenshot 1Starbound screenshot 2
ActionAdventureCasualIndieRPGOpen World Survival CraftSandboxSurvivalSpaceCrafting

675 playing

Peak in the last 24 hours: 778

Peak in the last 7 days: 858

Starbound Steam store

Game description

You’ve fled your home, only to find yourself lost in space with a damaged ship. Your only option is to beam down to the planet below, repair your ship and set off to explore the universe...

Basic info

DeveloperChucklefish
PublisherChucklefish
PlatformsWindows · macOS · Linux
Steam DeckPlayable
Release dateJul 22, 2016
Price
  • Steam store −60% $14.99 $5.99 · Steam ↗
  • Lowest-price store $5.99 · Steam
  • Historical low $3.74 · 3-month low $5.99Other stores ↗

Prices by IsThereAnyDeal

Minimum specs

OSWindows XP or later
ProcessorCore 2 Duo
Memory2 GB
Graphics256 MB graphics memory and directx 9.0c compatible gpu
Storage3 GB
steamyze

Review Analysis Score

Based on 415 reviews from the past 1 year

75.1/ 100
Bottom 40%

Steam rating: Very Positive (90%)

Metacritic: 81 /100

Review analysis summary (Reviewed Oct 22, 2026)

Hopping between procedurally generated planets to build, farm and fight, Starbound is a 2D sandbox that scores 75.1.

👍 Strengths

Gameplay ranks 266th of 1396, and Visuals & Sound ranks 297th of 1249. 82 reviews find it fun and charming, and some say it became one of their favorite games, often played with friends and mods. 56 enjoy the freedom to explore and play their own way, with varied planets, farming and an active modding scene. 35 praise the world, describing a captivating space adventure atmosphere, lovely pixel art and music. Multiplayer ranks 285th of 642.

👎 Where it falls short

Tech & Support appears in 39% of analyzed reviews and ranks 1337th of 1399. 105 reviews criticize developer support, saying the game was abandoned long ago and never reached its potential. 27 find the loop grows stale, with planets that repeat the same biomes and ideas that never pan out. 19 say the content is thin for its scope, citing few bosses and limited ship upgrades and gear. Others say mods are needed to keep it interesting. Story & World ranks 823rd of 1096, and Content Volume ranks 615th of 1351.

Representative reviews Original reviews ↗

“1000 hours played, beloved game, don't regret it one bit” · 82 reviews
“way more than simply Terraria in space, tons of QOL mods” · 56 reviews
“immersive sandbox with deep worldbuilding and roleplay opportunities” · 35 reviews

How it holds up

−50+5

Controls, difficulty, progression and depth
Mentioned in 57% of reviews · Top 20% of the games we've analyzed

Freedom +3.29 · Room to explore, build, and play your own way
Positive “way more than simply Terraria in space, tons of QOL mods” · 56 reviews
Negative “removed open-world freedom, pigeon-holed into linear story instead” · 2 reviews

Progression 14% · Difficulty 5% · Onboarding 7% · Strategy 13% · Controls & feel 7%

Plot, characters and the world
Mentioned in 39% of reviews · Bottom 30% of the games we've analyzed

World +2.86 · Lore, atmosphere, and how immersive the setting is
Positive “immersive sandbox with deep worldbuilding and roleplay opportunities” · 35 reviews
Negative “exploration boring quick, NPCs not interesting, no direction” · 3 reviews

Story 24% · Characters 6%

How much there is to do, variety and replay value
Mentioned in 44% of reviews · Top 50% of the games we've analyzed

Volume +1.27 · How much there is to play, including endgame, for the price
Positive “more content than Terraria, Minecraft and similar games” · 14 reviews
Negative “sorely lacking in actual content and game systems” · 19 reviews

Variety 24% · Replayability 14%

Graphics, art style, music and sound
Mentioned in 20% of reviews · Top 30% of the games we've analyzed

Audio +3.94 · Music, sound effects, and voice acting
Positive “very good audio, planet side music triumphs over Terraria” · 22 reviews

Visuals 13%

Playing with others, the community and servers
Mentioned in 23% of reviews · Top 50% of the games we've analyzed

Playing together +2.56 · Fun of playing with friends, teammates, or rivals
Positive “amazing multiplayer experience with 10+ friends, great for weekly gatherings” · 15 reviews
Negative “online co-op broken; only host gets story progression and achievements” · 1 review

Community 11% · Servers & Connection 1%

Pricing, cheaters, balance and matchmaking
Mentioned in 7% of reviews · Top 50% of the games we've analyzed

Pricing -0.08 · Whether the price, DLC and microtransactions are reasonable, and how much paying gives you an edge

Anti-cheat 0% · Balance 2% · Matchmaking 0%

Bugs, performance and developer support
Mentioned in 39% of reviews · Bottom 5% of the games we've analyzed

Developer support -1.18 · Updates, patches, and how devs respond to players
Negative “developer scammed workers, game never reached potential” · 105 reviews
Positive “devs made a great game and players continue expanding it” · 1 review

Stability 7% · Performance 6%

Grey means too few reviews mention it to trust. — means almost no reviews mention it.

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