I was a bit skeptical the first time I heard about the local co-op mode in Sabotage Studio’s Sea of Stars. A turn-based game can feel a bit slow when playing alone, so I couldn’t really imagine how it would work with another person sitting next to me the entire time. However, I played Sea of Stars with my little brother over the holidays, and as it turns out, this co-op mode was just what I needed to revive my interest in turn-based RPGs.
Sea of Stars’ secret weapon is the way it mixes real-time elements into its otherwise standard turn-based mechanics. The fights unfold character by character, just like a normal turn-based game, but the player can boost the damage output and defensive capabilities of each character by correctly timing a button press. So if you hit the A button just before an enemy lands an attack, it will lower the damage done. Similarly, if you press the correct button just before the attack animation lands on an enemy, you can up your attack power.
As it turns out, this system works really well when shared. When you fight alongside another player in co-op, the game factors in the timing of both your and your teammate’s button inputs. So if either of you times an attack correctly, you’ll get the bonus. Having another person is a godsend in the game because some of the attacks are tricky to time, like the little timing minigames where you need to land several attacks in a row. Having another person there to get the timing right means you can cover for your friend and vice versa.
Outside of fights, the developers integrated all kinds of special details that make the game enjoyable to share. Sea of Stars uses a top-down camera that’s pretty zoomed out, so there’s plenty of space for multiple players to run around, explore, and collect items in the overworld. We could even give each other a speed boost in the overworld by making our characters run up to each other and high-five. Some simple tasks, like pressing A to progress dialogue, are shared, since the game will switch who controls the text boxes occasionally.
Local multiplayer in Sea of Stars allowed us to find our rhythms within the game without abandoning the more cooperative elements. My brother and I got to discuss battle strategies as we played, and it made difficult bosses seem less daunting. When I wanted to make a big purchase, like a new item, it helped to have another person gut-check the best way to spend resources. There are so many times when I might have just gone to check a guide online or given up if I were playing alone, but instead, we stopped and asked each other questions like, “Well, what do we think we should do?”
Turn-based RPGs have been a shared experience for me for a long time. With games like Pokémon Silver or Pokémon Sapphire, my brother and I would hunch over a tiny screen and pass the handheld back and forth. When we eventually got our own consoles, we could battle each other in Pokémon games, but that was competitive and short-lived. Sea of Stars brought me back to those earlier days, but this time, we finally got to fight side by side — rather than fighting over who got to hold the Game Boy next.
