Starbound

Starbound is a single-player and multiplayer 2D space exploration and sandbox action game. The player takes the role of a traveler from one of several races whose homeworld has been lost or abandoned. Their ship is left stranded without fuel in orbit around an unfamiliar planet, forcing them to descend, gather resources, and establish the means to survive. From this starting point, the player explores a procedurally generated universe of planets, each with distinct environments, wildlife, and civilizations.

The core objective is to explore new worlds, collect materials, and expand outward from the first planet. Early survival involves building shelter, mining ore, and crafting weapons, tools, and armor. As the player progresses, they can repair their ship, enabling interstellar travel and the discovery of other planets with unique climates and hazards such as extreme heat, cold, or radiation. Many worlds contain settlements inhabited by NPCs, along with dungeons, hostile creatures, and secrets to uncover.

Combat is an important part of survival. Enemies include native wildlife, raiders, and story-related foes. Weapons range from simple melee blades to firearms, bows, staves, and procedurally generated variants with different properties. Armor sets provide protection and special abilities. Characters also have access to a range of tech upgrades that grant enhanced mobility or combat powers, such as double jumps, dash maneuvers, or energy-based attacks.

Crafting and progression systems form the backbone of the game. Players gather resources through mining, farming, and hunting, which are refined at workstations into tools, furniture, and technology. Advancement often requires acquiring rarer ores, enabling access to higher-tier equipment. A colony system allows the player to build structures that attract settlers, turning constructed bases into functioning villages. Farming and cooking expand survival options, with crops cultivated on planets or aboard the ship. The construction system is tile-based, letting players customize buildings and ships with a large variety of blocks and decorations.

A structured story campaign runs alongside the open sandbox gameplay. This narrative follows the player’s character as they join an interstellar peacekeeping organization and investigate an ancient force threatening the universe. Missions take the player to handcrafted locations such as temples, laboratories, and space stations, each featuring platforming challenges and boss encounters. Completing quests advances the story and unlocks access to new tools, systems, and regions of space.

The universe is procedurally generated, meaning each star system, planet, and dungeon differs between playthroughs. Players may freely beam between their ship and surface locations, with bookmarks allowing easy return to important discoveries. Environmental survival requires crafting specialized gear or consumables to withstand hazards like poisonous atmospheres or volcanic terrain.

While the game can be played entirely solo, it also supports cooperative and competitive multiplayer. Players can form teams to build, explore, and fight together, or engage in combat with one another. Cross-world persistence means character progress, ship upgrades, and story advancement are retained regardless of the universe being visited.