Starlink Battle For Atlas was supposed to be a hit Toys to life game, but somehow it just didn’t hit the right mark. Starlink however, with the Star Fox starter pack becomes essentially a Star Fox game and that’s all right by me. Playing through this game as Star Fox is fantastic and it shows that the game itself was actually crafted with a lot of love.
The basic story is a group of people is traveling through space when an evil force attacks. This force takes their leader and they are forced to find him. The commander is someone that the crew is very close too, and it devastates them that he has been taken away. Players normally play as protagonist Mason Rana, but I’ve chosen to stick with Star Fox the entire game.
In the game, the players play as a ship the entire time. With the Star Fox starter pack, the player gets an Arwing, and two weapons, one fire, and one ice. These two weapons are actually essential to plot development and that is why they were included. Playing the game without the mods attached will allow the player to shoot the standard Arwing blasters which is great.
There are actually a lot of ships listed in the game, but right now it doesn’t look like they are actually available to purchase. Clearly, the game didn’t sell as well as the producers intended. The idea is that people would buy multiple ships and then take parts from their favorites and make their own creations. Some of the ships are rather cool so it’s sad to see this feature not coming to fruition. Though in all honesty the Arwing really is the coolest.
In this game, players travel around full planets. These planets are all different and some of them are really beautiful. Players travel around and scan fauna, defeat baddies, and help locals. There are actually a lot of different species, characters, and plants to find. It’s really interesting seeing how they’ve created these planets because they are all so different.
This game is awesome too because it has voice acting. At first, I assumed it would only have voice acting for main characters but even the outpost characters are voiced. Popping up to outpost players will meet strange individuals all voiced. It is often a treat to find games fully voice especially when it is unexpected.
Players will need to pick items up and open doors with their ship. There is a feature that involves timing to pick up these objects. Sometimes the objects are heavy or rooted into the ground, so the player will really have to time their pull right. Collecting objects helps the team understand the planet better.
Players also need to help the outposts because they provide Electrum which is important for ship modding. Ships can be modded and changed with Electrum. Adding new abilities and commands for the player to use to benefit their fleet and the Equinox which is home base. Some of these upgrades cost a lot so it’s good to help the miners especially.
Players also get to explore space and it is vast. Flying around players will find collectibles and space battles. Players never know what could happen in space so it is good to be prepared. Boosting only gets the player so far and there is a cooldown so it’s better to go into lightspeed. Seeing the distance between planets does make this game feel so much bigger than it is, and this game pulls it off with aplomb.
The characters can also be leveled up as they are used. They gain skill points which are used on a rather simple skill tree. The skills gained can augment the heroes and add needed stat boosts. It’s great to have skill trees because it often lets in a little more customization. Some of the skills adjust how much damage players dole out or how much energy they have so it’s good to pick and choose accordingly.
Starlink Battle for Atlas, might not be the hit it could have been but that’s okay. This game is a great Star Fox game and, I’m happy with that. Flying around beautiful planets, collecting data, and fighting monsters can be a good diversion. There is so much to see and do, and the vastness of space is real. There is an old hero that needs saving, is the player up to helping Fox and Mason save him and maybe the universe while they are at it?