When most people think resource management sims, they think City Skylines, Frostpunk, and Factorio; all of these are pretty nitty-gritty games, but Star Birds breaks the mold. Instead of hardcore, life-and-death decisions being made for the sake of humanity, Star Birds asks the question, “What if birds could go to space?” The logical conclusion is that they would, of course, become space-faring explorers, traveling the far reaches of the galaxy in search of the source of a mysterious alien artifact they find while starside.
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Star Birds was developed by Toukana Interactive, which is the same studio that created Dorfromantik. Like Dorfromantik, this new title is an intricate balance between clutter and precision, with very forgiving levels that have a low skill floor but a high skill ceiling. Star Birds can be picked up by just about anyone, but offers logistics-lovers a chance to flex their optimization prowess.
ComicBook has not rated Star Birds because it is still in early access.
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
| Satisfyingly snappy sound effects and cohesive and clean visuals. | Early access, so not always fully functional, some bugs. |
| Complex and engaging stage/level design. | Story somewhat disconnected from gameplay. |
| In-game Wiki with incredibly useful information. |
Simple Worldbuilding Sets Star Birds Up Smoothly
While “birds in space” isn’t the most serious of topics for a resource-management sim, it fits Star Birds well. Lighthearted but slightly cheesy dialogue make up most of the exposition, dropping players into the game with little fanfare. The main idea isn’t a tough one to understand, and Star Birds seems to focus more on its mechanics than it does its story. However, the game is still in early access, so the developers have some time to add more to it before their 1.0 release.
As the captain of their own avian vessel, the player must navigate various asteroid systems to mine, process, and manufacture various resources to be sent back to their home world, padding out the avian empire as they do so. This backstory is a little flimsy but believable enough, and to be honest, it isn’t the game’s main draw, which is probably for the best.
Star Birds Features a Complex Gameplay Loop But Falls Short on Story Beats
Every level of Star Birds is unique, introducing new building types and resources to be managed that can, at times, fell overwhelming. On the other hand, the game’s story is disappointingly sparse, and while its Steam page says additional story will be added at Star Birds‘ 1.0 release, the story that’s there now is not engaging and feels surface-level.
Thankfully, the Star Birds‘ story is its secondary draw. What it lacks in narrative depth it more than makes up for in gameplay, providing players an organizational experience that falls on the easier side of the spectrum than Factorio, but feels just as satisfying to play. There’s just enough meat on that bone to provide a framework for the game’s true focus: its logistical challenges.
Star Bird’s Biggest Challenge Isn’t Because of Its Mechanics
The gameplay premise for Star Birds, like most resource management sims, is simple: gather resources to craft items and improve the economy. However, Star Birds introduces a new challenge: most of the resources needed are scattered across various asteroids and must be ferried from one to the other in order to create supply chains to support production buildings. In order to complete each sector, players will need to know not only what each asteroid is producing, but where that resource is going and where it’s needed as well.
On top of system-wide organization, Star Birds also requires on-asteroid optimization. If players plant harvesters and pipelines wherever they want, they’re going to end up with a cluttered mess of buildings that get in the way of one another. In this way, Star Birds is more than just a test of mechanical understanding—it challenges players to work optimally, producing exactly what they need in exactly the right places.
Once players have solved each stage’s main quest, there is still optimization to be done. Each level is rated by stars earned, with some stages having around thirty and others ranging towards fifty and beyond. For those who just want the satisfaction of completion, the bare minimum is plenty to pass the level and move on, but for those players who spent hours in Factorio keeping their conveyor lines parallel, Star Birds offers rewards for a job immaculately done.
While this game isn’t for everyone, it’s a really great entry point to resource-management sims for players that aren’t adept enough for the tougher ones. It does just enough hand-holding that there is really no way to fail, just differing degrees of success. For an early access game, Star Birds is a unique and interesting entry into the resource-management genre.
A review copy for Steam was provided to ComicBook for the purpose of this review.
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