Starlink: Battle for Atlas review: Ships ahoy

Among the huge variety of modern video game genres exists a subset of games that offer players the chance to use real-world collectibles to accrue a variety of in-game benefits. These "toys-to-life" titles engage players in both the analog world and the digital world, offering intangible rewards for possession of tangible objects. Nintendo's various amiibo align with this notion, as does the now-defunct line of Disney Infinity products. Before recently, Ubisoft didn't have a dog in the fight — but now they do. Starlink: Battle for Atlas is Ubisoft's push into the toys-to-life field, and though the developer's spin on the genre is certainly admirable, the physical side of the experience feels lackluster when compared to the digital.

Beyond infinity

The core experience of Starlink: Battle for Atlas could be likened to the looter shooter genre. Players choose their hero and their ship, and can fly around planets running missions for various allies or factions, taking out progressively stronger enemy forces, and acquiring different upgrades, only to jump back into more plot-oriented quests whenever they like.

It's a familiar scheme for sure, but Starlink's spacecraft-focused foundation makes the gameplay all the more interesting. On the planet's surface, ships hover a short distance above the ground, and players can circle, strafe, or even jump if desired. At any time, players can press and hold a button to fly out into space, where the action becomes more free-roaming. A total of seven different planets are available to explore, each as gorgeous as it is vast, and after being discovered, players can travel between any them at will.

There are several different types of missions to engage in, though the variety is admittedly lacking. Most quests involve tracking down or placing various items, clearing out swarms of enemies to reclaim an area or base, or defending hotspots from swarms of foes while a procedure is being completed. There are side quests all over: players can call up new missions at any point with the push of a button, identify unique fauna, seek out specific materials, or simply explore the map. There are also battles with some very large creatures, though these are few and relatively far between.

Ubisoft deserves a special commendation for making Starlink's basic gameplay feel so good. To be honest, I haven't played a game where flying and shooting felt this polished since the release of Star Fox 64 back in 1997. Taking off from the planet's surface, jetting through the atmosphere and out into space, just feels so right. Landing on a new planet and immediately wiping out colonies of Legion baddies is similarly smooth, and I never once felt like I wasn't working toward some sort of goal. Even better, this is a game that can be played for a few minutes or a few hours, and that's something that gamers of any age can appreciate.

Customization in your customization

Among the biggest draws to Starlink: Battle for Atlas are the ships themselves, which offer up a level of customization that is borderline overwhelming. Ships can be hot-swapped at any given time, wings can be applied or even stacked at will, and weapons can be installed or modified with only a few button presses (or by making use of Starlink's physical toys — more on that later). The degree of customization is so vast that players can have four different wings on the same ship, aligned any way they please, with each wing providing a different bonus to attributes like speed or maneuverability. Though only two weapons can be installed at any time, players can apply them to whichever side of the ship they choose, and even place them so they fire backward if they like.

Customization only gets deeper thanks to the availability of Mods. Found hidden all over planets, dropped by enemies, or even given as quest rewards, Mods allow the player to fine-tune their weapons, their ships, and even their mothership, offering upgrades that trickle all the way down to planetary outposts. Armor Mods, Weapon Mods, Booster Mods, Core Mods, the list goes on and on, and only a few short hours into the game, players even can start using their weaker Mods to craft more powerful ones.

All of these elements make for an experience that is, at least at first, daunting. Ships and wings that feel right for exploration might not be the best choice for combat, and weapons that are familiar or convenient to the player may be ill-suited against certain types of enemies. It feels like Starlink is urging the player to continually swap out wings and weapons, even if their instinct is to find one loadout that works and stick with it. As a result, players like myself may come to rely on a particular setup they know isn't ideal just to avoid constantly switching to different gear.

Mount up

All of this potential difficulty with regard to customization is only compounded by Starlink: Battle for Atlas' physical component. If desired, players can go out to stores and buy small-scale replicas of ships, wings, weapons, and pilots that can be deployed in-game through use of a controller attachment. The toys themselves feel great: they're very detailed, pleasingly hefty, and in the case of ships, surprisingly large — large enough to easily dwarf the controller. They are somewhat expensive, but they certainly don't feel shoddy.

The problem, for me at least, is that all ship and weapon customization is easily accomplished through in-game menus. And, as I said earlier, it wasn't long before I reached a point in the game when I'd sooner use ineffective gear than lose a few seconds here and there swapping out gear. Aside from its value as a novelty mechanic, I can't imagine getting into a firefight only to pause the game and start rooting through a collection of toys to find the gun I need to use — let alone being pleased by the process.

This notion only seems worse considering that Starlink urges players to use as many ships, wings, and weapons as possible. If their loadout is in constant flux, players never really have the chance to become attached to specific components, so why keep physical representations of those components lying about? It's not like the physical toys offer any exclusive components, either — at least not yet — so there's really little need to have the toys at all, especially if players opt for the Deluxe version of the game.

A matter of tastes

It's entirely possible that I just don't get the whole toys-to-life thing. The idea of owning collectibles that offer in-game benefits sounds fine and dandy, but swapping ships and weapons and wings out on the fly feels like a novelty at best. It seems like the development team understood that the toys-to-life mechanic might be divisive, too, as the game looks to have been designed in such a way as to allow players completely ignore the physical side of the experience if they so choose. Maybe that's a good thing.

Regardless of whether or not players choose to buy into physical ships and components, Starlink: Battle for Atlas serves as a fine action adventure video game. The graphics are great, flying feels smooth and effortless, and combat and exploration are delightful, both on-planet and off. The underwhelming mission variety and tremendous amount of customization options may put some players off, but the ones who stick with with the title will be treated to a polished space-based shooter with enough content to keep them busy for the foreseeable future.

This review is based on a PlayStation 4 download code provided by the publisher. Starlink: Battle for Atlas is available in retail and digital stores for $59.99, with toy starter kits that include the base game available for $74.99. The game has been rated E for Everyone 10+ by the ESRB.

Kevin Tucker

Guides Editor

Kevin Tucker is a core component of Shacknews' powerful guide development team. For questions, concerns, tips, or to share constructive criticism, he can be reached on Twitter @dukeofgnar or through e-mail at kevin.tucker@shacknews.com.