Starwhal started as a Kickerstarter campaign back in November of 2013. Originally it launched for Steam. From there, Wii U and PlayStation versions were launched. This only left one powerhouse to not experience the fun. The time is here. This is Starwhal for the Xbox One, and get ready, because it will rock your world.
Game creator BREAKFALL described it as “the number one local multiplayer couch gaming experience featuring marine mammals in outer space.” They honestly couldn’t be more correct. This game pits you and your friends against each other as those adorable sea creatures, the narwhals. The catch? It takes place in space, with no gravity. You control your Starwhal with either the A button or the right trigger, whichever feels better to you, and the left analog stick. While your Starwhal flops around in space, your goal is generally to stick your horn through the heart on your opponents’ chests. The game is 4 player couch co-op, with no online multiplayer capabilities, but that encourages this game to be played at parties, where you can punch the guy who won’t stop winning right then and there! It’s great! That’s the gist, so let’s get into details.
SINGLE PLAYER
There are two ways to play, with your friends (or AI) or by yourself. We’ll focus on single player first, then get into the meat. Single player consists of time trials. There are “Avoid the obstacles” and “Hit the Targets” objectives. Both are extremely self-explanatory. Levels are broken up into three different difficulties with multiple “courses” in each difficulty setting. Depending on how fast you complete the level, you will get a medal (bronze, silver, gold, platinum), and each time you do that level, your Starwhal ghost from the previous best time will appear in real time. This is a great touch that allows you to learn from your mistakes, or gauge how well you are doing on this new run. The use of the ghosts makes it easier and more “competitive” to get that platinum medal for each course. I spent most of my time playing the obstacle course portion, but messed around with the target mode as well. With the controls being very touchy (not a bad thing, just very precise), it will take a while to get the precision for target runs. Each course has a leaderboard that works well, pushing you to get the top score (I ended up getting 5 top times). Single player: big thumbs up
MULTIPLAYER
Time for the beef: multiplayer. My first experience with the Starwhal multiplayer was Extra Life last year. My friends and I played the demo (one map, one game mode) for about an hour and a half. It was one of the more fun hours during that marathon. In the full game there are four game modes: Classic (Be the last player alive to win), Score Attack (tag others to get a higher score), Zones (Capture the control points by touching the center), and Heart Throb (Get the heart then run awayyyy), as well as over 25 courses scattered across 5 planets. The main multiplayer focus is Classic, but after playing all the game modes (Classic was the only one available on the demo), I can say all of them are pretty fun. My favorite game mode other than Classic may just be Heart Throb. It is a big game of keep-away, where one person has a heart, trying to escape from the others, and the others are trying to steal the heart to score points themselves. It’s fast paced, hectic, and absolutely hilarious when playing with three of your friends. Honestly, this may be one of my favorite couch co-op games out there.
PROBLEMS
Even though there is so much I love about this game, there are a few issues I must point out. In the level Viscosity on the planet Spacetopus, the “catch” is that as the match goes on, more balls will drop from tunnels above. These balls will pile up and make the course more “dense,” leading to the name Viscosity. The issue with this is that sometimes when playing, if there are a lot of balls in play, the game will start to lag like crazy for a few seconds. This is the only course that I have noticed something like this happen. Also, customization is a big thing in this game, you can choose your color, head piece, and body armor. How could that go wrong? Is it too small? Absolutely not. There are a ton of customization options. So what could it be? Before every session you play, you must create your character. Again. Is your favorite head number 40 of 80? Too bad, you have to sit there and flip through everything. I really wish there was a way to set “favorites” just so you and your friends can save what costumes you like.
FINAL THOUGHTS
So there it is, almost everything you need to know about Starwhal. The music is techo-funkytastic, the gameplay is simple yet precise, the maps are creative, and it won’t break the bank at $11.99. HOW CAN YOU SAY NO TO THESE ADORABLE CREATURES? LOOK AT THEM.
So that is all why I am giving Starwhal for the Xbox One a 9.0/10.
