Stellaren Review (mobile-exclusive visual novel)

This review was originally posted on Fuwanovel Forums on December 22th 2017.

Mobile phones and tablets, especially Android devices, are strangely underutilized as a platform for VN publishing, with few high-profile titles being ported to them (especially when it goes to English versions) and underwhelming selection of dedicated mobile releases. Also, existing Android versions of famous visual novels, such as Narcissu, suffer from technical issues that you wouldn’t expect from what is ultimately a very simple application, based on text and still images. Occasional Ace Attorney spin-off or an original iOS title such as Fragment’s Note doesn’t change much in this general picture.

            This apparent disinterest of JP VN producers in the mobile market (not counting the literal dozens of mass-produced, free-to-play otome romances) makes the western-produced VNs dominate Google Play store, and while most of them might be tiny, amateurish-looking games, there are also a few notable titles that could deserve some attention even from an experienced reader. One of the most popular and interesting among those is Stellaren, a simplistic, but surprisingly enjoyable sci-fi VN, at first released in episodic form throughout 2015. This review will be based on a complete, paid version of the game, that became available in March 2017. 

It’s easy to get discouraged by Stellaren’s clunky UI and hard-to-control starfighter minigame, but the story hidden under that rough exterior can surprise you.

 

The first impressions Stellaren gives you are definitely not that great – the main menu and the chapter selection screen that comes right afterwards are confusing and hard to navigate. From the technical point of view the game is very simplistic, letting you play its story in any order and only tracking certain decisions, that affects specific romantic endings (those become available as soon as you accumulating enough "story points" with a specific character, without the need to read through all the chapters). This structure means that story is fundamentally linear, with bad choices effecting in game-over screens and all the other ones only affecting to which characters you grow closer. The side-scrolling starfighter mini-game, which is a recurring element and major “selling point” of this VN also doesn't impress – with touch controls it’s barely possible to operate it precisely and even when you get a grasp of it, it’s not that satisfying (although it’s admittedly well-embedded into the narrative and never shows without a connection to important events within the story).

            Playing the free version of the game might further reinforce this poor impression, with ads interrupting your reading experience and no possibility to skip or lower difficulty on the combat segments (which, if failed, will prevent you from progressing the story). The $5 “pro” version, on the other hand, both lets you skip the combat when you have problems with it or want to focus solely on reading and starts you with additional money to upgrade your ship, which makes most fights much more manageable – after getting the paid version I didn’t really feel the need to skip them, as they flowed with the main theme of the game and its story quite well.

While the combat mechanics aren’t that great, the starfighter segments are intertwined with the story in a way that makes them immersive and motivates you to play through them regardless.

 

Talking about the story, it’s definitely where the game shows intriguing qualities and quickly surpasses your expectations. The protagonist, M., starts as a simple mechanic, living on a poor colony and getting along by conning NGC (Earth-based government) pilots into buying faulty equipment. First minutes of the game already establishes an interesting dynamic, with corrupt and hated central government that treats colonists as second-class citizens and doesn’t hesitate to brutalize them for minor offences. Soon after, M. accidentally ends up trapped on an NGC ship and becomes involved in a conflict that can bring the end of the human race as such. As standard as this synopsis might sound, it’s both a solid base for a space opera and something that the author manages to develop in interesting ways, that quite often subvert your expectations. With no clear “good guys” in the overarching conflict, constantly high-stakes and personal bonds that the protagonist builds during the story, 

Stellaren have an emotional impact I’ve never expected from a simple mobile game like this.

Its ambivalence and tendency for plot twists are maybe best represented by X., a (female, obviously) rebel captain and basically a warlord, who acts as the antagonist of the first few chapters of the story. Though she is extremely cruel towards her enemies, whimsical and doesn’t hesitate to lead her subordinates to certain death when necessary, she’s also the closest thing to a leader her faction has and seems to care deeply about its fate. Later, she also proves extremely pragmatic, ignoring the previous hostilities with the protagonist when facing a common enemy. Similar things can be said about the protagonist, who might prove to be suspiciously talented and heroic later in the story, but suffers through numerous defeats and huge personal sacrifices, making him somewhat realistic and relatable. No one here is simply a villain or simply a hero – every character has their flaws and problems, and even the worst of them can show positive traits in the right context. And while the overall story might still no be extremely deep, doesn’t avoid certain harem tropes and would most likely show numerous plotholes if analyzed carefully, it manages to keep the reader emotionally invested and constantly provides enough suspense to not leave any space for overthinking it.

The visual side of Stellaren is of mostly decent quality, but can be very inconsistent – the bigger screen you use, the more noticeable it becomes.

 

Maybe the biggest shortcoming of Stellaren is its visual quality, with generic-looking sprites that often hardly match the sci-fi theme, stock backgrounds (both drawn and photographic) and only a few, often-reused CGs of starships and space battles. When I played the game on a 10-inch tablet these low production values were at times very visible, making it clear that the game was more likely designed for phones, on which many unappealing details would be much harder to notice. Still, it was never bad enough to completely take me out of experience or distract me from the story – and the story content itself rarely disappointed. Music similarly was more or less neutral – I’ve played without sound most of the time, so it didn’t get tiring, but with as little variety as it offered it probably would become stale quite fast (especially considering that the full game has at least 5-6 hours of content).

            Stellaren is definitely a deeply flawed game, but as a VN it manages to overcome its technical limitations and deliver a fresh, intriguing story that is in my opinion definitely worth the modest asking price and the time required to read through it. For the more patient readers, the free version is also an option, as while definitely less convenient, it’s still a feature-complete product. For me, it was also a pleasant reminder that an interesting story can be hidden even under a very rough exterior of a no-budget indie game when a talented writer is involved. The game ends on a cliffhanger of sorts and has a somewhat decent continuation, called Stellared: Acrux, but it works fine as a standalone product – the sequel actually ends in a much more abrupt way and it's unclear whether if the series will ever receive a proper conclusion, so I advise you to ignore Acrux, unless you really liked the original and desperately want to see more.

Final verdict: 3/5

Pros:
+ Interesting story premise and setting
+ Well-paced, engaging storyline
+ Decently written, interesting characters
 
Cons:
- Very basic visuals and sound
- Clunky UI and mediocre space combat mechanics
- Wasn't able to avoid some silly tropes and writing mistakes


VNDB page
Download Stellaren for free or buy the pro version on Google Play.