Review - Star of Providence

Roberto Nieves

5 days ago4 min read

Developer: Team D-13

Publisher: Bigmode Games, Team D-13

Available On: Nintendo Switch, PC (Steam)

Review Console: Steam via Steamdeck

Deep within the bowels of a forgotten facility lies a mysterious treasure. Whoever claims it will be essentially immortal in wealth and technology. Those who dared to claim it never returned, for deep within, there are wild terrors beyond imagination. This facility never counted on you entering. Prove them wrong. From Animal Well publisher Bigmode Games comes Star of Providence.

Roguelike games are a dime a dozen three days. Releasing one means blending into a familiar crowd. I'm pleased to say Star of Providence does not blend in but sticks out among the back in being one of the best roguelikes out there. Combining procedural generation with bullet-time, Star of Providence is a blast!

Cave of Wonders

A secret facility in ruins. Ancient beasts lurking about. A talking cat that gives advice. Star of Providence lets players be the pilot of their spaceship sent into the ruins on a quest of fortune and glory. With an ounce of bra dry and a high-powered laser, players jump into the unknown at high speed.

Star of Providence is a roguelike twin-stick shooter rogue-like with procedural generation. The game’s layout takes place in small rooms. The rooms encompass a large area within the ruins. Each room is filled with either treasure or alien monstrosities determined to destroy the player. The goal of each area is to explore the area, defeat the boss guardian, and subsequently eliminate the boss.

Set Lasers to Destroy

The gameplay layout is very similar to a somewhat identical roguelike, Scourgebringer, which also encouraged exploration and fighting enemies in the unknown. Each room can bring good or bad luck, depending on the situation. Some rooms offer enemies to slay and scrap to collect. Other rooms offer perks for the players’ ship. These include new weapons and bullet types.

The key to each section is to slay the boss guardian. Destroying this mini-boss unlocks the gate to confront the stage boss. On each run, the stage boss is different. It may be a robotic knight. It may be a giant carnivorous worm. Each run is something completely different.

Practice makes better

At the end of each run, weapons are unlocked. Gold is accrued to unlock other items that can be used. Each run also enhances the starter room and a shop. The game has a mysterious cat that chats advice and also sells items that can help in the next run. These become permanent unlocks as the runs continue.

Star of Providence has an infectious charm on par with other retro games like Downwell. It's simple yet oh so addictive in its execution. Most importantly, its gameplay is polished to a sublime sheen, making each run fulfilling. I never felt tired of playing the game. Every moment felt like a chance to win. Every loss urged another go. Star of Providence is inventive in inviting players to play, stay and have fun.

That Home Feeling

The game was a wonderful visual presentation that feels like a home-brewed NES game. There is a charming look to the game, like every object was put in careful place, pixel by pixel. With that, the designs for enemies range vastly, and there's a clear, strong imagination with the boss enemies. Accompanying the visuals is a very charged chip tune soundtrack that makes every run an energetic thrill ride.

Games, especially twin-stick shooter roguelikes, live or die by the gameplay. Star of Providence polishes its gameplay into an infectious feedback loop that constantly asks for one more run. The shooting is sharp, and the different variations in weapons keep things very entertaining. The basic shot is solid enough, but a rapid-fire freeze shot is something else! Missions, charges shots, and homing shots are part of some of the weapons that can be collected as well.

A Star in its own right

In terms of roguelikes, Star of Providence strikes a very fine balance. It's challenging but fair. A massive detriment to roguelikes is the sensation of lack of progress. With Star of Providence, I felt myself gaining progress with each run. Additionally, the gameplay does feature a splash that can cut through bullets for a fraction of a moment, which does make the amazing boss fights just a bit more fair.

If there's any one thing I can say is a small nitpick, it's the ammo counter. Weapon power-ups do use finite resources. On the one hand, this makes sure that shooting is a measured and tactical experience as opposed to mindless and overpowered. This creates a strong risk vs reward system. I would have opted for the enemies to have been tougher as opposed to using finite ammunition, but with such sharp gameplay, it's hard to complain.

Look up at the Star of Providence

There is a constant sense of danger and excitement in each run of Star of Providence. It's fast, witty, and quick. This is the example other roguelikes and twin-stick shooters should strive for. Great gameplay, a strong presentation, and a great degree of progress with each run. Fire up those lasers. It's time to become the Star of Providence.