Just last night, the future was looking pretty bright for Starsand Island, the anime RPG inspired by Stardew Valley. It was about to get its 1.0 update and launch out of early access after months of generally positive impressions from early adopters, slightly offset by claims of fake Steam reviews which developer Seed Sparkle Lab has denied. However, it seems the tide could be changing away from Seed Sparkle's favor as early reviews of the 1.0 update are mostly negative on Steam.
To be very clear on the math here, Starsand Island still has a "very positive" rating overall on Steam, but the distinct "recent reviews" rating is now "mixed," which directly correlates with the launch of 1.0. In fact, Steam lets you sort reviews by exact date, and if you look at today, which is when the update launched, 61% of reviews are negative. That's a huge downward swing compared to lifetime reviews of the game from the launch of early access until now, strongly suggesting people aren't digging the 1.0 offerings, which apparently are pretty slim.
"undisclosed ai, tencent backing. not an indie studio. kickstarter was a success, scammed tons of people who STILL haven't gotten their keys," reads one particularly scathing review marked as one of the "most helpful" by Steam due to an abundance of community rewards given by other users. "the day 1 dlc is $20 for a recolored $100 kickstarter tier outfit. idk. just not a good look."
Another propped up Steam review claims "the game is riddled with AI" and echoes other common criticisms that Seed Sparkle hasn't been upfront about funding for the project and, more pertinent to the game itself, that multiplayer hasn't been well-implemented. "Multiplayer is locked behind hours of single-player gameplay, so you can't play together from the start," says one Steam user. "And to make things worse, progress is only awarded to the host. If you join someone else's game, your own progression doesn't carry over."
It's not just on Steam, either. If you look through Starsand Island's subreddit, you'll find similar complaints from that community. "Nothing worth coming back for tbh," reads a Reddit thread with 90 upvotes and comments generally in agreement. "Nothing new apart from some weird fox girl in front of my house. No new blueprints, no new outfits, seeds," says the Redditor.
"I couldn't agree more. I got bored before finishing the ranching and gardening professions. And 1.0 added nothing," reads the top reply.
In pre-release update notes for 1.0, Seed Sparkle listed multiplayer as the headline addition and teased expanded dating and romance features, and well, technically all of that is in the game today. I'm not seeing anything to suggest the studio straight-up promised features that aren't included in 1.0, but the general vibe is that the launch update simply isn't packing enough to distinguish it from the early access version. Pair that with widespread claims of undisclosed AI and multiplayer features apparently being locked behind hours of gameplay, and things aren't looking good right now.
Of course, it's way too early to say a consensus has been formed on Starsand Island 1.0, and I'll be eager to see if and how Seed Sparkle responds to the AI claims and other complaints about the update. There are definitely still people enjoying the game while we wait for answers, including a few of us here at GamesRadar+, but if accusations of uncouth practices and unfulfilled promises were previously a small thorn in the side of an otherwise successful early access game, they've grown into a festering wound on the first day of its full launch on PC and consoles.
In the meantime, here are some of the best relaxing games we recommend when you've had One of Those Days.
