If you are familiar with Kurzgesagts – In a nutshell YouTube videos, you’ll be right at home in Star Birds. Currently in early access, the game places you at the helm of a flock of interstellar birds, tasked with mining asteroids, building automated production lines, and unravelling the secrets of space.
As a big fan of Kurzgesagt, the whole idea of Star Birds had me excited. In development by the team behind the viral YouTube sensation and Toukana Interactive, the opening cinematic greets you with a familiar voice!
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Starts out chill…
At first, Star Birds lulls you with a breezy, relaxing vibe. You’re encouraged to explore asteroids with your little buggy, scan new asteroids, and mine basic materials, all in the pastel-toned, bird-populated world inspired by Kurzgesagt visuals. Don’t let that fool you into complacency however, before long, the game pivots and you may start pulling feathers.
Resource chains begin demanding multiple steps: turning ice into water, synthesising hydrocarbons, piping outputs into labs, and forwarding intermediate goods between asteroids. The challenge creeped up and before long really started to ruffle my feathers.
Put simply, Star Birds is a cosy puzzler. You have various missions to accomplish within each level and you’ll need to be mindful of your layouts and the spatial limitations of asteroid surfaces to accomplish them. Each newly scanned asteroid acts as a little 3D puzzle to solve for maximum efficiency. Like building the perfect nest.
Early birds get the worm
Right now, the game offers two star systems with seven levels across them. There are also a couple of bonus levels with each level also offering various challenges to achieve highscores. The challenges range from finishing in a certain timeframe, to transporting ‘X’ amount of resources across asteroids. Some challenges put my logistical prowess to the test.
Between levels you are treated to eggcellent cutscenes with vibrant colours and quirky characters. Your starship is populated with all manner of zany bird friends, from Stella the not-quite-right scientist to Ruth the lead engineer. They’re all loveable and full of personality.
If you like production chains in games like Anno or Factorio but want them on a slower, more chill level then Star Birds is worth checking out. Its aesthetic and premise are simple yet effective, while its systems reward careful planning.
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Star Birds is for the kind of player who enjoys watching machines hum and seeing a production network running at peak efficiency. Pure bliss.
As an Early Access title there’s only a few hours of gameplay on offer here. More content is migrating soon, but the price feels a little steep for now — especially considering Hollow Knight: Silksong launched at the same price as a full release.
You can check out Star Birds on Steam now for $29.50 AUD.
Access to Star Birds was provided to Quest Daily by the publisher.
