Game Review: Starlight Shores (Xbox Series X)

From Penguin Pop Games comes Starlight Shores, an impactful and short visual novel that occasionally drifts into dating sim territory.

If you’re not a fan of visual novels than Starlight Shores will do nothing to change that. Even though you can finish it with its three different endings within 2 hours, if you’ve played any visual novel game before, this does nothing different.

That being said, it’s not throwaway trash, as it features a small collection of characters and a story that ends up having some impact.

Will, the main character, has been invited to spend the weekend at a beach house with his best friend, Theo (Theodora) and a few other friends. Will and Theo have grown apart over the past year, both going to different colleges and are hoping this will be a chance to reconnect. Though that has been complicated by Theo’s new best friend, Lena and Will’s friend, Alec. The latter bringing along a girl called Erika, who the others barely know.

As the weekend party gets going, the booze starts to flow and the games begin. Never Have I Ever and Truth, Dare or Drink. Two games guaranteed to cause some raucous behaviour and conversations. Which is exactly how it goes in Starlight Shores. The games descending into chaotic rows, uncomfortable truths and massive revelations.

Ye, it sounds par for the course, which it is. It also sounds tasteless and uninteresting but that’s where perceptions go wrong. You see, Starlight Shores deals with some heavier subject matters and delivers a hard dose of reality. People drift, people move on and people grow up. How you handle that is all part of becoming a stronger person.

That these subject matters are put in focus, as well as so much more, within a surprisingly likeable bunch of characters, makes this a more enjoyable visual novel. Even if some of the writing is a little too cheesy and a little overblown. In fact, at times it will becomes more of a teen drama, especially when romance becomes a factor.

Which brings us to decisions. What kind of visual novel would Starlight Shores be if you didn’t have the occasional choice to make? Here, there are a multitude of choices that need to be made. Some innocuous, hotdogs or marshmallows for the beach. Some heavier, such as when you are playing Truth, Dare or Drink. Regardless, each creates a fork in the road and each will have a bearing on the ending. Endings that have impact and staying power.

All that being said, Starlight Shores is a visual novel and nothing else. A single playthrough will last around about one hour, to get all the endings and achievements, two at most. It’s cheap, which does make it worthwhile, provided you can get some enjoyment out of these sort of games.