The German YouTube channel Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshell is a family title for anybody who enjoys instructional content material on the platform infrequently. From evaluations of the results of local weather change over exploring questions just like the Darkish Forest idea to overanalyzing enjoyable what-if eventualities like nuking the oceans, the channel does all of it.
Except for doing thorough analysis on its subjects, the channel’s hallmarks are its artwork fashion, which regularly options birds as protagonists of its movies, and its chill soundtracks within the background. As well as, everybody working there appears to be a geek of some variety and so the movies are stuffed with sport references, which regularly gasoline feedback that say one thing like “I’d pay good cash for a technique sport in your artstyle.”
Properly, that’s what Star Birds is. Toukana Interactive, the studio behind the extremely profitable and pleasing Dorfromantik, has teamed up with Kurzgesagt to provide followers of the channel precisely the sort of sport they’d get pleasure from, that includes the enduring artwork fashion and soundtrack Kurzgesagt is thought for.
Diving into the demo of the sport, which is at the moment obtainable as a part of Steam Subsequent Fest, actually appears like turning into a part of an episode on the channel. You are taking command over an area ship stuffed with clever birds, who’re exploring unknown sectors of the galaxy to assemble sources. That’s going to be your job: You place buildings like extractors and launch pads on asteroids to ship quite a lot of sources again to the area station. Naturally, issues get extra advanced as time goes on: Quests will demand higher-quality sources that have to be produced from a number of totally different uncooked items, necessitating a extra advanced logistics community. So construct touchdown pads, reroute your transport ships, assemble chemical labs and different manufacturing buildings, after which ship the top merchandise to the area station.
It’s all pretty easy on the floor, like all financial system administration sport, however will get partaking in a short time because it opens up. You possibly can even spawn a bit of rover on the asteroids to gather credit whilst you wait on manufacturing or analysis to complete, which is enjoyable and feels a bit like an idle sport. Star Birds additionally stays fairly approachable — the controls are straightforward, there’s a wiki that tells you what you have to know, and the visuals are simply lovable.
The one factor differentiating the sport from the channel’s movies is just about that there’s no narration, which is a bit unhappy — I want that iconic voice within the sport, telling me in regards to the deep, darkish secrets and techniques of the universe that can set off existential dread in me.
It’s laborious to elucidate, however Star Birds is among the most German video games I’ve ever performed, which isn’t any shock given its background and creators. There’s merely one thing satisfying in regards to the planning and execution of a working provide chain and seeing your star score go up as a result of your little area empire is so productive and environment friendly. In brief: Sure, Star Birds is precisely what Kurzgesagt viewers would name a superb time and I can’t watch for the total model of the sport with energy administration, extra buildings, extra sources, and extra star techniques.
Star Birds is about to come back to PC later in 2025 and really a lot stays on my wishlist following this demo.
