STARLINK BATTLE FOR ATLAS PATCH

As a cynical adult, I found the entire operation distracted from the game’s otherwise satisfying progression, and I can’t help but imagine these things floating in the Great Pacific garbage patch in a five years time.Īs a game, Starlink: Battle for Atlas has a lot going for it. It’s a novel, if superfluous, concept, and given enough exposure, I’m sure kids will eat it up. If a player needs to swap ships or weapons, they plug them into the Starlink base, and the swap is made instantaneously in-game. The lack of heft proves essential, however, as players are meant to play the game with the ship attached to a provided Joy-Con dock (similar contraptions exist for the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 versions). The Starlink ships also exhibit a consistent level of detail, though they lack the weight of something built with higher quality materials. Generally, the miniature pilot figurines are faithful renderings of their in-game counterparts. That’s not to say the toys are devoid of their charms. In fact, aging nerds already drowning in plastic baubles might be pleased to learn that the toys are not a requirement to enjoy the game. The jury is still out on whether or not toys-to-life games are vital product category or a fad that has long since passed, but Starlink: Battle for Atlas manages to barrel roll away from that line of inquiry by offering a competent and colorful space-faring simulation that’s less reliant on physical goods than its marketing suggests. I won’t get into too many specifics, but I can confidently report that Ubisoft has very cleanly integrated Star Fox into Starlink with respect to the tone and lore of both games. I’m not sure anyone expected just how integrated the Star Fox crew would be in Starlink‘s story, but Peppy, Slippy, and Flaco are all here, sporting spiffy, slightly uncanny character models (still not sure we need to see Mario’s nipples or Donkey Kong’s wet mouth, but I digress). On the Nintendo Switch, much has been made of Fox McCloud’s inclusion in the Starlink universe, and boy is he ever included. Starlink: Battle for Atlas does just that, striking a healthy between fidelity and delight, though a complicated toys-to-life scheme may dampen the experience for some.

One might argue that the latter approach is more appealing to kids or kids-at-heart, but it’s sort of refreshing that a game aimed at young children preserves some of the things that can make more complex space exploration sims so rewarding.

The other side of the coin is the arcadey shoot ’em up gameplay typical of core Star Fox titles. Player accessibility is not typically a strong-suit of space simulations, which often favor fidelity-enhancing mechanics, such as the arcane cockpit controls found in Elite Dangerous.

Starlink battle for atlas