REVIEWS

DEXTER STARDUST: Adventures in Outer Space

In a year when several promising adventures are about to see the light of day, newcomer Dexter Team Games puts forward its own proposal with Dexter Stardust: Adventures in Outer Space. It is the personal vision of the talented creator Jeremy Fryc, who is responsible for everything: script, programming, graphics, sound, in essence we are talking about a one-man project, with a little help from a handful of his friends. That in itself sounds and is impressive, especially when we consider the final result which, without being anything resounding, undoubtedly has a positive connotation. But let us take things from the beginning.

In the distant (or not so distant) future, after humanity had managed to make interplanetary travel a reality, space exploration was the next huge mystery to be solved. Among these mysteries was the discovery of Planet Vrees, or Planet X as Earthlings typically called it, as it is the hidden, tenth planet of our galaxy. But this discovery was to be the last one for Earth: the Vreesians, the inhabitants of Planet X, turned out to be not so friendly to the human species. Their love was so great that they sent out thousands of killer robots, with which they wiped out the entire flora and fauna of the planet. Now humans as a species are survived only by colonists from the other planets in the galaxy (such as Mars) and a few humans who escaped at the last minute.

We got in trouble early...

The latter category includes Dexter Stardust, one of the survivors of the disaster when he was still a young boy. Twenty years later, having developed a particular fondness for tacos and an innate talent for getting into trouble, Dexter works for his uncle as a space courier. Always with him is his best friend Aurora, who is the brains and voice of reason for Dexter, being a pilot, tech-freak and with a clear plan as to what needs to happen next.

The story of Dexter Stardust is divided into 5 episodes, which vary in size, difficulty and duration. There's even an indicator under each episode, so as to give the player a hint as to what to expect, while the start of each episode is reminiscent of a TV series, an admittedly clever and beautiful addition that gives the creator a good pass to create new adventures for Dexter in the future. However, the current premise doesn't particularly stray from the familiar formula of a science fiction series. In short, the galaxy is in grave danger and a Vreesian Robot takes it upon itself to alert (?) the hero, while at the same time the mystery surrounding Dexter's family and his uncle's persistent refusal to give more information about what exactly happened to them are the driving force that pushes the plot to make it interesting.

Karate for defense only.

A plot that is kept quite solid until the end, but it is worth noting that it remains unfinished. Without giving away the game's finale, it leaves the door wide open for at least one more sequel, which can only be described as a positive thing. The reason is that Dexter Stardust faithfully follows the rules of a good point 'n' click adventure, ticking all the boxes. Goofy and lovable protagonist? Check. Humor and easter eggs? Check. Inventory and dialogue-based puzzles? Check. Simple mouse controls? Check. As you can tell, as long as you've played even one adventure in your life, Dexter Stardust will feel like home.

In our case, what we have to approach is the dialogue, the composition of the puzzles and how they "marry" with the plot and character of the game. The news is good. The game has achieved a nice balance between witty and meaningful dialogue with the various, sometimes weird, characters in the game that do not grow long, and more than once provokes a grin or even a laugh from the player. The puzzles include a number of typical adventuristic puzzles, mainly inventory-based, which are not surprising in their ingenuity, but are in the spirit of the game and fortunately far from moon logic situations.

There are also these opinions, what should we do?

The thing is that the difficulty level is mainly aimed at newcomers to the genre, as it is too low for an experienced adventurer. Especially the first three episodes are a walk in the park, a consequence of the fact that the areas to visit are minimal and the items to use are counted on your fingers. Plus the fact that the hints we get every now and then, either from conversations with other characters or from Dexter's monologues, are unnecessarily numerous.

Dexter Stardust shows its "teeth" in the fourth episode (or Episode 3, as they are numbered from 0), where the game suddenly opens up and we are given a number of tasks to carry out. In this episode we'll need to put our brains to work more, to properly combine the information and the dozens of items we'll collect, and the built-in to-do-list is presented for the first time really useful. However, hints are still offered constantly, but now alone are not enough.

Controls are simple and functional. Four verbs for all jobs.

After we manage to complete it, which is basically 70% of the game's duration, Dexter Stardust has nothing else to offer. The final episode is more of a narrative, which takes on the task of shedding light on the previously dark aspects and opening a channel for the sequel. And therein lies the biggest complaint we have about Dexter Stardust: its short length (about 5 hours) combined with the lack of challenge for the most part. If there was at least one more episode the size of the fourth, then I think the game would go up in my appreciation a lot more.

Of course, that doesn't mean that Dexter Stardust isn't a worthwhile game. On the contrary, the passion of the people behind its creation is evident, it's quite entertaining throughout its duration, while its light writing and beautifully unfolding plot are elements that keep the interest of an adventure fan high. And the fact that its finale makes us "thirsty" for more Dexter, means that its creators did something right.

Was there a chance that a bar was missing from a game set in space?

Moving on to the technical side of the review, Dexter Stardust is decent, with the cartoonish character and environment design being apt, eye-catching and highly functional. Even the fact that the animation doesn't include many frames of motion, it's so cleverly integrated into the game's presentation that it's not distracting at all. On the audio side, aside from the nice background music, the voice-over is generally on a good level. Combining English and Spanish, the actor portraying Dexter is excellent, as are several of the characters we interact with. However, we do take exception to Aurora, who often sounds like someone dry-reading the text rather than playing the heroine.

To sum up, Dexter Stardust: Adventures in Outer Space is a game worth trying at some point for adventure fans, especially at the price offered. It's not going to leave an indelible mark on the adventure game world, but it's an honest effort from a man who loves the genre and wants to contribute his bit to it. We certainly look forward to the sequel with interest.

RATING - 75%

75%

Spacey

Small, easy, but honest and made with love, Dexter Stardust leaves good impressions and promises for an even better sequel.

Γιώργος Δεμπεγιώτης

Lover of action, shooter, adventure, RPG's and sometimes racing games, he prefers mainly single-player gaming. Every now and then he breaks out into a multi, but he doesn't overdo it.

4 Comments

  1. Προκαταβολικά συγνώμη για το Sheldon mode on, αλλά θα σκάσω αν δεν το πω: ο γαλαξίας έχει κατιτίς παραπάνω από εννιά φανερούς πλανήτες.

    Κατά τα άλλα, “τίμιο και φτιαγμένο με μεράκι” είναι υπέραρκετό για wishlist.

  2. Και τ’αρνητικά, θετικά είναι για εμένα! Καρφωτό wishlist. Κανονικά θα περίμενα να βγει και η συνέχεια, αλλά θα στηρίξω τους δημιουργούς για να έχουμε ελπίδες και για το 2ο μέρος. Δύσκολοι καιροί για adventurers….Αλληλεγγύη στους συναγωνιστές! Viva la revolucion, comrades!

  3. Το τέλειωσα χθες.

    Το βρήκα εξαιρετικό, ενώ συμφωνώ 100% με το ριβιού.

    Ουσιαστικά, το κανονικό παιχνίδι είναι το 3ο κεφάλαιο, όπου και γρίφοι υπάρχουν μπόλικοι, και η διάρκειά του σε ανταμείβει, για το υπόλοιπο μικρό πακέτο.

    Μεγάλο φάουλ τα hints, όπου στο 80% ο πρωταγωνιστής σού λέει ακριβώς τι πρέπει να κάνεις παρακάτω.

    Απεύχομαι η συνέχεια να είναι σε… arcade mode, όπως διάβασα, διότι το παιχνίδι είναι διαμαντάκι απ’ τα λίγα.

    Βενσερέμος!!111!!!111

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