| Star Overdrive | |||
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| Release Date | Gameplay & Story | Pre-Order & DLC | Review |
Star Overdrive is a high speed-action adventure game set in the the mysterious planet of Cebete. Read our review to see what it did well, what it didn't do well , and if it's worth buying.
Star Overdrive Review Overview
What is Star Overdrive?
Star Overdrive is a high-speed, open-world action-adventure game developed by Caracal Games and published by Dear Villagers. It is set to launch on Nintendo Switch on April 10, 2025, with a PC release planned for later this year. Players take on the role of Bios, a skilled explorer who crash-lands on the enigmatic planet Cebete after intercepting a cryptic distress signal. Equipped with a versatile Keytar and an advanced Hoverboard, Bios must traverse diverse biomes, overcome formidable challenges, harness latent abilities, and unravel the mystery behind the disappearance of Nous.
Star Overdrive features:
⚫︎ Action-Adventure
⚫︎ Open-World
⚫︎ Sci-Fi
⚫︎ Puzzles
⚫︎ Customization
⚫︎ Skating
For more gameplay details, read everything we know about Star Overdrive's gameplay and story.
 Switch |
 Steam |
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| $34.99 | Wishlist only |
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Star Overdrive Pros & Cons
| Pros | Cons |
|---|---|
 The Hoverboard is Sick Cebete is Rad Gnarly and Creative Combat |
Bogus Bugs and FPS Drops A World That Sometimes Feels Empty |
Star Overdrive Overall Score - 80/100
Star Overdrive feels like Tony Hawk launched himself into the cosmos and landed gracefully in the open-world elegance of Breath of the Wild. It’s a kinetic, interstellar thrill ride—part action-platformer, part sci-fi skate odyssey—where gravity-defying tricks blend seamlessly with combat and exploration. Beneath the neon-soaked surface and rebellious flair lies a surprisingly thoughtful narrative, carving meaning into every high-speed drift and aerial combo. It’s a dazzling, genre-blending experience that transforms traversal into performance—and delivers one of the most exhilarating rides this side of the stars.
Star Overdrive Story - 8/10
Star Overdrive is, unexpectedly, a surprisingly entertaining ride. At its heart, it’s a story about finding someone you love—wrapped in an intergalactic sci-fi adventure that keeps its mystery genuinely compelling. Who would've thought space and rock music would make such a perfect combo?
Star Overdrive Gameplay - 8/10
Star Overdrive rips a page from Breath of the Wild and ollies into space with its wildest trick—the Hoverboard. Fast, flashy, and fully customizable, it turns combat into a cosmic skate sesh. Cebete's your interstellar skate park, and while some spots feel a bit empty, who cares when you’re shredding through stardust?
Star Overdrive Visuals - 8/10
Star Overdrive runs surprisingly well on the Switch, both docked and handheld, showcasing a vibrant, if often desolate, alien world. Cebete might be barren in places, but its pockets of bizarre life and cosmic color keep exploration visually engaging. The game’s punk rock-meets-sci-fi aesthetic is a bold and refreshing fusion—though one that occasionally feels underused, leaving you wishing for more of that rebellious flair. Visually, it impresses, but the experience isn’t without hiccups: minor bugs and occasional frame drops can momentarily break the rhythm, though they’re rare enough not to derail the ride.
Star Overdrive Audio - 8/10
Surprisingly, Star Overdrive opts for an atmospheric soundscape over the relentless barrage of bombastic tracks and guitar riffs one might expect. This restraint works in the game’s favor, amplifying its sense of scale and cosmic isolation. And when those gritty guitar riffs do kick in, they feel earned—electrifying punctuation marks in a largely meditative sonic journey.
Star Overdrive Value for Money - 8/10
At $35, it’s a remarkably generous offering, delivering hours of exploration, experimentation, and sheer momentum-driven joy. The fun customization and ever-expanding repertoire of hoverboard tricks invite a satisfying loop of mastery, making this cosmic playground one you’ll want to revisit again and again.
Star Overdrive Review: A Rad Galactic Adventure
Having already played the demo of Star Overdrive, I thought I knew what I was in for—but I was thoroughly surprised by how much the full game expands on its foundations. From the very beginning, it kept revealing new layers. As I mentioned in my demo preview, Star Overdrive is a thrilling galactic adventure, blending the high-energy tricks of Tony Hawk’s Pro Skater with the open-world exploration of Breath of the Wild.
The fusion works so seamlessly it almost feels effortless. Much like a skilled skater pulling off jaw-dropping stunts, the game consistently delivers the kind of sheer fun and unexpected moments that left me genuinely impressed. It’s a ride that surprises and delights with every turn.
The Hoverbaord Should Win Awards
At its core, Star Overdrive is an open-world action adventure that rockets you across an alien planet on a hoverboard, blending traversal, combat, and customization into a seamless flow of kinetic expression. From the moment you're dropped onto the surface of Cebete, the game hands you two essential tools: your hoverboard—arguably the soul of the experience—and your keytar, a musical weapon that doubles as a blade. Together, they become extensions of your movement and combat, inviting you to explore, fight, and perform all at once.
The structure is deceptively simple: explore three distinct biomes, each filled with puzzles, secrets, and enemies. But where Star Overdrive shines is in how it allows you to engage with its world. Puzzles are scattered throughout the terrain like hidden riffs waiting to be discovered, and environmental traversal feels more like improvisational jazz than rigid gameplay. You’re encouraged to experiment—not just with your hoverboard tricks, but with your combat style, movement flow, and upgrades.
Combat, at first glance, may seem basic—especially if you’ve played the demo, where early encounters lack challenge. But as the game progresses and customization layers begin to unlock, the system reveals its true potential. Resource collection is refreshingly organic; materials like tech crystals are abundant and enemies drop valuable components that feed into an intuitive upgrade system. With these, you can enhance both your keytar’s power and your hoverboard’s performance, tailoring your build to suit your style.
And the hoverboard isn’t just a means of travel—it’s a weapon, a platform, and a playground in itself. As you unlock more advanced parts—like stabilizer fins for tighter control, or anti-gravity mods that let you skim over water—the hoverboard evolves into a fully realized extension of your skill. What starts off feeling slightly unwieldy quickly becomes second nature, and before long, you're stringing together mid-air flips and combat maneuvers like a cosmic Tony Hawk. It’s endlessly rewarding, and when paired with the ability to weave in your abilities and cinematic moments—like battling a massive sandworm in full-speed motion—it delivers pure, unfiltered thrill.
Of course, it’s not without rough edges. The lack of a proper lock-on system can make melee encounters feel imprecise at times, and combat occasionally dips into clunky territory. But these moments are largely overshadowed by the creativity the system allows. When it all clicks—when your hoverboard slides into a grind that leads into a mid-air slash powered by a customized keytar—it’s sheer magic.
As for the narrative, I’ll tread lightly to avoid spoilers. What I can say is that it’s more emotionally grounded than expected. The bond between Bios and the girl he’s searching for isn’t just a plot device—it’s a core emotional thread that adds depth to your journey. Their connection, built through small details and sincere writing, gives the adventure a heartbeat that lingers long after the action subsides.
I havent touched on the story too much because i dont wanna spoil but its actually quite nice and otuching and i really didnt expect it to be. I really like the relationship o fbios with the girl he’s finding because it really just feels and you can really relate to that struggle.
Cebete is an Intergalactic Skate Park
A great traversal system is only as compelling as the world it moves through—and Star Overdrive understands this deeply. The planet Cebete is less a backdrop and more a sprawling interstellar skate park, built with purposefully placed hills, ramps, cliffs, and bridges that invite you to experiment, explore, and master your hoverboarding craft. It’s a world that rewards creativity in movement, encouraging players to carve their own paths and invent their own flow. I never tired of the hoverboard itself—its sheer momentum and freedom are exhilarating, turning simple traversal into a kinetic joyride that rarely loses its thrill.
Cebete is brimming with charm and variety, with each environment offering a fresh canvas for high-speed expression. Without spoiling too much, the first area alone—a desolate, monster-infested desert—is a puzzle-laced expanse filled with blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moments of discovery. That said, the world can sometimes feel sparse, its vastness occasionally leaning into emptiness rather than intrigue. The potential is there, but I often found myself wishing for more densely packed secrets and interactivity to match the brilliance of the traversal system.
The puzzles scattered across the landscape evoke the shrine-like design of Breath of the Wild—serviceable and mildly engaging, though not particularly challenging. Meanwhile, the map leaves something to be desired; its lack of precision and clear markers makes navigation more frustrating than it should be. Still, despite these shortcomings, exploring Cebete remains a satisfying and often exhilarating experience, powered by one of the most joyful movement mechanics in recent memory.
Aliens aren’t the Only Species in Cebete, Bugs Too
While Star Overdrive is a captivating ride, it’s not without its technical hiccups. The game does suffer from a few bugs—menu glitches and combat control issues, where your Bios occasionally refuse to execute their moves. These moments can be frustrating, but thankfully, they’re not game-breaking. There are also occasional frame rate drops, particularly during high-speed hoverboarding or when the screen is filled with chaos. While these issues don’t overshadow the experience, their presence is noticeable enough to warrant a timely patch. Here's hoping that future updates can smooth out these rough edges.
Is Star Overdrive Worth It?
A Galactic Fun Time
Despite a few technical hiccups, Star Overdrive offers remarkable value—especially at its $35 price point. With its expansive world, fluid traversal, and satisfying depth, it promises dozens of hours of immersive gameplay. Fans of Breath of the Wild will feel right at home in its open-ended design, while action-adventure enthusiasts and those yearning for the next great skate game will find plenty to love. It’s a bold, genre-blending ride that more than earns its place in your library.
| Switch |
Steam |
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| $34.99 | Wishlist only |
|---|
Star Overdrive FAQ
Question 1: Is Cebete Coming to Steam?
Yes, the game is slated for a Steam release, though an official launch date has yet to be announced.
Which Languages Does Star Overdrive Support?
Star Overdrive features English audio only, but supports the following languages for interface and subtitles:
⚫︎ English
⚫︎ French
⚫︎ German
⚫︎ Spanish
⚫︎ Japanese
⚫︎ Korean
⚫︎ Simplified Chinese
⚫︎ Traditional Chinese
⚫︎ Italian
⚫︎ Portuguese Brazil
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Star Overdrive Product Information
 |
|
| Title | Star Overdrive |
|---|---|
| Release Date | April 10 |
| Developer | Caracal Games |
| Publisher | Dear Villagers |
| Supported Platforms | Switch, PC |
| Genre | Action, Adventure |
| Number of Players | 1 |
| ESRB Rating | E |
| Official Website | Star Overdrive Website |
