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CloseTalker

Member
Oct 25, 2017
30,637
Since toys to life games have basically been dead for the past couple years, I figured that when Starlink was announced and released, they would have looked back on past trends and be super aggressive with their approach. It's an incredibly ballsy move to go back to the T2L well, especially when you're doing it with a product with basically none of the brand recognition (aside from a Starfox cameo that only applies to one of the three versions) that Skylanders/Lego/Disney Infinity had.

Clearly I was a bit naive, because the extra toys have been popping up for pre-order, and they range from $8 (for a pilot) to $25 (for a ship) a piece, with ship weapons falling somewhere in between. Now granted, I don't know exactly what those get you, if they only unlock pilots and ships, or if they also have new missions or content expansions. In my mind, the content offering would have to be pretty fucking substantial to make a $25 extra ship worthwhile.

I know that the game can "technically" be completed with just the starter pack, but by doing that you're admitting that you don't care to invest in the ecosystem, so aren't you just buying a super expensive space action game? And I know that all these products can also be purchased digitally, but then it just becomes a hilariously ludicrous paid DLC model.

The sad part is, the game itself looks pretty good! I watch the previews and think "yeah, that looks pretty fun!" But then I remember that I can't just play it like a normal game, and to get the most out of it I either need to fill my apartment with hundreds of dollars of useless shit, or spend slightly fewer hundreds of dollars on DLC, and all my excitement goes away.

Am I the only one who thinks this game seems destined to bomb spectacularly?
 
Last edited:

Redcrayon

Patient hunter
On Break
Oct 27, 2017
12,713
UK
Since toys to life games have basically been dead for the past couple years, I figured that when Starlink was announced and released, they would have looked back on past trends and be super aggressive with their approach. It's an incredibly ballsy move to go back to the T2L well, especially when you're doing it with a product with basically none of the brand recognition (aside from a Starfox cameo that only applies to one of the three versions) that Skylanders/Lego/Disney Infinity had.

Clearly I was a bit naive, because the extra toys have been popping up for pre-order, and they range from $8 (for a pilot) to $25 (for a ship) a piece, with ship weapons falling somewhere in between. Now granted, I don't know exactly what those get you, if they only unlock pilots and ships, or if they also have new missions or content expansions. In my mind, the contend offering would have to be pretty fucking substantial to make a $25 extra ship worthwhile.

I know that the game can "technically" be completed with just the starter pack, but by doing that you're admitting that you don't care to invest in the ecosystem, so aren't you just buying a super expensive space action game? And I know that all these products can also be purchased digitally, but then it just becomes a hilariously ludicrous paid DLC model.

The sad part is, the game itself looks pretty good! I watch the previews and think "yeah, that looks pretty fun!" But then I remember that I can't just play it like a normal game, and to get the most out of it I either need to fill my apartment with hundreds of dollars of useless shit, or spend slightly fewer hundreds of dollars on DLC, and all my excitement goes away.

Am I the only one who thinks this game seems destined to bomb spectacularly?
Can't you just buy the base game digitally without the toys?
 

Boy Wander

Alt Account
Banned
Oct 29, 2017
2,126
UK
If there's a load of content sealed off behind a toys to life paywall, this thing is fucked from day one.
 

Christo750

Member
May 10, 2018
4,263
I think it was stated that you can get all the stuff without the toys. StarFox stuff as well. I need to confirm this though.
 

AxeVince

Member
Oct 26, 2017
580
These 25$ packs are new characters and new weapons that add new abilities to all your previous collections with also a new ship that probably has his own ability too. They are also a lot bigger than previous TTL.
You (and me as well) don't even know if you can "buy/rent" other items with in game money like Lego dimensions did (which makes you need only the base starter) if you want to unlock everything in the story.
We also don't know the price of them digitally so I think you are a bit quick to jump the gun on that.

Children always dream of space and always play with space ships, this embodies that dream in toys they can also use to explore a virtual world and fly in them.
Apart from the "on the controller" thingy, I think it will do well enough to see a few more toys for it in the coming year.

And oh, you know this game is not aimed at grown adults for those toys right ? I mean, if you want to fill your flat with these ships you can, but you are not the target. As you said, you can buy them digitally and adults probably will do that if they have no children.
 
OP
OP
CloseTalker

CloseTalker

Member
Oct 25, 2017
30,637
And oh, you know this game is not aimed at grown adults for those toys right ? I mean, if you want to fill your flat with these ships you can, but you are not the target. As you said, you can buy them digitally and adults probably will do that if they have no children.

Well Disney Infinity, Lego, and Skylanders didn't stop because adults quit buying them. It's cuz the kids also stopped caring. And while kids are the target audience, parents are the ones spending money, and they may or may not have certain feelings about games like this after having a closet full of Skylanders that little Billy doesn't play with any more.

I could be wrong! It might be a massive success. Ubi generally releases games that make a lot of money, so I assume they've done their homework. I just think it also has a good chance of going the way of Rock Band 4/Guitar Hero Live when that tried coming back.
 

Deleted member 36578

Dec 21, 2017
26,561
Anyone know if you need the arwing to access starfox or that content specifically? Or is it automatically in the Switch version?
 

Phil32

Member
Oct 28, 2017
4,568
Here's the Q&A on the official Starlink site.

Q. Can I play Starlink: Battle for Atlas without the modular toys (digital only)?

A. Yes. The modular toys are not required. Each starship, pilot, and weapon in Starlink: Battle for Atlas is available for purchase in physical and digital formats. All Starter Pack physical starships, weapons, and pilots are permanently unlocked digitally as well.

Additionally, all physical toys unlock their digital counterparts for a period of time when connected via the controller mount, letting you play how you want, when you want.

edit: To answer your question, OP, I don't think Starlink will do very well on anything but Switch, and I have no clue how it will perform there sales-wise either. I leave that to the professionals, as I'm as dumb as a box of rocks. :X
 

Renna Hazel

Member
Oct 27, 2017
11,577
I hope the base game just comes with two fun to use ships, that's all I ask for in order to make the purchase.
 
Dec 23, 2017
8,802
I'm getting the game with the star fox stuff. Don't need anything else. Game looks great and plays great from previews. Best ubisoft offering this year for switch.
 

deepFlaw

Knights of Favonius World Tour '21
Member
Oct 25, 2017
23,495
I feel like there's another way this can go bad- even if the digital versions of these add-ons are actually decently cheaper than the physical ones, such that people/parents tend to go digital, then that's still a problem for them if the physical versions are sitting on shelves. So it'll be a matter of how well they'll balance inventory across what's available; I dunno if there being no existing IP beyond Star Fox involved makes predicting that easier or harder than Infinity/Dimensions, hmm.

...hopefully using a controller with those ships slapped on top of it even feels good to begin with (even if it does let you use the ship without it mounted for a bit afterward), because that seems like an obstacle in itself.
 

ProtomanNeo

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,190
Thought this was $74.99? Fifteen extra bucks for a little collectible doesn't seem that bad. People pay more for special additions
 

spad3

Member
Oct 30, 2017
7,125
California
So are the figures cross platform like Disney Infinity and Skylanders? And if so does that mean you can use the Starfox figure on PS4?
 

Keldroc

Member
Oct 27, 2017
11,987
I'm getting one of the $25 ships just because I think the included ship is ugly.

I am the problem.
 

Deleted member 36578

Dec 21, 2017
26,561
Give it 3-6 months and they will all be available at deep discounts.

It being an Ubisoft product also has me second guessing if I should get this day 1. So many other games to play, I'm iffy on getting Starlink to being with but the game play videos I've seen look really fun. Not to mention Starfox.
 
OP
OP
CloseTalker

CloseTalker

Member
Oct 25, 2017
30,637
They've repeated it multiple times that the toys aren't required!
Yes lol. As I mentioned, my confusion isn't whether or not I need to purchase physical toys, it's whether or not I can still unlock all the content in the game without spending money. If that's true, that's great. I'll still wait to see how well that system is balanced, I'd assume they'd tune it so that you're encouraged to buy the toys/DLC.
 

Tempy

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,333
It doesn't sound much pricier than say, LEGO Dimensions. Though I agree it won't be much of a success since it lacks a big brand name behind it. Sure, the Star Fox stuff will sell to a few hardcore fans, but that's about it.
 

Grimsen

Member
Oct 25, 2017
1,262
Those ships look good though. Lots of detail.

Not spending 40$ CAD, though. Will do the same as Disney infinity and buy them on sale/clearance.
 

Braaier

Banned
Oct 29, 2017
13,237
Damn, I had no idea! This thing is gonna bomb, isn't it? Or at least the toys. The game may do okay, but I'm not even sure about that. The Switch version should at least do okay since it has Star Fox in it.
 

piratepwnsninja

Lead Game Designer
Verified
Oct 25, 2017
3,811
I don't actually know how easy it will be to get them on clearance. I'd guess that a number of retailers are gun shy about over ordering due to the TtL crash, so availability might be lower. Just speculating.
 

Deleted member 4372

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
5,228
The gameplay looks fantastic. If I had a Switch I would say Fuck It and get the Starfox shits. Yes I would pony up cash for the physical ship because the gameplay looks amazing.
 

Mr.Deadshot

Member
Oct 27, 2017
20,285
We all know it will end like this. And I am ready for that day. I like the toys to life concept, but I dislike spending so much on plastic toys. I spent quite a bit on the first Skylanders game, but every game afterwards (except the PS4 launch game) was bargin bin and only the starter sets for me.
 

Zephy

Member
Oct 27, 2017
6,168
What I've been wondering from the start is, if youbdonkt buy any additional toy/dlc, do you only get the one ship with a couple of weapons for the WHOLE game ? If so this is a fucking joke. Like you're paying 70 bucks for what you'd get from a free to play game.

The whole financial aspect aside, I do find the idea pretty cool and like the ships design. But no way I'm paying for all that stuff, those prices are a joke. Not gonna waste my hard earned money this way.
 

Deleted member 10737

User requested account closure
Banned
Oct 27, 2017
49,774
i hope in a year or so all the toy stuff is patched out of the game and they give you everything for free, i'll then get the game for the star fox stuff.
 

ILikeFeet

DF Deet Master
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
61,987
I don't actually know how easy it will be to get them on clearance. I'd guess that a number of retailers are gun shy about over ordering due to the TtL crash, so availability might be lower. Just speculating.
not to mention, I can't see Ubisoft making many since they already seen the market collapse.

I suspect you'll have to buy what you want quickly because I figure there will only be a single shipment of these