STORY
James is a regular out-of-town young adult that goes from Mom’s house to living with her twin sister Hailey for university. He rekindles a bond with his niece Emily, before entering a world of women and temptation. A world that is arguably very standard and shallow, but can be a fun vibe.
Let’s say this: the online ‘Being a DIK’ comparisons make sense, in story and gameplay. College boy, frat parties, sexy shenanigans. But the main thread of SC is actually Jenny, a globally famous singer that just so happens to also be your schoolmate. You catch her in peril and immediately bond her to your household.
This is the writing of Starstruck City - fun, positive, but also unrealistic. The focus on nice interactions with people from university is nice, but with 20+ people to remember, it’s also chaos. Writing is pretty coherent and dialogs are bubbly, sometimes getting emotional but mostly aimed at driving the story forward.
James is a bit of a blank slate, and user choice gets to decide whether he appeases a woman or not. Emily could get jealous if you neglect her, while other women lust at James’s body. It’s a teen boy fantasy, through and through.
Worldbuilding is pretty good, if you can forgive the disbelief and main superstar plot that just wouldn't work on a regular university. Making Jenny a local popular music star instead of a global one would help, although even the marketing shows Jenny might be the story character here.
The game doesn’t let you pick which character you want to enjoy the story with, rather giving you a tiny slice of experience with all available women within every round of the sandbox, before shoehorning some women onto you. If you dislike Jenny or Isabella, you might as well skip the first two chapters and some people will hate that.
Each character has their own mini-backstory that you must learn about. Yerin is your nerd anime waifu, Chloe the daughter of a strict and wealthy father. Popular Sophie shines in arrogance, while ex-girlfriend Heather can’t wait to meet again. This translates into sexual interactions as well. Koharu & Isabella are out to openly seduce James, while Emily & Jade are nowhere near romance-able at this point.
Starstruck is a lot. Unrealistic, but positive. Chaotic, but varied. Cohesively written, but shallow at times. It’s like a sugar snack that is best enjoyed without much realistic thought. If you can manage chewing on that, this game will offer you a great time. Just know that the main plot - about a global idol living on a local university - is also the most unrealistic part of the story.
PRESENTATION
Starstruck City looks great. There’s a soft, play doll look to the characters and the variety is amazing, in both men and women. From brunettes to blondes and Asian to African, there’s a rich vibrant cast to the game. Locations are a little sterile, but easily recognizable and serve their purpose, although the size of the university looks unrealistic.
The women all look amazing. Hailey & Jade are the older eye candy, while Chloe and Yerin are introverted cuties. Rendering scenes are often easily recognizable and the cinematic style that became popular in these games is adopted by the developer. It just looks like a good game, although sometimes a little sterile.
Taking a page out of other college VN’s, the developer hits us with animations, music and collages, together with unlockable gallery images and wallpapers. It’s a lot, but having a good UI that tells you whether you unlocked things or any points have changed goes a long way.
Highlights are the gallery unlocks, which show wallpapers of all the female characters in a sexualized manner. Easy way to give people fapping material early and they look great. There are several sexual scenes in the game for now, and you can tell a lot more will be added in the future.
Overall, presentation is a big win for Starstruck. The render amount is very high, while keeping the quality above average. There are so many women around James that I'm forgetting names and need the character bios to keep up. As far as presentation goes, this game is great.
GAMEPLAY
SC is not for everyone. It’s a ride-along visual novel, but with sandbox elements inside. You have to complete all stories, so your only choice is to pick the order before you continue the main story. Like The Inn or BaDIK, it’s a faux sandbox.
Those sandboxes do allow you to hunt for hidden gallery stars, which will give you the aforementioned unlocks. They can be hard to spot, but are worth it. There’s a fighting tap minigame that can be skipped and hasn’t returned, but for the most part it’s just a visual novel.
That same sandbox does give you a good feeling for world building, with each character having their own spot within the space. Having to find and tap them individually is cumbersome, however. You get to see how many unlocks there still are per scene, so you’re never in the dark while looking.
Having a phone UI for the unlocks and stats is a welcome addition, because you will want to read up and recap on things with 15+ girls. Intimate scenes can be replayed and explored and you can rollback for easy unlocks. You can even change wallpapers on your phone, even if the buttons overlay most of it.
All that interaction doesn't change the fact that SC is still mostly a linear visual novel, with points attributed through choices. Yes, the game could have done without the sandbox mode. But it does deepen the idea of actually being in a world, without getting to freeroam explore it.
(We previously had a nice, steamy render here. But the article was flagged and shadowbanned, so here's a nice, less steamy render...)
OVERALL
Starstuck City is a lot and doesn't really allow players to diversify their experience. If you're in for a chaotic, fun college ride that occasionally gets sexual, this is your game. It looks great, it's coherently written and has more than enough renders for you to explore. Who says university can't be fun?
Rating: 8/10
Developer: Desire Dice Games
