Sea of Stars' first official demo was released on July 17, 2025, giving players their first hands-on experience with the upcoming RPG.Sea of Starsis a modern take on a classic RPG, and the demo gives players a small glimpse into the breathtaking world and fresh mechanics of the game. But the demo is only the tip of the iceberg for whatSea of Starshas to offer, Sabotage Studio CEO and Creative Director Thierry Boulanger told Game Rant.
Sea of Stars’demois around an hour long and drops players off on Sleeper Island during an early part of the game. Players can explore the island, get to know the characters in fun cutscenes, and go fishing for ingredients to cook meals. However, most players will likely spend the majority of their time in the demo’s dungeon, where they can try their hand at games' puzzles, combat, and challenge a final boss to wrap things up. Despite all the content available in the demo, Boulanger told Game Rant thatSea of Starsstill has plenty of storylines and features players won’t get to experience until they release the full game.
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Unlike the demo,Sea of Stars’ full gamewill begin with the main characters as children, according to Boulanger. “When the game starts, you’re actually little kids in the Town of Moon Cradle, which is where all these magic children are brought.” On Moon Cradle, these children attend what Boulanger called “this sort of school in the sky,” where the main characters Valere and Zale first learn how to use magic and fight.
“It’s understood that these two are meant to fight some pretty gruesome things that are called the dwellers: they’re the big evil creatures that become vulnerable only during an eclipse. There’s only one left that is known, and our mission that’s kind of hinted at in the demo is, ‘oh, we need to get to Wraith Island in time for the Eclipse.'"
While the demo only features three main party members, the full game will have six in total, each with their own animations, skill set, and interactions with each other. Each party member is able to deal different types of damage, making them each suited for different situations. “The skills we have in the game, and the way they combine and everything, it’s all really handcrafted,” said Boulanger. This is one of the features chosen as a means of fixing some of the problems that came with the over-saturation of characters that can be seen in several of the90s RPGsSea of Starswas inspired by; Sabotage wanted players to feel like there are real changes and new combat possibilities once a new party member joins.
One of the gameplay features Boulanger stated he’s most excited for players to try out that wasn’t in the demo was sailing. While the demo takes place on Sleeper Island (named after the large sleeping creature players can see on the world map),Sea of Starstakes place in an archipelago filled with different islands players can sail between. Players got a glimpse of what life exploring an archipelago is like inSea of Starswith the fishing minigameand the beachy Port Town of Brisk, but sailing will allow players to explore this setting in an entirely new way.
“Every island in Sea of Stars has a clear theme with its own landmarks, and a name that fits with how the place feels, so you’re sailing around a little world where each island has its mysteries and things to unravel.”
“A demo is a bit of a risk, because with a demo, you just drop people in,” explained Boulanger. “It’s kind of finding this mix of having enough depth for you to have something to contend with, and understanding that when it comes to the gameplay, once we go to the forest instead of the lake, there’s something cool going on there as well.”
“I’m definitely excited for people to see more of those high concepts, because the reality of still being pre-launch is that we’ve barely shown things.”
Despite these concerns, Boulanger believes thatSea of Stars' demo did a good job expressing the energy of the final game. “The idea that there’s magic in the air, that it’s mostly about friendship, and that it also feels a bit like an escape and a vacation.” And with several new islands, new characters, new abilities, and a full storyline, players will have plenty of exciting new content to experience once the final game is released later this year.
Sea of Stars’ demo is available now on the Nintendo Switch.
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