Starlink: Battle for Atlas
A toys-to-life space adventure with optional physical ship customization.
Wikipedia / Wikimedia Commons
Starlink: Battle for Atlas is an action-adventure game from Ubisoft Toronto and published by Ubisoft. It launched on Nintendo Switch, PlayStation 4, and Xbox One on October 16, 2018, with a Windows version following on April 30, 2019. The game includes optional toys-to-life features. Although it didn't meet sales expectations, critics gave it generally positive reviews.
The story takes place in the Atlas star system. Early on, the player's mothership, the Equinox, is attacked by the Forgotten Legion and crashes on a planet, with the captain taken hostage. The Legion's leader, Grax, is obsessed with an extinct race called the Wardens and wants their ancient technology for his own forces. Grax is a persistent threat throughout the game. In the Nintendo Switch version, a crossover with the Star Fox series adds Fox McCloud, Falco Lombardi, Peppy Hare, and Slippy Toad, who help the main characters while hunting Wolf O'Donnell. This was the first Switch game to include Star Fox characters, beating Super Smash Bros. Ultimate by a few weeks.
Gameplay is third-person action-adventure, set in a fictional star system around the star Atlas. Players pilot spaceships to explore space and planet atmospheres. During the story, they meet alien species and form alliances, which changes the world state and gameplay. The open Atlas system is freely explorable, and split-screen multiplayer lets two players explore together. Ships can seamlessly transition between space and a planet's surface. Each planet has its own landscape, story, hazards, and life forms that can threaten the player. Combat happens in space and on planets. Ships are highly customizable: wings, weapons, and modules can be swapped at will, and players are encouraged to try different weapon combinations because enemies react differently. Pilots have special abilities—for example, one can slow down time. There are four types of ships and pilots.
The game can be played digitally, but it also has toys-to-life elements. Players can buy physical toy ship components and place them on a custom controller mount, which instantly appears on-screen. Swapping real-life toy parts changes the in-game ship. Each physical ship has two connection points for parts. Buying a physical part also unlocks its digital version, so players don't have to use the toys or mount.
Quick Facts
- Title
- Starlink: Battle for Atlas
- Developer
- Ubisoft TorontoAdditional work by Ubisoft Leamington. Ported to Switch by Virtuos.
- Publisher
- Ubisoft
- Director
- Laurent Malville / Richard Carillo
- Producer
- Matthew Rose
- Designer
- Jesse Knapp
- Programmer
- Peter Handrinos
- Artist
- Daniel Ebanks
- Writer
- Joshua Mohan / Kyle Muir
- Composer
- Trevor Yuile
- Engine
- Snowdrop
- Platforms
- Nintendo Switch · PlayStation 4 · Xbox One · Microsoft Windows
Facts from the source article.
Lore & Background
The game is set in the Atlas star system. Early on, the player's mothership, Equinox, is ambushed by the Forgotten Legion and crashes on a nearby planet; the captain of the Equinox is taken hostage. The Legion's leader, Grax, is obsessed with an extinct race called the Wardens, who left behind ancient technology that Grax seeks for his own legion. Exclusive to the Nintendo Switch version is a crossover with Nintendo's Star Fox series, where Fox McCloud, Falco Lombardi, Peppy Hare, and Slippy Toad provide aid to the main Starlink characters while on their own mission to hunt down Wolf O'Donnell. This was the first Nintendo Switch game to feature Star Fox characters, followed by Super Smash Bros. Ultimate several weeks later.
Reader's Guide
Starlink: Battle for Atlas was developed by Ubisoft Toronto with assistance from Ubisoft Leamington. Development began after Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot assigned the team to create a new game mixing breakthrough technology and innovative gameplay. A small team of 10 developers brainstormed ideas and eventually proposed a toys-to-life game, which Guillemot approved. The team prototyped a Starlink spaceship using exposed wires and duct tape, receiving an enthusiastic reaction. The game was originally intended for kids aged 8 to 11, but the target audience was widened after positive reactions from parents. The toys-to-life technology was developed in-house and made optional to be consumer-friendly. Critics noted the timing of the announcement, as popular toys-to-life titles like Skylanders and Disney Infinity were winding down, but the creative director believed the game had enough innovation to revive the genre. The game was announced at E3 2017, and at E3 2018 the Star Fox crossover was revealed with Star Fox creator Shigeru Miyamoto as a guest. Despite generally positive reviews, the game failed to meet sales expectations, leading Ubisoft to halt the release of new toys after the Spring update.
Did You Know?
- The Nintendo Switch version was the first game to feature Star Fox characters on the platform, preceding Super Smash Bros. Ultimate.
- The physical starter kit for PlayStation 4 and Xbox One includes pilot Mason Rana and the Zenith starship, while the Switch starter pack includes Fox McCloud and his Arwing.
- Ubisoft halted the release of new toys after the Spring update due to sales failing to meet expectations.
- The game's toys-to-life technology was developed in-house by Ubisoft Toronto.
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