Starlink: Battle for Atlas - Starter Pack (Xbox One/SX)

An engaging entry point into space combat and exploration, with just enough sophistication to be attractive to some veteran pilots.

The toys are unnecessary, but Starlink: Battle for Atlas is still an enjoyable space adventure.

Everything it gets right - the clever mix-and-match shipbuilding, the combat, the controls, the imaginative alien worlds, the decent space opera storyline - can't escape the vortex of tedium that comes with pedestrian mission design, planets that are mechanically the same, and the crushing knowledge that people who buy just the Starter Pack are getting an unquestionably inferior experience.

Starlink is an interesting and enjoyable open-world game, one that fully understands the appeal of exploring new planets and dogfighting in the cold depths of space. With a small fleet of ships at your disposal, it can be a lot of fun to progressively assault and weaken the Forgotten Legion's hold on the galaxy.

Starlink: Battle for Atlas is a fun, arcade-y revival of the spaceship shooter that's been filled out with a lot of extra open world stuff - both the good and the bad. The big question mark is how much game you really get if you don't fork out for the extra toys - but for old-school fans who own a Switch, this could well be the closest we ever get to Star Fox on Switch, and that's a big sell for some.