Hit Indie RPG Sea of Stars is getting three player couch co-op

I would argue Sea of Stars was the best indie game of 2023. I’d even go as far as saying it deserved more space in the game of the year conversation, but that’s an argument for another time. With 5 million copies sold, Sabotage Studio has announced a new co-op mode coming to the RPG in a future update.

Sea of Stars is getting three-player couch co-op

Sea of Stars just surpassed 5 million copies sold, and as a reward, players are getting ‘Single Player+’ mode, teased in a new trailer. The short version is that it will allow players to team up with two friends locally on their RPG adventure. Since the indie game plays like a classic turn-based RPG, how will that work?

“Staying true to the game’s core turn-based roots, each player will engage in traversal and combat with a new ‘Co-op timed hits’ mechanic as they embark with friends on Sea of Stars’ grand adventure. The new mode is currently in development and more details are set to be released soon.”

Sabotage Studio

A new reason to go back and play Sea of Stars again sounds good to me. Along with the ability to play with a few buddies, we also get some new combat and traversal mechanics, though they haven’t been thoroughly explained just yet. ‘Co-op timed hits’ likely refer to the attack and defense timing, which require the player to tap a button right when their character makes contact with an attack or the enemy attack hits. This results in extra damage on attack and significantly lowered damage taken on defense. Using context clues, it seems that in co-op, those bonuses will require all players to perfectly time the hits.

That should make for chaotic gameplay and probably plenty of arguments. Isn’t that exactly what you want out of a couch co-op experience?