Following the success of 2018’s The Messenger, developer Sabotage Studio decided to go all in on its dream project – a fully featured RPG inspired by Chrono Trigger, Super Mario RPG, and more. We played the game’s opening eight hours and spoke with the team’s creative director, artists, and sound designer and composer (as well as Chrono Trigger composer, Yasunori Mitsuda who is contributing music to the game!) about bringing its fantasy world to life and living up to the quality of the games that inspired it.

We have two amazing covers for Sea of Stars from Sabotage Studio senior concept artist Bryce Kho. The standard cover (below) shows the Solstice Warriors, Valere and Zale, along with their friend Garl, moving through the Forbidden Cavern while carefully avoiding monsters. The artwork for our Gold cover shows the same team embroiled in combat with the Botanical Horror boss in the Haunted Mansion.

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Alongside the cover story for Sea of Stars, issue 354 also features a massive spread of 30 indie games that we can’t wait to play. You will also find features on exploring the streets of Kabukichō (the real-life inspiration for Yakuza/Like a Dragon’s Kamurochō) with Tokyo Vice: An American Reporter on the Police Beat in Japan author Jake Adelstein, the Australian video game development scene, an interview with the creators of Dead Cell’s Return to Castlevania expansion, and the Kerbal Space Program community. On top of that, we also have a great feature about the popular trend of demaking modern games and previews for Final Fantasy XVI, WWE 2K23, Crime Boss: Rockay City, and more.

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You can also try to nab a Game Informer Gold version of the issue (seen above). Limited to a numbered print run per issue, this premium version of Game Informer isn’t available for sale. To learn about places where you might be able to get a copy, check out our official Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram, and stay tuned for more details in the coming weeks. Click here to read more about Game Informer Gold.

Print subscribers can expect their issues to arrive in the coming weeks. The digital edition of this issue launches later today for PC/Mac, iOS, and Google Play. To subscribe to either the digital or print version, click here.