Star Birds

Last updated
Star Birds
Star Birds logo.jpg
The logo of Star Birds
Developers
Release10 September 2025 (early access)

Star Birds is an 2025 factory simulation and resource management game based on asteroid mining developed and published by Toukana Interactive in collaboration with Kurzgesagt. The game released in early access on 10 September 2025.

Contents

Development

In March 2024, Toukana announced a video game collaboration with Kurzgesagt, a German animation studio. [1] The game, originally codenamed "Project Mango", was revealed as Star Birds on 9 June at the PC Gaming Show. [2] [3] [4] The two studios first met in 2022 at Gamescom. [1] The art style of Star Birds resemble's Kurzgesagt's animation. [5] The game was released in early access on Steam on 10 September 2025. [6] The full release is expected to take between 6–12 months. [7]

Gameplay

A screenshot of Star Birds gameplay during the alpha stage of development Star Birds screenshot alpha.webp
A screenshot of Star Birds gameplay during the alpha stage of development

The protagonists of the game are the birds often found in Kurzgesagt videos. [8] [9] [10] The birds are trying to expand an empire and make new resources. [7] The game's theme is asteroid mining, and players gather resources from different asteroids to use in factories. [8] [9] Players construct networks to process resources in factories in order to complete quests. [8] Asteroids are procedurally generated, and each asteroid only has a limited area to build, so players also have to manage space for efficiency. [8] Much of the challenge comes from the placing of pipes, which cannot cross over each other. [11] Once all quests are completed, the birds move onto another star system and begin a new series of quests on new asteroids. [8] Each star system has its own unique materials and resources. [11] There is an in-game wiki to look up recipes and processes for manufacturing. [8] [9]

Reception

PC Gamer said that the game had an easy start but quickly became very complicated. [8] ComicBook.com praised the visuals and game design but said that the story was unengaging and disconnected from the actual gameplay. [9] GameLuster said that the game was low-stress and "perfect entry to automation management games for newcomers". [11]

On Steam, Star Birds received an "overwhelmingly positive" rating of 95% positive reviews. [7] Over 200,000 people played the free Steam demo in early 2025. [10]

Awards

YearAwardCategoryResultRef.
2025 Gamescom Most WholesomeNominated [12]
Indie XMost Fun to PlayNominated [13]

References

  1. 1 2 Castle, Katharine; Castle, Katharine (2024-03-21). "Dorfromantik devs tease new space game Project Mango". Rock, Paper, Shotgun. Retrieved 2025-12-17.
  2. Romano, Sal (2024-06-09). "Project Mango officially announced as Star Birds". Gematsu. Retrieved 2025-12-16.
  3. "Mango". www.toukana.com. Archived from the original on 2024-03-28. Retrieved 2025-12-17.
  4. "Dorfromantik developer unveils new space game Star Birds". Eurogamer.net. 2024-06-09. Retrieved 2025-12-22.
  5. Welsh, Oli (2024-06-12). "Dorfromantik team's Star Birds splices Mario Galaxy with science YouTube". Polygon. Retrieved 2025-12-17.
  6. Purchese, Robert (2025-09-10). "10th September video game roundup: Nintendo Direct announced for Friday, and Elden Ring Nightreign's new mode unveiled". Eurogamer.net. Retrieved 2025-12-17.
  7. 1 2 3 Watson, Eric (2025-09-18). "Dorfromantik dev's next game launches on Early Access, hits Overwhelmingly Positive rating". Pixelkin. Retrieved 2025-12-17.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Valentine, Robin (2025-09-16). "I thought the new space factory management sim from the creators of Dorfromantik would be just as cosy, but now I'm panicking over my twisted interplanetary production lines". PC Gamer. Retrieved 2025-12-17.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Stouffer, Tobi (2025-09-10). "Star Birds Review: I Can't Believe How Challenging a Management Sim Is About Birds in Space". ComicBook.com. Retrieved 2025-12-17.
  10. 1 2 Merwe, Julian van der (2025-09-11). "Fresh Steam cozy base building game by Dorfromantik dev and Kurzgesagt launches with discount after 200,000 players flock to free demo". Notebookcheck. Retrieved 2025-12-17.
  11. 1 2 3 Gandhi, Nirav (2025-09-13). "Star Birds Review In Progress - Avian Automation Elation". GameLuster. Retrieved 2025-12-17.
  12. "The gamescom award 2025 nominees – the race is on for the coveted trophies!". gamescom. Retrieved 2025-12-18.
  13. "Steam :: Star Birds :: Star Birds Nominated at Indie X 2025". store.steampowered.com. 2025-10-20. Retrieved 2025-12-18.