With Starfinder: Afterlight, an ambitious RPG will soon bring a crazy role-playing system to PC and to Steam. You will soon be able to get a first glimpse for yourself.
What kind of game is this?
- You play in Starfinder: Afterlight a wildly mixed group of outsiders who must prevent the end of the world – of which no one really knows anything. In addition to your own character, you have six companions available.
- The gameplay follows the classic cRPG system with turn-based combat, isometric perspective, and plenty of story along with decisions you can make. The basis is Starfinder, the sci-fi version of Pathfinder and one of the best alternatives to D&D.
- The focus of the game is on the narrative and particularly on your companions, whose fate and relationship to you is influenced by your actions.
When is the test? Starting March 19, 2026, you can participate in the first public beta playtest. To do this, you only need to register on the Steam page of Starfinder: Afterlight for the playtest. You do not have to pre-order the game.
The test includes about 45-60 minutes from the start of the game and offers you three different, pre-made characters. You will meet the first companions and explore the fate of your captain, a cheeky space pirate as well as a part of the city you land in.
Players who have supported the game on Kickstarter may already know the content. Starfinder: Afterlight is set to launch in early access later in 2026, and a public demo is expected to be available this summer. The final release is still pending.
Experienced developers with a clear plan
The developers behind Starfinder, Epictellers Entertainment, are veterans from the gaming industry who have previously worked at Crytek on Crysis and Ryse: Son of Rome. However, the role-playing game is their first work as an indie studio and a huge challenge, as they themselves say.
Starfinder aims to learn from the giants of the genre, particularly Baldur’s Gate 3 and Larian in general, as well as from Owlcat, who are currently working on the new Warhammer RPG Dark Heresy.
Particularly, Baldur’s Gate 3 is likely to have a lot of influence, not only because the focus of the game is on character development and companions, but also because the voice of Astarion, Neil Newbon, is actually participating and is directing the voice acting.
If that wasn’t convincing enough: the narrator is Roger Clark, the voice of Arthur Morgan from Red Dead Redemption. However, there will not be a German voiceover available at this current stage.
With the companions, not only their own stories are in focus, but also your relationships with them. For example, it may happen that your actions may upset a companion, or bring you closer to them, because yes: there will also be romances. While there won’t be any bear scenes like in Baldur’s Gate 3, at least you can flirt with the strange bug-snail alien if you want to.
Two of the companions from Starfinder: Afterlight were actually introduced exclusively by us.
Larian as a major role model for Epictellers Entertainment is currently in the process of creating their largest role-playing game to date: Divinity. Considering how large Baldur’s Gate 3 already was, development is likely to take quite a while. All information available so far can be found here: Divinity: Release, trailer, and gameplay – What we know about the new game from the creators of Baldur’s Gate 3
