Crystal Shard’s Quasar shines again in Deluxe Edition re-release

Written by Pascal Tekaia — April 21, 2015 at 16:21

Over time, we’ve seen embattled space-faring crews take on any number of outrageous or dangerous situations, playing the odds and usually coming out on top. But indie developer Crystal Shard has given us a different take on this archetype; instead of facing adversity from a hostile race of aliens or life-threatening conditions on distant planets, the crew in Quasar is threatening to fall apart from the inside out.

In a cramped environment, without privacy, and an around-the-clock assignment with no time to get away from it all, the ship’s crew members have had their latest in a series of disagreements, and have retreated away from each other across the ship, sulking. But with an important mission hanging in the balance, cooperation is vital for success. So it falls on the ship’s medical officer to bridge the divides and restore the crew to its former cooperative status.

With emphasis placed on storytelling rather than puzzle-solving, Quasar spends its time exploring the different characters – each crew member has unique talents according to his or her role on board, and responds to the environment in their own way, according to their personality. Though not meant to be overly difficult or lengthy, Quasar features several puzzles embedded within its gameplay, some of them solvable only by certain characters.

If the game sounds somewhat familiar, it’s because Quasar was originally launched as a freeware adventure in December 2011. Now, however, the team has enhanced the graphics and added full voice acting in a commercial “Deluxe Edition” re-release. You can learn more about the upgraded version of the game at the official website, and purchase the game for PC at the Adventure Gamers Store..