STAR OCEAN THE SECOND STORY R similar games & best alternatives

STAR OCEAN THE SECOND STORY R

PlayStation 4, PC (Microsoft Windows), PlayStation 5, Nintendo Switch • 2023

Should you play it?

In this science fantasy RPG, choose between Claude or Rena, play through their perspectives, and unlock various endings. Recruit allies and defeat foes in fast paced real-time battles.

What works

  • Faithful and high-quality remake
  • Deep crafting and skill systems
  • Nostalgic and immersive
  • Quality of life improvements
  • Multiple endings and replayability

Things to keep in mind

  • Some voice acting criticized
  • Story considered formulaic by some
  • Combat can be simplistic or uneven
  • Difficulty spikes may frustrate
  • Sedentary gameplay

What to play next

Top picks

Games that feels the closest overall

  • Eternal Strands

  • Ys X: Nordics

  • Mass Effect™: Andromeda Deluxe Edition

  • Sword Art Online: Hollow Realization Deluxe Edition

  • The Outer Worlds 2

  • Dragon's Dogma: Dark Arisen

Less intimate

Games that feels like STAR OCEAN THE SECOND STORY R but with less focus on close relationships

  • Voidling Bound

  • Mandragora: Whispers of the Witch Tree

  • Atlas Fallen: Reign Of Sand

  • Visions of Mana

  • Risen 3 - Titan Lords

  • Summoner

More social

Games that feels like STAR OCEAN THE SECOND STORY R but with more teamwork and cooperation

  • Borderlands 2

  • Lost Castle 2

  • Dungeon Defenders II

  • Dungeons of Sundaria

  • Enshrouded

  • Borderlands: The Pre-Sequel

Choose your own criteria ->

From the same developer

From the same developer, ranked by motivational fit.

  • FINAL FANTASY VII REBIRTH

  • FINAL FANTASY VIII - REMASTERED

  • FINAL FANTASY VII REMAKE INTERGRADE

  • NEO: The World Ends with You

  • CRISIS CORE –FINAL FANTASY VII– REUNION

Similarity map

How to use the graph

Similarity map

Each dot is a game placed from its motivation profile relative to this page’s game. Direction shows which motivation differs most; distance along that axis shows how large the gap is.

  • Purple star: this page’s game at the centre — everything is relative to it.
  • Direction: each axis is a main motivational difference vs this game (e.g. more / less competitive).
  • Distance on an axis: how large that difference is (ring scales show +/− points).
  • Coloured chips: click to highlight games that mainly differ on that motivation; click again to reset.
  • Dotted line: link between this page’s game and the one selected for comparison.
  • Hover a dot to preview that game in the panel on the right; click to keep that comparison.
  • Scroll or double-click the chart to zoom.

How to read the map This is a polar difference map: direction = which motivation differs, and distance = how much (same units as the sidebar deltas).

STAR OCEAN THE SECOND STORY R: Broadly representative of its motivational profile, with a few distinct shifts. Motivations that often define this kind of title include Cooperation, Fellowship, Intimacy, Leadership. Here, the score leans higher than usual among comparable games on Creativity. It leans lower than usual among comparable games on Cooperation, Leadership.

Last update: 03/08/2026