Sea of Stars Has One of the Best Video Game Moments of 2023

Spoilers for the opening 10 hours of Sea of Stars.

Sea of Stars is one of the best games in a year filled with so many of the best games. And while its gorgeous world, energetic battle system, and 16-bit inspirations are all wonderful, it’s the individual moments along the adventure that really stick with me. And few have landed quite as powerfully as the reveal of where the Great Archives are, and how its Archivist is linked to the adventure at the heart of the story.

Upon starting the game, the very first shot we see is a slow pan down the length of the Great Archives. Shelves of impossibly ancient books are lit by the dim glow of candlelight. You can almost feel a tickle in the back of your throat from the layers of dust that blanket the centuries of knowledge.

In an ornate chair facing away from us sits a person who immediately breaks the fourth wall and greets us to the beginning of this adventure. They say they are known as The Archivist, “an immortal versed in the ways of alchemy.” They read from an old book, seemingly telling us a story that has already been written. They speak of topics like adventure, destiny, and the possibility of change.

Despite the wizened nature of the being, there’s a playfulness on hand as they occasionally turn around in their chair to briefly face us. It’s here that we can make out their humanoid appearance, although their face is hidden beneath a cloak with only the glow of their eyes visible.

From here we’re quickly whisked away to the adventures of Valare, Zale, and Garl. And honestly, it’s pretty easy to forget the entire framing device for long stretches of time throughout the first 10 hours of the game. When I was surviving haunted mansions, being hurled across the world by an ancient giant, and spending way too long getting hooked on Wheels, this world’s take on Final Fantasy VIII‘s Triple Triad, I was firmly rooted in the moment.

But every so often, Sea of Stars would drift back to that dusty room, and The Archivist would provide a bit of context to where we were currently at in the story. In my mind, the Great Archives were a tiny pocket dimension floating outside of time and space. However, I’d soon learn that wasn’t the case.

Well into my adventure, during a chapter called Beyond the Tides, I made my way to Antsudlo, which is ostensibly the game’s Water Temple. Our goal was to defeat a creature known as the Dweller of Strife before it could evolve into a World Eater and…well…you get the picture. In order to accomplish this, we’d need to navigate the dungeon and press on through a door at the top.

Along the way, there were some neat puzzles  revolving around manipulating the flow of water and ultimately raising the water level in a main chamber. It’s no Water Temple from Ocarina of Time, but few things are.

My party eventually reached the top of the dungeon, only to find that the door they needed to go through was completely sealed. There was no handle in sight, and magic had no effect on it. The Dweller of Strife would soon become a World Eater, and there was nothing we could do about it.

Fade to black.

Fade back into the Great Archives, and our old friend is still there, reading from his same ancient tome. They speak again, and you can almost hear a somber tone in their words; a lament for how far you’ve come, and how close you were to finding what you were looking for.

“Their efforts in the tower proved valiant, but alas, as fate would hate it when these events first occurred, the mysterious door remained firmly shut. Despite their best efforts in the face of this setback, our heroes were unable to reach Mesa Island in time, and the Dweller of Strife turned into a World Eater. They fought so bravely, but in the end their lives, and their world, were lost.”

But then the tone changes. The Archivist continues, “Thus, we arrive at the crux of tonight’s musings: a single question. How far might they go should fate be given a nudge, and the door that once sat closed were to be opened?” The Archivist puts the book down on the table next to them and speaks four simple words, “Let us find out.” They turn around in their chair, seemingly breaking the fourth wall and addressing us once again. But with his next words, it’s clear that’s not the case. “Come in.”

The camera pans down, and we see our heroes walk through the no-longer-sealed door in the Water Temple and into the Great Archives. They are now face to face with our narrator. The framing device and the painting it encased are now one. And it’s at this moment that Sea of Stars truly feels like it begins.

2023 has been a year crammed with memorable moments. I’ve leapt off sky islands in Tears of the Kingdom, lost my sanity to eldritch horrors in Dredge, relived a masterpiece in Resident Evil 4 Remake, made it out of a crumbling world with only seconds to spare in Pizza Tower, and discovered what happens when you put pineapple on pizza in Pineapple on Pizza. But among all of them, this moment in Sea of Stars might be my favorite.