Sunrider: Liberation Day Review – Freedom Is Within Reach

Sunday, July 6, 2025

Genre - Sci-fi, Action, Mecha Play Time - 14 hours Developer - Love In Space Steam VNDB

Welcome Aboard Captain

Of all the games in the Sunrider series this was by far the most controversial on release and saw a major revision to its ending as a result. It is now a well regarded entry yet the scars of this change are evident in many subtle ways. Throughout the story there is an effort to up the stakes to provide a more dramatic experience than Mask of Arcadius and it takes an even broader picture view of the war. The crew of the Sunrider return in all their amusing glory as their conflicts and relationships continue to grow in the face of adversity. Mechanically this continues to utilise the turn based tactics systems of Mask of Arcadius which remain enjoyable even if you can feel them reaching their limits. All of this is presented in a complete package of visuals and audio that perfectly capture the fantasy of being a starship captain. Then there is the issue of ending and the lack of player agency, these hang over the later parts of the game even in its transformed state. However, are they enough to undermine the sci-fi adventure this title is built on? Let’s engage the warp drives and find out.

Fighting On New Fronts – Narrative And Themes

Picking up seconds after the plot twist ending of Mask of Arcadius puts the player right back into the action and sets up the tone for what is to come. As the war between the Alliance and Pact enters its next stage and the scale of conflict threatens to swallow the Neutral Rim. It is a narrative with a lot of forward momentum where everything seems to be pushing towards an inevitable climax as if guided by unseen hands. Alongside this is the promise of an end to the war which is a constant presence throughout the game as the characters dream of what they will do after the liberation of Cera. These thoughts act as a means of distracting the player and lulling them into thinking they know how this will all end. Despite being revealed to the world the Prototypes still hold the reins of power over the galaxy and their madness and machinations make for a great contrast to the big space battles. They combine well with the rising personal conflicts between the crew with Asaga growing increasingly suspicious that her best friend Chigara might be one of the Prototypes. Creating these rifts and slowly pacing out character moments helps the title not lose sight of the people fighting this war and the cost for them both physically and mentally. The consequences of the player’s actions in the first game contribute a lot to this feeling of personal involvement with some like Ava’s appearance being constant remainders of the scars left behind by this conflict.

The plot develops both inside and outside the Sunrider

All this is good until the later half, and in particular the original ending, where Liberation Day makes a few choices which rubbed some players the wrong way. Chief among these issues is the presence of a forced romance despite the previous game giving the freedom to interact with cast however the player wanted. Obviously if you liked the character in question then there would be no issue, but many people did not and felt betrayed by such a substantial change to the direction of the series. Narratively this forced romance exists for the purposes of creating a conflict between the cast and setting up the big plot twist. In the context of Kayto Shields’ personality and character arc this choice makes sense, the issue is that up until this point the line between the player and Shields has been deliberately blurred to allow for a self insert angle. As such this adds a friction between the two not present before. The original ending was a plot twist which was sudden and over quickly while leaving the fate of the cast up in the air in an inconclusive fashion. On its own this may not have been a problem since this is the very nature of cliff hanger, but when combined with the forced romance it compounded the loss of agency and pushed it over the boiling point. The resulting backlash led to quite considerable changes as the developers tried and put out the fire. These include an expansion to the original ending so it is no longer such a cliff hanger and an entirely new and separate what if chapter focused on heroines. However, they do not change the fundamental structure and railroading and are instead attempts to soften the blow. Whether you are okay with what Libration Day is at its core and the concessions it made will determine how much enjoyment you will get out of it.

Motley Crew – Characters

The old cast returns with their suite of strong personalities from both the crew and the various factions. They form the majority of the characters and make for an experience which feels like the direct continuation it is and as such their arcs develop here in much the same way as before. Each crew member is afforded the time to move their arcs forward in a meaningful way and it adds to the sense that the Sunrider is a small community. Of them, two in particular are given the majority of the screen time, Asaga and Chigara since their conflict drives much of the crew’s internal struggles. As Asaga descends into a pit of hostility and paranoia about Chigara’s allegiances, her actions become similarly problematic until it all boils over into an open clash. Watching this descent slowly and inevitably creeping up, much to Shield’s ignorance, is the most compelling through line present in the narrative. It is the fall of a character the player has come to like which gives it a power the abstract and grand war could never have and makes for a perfect complement as they build up alongside one another. There are a few new characters in the form of the Prototypes with distinct personalities who are added in order provide substance to their motives and identity. While they have relevance to the plot, their relatively small amount of screen time leads to them feeling hollow and they seem to exist to explain their plans to the player rather than being entities with any depth beyond simple antagonists.

Look at them scheming

War In The Final Frontier – Visual, Audio and Technical

Visually there has been a much need upgrade to both 2D and 3D art assets from those of Mask Of Arcadius. Everything is more vivid in the game’s depiction of this larger than life sci-fi universe and it makes sure to push this new coat of paint into the player’s face as much as possible. There are no dramatic redesigns so it all comes across as what these characters and places were originally meant to look like and that vision has just been allowed to make itself known. As you might expect it also continues to reinforce the space captain fantasy through its bright and spacious interiors and grand space battles. The soundtrack contribute to this feeling with music which ranges from emotional to empowering wrapped up in the common sense of a space adventure where great deeds will be accomplished. This upgrade and increased focus on the idea of the space captain as a heroic figure were needed since Mask of Arcadius was on the weaker side in terms of its visuals and it was already pushing these ideas but they needed the more complete package of Liberation Day to properly mature.

While larger than before, this system has reached its limit

As for the turn based tactical mechanics, there has been little in the way of changes made outside of the streamlining of unit abilities to make more sense within the system. A few new enemy types have been added to mix to ensure the experience gives the player something new to consider in their calculations. Beyond this change, it remains a well formulated means of presenting the space battles and the characters’ part within it. Every unit has a defined role on the battlefield and they mesh together to create a series of engaging tactical choices. The enemy units inspire a similar response as they work to counter the player’s decisions and demand certain targets be prioritised in back and forth exchange of fire and abilities. However, Liberation Day marks the extreme of what this system is capable of doing as the game struggles to add complexity and difficulty as the playtime rolls on. The later sections are characterised by unit spam or inflated health pools in an attempt to challenge the player. Instead it just feels drawn out and cheap compared to the earlier stages and results in the mechanics ending on a weak note.

Conclusion

Liberation Day is an interesting transitionary phase in the series where elements of the old rub up against the change in direction. It successfully raises the stakes and transitions the war to its next phase in a manner which builds off the established world in entertaining ways. The characters remain the same driving forces for the narrative as before and are given the space they need to continue their growth. Improved visuals and audio design further the space captain fantasy with a vivid depiction of this sci-fi setting. While the mechanics mostly adhere to this trend of improvement, it is clear that they have reached their limit in terms of complexity and difficulty. Then there is the railroading of the narrative and the forced romance which feel contrary to the emphasis placed on player choice by Mask of Arcadius. Overall, this is still a strong entry in the franchise even with the problems it has implementing its new ideas.

Verdict –

Another strong entry in the Sunrider series which continues its grand narrative and loveable cast while giving it a new coat of paint. Even if it does stumble in implementing its new ideas.