Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Indiana Jones and the Great Circle
Game
Game2023
Sunrider 4: The Captain's Return
Developer Love in Space
Captain Kayto Shields returns from exile in Sunrider 4: The Captain’s Return for a new space adventure! From the Steam store page
187 reactions from 2 sources (Steam reviews, Bluesky) · newest Aug 30, 2026 · last updated Oct 8, 2026 · How this works
Audience score
84
LovedLoved
156 positive · 30 negative
95% range 78–88%
| Source | + | − | = |
|---|---|---|---|
| Steam reviews | 156 | 30 | 0 |
| Bluesky * | 0 | 0 | 0 |
* shown, not counted in the score (label accuracy below our 85% bar or not yet audited).
1 newer reactions are still waiting for a label.
Steam's own rating
Very Positive
259 of 293 reviews positive (all languages, per Valve)
What people are saying
Summary pending — the reactions are listed below.
Reactions
60 of 187 · most liked firstHmmm, SR4 is really hard to review. For me, I feel mixed about it. I wouldn't give directly an thumbs down, but for me, it's not a >90% title. The battle system was at first a bit troublesome during the momentum system, but I got used to it fast. Still I think the classical Hex based combat of the earlier Sunrider Games is superior. The battles are fun and especially to upgrade the Ryders (and specialize them into different tactics) is super cool. It had an hillarious high difficulty on…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Ive always been a fan of the Sunrider series and ive been waiting for this game for years. Definitely a massive improvement of the previous games. The art has come a long way from the first game, and I was really glad to be back in the world of Sunrider. I haven't felt this excited for a game in a long while Edit: Ive seen a couple reviews talking about performance and Id just like to add my own experience as well. My system is by no means great aside from having an excess of RAM and I haven't…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Assuming you are here because you've played the other sunrider games. If not, don't bother with this. After a long hiatus, sunrider 4 basically sneaked its way out onto steam, with barely any pre-release hype. Gameplay Sunrider has tosses away its grid based system, for free movement system, but has also added Newtonian movement, making huge trajectory changes is very difficult, as is slowing down or reversing directions, especially for the less mobile units. This system has a bit of…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'VE WAITED 8 YEARS FOR THIS GAAAAAAAAAAAAME!!! Writing a simple review won't do this game justice, but I will try, In short, this is a true spiritual successor to Mass Effect, if Mass Effect was a Visual Novel, and a true Sunrider sequel that you've been waiting for since Mask of Arcadius in 2015 This game impoves everything, and I mean everything. The illustrations are better, the combat is cooler and the story is longer and more exciting. Every single plot line they left in question, or…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →SPOILER ALERT! This is a game where I REALLY wish there was a middle option. The music and the visuals are a definite step up, with some reused tracks from old games along with new ones. The change in combat from a hex based grid, to a momentum based one, takes a second to get used to, but it's an improvement once you do. It allows a bit more freedom instead of always just rushing or hunkering down. The team get's stronger with more clear upgrade paths, and new options open up when the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I was having fun playing Sunrider 4. Then, I finished chapter 7, and Claude takes center stage, and the game becomes a psychological torturefest. As I write this, I'm trying to think of a single character who is less likable than Claude Trilleo, out of all of the video games I've ever played. I can't think of any. If the price of getting to play Sunrider 4 is to be subjected to Claude's antics, then that is a price I'm not willing to pay.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Sunrider 4: The Captain's Return is the 4th entry to the canon series, Academy not considered here, and it does a marvelous job at what it aims to do. This review will not be number based (i.e. 9/10), but will instead be a qualitative one. Visuals & Graphics Starting with the graphics and visuals, the step up in quality is evident. There is a surprising amount of high quality CG, some of which are animated through relatively simple means, and they transmit the implied emotions perfectly; the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I got this game to finish up the story and it was not a good experience unlike the previous ones. My main complaint is the battle system. While it took some getting used to, I don't like fighting multiple battles with tons of enemies at the end of the game. It is a tedious process waiting for the enemy to make all the moves. In the previous games you would fight in waves which was much preferred but there were also fewer enemies. More enemies sound better but it's just boring waiting for the…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Sola Best Girl.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The exploration mission. Who thought that was a good idea? It's just instant death on the easiest difficulty until you go through over and over as trial and error, so you don't misplace your slow ryder by 1 centimeter, or you can't exit the room on that turn and everyone dies. No Sunrider fan ever asked for this. Fight against Crow is extremely hard and unfair on the easiest difficulty. Just extremely frustrating toward the end of the game with no real payoff. No sex with the girls on…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The game was not as good as previous releases. I prefer the old combat grid and really disliked the maze missions. The story also does not end here so I hope the next one is the final game because the story was not as good as the rest of the sunrider series.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Excuse the weird formatting. Steam decided to remove all formatting and turn this into one big clump of text, and I could not fix it without spacing out paragraphs with bullet points.The new battle system and story are great, and is a major improvement over previous games. However, addition of a puzzle system is extremely controversial. Developers failed to take into account of the fact that some people do not like puzzle games (regardless of how small a part they have in terms of % raw content…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I personally really like the Sunrider franchise. I find the worldbuilding and characters to all be compelling and interesting. That's a big part of why I keep coming back. However, it's also become increasingly clear to me that the devs have a specific story they want to tell, and, unfortunately, it doesn't perfectly fit the Dating Sim VN genera. I'll explain in more detail below, but, for those looking for the quick and dirty, here's my verdict. 1: If you played Sunrider for the Combat,…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really like the continuation of the Sunrider-Story. The artstyle, gameplay and story really has come a long way since the first Sunrider-Game and has really flourished. I would easily give this game an 11/10 - must play. However, i do have some critics... Sunrider - Liberation Day (the predecessor) - There are people out there that didnt liked the forced relationship back then however this was nessercary for the story to really function the way it should be in Sunrider 4 - and with the…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Sadly I cannot recommend this game. The writing is just not good and much worse than that of the previous games. The last few chapters were a big mess, and were so disappointing that I had to force myself to finish the game. The conclusion of the teased enemy at the end of Sunrider LD was so, so bad, just to name one example. The charm of the girls also has taken a huge hit as all characters have now completely entered the trope train. Lastly, the choices of previous games were pretty much…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The captain did return and he did ride a sun 10/10 accurate title
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The stupid, boring temple levels are boring, needs a skip button.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm vastly disappointed by the dramatic departer for the combat system in this game vs the two previous titles in this series. I enjoyed the combat of the last two prior games, I even 100% everything in the 2nd title for Achievements. But they basically threw the old combat system out the window and created something "new and fresh" with no forethought that maybe people actually liked the grid based combat system and that type of game is pretty hard to find this day and age and instead of…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Really not enjoying the puzzles aspect of the game. You basically need to solve puzzles to advance the gameplay. It's so different from previous games, I'm flabbergasted. In this version, they went economy-mode on the story (Liberation Day had one of the best story arcs), and decided to "improve" it with puzzles that don't even have any emotional/psychological impact. And the puzzles are so poorly thought out, that it feels like they had a non-game designer come up with it. If it's the same…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →THIS GAME GOT WOKE! DO NOT BUY! They added dieversity, incloosion and reelism to this game. This game WAS all about a strong male hero and a cast of waifus WITH H-SCENES AND APPEAL TO THE MALE FANTASY! NO MORE! This is all about the captain suffering as a miner, Fontana speaks of equality, the old sunrider's design gets insulted, a boring-to-death process for kiska because "reelism is fun goys", Asaga becomes empress of ryuvia after a 1 year long power void that would have been filled in…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →sola is best girl, like always
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →And thus, the Captain returns to suffer emotional damage again
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →+ The whole game feels to be more mature in compare with the previous parts. Characters have truly grown and the world is much less black and white. - Puzzle missions - We were given some answers but really in Claude's style. So many words and so little important information. I would appreciate to see the story not as MC but as a player. I believe after so many years of waiting we deserved it. Please let the next part be the last one. I will play any game about sunrider's universe but I want…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really liked the first two games, a lot actually, but this installment... how do I put it... the combat is complete absurdity. I'll finish the game anyway since I bought it, but I won't be waiting for future sequels, because I know that if they ruined one thing, they'll ruin the rest. It's hard to highlight any pros other than the improved artwork (though it's still just okay), so let's talk about the one massive negative. The combat: 1. The balance is complete crap. 2. Ryders, which are…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I have sent 109 hours total on this franchise, and I shall happily await it's ultimate finale. I can't remember what I saw that made me want to buy the first 3 in 2022 but I am glad that I did, and furthermore, that I got the time to play them and this one. During my time playing the games, I have "lived," laughed, Cringed, Cringed more, left gobsmacked and witnessed some of the thickest plot twists. The cast of characters are still a fun bunch as they were in the older titles and the game play…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Enjoyed the game throughly sola best girl
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Bro... I picked "STORY MODE" which is probably easier than "EASY" mode, and I am failing. lol Good game though.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Enjoy trying to make a formation when your ships slide everywhere and it can take all your energy to come to a stop unless you plan out movement 2-3 turns in advance. I can understand why someone might enjoy this kind of game but you shouldn't completely change the way movement works in the middle of a series. I wish there was an option to go back to hexgrid combat because that was a big part of my enjoyment. The new system is fun at times but highly frustrating at others. There is an option to…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I'm conflicted about Sunrider 4. As a long time fan of the series and it's spin-offs I've thoroughly enjoyed both the writing style of LiS and the previous iteration of gameplay in the Sunrider franchise. As for Sunrider 4 specifically I think it has taken an interesting approach sequel-wise. Story: For context I'll be writing this under the assumption that people have played the previous games. The story has taken what I believe to be a thrilling and interesting continuation of Liberation…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →It has been a long 7 years. combat and upgrades has improved. no post game or simulations sadly atm.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →So I discovered the Sunrider series a couple of years ago, and feel in love with the series. Since then I have been waiting anxiously for this release. I picked the game up Day One and spent the next day playing this game. I love how all of the characters have advanced in the story, it feels like they've all grown up now. Especially Kyato. So the story for this game, 10/10. Although, while many people come for the story, about 70% of the game is done in combat. So how is the combat? Honesty if…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Amazing sequel to the previous 3 games in the series. Much more polished than Liberation day at its launch. Well written story and brand new unique combat. Only complaint is no album/extras menu to go through CG scenes or the music as well as enemy AI could use some work since they just bum rush the backline while ignoring your frontline for the most part.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →After finally completing (well, most of, haven't done NG+) Sunrider 4, I feel I can see a lot of merit on the progress the team has made from the jump between Liberation Day and here. The gameplay is so, SO much better, with systems in place to make it less "shoot them with lasers and maybe kinetics" and honestly a much more respectable strategy game that doesn't make me want to skip it in lieu of the story. But, there are some caveats I have. While the momentum stuff is really nice to make…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Meh. It's not bad but it's not good either. If there was a neutral review I'd maybe go for that one but as it is i can't recommend it. I don't know what they were thinking but while the gameplay got way more interesting, unique and fun (except for a few rough edges), the story's quality tanked quite a bit, nothing from the previous saves mattered and then they expect you to go through that again for a tiny 2 minute cut scene "secret ending". They somehow just collected all sorts of typical…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →TL:DR = You know what you are getting in story wise when buying this. And this is ok. This part is what you expect, and playin previous games it is what I signed up for, but . . . . . What is absolute clown-fest is the actual battle. At first it might seem deep and expansive, but you soon find yourself flying space garbage with team of trashmobs. it feels like you are flying a space baloon and everybody has a needle. =Game is what you expect, but battle system is just SH@IT out of whack=…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →An improvement overall, but feedback must be taken for the sequel I have completed the first playthrough, I have enjoyed the game immensely (however the negatives I will get onto that) , and I will play New Game+ and I am interested for their sequel, which I hope won't be another 6 years and hopefully will be the finale to the series, taking feedback on what is good and bad and ending off with a good note.The art, voice acting, story, music and most obviously the gameplay has all been a major…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I love this game
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Man, what a ride its been. this game is a definite improvement over all the things sunrider did before. Gameplay is pretty good, and i loved the story but i think where this game shines the most is the fact that every single fight and moment feels epic, the story does not have any fluff fillers, it all feels like it should be there. The ost helps the epicness a lot, music on the series has always been awesome and the new tracks are awesome as well, i definetly recommend it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →This is simply awesome. And you know a lot of people agree when 13% of players have finished the game in just half a week after its launch. The long wait is worth it.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →great story but have to get used to the new game play. The combat screen is not as friendly to navigate as the previous games.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →If you're already a fan of Sunrider: Of course you gotta get it. It's good! Such a leap in art, production value and gameplay. Never played Sunrider yet? 1. If you enjoy having a space harem; 2. If you enjoy playing turn based tactical games (like civ for example) ..then get it. It's good! If you want to make sense of the story, you should probably play Sunrider: Mask of Arcadius first. HOWEVER, I feel that you can play this first and play the prequels later if you feel so and enjoy it…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Honestly, the best the Sunrider series has ever been. The new combat system takes some getting used to as it is semi-newtonian esque. If you keep telling your unit to move, it will continously accelerate you until you fling off the map borders. Over all, combat had increased depth from previous titles, while retaining the turn based strategy of prior titles. Finally, I am also able to romance best waifu Lynn. Def a recommend from me if you've been playing any of the previous titles.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Choices don't really matter in the series anymore I guess. Kind of a let down. Had to play twice due to a save gimmick locking you from getting 100% first time through. Secret ending was a let down too. Much sads.
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I left this game in my backlog bin for a long time and finally decide to play. Oh boy I like the game much better than the predecessor. Better wifu pict, better game play, better engine, also I enjoy writing the most.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →The new momentum based battle system was pretty good. Other than that, per usual Sola, was the best girl.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →We wait seven years after Liberation Day, while Love in Space screws around with some crappy idol VNs. And what do we get? They took the grid-based battle system, and instead of improving on it, or even leaving it be, they replace it with a far worse system nobody wanted, where even MOVING is awkward and unintuitive. Rather than difficulty coming from hard fights, it comes from trying to do anything in this worse system. If I hadn't run out the refund window by waiting so long to get to it (and…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Pretty cool I like the combat changes Sola best waifu
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I don't think I have ever come across an indie dev with such disdain for their fans seriously this entire game felt like a big F U to fans of the previous games they went out of their way to say nothing in the story matters even going and having multiple deus ex moments and character assassinations i could write more about my specific thoughts on aspects of this game but i just don't care at this point whatever the devs have played for sunrider in the future im not gonna be part of it this…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →As a heads up, this series has a weird way to number its entries mask of Arcadius has the first two games, with liberation day being the third entry in the series and this being the fourth TLDR: The game is worth the full price, has massive improvement over liberation day, and has great character improvement STORY Honestly this game is probably the strongest in the series and I'd argue the best this company has made yet, while it does has the characteristic style of writing of self…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I really wanted to like this game. I've supported this studio for a while, and the other titles in the other titles that I've played (Mask of Arcadius, Liberation Day, and their High School simulator) were all decent. This one though, the control feels clunky. Like, I'm having to sometimes double and triple click things to get things done. This leads to more frustration when you try to click on one thing, end up clicking on another, and now you've wasted your turn/command points not because…
negative · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Having just beaten the game on normal without any modifications i have to say i quite enjoyed this game. Now outside of my main rant on the title not making sense in my eyes (the first game was split in half so that would be one game in total and academy wasn't cannon from what i understand this would be the second game, or third in the line if you include both halves as their own game but that's just me) Overall i enjoyed the story from start to finished, did hope crow would be more of a…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Loved Mask of Arcadius, while Liberation day definately had it's up's and downs, I still had fun with it too. But Captain's Return is a wonderful sequal. The gameplay is mixed up a little, the story is good, the music is awesome, all in all I recomend.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Story wise it wasn't bad just not what i was expecting (mostly towards the halfway point to end) but was still good. Gameplay however is a massive improvement over the previous installments. I hope they keep this gameplay loop in the future the only thing i wasn't a fan of were the sections were your in those non combat stealth areas with your mechs were you instantly die if anyone so much as breathes on you. I think that could have been mostly fixed by giving all the mechs similar or the same…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Its great so far. The loading times can be a bit long but thats alright for me. Sola best girl
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Short Version The Sunrider series were the first virtual novels that I tried playing and they set such a high bar for that genre of games for me that I’ve been unable to enjoy other novels because of that. Mostly because the games is not simply a visual novel but have quite of bit of actual strategic combat in it. The Sunrider 4 is actually the third separate game in the series and continues to deliver the same amazing feel as the previous games with a bit more mature storytelling and…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Right, So you can see I easily went over a hundred hours in this game. In a single sentence, I loved it very much. It brings together much of what I love in a beautiful package. Good written Waifus who function as your battle harem, a redemption arc for a failed hero and a turn based strategy RPG. This review will spoil almost everything about the game so read at your own risk. I liked this game so much I wrote three guides for it. (I never play any sunrider game below space whale). Graphics…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →What to say about Sunrider 4... well without a doubt it is the best game in the series and it is rare for the most recent game in a franchise to have this title. The game is an apology to all the fans of Sunrider: Liberation Day, it takes the formula and 100% improves everything, the first game had simple gameplay that worked well, Of course, Renpy has its limitations and this was shown on Liberation Day. But the choice to switch Engines was a perfect one, resulting in more polished…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →I think there's something here for nearly everyone. The art is a big step up, and the combat feels fluid and satisfying in the new engine. Abundant difficulty options and customization really helps as well. In particular, I really liked the upgrade system for units and the sort of specializations that you could do. The story also feels improved over previous entries, particularly chapter 8? I believe it is. My two biggest complaints are the temple levels and the enemy turn times. I didn't…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Since this is a common area of confusion: - Sunrider 1 & 2: First Arrival & Mask of Arcadius (bundled together as Mask of Arcadius) - Sunrider 3: Liberation Day - Sunrider Academy (alternate universe spin-off) The story picks up six years after Liberation Day, the events of which play heavily into the narrative, so it is recommended to play the previous games to fully understand the story. Mask of Arcadius is available for free, so you can give that a try to see if the series would interest…
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →Sunrider has consistently improved in quality throughout the series and Captain's Return is the best one yet. Tactical gameplay features spaceship drifting, weapon facings and firing arcs, missiles with multi-turn flight times, and teleports-behind-you mecha melee attacks. All the waifus have been given revamped character design, the first CG is Sola's "heavily damaged" art. Ava is still the best but they are all very cute. This is the best Sunrider has ever been.
positive · reviewer's own thumbsView post →
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