There's no penalty for swapping parts out for your ships on the fly.
The toys are incredible, and I didn't even get to see the Arwing in action. I tested out two of the ships: the starter ship included with the starter edition of Starlink, a good all-around option, trading it out for a tankier ship when I encountered a hulking, spider-like boss on the surface of the planet I fought on. The models are so cool, and swapping parts is easy and solid. These are high-quality toys with options for play outside of the console.“
Swapping out weapons and customizing ships on the fly is a cool mechanic, but combos become available when you pair different weapons. I dropped a stasis missile launcher and a gatling gun on my ship and stopped enemies in their tracks with the missile while I let loose with the gun. But it's even more in-depth than finding out which weapon pairings open up combo possibilities: weapons can be upgraded as the game progresses, with faster fire rates, more power, and other perks to grow ever more powerful. On top of that, weapons also do elemental damage, so when you face a group of enemies shooting fire beams, you can counter with ice missiles.I played the game on Xbox One and it looked great. Animation is fluid and the alien world really feels alive. Outposts and potential allies litter the surface of the one planet I played on, and moving from space to the surface of a planet happens in real-time with no loading. Combat is fun and figuring out which combos work best in a given situation is part of the fun. Gliding around on the planets surface in my ship felt tight and perfectly responsive, although I didn't notice too much difference in handling between the tank-like ship and the starter ship.
Starlink: Battle for Atlas might be the most delightful surprise of E3 2018 for me. It comes out this October, hitting at the exact right time to be a Christmas must-have toy. After playing the demo, seeing the ship models and swapping parts and pieces around, I feel like in my house, where gaming is a multi-generational affair, there are going to be at least 2 ships docked close to the television at all times. I hope the fun I had playing the demo translates into the final game, because the toys are so cool I really want to collect the whole set.
You can preorder the Starlink Starter Edition today for PS4, Xbox One, or Switch. Seth Macy is IGN's tech and commerce editor and this is his first E3. Follow his exuberance on Twitter @sethmacy.