Stop Now! Cozy Game Starsand Island Attacked by AI Reviews
What should have been a heartwarming launch moment quickly turned into frustration for the developers of Starsand Island, a cozy life-simulation game that recently entered Early Access. Instead of celebrating positive reception from real players, the team found themselves dealing with a wave of suspicious praise that was anything but genuine.
Starsand Island is a cozy, slow-life game designed as a digital escape from busy urban routines. Players can farm, raise animals, and live peacefully surrounded by nature on a dreamy island setting. The game officially launched into Early Access on February 12, and within hours, its Steam page began filling up with glowing reviews. At first glance, it looked like a dream start for the China-based indie studio Seed Sparkle Lab.
However, that optimism didn’t last long.
Just seven hours after launch, the developers posted a public statement on Steam revealing that something was very wrong. They noticed that many positive reviews were posted within extremely short playtimes and appeared in tightly clustered time windows. Even more concerning, the review texts themselves showed clear signs of being written by AI rather than real players.
According to the developers, several of the accounts that posted these positive reviews later refunded the game. This pattern strongly suggested automated activity rather than genuine enthusiasm. While the studio stopped short of directly accusing any specific party, they made it clear that the situation felt intentional rather than accidental.
In their statement, Seed Sparkle Lab emphasized that indie game development is already difficult enough without artificial interference. They stressed that they are focused on building a meaningful experience for players, not chasing inflated metrics or fake praise. The team openly asked whoever was responsible to stop immediately and allow them to continue developing the game in peace.
Positive review bombing followed by refunds is not just a harmless prank. It can be more damaging than traditional negative review bombing, as it risks violating platform rules around fake engagement and can distort Steam’s recommendation systems. In worst-case scenarios, this kind of activity could even affect a game’s visibility or trustworthiness in the long term.
Despite the situation, development on Starsand Island continues at full speed. The team is actively fixing bugs and refining gameplay throughout Early Access, with a development roadmap already planned through June. One of the most anticipated upcoming features is multiplayer support, which aims to turn the currently solo experience into a shared cozy adventure.
At the moment, Starsand Island is available in Early Access on Steam and Xbox Game Pass, with other platforms planned for the future. While the AI review incident has cast an unfortunate shadow over the launch, many real players are still discovering the game organically and sharing genuine feedback.
The incident highlights a growing issue in digital storefronts: as AI tools become more accessible, distinguishing real community voices from synthetic ones is becoming harder. For indie developers especially, authenticity matters more than inflated numbers. In this case, fake positivity turned out to be just as disruptive as outright hostility.
Reference: videogameschronicle
