Stellar Renegades for Windows

Romance space pirates in this free dating sim

Stellar Renegades is a free visual novel wherein you can have an out-of-this-world whirlwind romance. Developed by Misszaius, this dating simulation video game takes on the sci-fi western theme, where space outlaws dart to and fro in-between galaxies for their businesses. You play as a hardened captain who must lead her thieving crew into dangerous missions just for money—all the while keeping your code of honor and the team together.

Guns a-blazing

Stellar Renegades begins with choosing your character’s first name and surname—with a default “Ava Winters” already available for use. This is a female-oriented dating sim, so you’ll be using a female character. However, unlike other titles, you can’t customize your character’s looks or background history. The story immediately starts in the middle of a robbery you and your crew have instigated. Through a nice flow of dialogue-writing, you quickly learn the characters’ interactions and relationships. 

There are six members of the crew that you can start a romance with; four men, one woman, and one gender-neutral android character. Similar to classic dating sims, you’re given various moments in which you must choose what to do or what to say. Most of your choices will influence your relationship points with your love interests and can even change the ending. Unfortunately, this version is just the demo, and the character routes will be slowly released chapter by chapter.

Visually, this game looks really great with its character designs and background art. The music style isn’t too diverse, so it won’t sound right for a scene at times. However, the sound effects are on point. The main visible issue is the dialogue’s appearance. Since your character’s sprite is almost always on the dialogue box, it can be confusing to tell who’s talking at the moment if you don’t carefully read the name.

Great for action VN fans

Overall, Stellar Renegades offers a dating simulator that may remind you of classic Space Western shows like Firefly, Cowboy Bebop, and Outlaw Star, and even games like Borderlands and The Outer Worlds. While reading the rapid-fire dialogue can be confusing at times, and not all routes are dropped simultaneously, this is still a highly-recommended VN to try out if you’re a huge fan of this sci-fi subgenre.