12 February 2026

Starsand Island Allegedly Hit by ‘Overpraise’ Attack on Steam

By newsgame

While developers usually complain about unjustified review bombing campaigns on Steam, Starsand Island says it is facing the exact opposite problem, with users leaving allegedly “fake overpraise” comments. Starsand Island was one of the most anticipated cozy life sims of 2026, and many expected it to perform well in both reviews and sales on Steam, given the large fan base it built ahead of launch.

However, fans soon noticed that something felt off about Starsand Island‘s Steam reviewers. Some positive comments came from users who had spent less than 10 minutes in the game, while others were posted almost at the exact time of its official launch. Many fans and social media users called out these suspicious activities, with some even accusing developer Seed Sparkle Lab of orchestrating the campaign. However, the studio’s response caught many off guard, as it hinted at a far more intriguing story.

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Starsand Island Claims to Be Under ‘Reverse Review Bombing’ Attack

In a strange turn of events, developer Seed Sparkle Lab took to its Discord server to ask those overpraising the game to stop. “We have recently noticed a large number of overly positive praise comments,” the announcement begins, adding, “At first, we believed this meant our game was being recognized and appreciated.” However, the studio says these glowing reviews seem overly suspicious, as some were posted after only a short time with the game, and many of those accounts requested refunds after leaving a review. More notably, Seed Sparkle Lab appears to suggest that an individual or group is behind the campaign and has asked them to stop, so the team can focus on development.

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What makes the claim hard for some to accept is how these allegedly fake reviews are usually created. In many cases, people or bots are paid to buy a game, spend a bit of time in it, and then post a review. In other words, Seed Sparkle Lab is suggesting that someone may be spending money to artificially overpraise its Early-Access cozy life sim. This raises the question of why anyone would try to damage a game’s reputation or development through an excessive praise attack, known among some Steam users as a review padding campaign.

A key piece of evidence regarding Starsand Island‘s alleged fake reviews came from YouTuber Josh (@JoshGamingGarden), who spotted several Steam accounts with nearly identical activity, all leaving positive comments on the game after just a few hours of playtime.

Many Fans Say the Game Doesn’t Need Fake ‘Overpraise’ Campaigns

On Reddit, several players argued that Starsand Island is an enjoyable cozy game likely to succeed despite current technical and gameplay issues. They claim that it doesn’t need artificial rave reviews to boost sales and that it can paddle its own canoe.

Currently, SteamDB data shows Starsand Island has peaked at over 10,000 concurrent players, an impressive figure for a Steam indie game. With the game also available on Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, the total player count could be much higher. Additionally, Steam reviews are rated Very Positive, with a 91% satisfaction rate from over 1,700 players. Even if some stem from suspicious accounts, the majority of players seem to enjoy the game and recommend it to fans of the genre.

Starsand Island has not confirmed an exact release date for the 1.0 version, but the developer aims to launch it in Summer 2026 across all platforms.

Sales also look promising for a game still in Early Access. Gamalytic estimates around 20,000 copies sold, generating roughly $553,000 USD in revenue. While not perfectly precise, these numbers suggest strong Early Access performance. The coming weeks will reveal whether the player base continues to grow or if more will wait for the 1.0 release before purchasing.