Astroneer Review

There was a moment in my life, and I am not sure quite when it was, but there was a time when the idea of space transformed from magical, mystical wondrous idea into scary, cold, and empty void. Like most children, I once went through a phase in which I wanted nothing more than to be an astronaut. However, as I grew older, and became burdened with the knowledge of the laws of the universe, it started to look a lot less like a huge star-lit theatre for fantastic space adventures and more like infinite black void that served only to remind me of my own puny insignificance in the universe.

A lot of modern games and movies lean into this clinical view of space and in games especially, with the rise of modern graphics, aim to have a realistic art style in order to accurately portray space. Astroneer, however is a space survival game which is heavy on logistics, exploration and base building, but presents it in a vibrant and fluffy, slightly whimsical manner. Don’t be fooled though because this cute survival game has a lot of depth beneath its cartoonish exterior.

Astroneer begins with the creation of your astronaut, there are plenty of customization options and there is an in-game store, however the in-game currency that can be bought can only be used on cosmetics. There is no pay-to-win here. After character creation, you are jettisoned down to the first planet in a solar system of seven. The developers describe the worlds of Astroneer as being like “clay” and it easy to see why, the whole world looks like a delightful Play-Doh paradise, and it can be moulded as such as well. Unlike Minecraft which is block based, the world of Astroneer is able to be terraformed much more intricately, and it's easy to be immediately hypnotised by the ease at which you can shape the land, however don’t stray too far while you have fun, because while Astroneer does not require you to eat, drink or sleep like most other survival games, you will have to manage your air.

The only survival need in Astroneer is oxygen, you have about a couple of minutes of supply stored within your suit and if this runs out you will suffocate. Eventually you will be able to craft ancillary tanks that will lengthen your ability to free walk, however most of the time you will need to keep yourself attached to your base supply. Your base has an infinite supply of oxygen and power, being connected to it allows you to reap the benefits of both, in this way you and your base are much more closely bound to each other than in other survival games, you will have to stay close to your base or you will quickly die. You might think this somewhat limits your functional range as an explorer, however you can craft yourself “tethers” which are power and oxygen lines that you will be able to place, therefore extending the range of your base. Tethers are an amazing way of leaving your mark on the world, as you will quickly begin to see them branch out in all directions, serving as a literal lifeline, but also as navigational markers to all the surrounding resources and caves that you find. They are a great way of stopping players from getting lost, which in a survival game with a lot of spelunking, is an underrated quality of life feature. Detaching yourself from your tethers is also reveals a fun little push your luck mechanic; do you think you can make it to that valuable resource and back in time? Get too greedy digging for treasure and you might not make it back in time, this game can sometimes teach you a harsh lesson in overreaching.

When I say “treasure”, what I really mean is minerals, metals and research items. There is a vast tech tree in Astroneer, and a huge array of machines that will help you with scanning, storage, manufacturing and automation. You will need to find local minerals and metals to manufacture these, and you will need research items to unlock their blueprint. “Research Items” are local geology, flora, and other alien curiosities. Some can be scanned in the field however most will need to be transported back to your base in order to put them in a scanner. Astroneer gives you loads of tools to make all this easier, you can craft drill bits for mining and there are plenty of vehicles that allow you to transport all your findings in bulk. After your first few mining expeditions you will want to start crafting transport and storage solutions, Astroneer is a survival game, but it’s a survival game about logistics and supply chains. It's Minecraft in space with a heavy dose of Satisfactory, in fact it bridges the gap perfectly, for a player like me who is intimidated by the more complicated logistics games, or perhaps just doesn’t have the time to devote to heavy hitters like Factorio, but at the same time feels Minecraft a bit too simple.

Simply put, the constant need for research, and the endless ways to maximise efficiency in your base, and the constant supply of materials needed means there is a lot to do in Astroneer, if Astroneer only took place on one planet there would still be a lot to do, however as briefly mentioned earlier, there's a whole solar system out there to colonise.

The long steel arm of your industry isn’t limited to just one planet, and soon enough you will have to set up shop on another planet. At first, I thought that having to start again from scratch would be frustrating, but in Astroneer it doesn't feel like much of a setback, in fact it feels like a new opportunity to learn from the mistakes of your past base and streamline things even better upon your new attempt. You can also bring things form your last base along to ease the initial setting up process. Each planet is slightly more dangerous than the last things and will have different materials to mine, which keeps things fresh, it feels like a mini new game+, a chance to start again but with a few starting items, better tools and more knowledge of the game.

Eventually you will need to start shipping things between planets, which is where you can start building shuttles that are better designed to transport materials, you can also ship factory components and vehicles by packaging them for space flight. the logistics of this game eventually move beyond the surface of your first planet and start taking place across the solar system. There is a lot to do in Astroneer and the layers will keep peeling themselves back, and the slight difficulty jump and different conditions on each planet keep the loop gameplay loop from feeling samey. Players who like just having one super base may get frustrated though, as Astroneer prevents you from doing that, even if you commit to a huge base on the first planet, you will still need to set up bases on other planetary bodies of the solar system to get the materials you need. As a player who loves starting new bases, I relished in the constant need to expand to new frontiers and start again.

It’s easy to land on new planets and explore new terrain when the game looks so good, the lighting is gorgeous and the art style is simpler than photorealistic graphics which means the draw distance is fantastic (and you don't need a NASA computer to run it), meaning you can see those beautiful cosmic horizons gazing over the alien landscapes that you traverse. Astroneer looks quite “cute” and this may dissuade some of the more serious gamers, however the sharp lighting and vibrant colours really capture the feeling of space so magnificently. When I play Astroneer and land on a planet for the first time, instead of landing on a barren rock, I'm landing on a planet filled full of cosmic marvels and endless possibilities, daylight is bright and cheerful and night time is shimmery and mysterious, it feels like space from a child's imagination instead of an astronomer's prediction.