ASTRONEER

Graphics 4/5

Astroneer game visuals are outstanding, but you may not experience all of them if your system is not powerful enough. Graphic artists and designers put heart and soul into the game, and their new worlds fantasies were warmly met by the players. With vivid colors and blurry textures, Astroneer graphics look a bit old-fashioned and cutting edge at the same time. Xbox One with wide screens users are more than pleased with it, but graphics may get a bit grainy for PC users. Hopefully, developers will overcome this problem with new updates.

Gameplay 4.5/5

Astroneer is the name of a lonesome character you will have to move from one planet to another in the game genuine Solar system. There are many ways of transporting him: rovers, rockets, and other spacecraft things. The sky’s not the limit here, though oxygen is. As soon as you get to a new planet and face its unique landscape, there’s no more time to waste.

The game is based on exploration, mining, and building. In the beginning, you have very little resources and even fewer means of getting them. To keep on working (and breathing), Astroneer has to recharge his spacesuit once in a while. The planets are dark and mysterious places, often shapeless, so it’s your main goal to make them look like living spaces. It’s dangerous, of course as there are many things that can bring death: space storms, suffocation, collision, etc. But in the outer space safety is a luxury.
There’s also a multiplayer mode where up to 8 Astroneers can synchronize to build a new world.

Controls 4.5/5

Although not a simple game, Astroneer keeps its control quite well-balanced and easy to follow. The keyboard keys W, S, A, D are used to move Astroneer(s) left and right, forward and backward. The joystick arrows function in the same fashion. Some users complain about resource usage and sprint functions keys to be situated much more conveniently on a joystick than a keyboard. But we haven’t experienced any problems with that as all the hotkeys can be easily learned and changed in a hotkey menu where you can get by pressing F1.

Replay Value 4/5

Astroneer is a sandbox game, so it will keep you curious about its possibilities for quite a long time. As soon as you get a good grip of the controls, the opportunities of mining and crafting become almost limitless. You can change tactics and strategies based on your oxygen level and the peculiarities of a landscape unrolling in front of you. The downfall of the game is that if you didn’t catch up with its style and pace during the first few hours, you will most like get bored every next time you will try to play it.

The Bottom Line

Astroneer reviewers consider it an enjoyable game that can get a bit mind-bending, and challenging, and every time it does, the timing is right. The gameplay is simple but it heavily depends on the player: it can be a slow-paced and relaxing space-ride or a dangerous mission filled with deathly traps. Controls are simple, Astroneer’s movements are smooth, and the numerous worlds you open up are beautiful and filled with useful stuff. So, why not try to colonize a couple of new planets?