Astroneer

Lore & Background

Astroneer is a sandbox adventure game played from a third-person view. Its open world planets, where terraforming can take place, are subject to procedural generation, with the exception of some planet-specific resources. The player controls an astronaut (called an Astroneer) who navigates on foot, by rover, through teleportation, or by spacecraft. Navigating the planet is essential for finding resources, including materials and research items. Craftable items include rovers, printers, jets, buggies, tractors, spacecraft, storage silos, atmospheric condensers, research chambers, component smelters, batteries, generators, turbines, solar panels, and more shelters. The game contains two base crafting materials, Resin, and Compound, which can be found in abundance on all planets. Other, more rare resources can be found while exploring planets, or by using smelters, chemistry labs, or atmospheric condensers. Resources are used to create a variety of items when used by themselves or in combination with other materials using machines in the game. In order to craft more advanced items, players collect 'bytes' which can be used to unlock new technology which is then available for crafting. When low on oxygen, the Astroneer recharges using portable oxygenators, snail creatures, or staying near craftable tethers, which can be chained from a base or oxygen-providing object over long distances to prevent suffocation while exploring. As of the game's full release, an 'oxygenator' is required to provide extended reach of oxygen when tethering. To use an 'oxygenator', you must either connect it to a shelter, or platform. Every Astroneer has a Terrain Tool, which allows the player to gather resources and reshape the landscape. Resources, such as organic material, quartz, lithium, ammonium, resin, and the rarest, astronium, are neatly packaged by the Terrain Tool into convenient stacks. These stacks can then be snapped into slots on the Astroneer's backpack, storage units, research chambers, etc. Certain resources, such as titanite or clay, can be smelted or combined into more advanced materials. The Astroneer also has the option to research and craft upgrades to the Terrain Tool, which can be plugged and unplugged at will. Other than the Terrain Tool, the Backpack is the Astroneer's main tool. The Backpack functions as the player's inventory and HUD, with two quick-use slots, eight storage slots, a basic 3D printer, a small internal power supply (shown by a column of yellow segments), and a built-in oxygen tank (shown as a horizontal blue or red bar). The Terrain Tool, which also has three slots that can be used for storage (or to attach modifications to the Terrain Tool), hangs from the side of the Backpack when not in use. The Backpack also contains the Research Catalog, which the player uses to unlock new crafting blueprints.

Reader's Guide

Astroneer received 'mixed or average reviews' from critics for Windows and Xbox One, and received 'generally favorable reviews' for Nintendo Switch, according to review aggregator Metacritic. Shacknews gave the game an eight out of ten, praising the atmosphere, exploration, crafting, base building, setting, casual survival elements, cooperative play, and pleasing aesthetics, while criticizing some minor technical issues. USgamer said that the game was 'on the soft side of the survival spectrum', ultimately concluding that 'Astroneer falters in not having more interesting things to find within each planet. In the end though, it's a lovely little game if you want to survive without all the pesky hunger and thirst you find in other games.' GameSpot lauded the game's aesthetics, art direction, accessible survival mechanics, oxygen tethering mechanic, and wide open spaces, while similarly taking issue with cumbersome inventory management, lack of interesting things to do on each planet, and technical issues. Nintendo Life reviewed the Switch port, praising the developer support, crafting, terrain tool, and how well the game suited the console, while calling out the choppy framerate and janky physics. The game's art style was partly inspired by a desire to get away from something that looked like Minecraft, instead adopting an art style that consists of 'curved geometric, sort of broad vibrant colors.' The game came about after Adam Bromell showed his friend Paul Pepera a 'personal art project' consisting of a space man. Co-founder and lead artist Paul Pepera died on March 27, 2017, 4 months after Astroneer's early access release, but before the official release of the game. In November 2023, publisher Devolver Digital acquired System Era Softworks, with the studio continuing to publish Astroneer. In September 2024, System Era Softworks announced the 'Glitchwalkers' expansion for Astroneer, introducing new planets and maps. In August 2025, System Era Softworks announced another expansion named 'Megatech', bringing new structures and technology to the game.

Did You Know?

• The game was first released in early access for Steam, Windows and Xbox One on December 16, 2016.
• A native version for PlayStation 5 was released on November 20, 2025.