It’s no longer the most urgent gold rush in PC games, but survival games continue to be regularly released, and older games continue to be regularly updated. It’s only natural then that we’ve taken some time out from foraging for edible berries to update our list of the best survival games for 2020.

(more…)

Whether it’s making honest-to-god computers out of Minecraft redstone or constructing elaborate rube-goldberg machines in Garry’s Mod, it seems unavoidable that any given sandbox game will eventually add complex mechanical systems. Well, now we can add Astroneer to that lineup with this week’s Automation update, which lets you sit back on your space lawnchair and let the game do all the busywork for you.

Assuming, of course, you know how to piece together a fully-automated mining, processing, and power production setup.

(more…)

Ever since Minecraft got us hooked on surviving its deadly nights and sinister, snickering foes over a decade ago, there have been wave upon wave of new survival games to scratch our deepest masochistic itches. Attempting to tackle them all at once, however, would probably lead to an early grave, so we’ve put together this list of the very best survival games on PC to help satisfy those cravings for Darwinian supremacy. Whether you love punching trees, surviving against the elements or simply stuffing your belly with as much grub as you can manage, there’s a survival game with your name on it.

(more…)

We didn’t travel the stars just to be stuck on solid ground. Gravity has kept a tight leash on chunky space adventure Astroneer for too long, but that stops now. Alien nasties can’t you when you’re 30 feet in the air, but gravity sure can. You packed enough fuel to get down safely, right? Last night’s update for the adorably brutal space survivor is all about exploration, giving you new tools to take to the skies – and look good doing it.

(more…)

To celebrate the fiftieth anniversary of the Apollo 11 lunar mission, space science ’em up Astroneer has turned its attention a little closer to home in a big update and time-limited event. Available now and running until August 31st, System Era Softworks are sending players to the barren moon of Desolo to search for the NASA lunar lander. Players who discover the old relic will get a chance to pose for a photo opportunity (using its still-functioning TV cameras) and unlock some commemorative goodies. Of course, there’s a bit more to the update, as you can see in the video below.

(more…)

Space survival craft ’em ups can be pretty grim places, what with the lack of oxygen and constant threat of being eaten alive by the resident fauna and all that, but for some developers there’s nowhere more hostile than the mothership from which they all originate. Throw a dart on Steam, says Joe Tirado, head communications honcho for Astroneer, and you could probably hit a bunch of other things [like ours]”. It’s partly why Astroneer adopted such a bright and bubbly exterior during its run in early access, he adds. Originally, however, it was going to be a very different game indeed.

(more…)

If Peggle-era PopCap (Gawd rest its consumed soul) had survived into the era of survival, I reckon they’d have made something a lot like Astroneer. Where other sci-fi don’t-die-’em-ups are soundtracked by the angry buzz of e’er-encroaching death, Astroneer’s is all endorphin-inducing rising notes, delightful popping noises and the happy whirr of toylike tractors.

Slowly asphyxiating to death in an unforgiving alien wasteland has never been so joyful.

(more…)

The game you like isn’t as good as the game I like. When you like the game you like, you are made to look a fool!

Find out why in this week’s Steam Charts.

(more…)

Astroneer has finally escaped the gravitational pull of early access and launched in full. System Era Softworks’s survival sandbox stands out from its often-bloody peers by being non-violent, cooperative and scientifically minded. Players aren’t pioneers sent to tame foreign lands, but explorers, discovering new alien flora, fauna and environments. Launch has been accompanied by the game’s biggest update yet, overhauling the entire seven-world solar system, adding a new tutorial and UI to help ease players into their spacesuits. Study the launch trailer below – gently, please.

(more…)

Cute space survival sandbox Astroneer isn’t far from the finish line, say developers System Era Softworks, it’ll be bounding out of early access in just a few months – February 6th, specifically. The studio have some big plans for the release – the launch version will include a “new exploration-focused adventure”, taking you to new planets full of interesting new things to poke around, or be poked by. The launch version will also support cross-play with Xbox One folks, hopefully ensuring a healthy and well oxygenated player-base for a while. A stardate trailer lies below.

(more…)