"Astroneer," the upcoming sandbox adventure game from System Era, will be released on Steam Early Access on Friday, Dec. 16. The space-based video game will also be made available via Xbox One and Windows 10 Game Preview on the same day.
On the game's Steam page, System Era describes "Astroneer" as "a game of aerospace industry and interplanetary exploration" that will allow players to "explore and exploit distant worlds." The highly anticipated adventure video game will have players exploring the frontiers of outer space and attempting to survive in harsh environments as they try to strike it rich during a 25th-century gold rush.
In the Early Access version of "Astroneer," gamers can reshape and deform terrain as though it were Play-Doh, build shape ships, travel to and explore distant moons and planets, and create vehicles and modules from various objects and components. Resources can be traded or cobbled together to create modules, vehicles, tools, and even massive bases. Though "Astroneer" won't be made available in its full and final version for at least another year, GameZone says that the final product will include elements of survival, including reality-based hazards such as turbulent environments, harsh weather situations, and unexpected medical emergencies.
Gamers and gaming pundits have compared "Astroneer" to Hello Games' "No Man's Sky," which was released in August. But while the System Era game has a lot of common elements with "No Man's Sky," it differs in that the emphasis is on cooperative play, terrain reshaping, and exploration. "Astroneer" also has a more lighthearted feel that sets it apart from the recently released action-adventure video game.
According to Engadget, "Astroneer" may just be the thing that draws gamers back to procedurally generated universes after they were let down by "No Man's Sky," which was widely bashed following its release earlier this year. "Astroneer" will be available at $19.99 for the Xbox One and Windows PC.
