Metascore
71

Mixed or average reviews - based on 17 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 7 out of 17
  2. Negative: 0 out of 17
  1. 81
    Astroneer is a survival space simulator that offers a rich and colourful experience based on some interesting game mechanics.
  2. Feb 11, 2019
    80
    Astroneer is a nice and relaxing survival game that does away with some the typical mechanics of the genre to offer an experience that's mostly based on exploration and crafting. The basic gameplay loop is very engaging at the beginning and manages to carry the game quite far, but the complicated controls, especially on pad, and the repetition, which will eventually set in after a while, damage the experience a little. Still, Astroneer is a very solid game that no fan of the genre should pass on, especially if they love outer space settings.
  3. Feb 8, 2019
    80
    Although there is no particular story or purpose to follow in Astroneer, a very deep gameplay along with entertaining multi-player and stunning visuals are enough to make it worth your time and money.
  4. Feb 7, 2019
    80
    Astroneer is definitely on the soft side of the survival spectrum. It looks inviting and fun, whether your lone explorer is bounding across the colorful landscape or mining deep within underground caves. Collecting resources and crafting them into new tools is the main focus, and 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.
  5. Feb 6, 2019
    80
    Astroneer is a limited but attractive survival game, a little colorful charm that shines in terms of crafting, vehicles, exploration and cooperative.
  6. Feb 5, 2019
    80
    It provides an experience that is generally therapeutic and almost never stressful. It’s not a perfect game, but it’s the kind of game that could be perfect for certain situations or groups of gamers looking for their next adventure.
  7. Feb 12, 2019
    77
    Quotation forthcoming.
  8. Game World Navigator Magazine
    May 15, 2019
    72
    Astroneer is a nice survival game that’s hopelessly behind the curve: we’ve already seen everything it has to offer in one game or another. [Issue#237, p.40]
  9. Feb 12, 2019
    72
    Astroneer is a great adventure if you play it with someone, since playing it alone makes it quite simple and repetitive.
  10. Jun 28, 2019
    70
    A bit absurd and outlandish, but still enjoyable space expedition that thankfully runs out of gas after you get your share of co-op fun.
  11. Apr 5, 2019
    70
    Astroneer is simply another sandbox survival game, albeit enriched by several interesting features. Nothing new or surprising for genre fans to see.
  12. Feb 7, 2019
    70
    Astroneer provides a (mostly) tranquil environment to explore with your friends, or by yourself to unwind. The fact that the game doesn’t bury you in a collection loop and actually gives you breathing room to explore and tinker will be a downside for some, but for those with the patience, it’s a game you could easily spend hundreds of hours unraveling.
  13. 70
    In short, Astroneer is a calming, vibrant, genuinely enjoyable experience until you start to set goals for yourself. At this point it becomes a bit of a chore and strays into frustrating grind territory that has no real guarantee of tangible results – and suddenly the buggy menu system, tangled controls, and lack of resources culminate in an inevitable fit of rage. Luckily, if you need a bit of post-anger stress relief, we have just the game for you… have you played Astroneer yet?
  14. Feb 5, 2019
    70
    Chirpy and charming, Astroneer is a lovely survival game for players who want a chill experience. Just don’t expect much in terms of varied gameplay (for now).
  15. Feb 7, 2019
    60
    Astroneer succeeds when it's enraptured you with its beautiful visuals and the irresistible call to explore the planet you find yourself on. Although it lacks a central through line to give you guidance, the variety of structures you can build helps point you towards new resources to hunt for.
  16. Apr 19, 2019
    50
    Fans of sandbox or crafting games might be pleased with the package, and can bump this score up at least a point or two. For others, this has some serious flaws with its user interface, and simple constructing/crafting is often aggravatingly difficult, which unfortunately drags down what otherwise is an okay, if repetitive title. It is really sad, as at its root, this could be a gem, with some simple patches or design overhauls, and appeal to a far greater audience.
  17. Mar 5, 2019
    50
    Astroneer‘s a neat little game full of little quirks and things to discover, but near the end of my time with it I was definitely starting to burn out on the loop of creating equipment on one planet before blasting off into space, landing in new, harsher environment, and starting from scratch once more. Grab an Astropeer and a couple of Astrobeers and this title could easily provide a few evenings’ worth of entertainment. Beyond that, the numerous bugs and repetition of the core experience make it a less appealing prospect.
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  1. Astroneer’s been in early access for over two years, and there is a sense that this release version contracted a mild case of That’ll-do-itis, rather than going to the new places it might have done. Sure, a ballpit offers more long-term play value if there’s hatch on its bottom that opens up into a world of dinosaurs, spacefighters and alien civil wars. Sometimes, though, all you wanna do is jump into a ballpit.
User Score
7.2

Mixed or average reviews- based on 205 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Negative: 33 out of 205
  1. Feb 9, 2019
    4
    wait until it is cheap. it's worth $5, not more. dull gameplay for a survival game. horrible terrain textures? like when you are in the gamewait until it is cheap. it's worth $5, not more. dull gameplay for a survival game. horrible terrain textures? like when you are in the game check the actual 3d models and textures. awful imo. they are good at creating twitter friendly gifs and stuff, but the overall game is, compared to survival games, cheap. what a shame after such a loooong early access of 2.5 years? so when they worked 2 years before ea on it, is this the game we get after 4.5 years? not to mention the console ui. why did they not bother to give us a pc ui? for me at least astroneer is not worth mentioning. Full Review »
  2. Feb 6, 2019
    2
    There is no gameplay here. There are things to do, but there's no driving force to actually do anything. There was no objective to complete,There is no gameplay here. There are things to do, but there's no driving force to actually do anything. There was no objective to complete, no boss to kill, and no resources I needed to replenish. The game gave me no direction and didn't tell me any clues on where I should be going or what I should be doing.

    After starting a game, I built everything I could, found an object to put into my research building thing, and then realized there was nothing left to do other than wait for the research to complete. Then what? I build something else, find another object to throw into my research building, and wait for another unlock? Why even bother leaving my base and risking suffocation and death?

    I died 3 times in the tutorial. In the...tutorial.

    I didn't have fun and didn't see the point in waiting for the fun to arrive. I gave the game 90 minutes of my time and it failed to capture my interest. Saying that the game gets better later on is not a mark in favor of the game.
    Full Review »
  3. Feb 7, 2019
    6
    Astroneer is a sandbox open world game where you can build stuff on different planets and fly to them in spaceship that you've built. I likeAstroneer is a sandbox open world game where you can build stuff on different planets and fly to them in spaceship that you've built. I like the "Lego" kind of building mechanism and the terrain modification (digging mechanism) that opens the doors for creativity to the player. But many would agree that it becomes boring over time. Many people believe that the game is boring because it has no purpose or no story behind it, but i think the problem is something different. Unfortunately there are still not enough survival challenges to face with for a game that calls itself a "survival game".

    First of all, you don't have to eat nor drink, which makes the game easy enough from the start. But I think the game doesn't really needs that, instead it should be focusing more on the space and planet conditions, which eventually increase the survival difficulty and make it harder to live. In the alpha version, there was only one or two natural disasters which appeared frequent enough times in different planets. That's the storm and the toxic rain. First time I saw a storm coming after me I paniced yet was very exited of the game. I was exited for surprises like that because that would mean I would have to find creative ways for protecting my base and myself, that would be a great challenge for a survival game. But no matter what, the base would still remain the same and nothing breaks, which made me sad and unsatisfied. Right now is a 1.0 version, and nothing has changed. Moreover, there are not enough enemies either, and most of them are pretty easy to avoid and are repetitive. They do not threat the player by chasing him, and they do not destroy the base. Which if they would, that would give more fun to the game. For addition, it would be cool to see some diseases that the player gets from the places on the planet and its conditions. That could increase the challenge of the game too.

    By giving a challenge to survive, the player instantly enables their survival instincts, and tries to survive. This gives the game an instant purpose for playing it, which the players are seeking to find. We can take an example of another space based strategic game which called "no oxygen included", that makes an incredible job by making itself challenging to survive.
    Full Review »