Astroneer

Astroneer is an exploration building game from System Era Softworks, set on distant planets that the player explores, mines, and literally reshapes using a tool called the terrain deformer, which can dig tunnels, level hills, or build artificial platforms. The game's core loop is gathering resources, processing them in increasingly complex machines, and then building ever more extensive bases, vehicles, and research facilities; it can be played solo or in co-op with other players who jointly build shared infrastructure across several planets of the solar system. New technologies, automated production lines, and transport vehicles gradually become available, so what starts as basic survival on a single planet can grow into a sprawling interstellar operation.

On Xbox Series X|S the game benefits from improved performance and smoother rendering of large-scale terrain modifications, which are central to the gameplay, especially when building large bases with dozens of interconnected machines and pipes. A colorful, playful visual style and a calm, ambient musical score create a relaxed atmosphere of exploration free of unnecessary pressure on the player, which noticeably sets the game apart from many survival titles with a stronger focus on hunger, thirst, and constant survival.

Since its release, Astroneer has built a stable and loyal community of players who value the combination of creative building, cooperative play, and the gentle, meditative pace of space exploration. Thanks to regular content updates adding new planets, machines, and automation options, the game remains alive many years after release, and in the Game Pass catalog it's one of the titles suited to long-term, repeated returns rather than a single playthrough over a weekend, while its co-op easily finds a place among groups of friends who play together regularly.

Why play it: For fans of creative building, cooperation, and a meditative pace of space exploration, it's a title more for long-term, repeated returns than for one quick weekend playthrough.