It’s safe to say that Subnautica has very much earned its place as one of my favorite videogames of all time. Despite the dangers that lurk in the dark, floating around the vast oceans of a weird, wonderful aquatic world never gets old. But Subnautica 2 is far, far away if Unknown Worlds’ most recent comments are anything to go by, so I’ve found myself craving something new but equally as chill. Enter Astrobotanica, a brand-new survival game from a team of industry veterans.
In Astrobotanica, you are Xel, an alien biologist from the far-off world of Aya. Society is on the brink of collapse, as technological abuse has lead to Mother Nature peacing on out of there. As a result, Xel has taken it upon themselves to scour the galaxy for something to save their home. In that regard, the survival game‘s story feels eerily reminiscent of the current climate crisis.
What Xel isn’t expecting, however, is for their ship to crash land on Earth, right in the middle of the Pleistocene era – two years of Geology at university tells me that’s the one where we appear, so no dinosaurs, sorry. As you’ve likely worked out, you’ll be foraging for flora that can breathe new life (literally) into Xel’s dying home planet, but that’s no easy task.
In a similar vein to Subnautica, you’ll have to survive all manner of vicious predators as you root around for some lifesaving foliage. You’ll spend your days researching, cultivating, and cross-breeding, but you’ll need to keep an eye out for beasties and primal humans who will probably see you as breakfast.
While Xel’s roster of gadgets and gizmos remains a mystery for now, we do see them using a scanner to identify a plant in the trailer, then abandon it for another, edible fruit. It looks like there may, indeed, be an option to accidentally poison yourself, which feels like it’s probably a bad idea.
Additionally, the air on earth is, of course, CO2 deficient, which is a far cry from Aya’s and therefore potentially toxic. It looks like you’ll have to develop new tech in order to keep yourself alive – in Astrobotanica, even the air is out to get you.
Created by Dead Island and Dying Light veterans, Astrobotanica might be a far cry from the rotten zombie chaos of Haran, but the team has crafted some of the best survival horror games ever made. “Astrobotanica is a game we’ve always wanted to play,” Space Goblin Studio founder Arkadiusz Woźniak says, and now I want to play it, too.
If it’s Atrobotanica’s boundless exploration that excites you, we have a list of all the best open-world games for you to roam gorgeous vistas to your heart’s content. Alternatively, if you prefer creating the perfect farmstead and researching away, here are some management games that are perfect for you.
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