No Man’s Sky offers a ton to do, especially as its creators at Hello Games have constantly added major new features to the project over the many years since it first launched. Still, players looking for opportunities to play survival games set in harsh environments have many other options, like Subnautica, Astroneer, and, as of this week, the massively successful space sim The Planet Crafter, which is currently blowing up on Steam.
The Planet Crafter is a survival game that allows players, either alone or as part of a 10 person crew, to try their hand at living on an alien planet. The main goal of the game is to make homes within inhospitable environments by collecting resources and using them to create tools and the components necessary to construct a base. Over time, the player can upgrade and customize these buildings, seed new life by terraforming the surrounding area, and construct machines that adapt the area to sustain human life. During all of this, they’ll need to manage basic needs like thirst and oxygen, and can make the experience more or less taxing through a variety of difficulty modes.
This premise seems to be resonating with audiences. Though it only launched its final version on Wednesday April 10, The Planet Crafter has hit an all time and 24 hour peak of 15,928 players. Even more notably, 15,926 players are currently in game at the time of writing.
If you want to see what all the fuss is about, you can download a demo or pick up The Planet Crafter at a 30% discount ($16.79 USD / £13.99) on Steam right here.
Otherwise, take a look at our favorite space games and open-world games for more.
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