Autonauts

Autonauts is an indie game developed by Denki and published by Curve Digital. The player is put in charge of a mall colony, which task is to make the worlds they visit habitable by means of automated work. To accomplish that, the colonizers must harvest resources to craft tools and mechanized workforce to operate them – the workerbots.  As the colony develops, workerbots can be reprogrammed to carry out more complex tasks, creating a fully automated colonization process. 

Automated gameplay

Autonauts game begins with the player as a sole colonizer of an uninhabited planet. The colonizing effort begins with creating basic tools, like an axe made of stick and stone. As the player progresses, they can create more sophisticated items and tools for creating them, such as workbenches.

With time the player will be able to create their first workerbot. These mechanical constructors can be programmed to carry out various tasks, such as harvesting the land for resources, hunting and gathering food, etc. As the player begins to harvest and produce better quality materials, they can create and program more advanced workerbots to advance the colonization.

In the later stages of colonization, the player can create buildings using blueprints. The blueprints outline the rough shape of the building the player wants to create and indicate the location where they can place it. The player must collect resources necessary to build a blueprint structure, or they can program the workerbot to find blueprint locations and create them.

Story of conquest and progress

Exploration of space is fun! Especially if you find a brand-new planet, only waiting to be colonized! But heed my words, future conquerors of space – colonization is easier said than done. To begin with, you’ll need some tools for harvesting resources. Then, you’ll need to build yourself some workforce. The workerbots will serve you well in your efforts, automating the colonization process, while you sit back and relax, maybe go fishing. Automation is the key to the future, and you are the one holding it!

Reception

Autonauts received a positive reception from the critics. The reviewers praised the gameplay, noting how simple it was, making the game accessible to all sorts of players. At the same time, the reviews pointed out the complexity of the game mechanics, especially crafting and building. In summary, Autonauts is considered a game that will suit the tastes of both casual and seasoned gamers.