Edit 2:
1.19 The Mission, Compass, and Power Update March 31st
In this update they added a lot of the QOL I suggested. So i'd like the to thank those who found my review helpful, because i strongly believe the devs took the critiques to heart and were able to improve the game. I know this still isn't the game for me, but if that is what was holding you back now you know.

Edit: make sure to read comments on this post as they are people with different opinions than mine and leave your own thoughts too to have ppl informed

If you read nothing else, know this; Astroneer's biggest fault is a lack of direction. It is clear it was a prototype that was sold to us, and the developers never figured out how to make it fun. That the driving force of you playing is, "To find out if it ever gets interesting." The pay off never comes.

If I can say 1 1/2 good things about this game this is what it would be as follows:

1. The soundtrack is stellar. Relaxing, beautiful, and curious. If possible please support the musician, it really is great even separate from the game
   
2. The 'curiosities' such as the mushrooms in the screenshot, pair beautifully with the soundtrack. Unfortunately after seeing them there is nothing else worthwhile to do with them. AKA the screenshot is all your need to experience it

Games Like Minecraft and Terraria are what brought me to PC gaming, and still come back to these games to this day. I got Astroneer while it was in Early Access many years ago. Back then, at least in my eyes, it was being sold as a game about terraforming. "The world is Playdough, and you get a Playdough gun."

I mean, you make a world out of voxels, give the player a terraforming gun, AND THERE IS NOTHING ELSE TO DO, the expectation is to develop your ability to interact with the terrain. To this day, literally nothing has been added in that department.

Here is what you can do when in regards to terraforming:

• Create flat terrain
  
• Make a ramp or bridge
  
• Make a mound
  
• Make specific color of dirt

Yes, yes, i know, you can get 'creative' and build a snowman, or dragon, roleplay, or whatever the f*ck you want. The problem is there is a lack of tools to actually do anything. That the terrain serves nothing more than an obstacle in your way of acquiring resources. That the only thing you will terraform for is to cross a gap or drop into a cave.


Well, I touched on it a little above, there is a serious lack of interaction with the world. The driving force is you trying to find something interesting.

collect resources > build printers smelts etc > create vehicle > get more resources > create shuttle > next planet repeat basically

I mean that is the normal thing in these types of games. The issue is the planets don't actually provide anything interesting beyond looking at them for the first time. It's really an open world walking simulator without any texture. I've discussed a few directions this game could go in that would help it, but this game hasn't had a clear direction since it's conception.

• An AI mothership guiding your exploration, setting goals for you to reach
  
• Nature pushing the player to try and survive/maintain their structures
  
• A research log collecting the data about plants and minerals you discover (best for freedom to player)

One last closing note. People say this a game where, "you make your own fun," quite frankly, there are a stupendous number of games that provide so much more for you to, "make your own fun," with. A lack of content doesn't mean you should make your own fun; it means you should spend $30 on a different game.