How many times have we crash-landed on the surface of an alien planet? That seems like a lot, and I can’t count the number of minerals I’ve extracted using a space laser, or the myriad structures I’ve magically conjured using hoarded materials. So The Planet Crafter isn’t entirely original, but it’s one of the most addictive and enjoyable games where you crash onto a barren planet and mine minerals in order to survive that I’ve played.
As the game’s hapless space protagonist, you emerge from your escape pod with nothing but a mining tool and the spacesuit on your back. Fortunately, you have a crafting station on board the module and a storage chest, which is all you need to make yourself habitable on this inhospitable planet. Without a breathable atmosphere, you will need an oxygen tank and a place to shelter, where you can begin your noble enterprise and ultimately escape.
Armed with essential blueprints, you can create living quarters using iron, silicon, titanium, and other minerals scattered across the planet, while cobalt, aluminum, and iridium can be used for solar panels, windows, heat sources, drills to increase pressure, plant tubes to grow oxygen-generating plants, and food producers to… well, grow food, obviously. Ice deposits, meanwhile, can be transformed into water bottles.
In addition to needing oxygen (you can replenish your reserves by breathing inside your shelter), you’ll need to eat and drink frequently, and you’ll find valuable food sources inside crashed ships and scattered blue storage chests. You’ll quickly discover that you can only venture so far before your oxygen drops to zero. A network of shelters will therefore give you the opportunity to explore a place rich in resources far away to settle down.
Your mission objectives are very clearly laid out, so once you have gathered all the things you need to survive, your main task is to increase the heat, pressure and oxygen level of the planet, terraforming the planet to accommodate plant life and eventually animal life. This takes quite a concerted effort though, meaning you’ll need to dedicate hours to harvesting minerals and building items in order to get the numbers up faster.
And as the numbers increase, you’ll unlock new blueprints to create more advanced technologies, like a nuclear reactor to meet all your energy needs, an ore extractor for a constant supply of minerals (it’s all about minerals), and a biodome to skyrocket your oxygen levels as you work to transform the planet’s oppressive red and blue skies. Clouds, rain, lakes, and lush vegetation ensue, and it’s extremely rewarding to see your efforts pay off.
Crafting leg attachments lets you move faster and cover more ground, while expanded air tanks and backpack space let you stay out in the open longer and gather more items to build essential structures, such as solar panels, windmills, base extensions, and even a launch pad to send rockets into space. There’s a whole host of things to discover, and that constant feeling of progression sucks you in, making it a hard thing to let go. God knows you’ll want to build yourself a jetpack.
Clearly, two years of early access on PC and two more years since its full release have done The Planet Crafter some good. It debuts on consoles with intuitive controls, a sleek interface, single-player and co-op play for up to eight players, and a richer gameplay loop. While it may not be as detailed and expansive as No Man’s Sky or Subnautica, there’s certainly something to be said for The Planet Crafter’s simple, straightforward approach.
So where does he land?
Although it took a while to come to consoles, The Planet Crafter emerges as an enjoyable entry into the survival genre, with simple base building, clearly presented objectives, and a strangely relaxing gameplay loop that will keep you hooked.
