Astroneer is one of the best multiplayer survival crafting games that money can buy, and it's just gotten even better thanks to the new Custom Games update that lets you tailor the experience in all manner of weird and wonderful ways.
"This update cracks open Astroneer in a way that allows players to do all sorts of really fun things," developer System Era Softworks says. "From creating new saves with unique characteristics like hardcore permadeath, to setting up exact scenarios and speedruns, the custom game tools added will allow you to make the experience your own and then share them with others."
This means you can make life a lot less demanding for your Astroneer. For instance, you can have them breathe easier by enabling the free oxygen option. "While this might make the game 'easy' we believe having this option is a good one," explains the developer. "For players who want a chill story mode experience, or for players for whom managing oxygen prevents them from enjoying the game, we believe letting players choose to opt into this is great for accessibility."
Of course, if wreaking havoc is your jam, there are a lot of options for that too. You can limit the number of respawns you've got - these can be individual or shared among players. You can also opt to spawn on a planet that doesn't have a starting habitat, meaning you'll need to find a reliable oxygen source fast. There's also the option to stop certain items from ever being researched, including vehicles, power generators, printers, base modules, and shuttles. The trailer below gives you a taste of the kind of chaos you can cause.
The full list of options available in Astroneer's Custom Games update can be found here, and if you've yet to give the space-based indie a try, it's currently got a 60% discount on Steam.
We've got more great indies getting ready to touch down in our guide to upcoming indie games.
