When you hear the word outer space, what do you think of? Do you think of legendary tales such as Star Wars, Star Trek, Dune, or even Battlestar Galactica? What if I asked you to think of epic sci-fi video games, what would come to mind? Would you think of Halo, Hell Divers 2, No Man’s Sky, High on Life, Red Faction, Mass Effect, or Borderlands?

When No Man’s Sky was first announced and released, many said it was a fool’s dream. Now, a new game looks to be equally ambitious as No Man’s Sky, and it is from a developer who has already created a positively received game. At PAX West 2025, we had the chance to check out System Era Softworks’ next game, STARSEEKER: Astroneer Expeditions.

Now, prior to PAX West, STARSEEKER: Astroneer Expeditions had flown under my radar. Massive open-world games that take up a lot of time, although they may look good, have become somewhat unappealing. Now, this isn’t due to poor game design, but rather there are just so many exciting games out there, and there just isn’t enough time in the day. 

Now, what is so appealing about STARSEEKER: Astroneer Expeditions is that it doesn’t require you to be constantly grinding. The game was designed for you to undertake missions at your own pace and enjoy the game with your friends; yes, you can try to complete levels by yourself, but it is not as rewarding. 

For the demo at PAX West, we were paired with the cofounder of System Era Softworks, Adam Bromwell, to go on an expedition. Now, yes, we could have undertaken this adventure on our own, but who wouldn’t want an expert with them on their first adventure? For this first adventure, we had to find a lost satellite array and get it to a high point in order to collect data from the planet.

In order to accomplish this mission, we first needed to find the array. Once we had gathered the array, we needed to figure out how to get it up high and not die to the planet’s inhabitants. For this task, Adam pointed out that certain creatures will interact with different objects in the world. These objects can be used to distract these creatures or recruit them to aid us on our mission. With a little army at our side, we could take on some enemies that got in our way.

Even with a little army at our side, we still needed a way to get to the top of the mountain. In order to achieve these, we had two options: 1. build a road up to the peak after sucking in other terrain and then shooting it out, or 2. suck in anything that got in our way and just keep digging upwards. 

For this mission, we decided to combine these two tactics in order to climb the targeted mountain. At times, there were plants or other creatures that would slow down our ascent.

Because of this, we would need to throw the satellite array away or to one another to get out of the trap. In one instance, we accidentally missed the pass off, and it rolled down the hill. Before it could roll all the way down, we were able to jump down and block off the path.

With only one of us able to go up the path easily, the other had to climb the side of the mountain. The game uses a similar mechanic to Zelda: Breath of the Wild, where climbing takes up stamina.

Thankfully, for both of us, we were able to rescue one another before either of us ran out of stamina, and were able to make paths for one another to get back up to each other. 

The core concept of the game seems like it can be a fun experience, but the base mission we experienced did not give enough to fully gauge how the game would be when it releases.

The idea of being able to destroy every part of the world seems like a fun idea, but ultimately, the execution will determine how successful STARSEEKER: Astroneer Expeditions will be. 

The demo itself provided laughs and reminded us of what we loved from Red Faction and Minecraft, but it will be interesting to see how System Era Softworks executes their vision for STARSEEKER: Astroneer Expeditions. We will just have to wait and see. 

STARSEEKER: Astroneer Expeditions is in development for Windows PC (via Steam), Xbox Series X|S, Switch, and PS5 with a release set for 2026. If you want to learn more about the game, you can check out our interview with Adam Bromwell.