The Planet Crafter inverts the typical survival game formula. Instead of an untouched Eden, players start on a hostile planet with only a one-man escape pod, surrounded by a desolate Martian-style red desert. Sandstorms and violent meteor showers abound, and the airless, deep-frozen environment kills if you stray too far from your tiny haven, with oxygen tanks draining rapidly unless you return to safety.
Survival and Exploration
Scattered mineral deposits can be harvested for basic crafting. Clumps of ice turn into potable water, while remains of ancient crashed spaceships yield sealed rations to keep thirst and hunger at bay. Hunting for resources, combined with limited air supply and constant need for food and water, adds tension to exploration. Unlike Subnautica or Satisfactory, the lifeless rock has no hostile creatures—only the harsh environment poses a threat. Players will die frequently at first, losing precious inventory items that get boxed up at the death site but are hard to find without a map or compass.
Progression and Upgrades
An escalating drip feed of novel tech and equipment gradually makes players better suited to the expansive wastes. Longer-lasting oxygen tanks, more inventory space, faster running speed, and eventually a jetpack simplify traversal, granting rapid access to diverse biomes with different crafting materials. The goal is terraforming: turning the bleak infertile hellscape into something welcoming. Starting with simple wind turbines and solar cells, players use rudimentary power to fuel heaters that warm the surface, while drilling rigs release gas into the atmosphere, incrementally increasing air temperature and pressure from an icy vacuum to a life-sustaining level.
Visible Transformation
As players survive and work with the emergent ecosystem, the first sign of progress is sterile red skies turning blue. Hours later, clouds form, followed by rain. The single-room spaceship lifeboat with basic crafting station is soon replaced by an increasingly impressive set of structures. Building outposts allows topping up oxygen and stashing rare materials to prevent loss upon death. The map is vast, with crevices and hidden caves opening into massive new areas. Rising temperatures melt ice that blocked paths, and explosives clear rubble, opening fresh avenues of exploration.
Ecosystem and Story
Players' effect on the landscape is unmissable. Where there was only desolation, lakes and grasslands appear. Insects buzz around trees and flowers, and animals appear. Players can tinker with DNA to create new species. Bases, biodomes, nuclear and fusion reactors, and huge drilling rigs become surrounded by greenery, with vines engulfing wrecked starships. Messages from previous long-dead survivors lead into the underlying story. Most time is spent nurturing terraforming, monitoring atmospheric heat, pressure, and biomass—the overall terraforming score unlocks better technology.
Visuals and Gameplay
Graphically, the game sits between Minecraft's blockiness and Satisfactory's polished high resolution. Initially slightly low-res, the growing ecosystem increases the landscape's beauty over time. The lack of compass, map, slow walking pace, and few inventory slots are not oversights but signs of being early in the upgrade path—all those quality-of-life improvements accrue naturally as terraforming takes hold. The game offers little guidance after initial objectives, letting players experiment. It has been out since 2024 on PC, with extensive early access, so community wikis are available if stuck.
Verdict
The Planet Crafter is a deep and cleverly engineered open world crafting game. It begins with survival, graduates to base building, and ends with an emerging ecology entirely of your own creation. The compelling sense of discovery is made more satisfying by a concerted lack of handholding. However, it is graphically not as beautiful as Satisfactory and lacks that game's factory building complexity. Until the teleporter is unlocked, traversing vast open spaces can feel drawn out. Score: 8/10. Formats: PlayStation 5 (reviewed), Xbox Series X/S, and PC. Price: £19.99. Publisher: Miju Games. Developer: Miju Games. Release Date: 21st June 2026. Age Rating: 3.
