In development for several years now, Autonauts has finally come between us. Denki, the development house of the title, has decided to propose its own management software based on a concept that has definitely been in vogue in the last period: the exploration and colonization of planets. The appearance of the game produced by Digital Curve it might seem childish in some ways, but it hides a rather complex system. Will this be enough to convince us? Find out in our review!
Build, create, automate
In Autonauts we take on the role of a human looking for a new planet to live on. Once landed, the tutorial that will accompany us throughout the adventure will begin immediately (it is however possible to deactivate it at the time of creating the save or later through the settings menu). In the first hour of the game we learn about the mechanics that characterize the title, starting with crafting structures and tools. The creation system is quite simple: to obtain an object just select the recipe and bring the necessary materials to the workstation. This rather basic way of crafting is justified by the presence of other much deeper mechanics.
Once you are familiar with the game controls, in fact, the main feature of the title is introduced: the ability to program robot that they can perform the various tasks in our place. Once we have our first machine, we can start teaching her how to do an activity so she doesn't have to repeat the same actions. For train a robot is necessary to interact with it and do the job we want to teach it. For example, if we wanted to automate the process of wood collection, it would be enough to show our machine how to cut down a tree. At this point, the robot will perform this action independently. So, our first wood farm is ready. Of course, the concept can be applied to any activity necessary for progression within the game, such as farming, ranching or collecting minerals. The goal is just that: to automate the colonization of this new planet using robots. The latter must then be organized, in order to make the production chain more and more efficient. Unfortunately, although there are hundreds of objectives, the repetitiveness is around the corner and, unless you are really passionate about the genre, you will struggle to hold up beyond a certain number of hours of gameplay.
A brightly colored planet
From a technical point of view, you can see it from the images, Autonauts looks like a really nice title. Denki decided to adopt a rather style cartoon, with rounded lines and bright colors. A perfect mix that manages very well to approach all age groups. We think however that the developers could certainly have dared more in this field, since the yield graphics of the title is just more than enough. For what concern sonoro instead, nothing to say: the music is suitable and quiet and performs the function of accompanying the player in his long gameplay phases very well. The same goes for sound effects, contextualized and suitable for any type of audience.
In conclusion, Autonauts is a discreet product, which brings with it good ideas but a not too accurate realization. Denki's stock suffers from some flaws from the point of view of repetition and the technical sector. Still referring to the latter, the somewhat cartoonish design could be misleading: Autonauts is a complex title, with mechanics for all types of users and it is impossible not to be captured by the introduction of robots, the real protagonists of the game. We could therefore define it as a successful title, but only in part: the video game produced by Curve Digital it's smart, but it does not apply.
