Co-op shenanigans in space.
Knowing that I would be spending part of PAX West with some close friends, I was in search of a multi-player focused demo for the four of us to check out. When Devolver Digital reached out about a specific coverage opportunity that checked that very box, I couldn't rightly refuse to check out an upcoming game from one of my favorite publishers. The title in question was STARSEEKER: Astroneer Expeditions, and even though I am not overly familiar with its predecessor with whom it shares a universe, my pals and I happily bopped around the co-op focused world before completing our task and being whisked away off planet.
The demo situated us right in the middle of the action, with an objective marker to head towards as we gradually figured out the controls and our capabilities as space station crew members. Filled with vibrant and pastel-shaded colors, we worked to achieve our first task of reaching the relay station. Much of the fun came not from getting to the station but from bouncing around the world and playing with the different equipment we started the demo with. My tool could be used to deform the ground to create pits or tunnels or in its alternate mode could shoot a blast of air or energy to propel enemies (or maybe friends) forward; another friend could shoot water from his kit to clean off goop disrupting our progress or coating important objects. I was left with no choice after we had finished all of the demo’s main tasks but to use my gear to launch my teammates off the mountain we had scaled. It’s this type of freeform, emergent gameplay that Starseeker appears to revel in.
After exploring the relay station, our next goal became the retrieval of a missing sensor array, which fortunately wasn’t too far away. Of course, the mission wasn’t going to be over that easily, and so our true test came from scaling a nearby mountain while one of us brought the array all the way to the top. Our squad had to work together to ward off enemies, create a tunnel that had to spiral gradually upwards toward the summit, and carry the array along this path. The temptation for mischief was ever present, but we managed to resist long enough to get the equipment up the mountain and activated, which signaled the conclusion of our work. All that was left was to traverse another short distance to our nearby shuttles. Equipped with gliders reminiscent of Buzz Lightyear, we took a leap of faith and slowly made our way down to the final objective marker. Attempting to snatch away our victory at the 11th hour was a rocky creature, but our combined efforts were enough to push it away so that we could make our escape.
The simplicity and freedom of the PAX West demo was one of my major takeaways, and it felt like I had only scratched the surface of what could be a really fun but maybe less stressful co-op experience. I dare use the term “cozy” here, but loosely I think it fits: the cartoonish visuals, the abundance of color, the relative ease with which we could escape danger. I can see the potential in Starseeker for an online multiplayer experience that I return to in large or small bursts for the purpose of chilling with friends and losing ourselves for a while on strange planets in a connected universe. I’m excited by the prospect of a more lowkey, less pressure-filled adventure with friends, and in 2026 we’ll be able to see and learn more as Starseeker: Astroneer Expeditions prepares for launch on Switch 2.
