When I headed into my appointment for STARSEEKER: Astroneer Expeditions at PAX West 2025, I was a little concerned that I wasn’t experienced with the original Astroneer title. Something I learned was that this is not a sequel to the original, just another game in the same universe. Once I was introduced to the world by Co-Founder of System Era Softworks and the game’s Creative Director, Adam Bromell, I immediately felt welcome and comfortable diving in, but that is really the entire idea behind the game.
STARSEEKER: Astroneer Expeditions is a collective universe that is consistently online. You exist on the ESS Starseeker with up to 99 other people, continuously contributing to further your universe. What this means is that the missions you and your squad go on will directly affect the world you reside in. Armed with a series of tools—but they can be used as weapons when needed — you are sent out in a team of four (always multiplayer) to complete missions and progress your world forward.
In my case, my team needed to find a specific item, I believe a radar of some sort, and get it to the highest point possible on the map…for science. It was a short 20-minute demo, but it allowed me to become familiar with STARSEEKER: Astroneer Expeditions, its world and its tools.
“Something that really resonated with me in STARSEEKER: Astroneer Expeditions was the flexibility of the gameplay.”
In this mission, I was able to experiment with my tool, which can come with various nozzles that do different things. You can 3D print them, which is what it is called instead of crafting. Very trendy if you ask me. This tool lets you scan the environment to learn more about it, but it also sucks up the earth and lets you terraform, essentially. To make it to the top of the mountain, rather than climbing, I could suck up the ground and create a path going through the mountain to the top.
Once, I dug myself right off the side of the cliff, and another time, we dug into water, so there are things to consider when using it. The nozzle I used allowed me to spit materials back out into the world. I could have used this to build a ramp to the top of the mountain, and could also use it to build barricades when being attacked by enraged carrots…you heard me.
Something that really resonated with me in STARSEEKER: Astroneer Expeditions was the flexibility of the gameplay. Personally, I was eager to research and explore the world around me. For the sake of the mission, I focused, but everything I could have gathered or researched would be there for me when I returned to base. The Bromell even mentioned that over time, the game could recognize your preferred gameplay, be it researching, gathering, terraforming, etc., and offer you missions that highlight the way you want to play the game.
“Whatever the case, I know I will be jumping into STARSEEKER: Astroneer Expeditions with my kids by my side in 2026.”
An interesting feature in STARSEEKER: Astroneer Expeditions is the implementation of something temporarily called a “sticker book”. This sounded similar to achievement progress in that it will track the things you do in-game, and eventually gain you “stickers” to reward your progress. This would be one of the ways the game tracks the way you choose to play the game and helps it highlight your choices.
Bromell talked a lot about how community and building something together were key elements in STARSEEKER: Astroneer Expeditions. He used this sticker book as a great example of the kind of environment they are trying to build. Right now, farming is not a part of gameplay, but he used it as a great example. He suggested the game could host events like a “Farmer’s Appreciation Day,” and people who filled out their stickers in the farming categories could come down to the bridge of the ship and get some cool in-game items.
A lot of what Bromell told me about STARSEEKER: Astroneer Expeditions surrounded the community heavily. It almost felt like that was more important to get across than the actual gameplay itself. The only thing I can compare it to is EVE Online, where the game really is the community. However, Expeditions seems more about working as a team rather than giant battles in space. Whatever the case, I know I will be jumping into STARSEEKER: Astroneer Expeditions with my kids by my side in 2026.
