I've played this since early release, and now playing through full version. Planet crafter is an interesting survival builder game. You've landed on a dead planet as some sort of punishment and have to turn it into a liveable world. Fair enough. Leave pod, wander round a little. Die. Hrm. Leave pod, run about gather a few bits, run back and breathe... Leave pod, what's that noise. Smashed to pieces by a meteor hitting me... Luckily dying just drops some of your stuff in a crate so its not really a problem. The meteors though are a neat touch to replenish (and later on obtain) resources. On the horizon was a huge spaceship - so I built a little chain of survival rooms across to it, and decided to build my first base clinging to the cliff underneath it. Good and bad choice. Good I didn't get flooded, bad its a prime meteor landing site so the door often got blocked and I couldn't get out! Things I really like about Planet Crafter: A) Resource needs are well balanced. Initially you need a lot of iron, then aluminium, then food! There's always something you don't quite have enough of to build the next thing on your list. B) Wow factor. I made that! The first time it rained, the lakes, the trees, wait was that a bee that flew by... As the planet evolves there's always something new - even the landscape changes. C) It rewards the explorer. If you like climbing the mountain, or searching a cave you will find hidden rewards, including a glimpse of others on the planet. D) Its just kinda cool to chill out in. Floating about over your world, moving from (in my latest playthough) my home in the air facing the waterfall surrounded by house plants, to the industrial aluminum mine, to the impossible house on top of the volcano! E) You can customise the play experience to shape the game about you.
