Planets, aliens, resources, upgrades, caves, mapping & documenting star systems ... seek a new home for the human race. An all-inclusive (admittedly janky) procedural space-sim made by solo developer Schmidt Workshops.
Modeled estimate, not a reported figure. How we estimate →
About
Star Explorers is a game made by a single person over the course of many years - janky behavior may be experienced. You may reach out to the developer on the Steam forum or Discord server with any questions, bug reports or insults.
Linux players: If you experience an "out of memory" crash on launch, go to Properties → Compatibility and force Proton 4.2-9. This worked for me anyway...
Earth has been destroyed, and humanity must find a way to survive. Star Explorers grants players a tremendous amount of freedom and agency in how to approach the game without holding your hand, but with freedom comes responsibility and consequences. Take risks and reap the rewards in your efforts to find a new home for the human race in this open world space exploration game.
"...See, the galaxy Schmidt has created here isn't cruel. "Cruel" implies that it cares. And this galaxy is terribly, terribly uncaring..." - MagFlare – Steam User
"...This game, at its core, is about exploration, and it scratches my space exploration itch in a way that no game has since I played Starflight as a kid..." - battlescar2014 – Steam User
Planets are formed randomly, but their conditions are based on somewhat scientific factors. The size and temperature of the star they orbit, their distance from that star, the type of surface, atmosphere, and liquids present (or not) determine how a planet will look once landed on. Players will be able to land, depart and return to planets, exploring their surfaces as well as underground cave systems repeatedly, while keeping the same features intact on each visit.
Fuel, ammunition and oxygen will all have to be carefully managed if the player wants to survive the long search for an earth-like planet. While many planets will be too hot or cold, or without an atmosphere, there are also worlds of liquid methane, ammonia, sulphuric acid and more, that have developed their own unique evolutionary cycles. Each kind of alien plant, tree or animal is pieced together randomly, making for a unique experience for each player.
The Star Explorers universe is not a friendly one though, it can be cruel and indifferent to the struggles of its inhabitants. If you're not careful, you might land on a planet that's just too hot, or too cold, or enveloped in a cloud of corrosive acid, and not live to tell about it. Upgrading your space suit will open these otherwise impossible worlds to further exploration.
Exploration will allow the player to discover many things, including tools and resources that will help in further exploration. Among these are raw materials, weapons, armor upgrades and blueprints that allow you to craft helpful items. Armor upgrades will increase your space suit's resistance to heat, cold and other environmental hazards. Some weapons allow you to access areas that may be closed off to less experienced adventurers.
Star Explorers may be the first interstellar dungeon crawler. Traversing the dark, hidden places and caves is necessary to find the resources required to complete the game. Discover the crumbling remains of an ancient culture and learn the secrets of its mysterious people. In Star Explorers, exploration and investigation are rewarded with special items and locations that many players may never find. If you are someone who likes to look around every corner, then this is the game for you.
Almost everything in Star Explorers is produced generatively. From the locations of stars and nebulae, to the surfaces of planets and their features, every location is different, and every play-through offers unique challenges. Even the music heard in game is generated in real time, and is based purely on the parameters of the player's environment. Each planet, cave and other location has a unique sound-track.
Star Explorers is still in development. You can see update announcements here on the store page, and in the community hub. A version 6.0 has not officially been announced yet. However, minor updates and tweaks still happen fairly regularly.
Genres
Stats
All-time low is the lowest price we've recorded for this game since we started tracking it.
Languages: English**languages with full audio support
Engagement
Hours played at review time, across 41 reviews with recorded playtime.
Reviews
Themes across 41 recent reviews and how positive each mention is. A keyword signal, not full sentiment analysis.
positive critical· bar length = how often the theme comes up
Reviews
A charming indie space dungeon crawler, a little rough around the edges, with some expected indie jank. It's not the kind of game I usually play, so it was surprising how much I enjoyed coming back to it. It quickly became a comfort game of sorts for me, where I can tune in for 15 minutes or a few hours, with or without some background youtube video, chill out and explore the galaxy, the alien ruins, the gigantic labyrinthine flying saucer spaceships. Everything about it feels handmade and bespoke, strangely cozy, and very much coherent, from simple stylized graphics to minimalistic yet very fitting soundtrack.
no man's sky for people with Bad computers
⣿⣿⡻⠿⣳⠸⢿⡇⢇⣿⡧⢹⠿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣾⣿⡇⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⡐⣯⠁ ⠄⠄ ⠟⣛⣽⡳⠼⠄⠈⣷⡾⣥⣱⠃⠣⣿⣿⣿⣯⣭⠽⡇⣿⣿⣿⣿⣟⢢⠏⠄ ⠄ ⢠⡿⠶⣮⣝⣿⠄⠄⠈⡥⢭⣥⠅⢌⣽⣿⣻⢶⣭⡿⠿⠜⢿⣿⣿⡿⠁⠄⠄ ⠄⣼⣧⠤⢌⣭⡇⠄⠄⠄⠭⠭⠭⠯⠴⣚⣉⣛⡢⠭⠵⢶⣾⣦⡍⠁⠄⠄⠄⠄ ⠄⣿⣷⣯⣭⡷⠄⠄⢀⣀⠩⠍⢉⣛⣛⠫⢏⣈⣭⣥⣶⣶⣦⣭⣛⠄⠄⠄⠄⠄ ⢀⣿⣿⣿⡿⠃⢀⣴⣿⣿⣿⣎⢩⠌⣡⣶⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣆⠄⠄⠄ ⢸⡿⢟⣽⠎⣰⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⢀⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣦⠄⠄ ⣰⠯⣾⢅⣼⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡄⠄ ⢰⣄⡉⣼⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⢸⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣧⠄ ⢯⣌⢹⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⢸⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠄ ⢸⣇⣽⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠸⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠄ ⢸⣟⣧⡻⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣧⡻⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠄ ⠈⢹⡧⣿⣸⠿⢿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡿⠗⣈⠻⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⡇⠄ ⠄⠘⢷⡳⣾⣷⣶⣶⣶⣶⣶⣾⣿⣿⢀⣶⣶⣶⣾⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠇⠄ ⠄⠄⠈⣵⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⢸⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠄⠄ ⠄⠄⠄⠸⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠘⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⣿⠇⠄⠄
I've found Star Explorers to be a fun, relaxing experience. There's not a ton to do, but I still enjoy the process of mapping out the different systems and finding new life. If you're looking for a challenge, this game might not be for you, at least at it's current state in development. One thing I find a bit lackluster is the surfaces of the planets, because they're almost all composed of the same geographic features, so they lose their novelty after you've visited a few. I also hope to see more depth added to the remaining human society- as well as the aliens, humanoid and otherwise -because none of the NPCs have any distinct personality or features. That being said, it's not intended to be an RPG, and as an exploratory game it's pretty satisfying, and quite charming too :-) Additional info: I'm on the Nobara Linux OS, and I've never encountered a game-breaking bug, nor has the game ever crashed for me, which is impressive. The only issues I've had have been minor, such as random explosions in caves that are on planets with atmospheres (meaning no asteroid collisions on the surface), and enemies stuck in walls/not pathing correctly.
A solo dev's work from scratch and it is a hell of an effort.
Verrry gooood alternative to something like No Man's Sky for budget pcs. Don't get me wrong though it's janky and it doesn't have as much content as No Man's Sky by a long shot but I still enjoyed it.
Schmidt Workshops has become one of my favorite solo developers out there. He continues to add features to the game every few months. I would say that Star Explorers has a feel of a sort of "Daggerfall in Space" similar to Rodina (another indie project that this reminds me of), and it drips with atmosphere and isolation. The story isn't anything to write home about, but that's not why one plays these sorts of games anyway. If you enjoyed No Man's Sky, Starfield, or any other similar space exploration game, I highly recommend this to you.
Very cool game experience.
No Man's Sky wishes it was this cozy.
This game has the makings of a great indie experience, but the interface, and general engineering, is downright terrible. Even managing the savegames is clunky and wierd. The interface looks as though it's intended for a 1600x900 fullscreen experience, even though it suggests 1280x720 for some reason. It doesn't scale -- if you play at 4K, you're gonna have a rough time with the text. If you tab out of the experience, to do anything else, the game will crash. You can't save except in a certain circumstance, so... eggshells. That said, the art style is fun/interesting, and the gameplay seems entertaining -- although I haven't yet seen much of it, due to the interface struggles. (update pending) Buy at your own peril. Be prepared for a unique indie experience, but don't pick it up thinking it'll play like a polished title.
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Trends
Concurrent players on Steam, sampled daily since tracking started.
Momentum
Pace estimated from the game's recent review growth (our daily snapshots) at its own sales-per-review ratio — a momentum signal, not booked sales.
Audience
Estimated from the language of this game's reviews — a proxy for where players are, not official Steam demographics.
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