Astroneer

Astroneer launched into Early Access in December 2016, but StreamerHouse's 323-viewer peak happened in 2022, years after the full February 2019 release when the game had matured into a genuinely addictive sandbox. System Era Softworks reported over 3.7 million sales and 8 million players by March 2022, proving that pastel-colored space exploration could thrive in a post-No Man's Sky world. The game's aesthetic was "Pixar does astronaut base-building," with terrain deformation tools that felt like sculpting Play-Doh on alien planets. Critics praised the accessible survival mechanics and oxygen tethering system while calling out cumbersome inventory management and a lack of compelling discoveries. USgamer said it was "on the soft side of the survival spectrum," which was either a compliment or a drag depending on whether you wanted Dark Souls or Minecraft in space. The July 2022 Rails Update added automated rail transport, letting players build interplanetary logistics networks. StreamerHouse's 2022 coverage caught Astroneer at its peak: polished, feature-complete, and quietly dominating the "chill space game" niche that Starfield would later fumble spectacularly.