Love the in-depth exploration, crafting, and building of Terraria’s 2D world? How about the colony management elements of looking after various settlers with unique traits in Rimworld? What if you could smash them both together, with elements of more of the best sandbox games on PC? Enter Farworld Pioneers, a new open-world, sci-fi adventure that lets you do just that, either alone or in online co-op with your friends.
With all signs pointing to Terraria development finally wrapping up with the upcoming Terraria 1.4.5 update, you might be looking for something a bit different to fill the hole until Terraria 2 appears. Farworld Pioneers comes from developer Igloosoft, which boasts former Rimworld and Starbound devs on its team, and the sandbox RPG game just got a release date on Steam and Microsoft’s Game Pass service, with a demo out now.
The game’s release date trailer, seen below, shows off its exploration, building, and combat, which will feel immediately familiar to Terraria fans. The distinctive art style of Farworld Pioneers immediately sets it apart, however, with a slightly more ‘realistic’ spin on proceedings that gives way to sci-fi wonder as you explore various planets across the vast reaches of space.
Build gorgeous, towering structures and deck them out with research facilities, high-spec technology, and weapon-crafting armouries. Then recruit NPC survivors, each with their own distinct personalities and skills, to help run your base and defend it against the weird and wild wasteland creatures. You’ll be able to assign them to various tasks from gathering to crafting, allowing you to focus on the tasks you really care about.
You’ll also be able to put together your very own ship to explore beyond the stars and reach new planets with unique biomes and bosses. The combat is fast-paced, explosive, and packed with a range of physics-based weapons, giving it a feel that’s not unlike that of iconic multiplayer 2D shooter Soldat.
Farworld Pioneers features the option to play solo or jump into online co-op with your friends on private servers. Beyond that, you can even jump into large-scale public multiplayer servers, where the option for PvP lets you decide whether you’re going to coordinate and cooperate with your fellow survivors or take them on in mortal combat as you struggle for resources.
Farworld Pioneers releases May 30 on Steam, Game Pass, and PlayStation and Xbox consoles. If you want to give it a shot, you can play the demo now on Steam, where you can also add the game to your wishlist to keep track of it ahead of launch.
If you’re looking for more ways to satisfy that Terraria itch, why not check out the best Terraria mods for plenty of ways to dramatically change things up? Alternatively, take a look through our picks of the best building games on PC, along with plenty more top indie games in 2023.
