Autonauts

There's plenty to do in this exciting and empowering simulation game, where automation is the key to your shining future

I found Autonauts to be tedious at first, then really fun, then exhausting. It's a fun challenge, but in the end, I just wanted to build a robot to tell all the others what to do so I could sit down and read a book.

It is a shame that Autonauts has a notable bug that rapidly reduced enjoyment and led to a premature end of the game. The style and concept are well executed, allowing many approaches to completing progression goals that are so numerous completionists will be in heaven. Creating and replacing tools as they break is an acceptable part of the game, but constantly having to stop and start robots in their actions because of an inexplicable error loses the whole automated process that is central to Autonauts' functionality.

Autonauts is packed with adorable animations and a deceptively simple premise. Controls could be better on the Switch, as I do think they let the game down. Apart from the controls, the game premise and execution of the tutorial are well done. The game is enjoyable, with plenty to keep you up until the wee hours of the morning, commanding your bots to craft and build the colony of your dreams.

As someone who enjoys creative sim games as well as programming (I'd hope I enjoy it, its how I spend my days) in theory Autonauts would be a home run for me...

I'm amazed at how well Autonauts' many elements come together to form a simulation experience that manages to be as satisfying as it is open-ended. Throw in an adorable presentation and a well-executed campaign and you're left with one great sim game.

Autonauts is a charming automation and base-building game that blends Minecraft’s creative spirit with Factorio’s production complexity. Players program simple robot workers using visual commands to build increasingly complex production chains—from farming and forestry to crafting entire towns. Despite its child-friendly visuals and educational potential, the game presents a surprisingly steep learning curve, with unintuitive programming tools and limitations like the lack of conditional logic (e.g., no "if" statements). While Autonauts is a unique, ambitious title that teaches programming logic in a fun, hands-on way, it still feels like a rough gem—captivating but in need of polish to fully realize its potential.

This is unusual colony with robots coded by you. Creative, certainly, but repetitive soon.

I sincerely enjoyed my time with Autonauts and could see anyone from a pro programmer to someone with zero experience having a good time with this game.

Autonauts is a fantastic little base-builder that gives players the chance to build and program their own robots. As players progress, the hands off approach may not appeal to everyone, but the ability to make your robots as simple or as complex as you want opens up the game for many hours of fun.