Planet Crafter

There's a subgenre of games that I refer to as "dollhouse" games. They're typically made up of robust systems that exist solely to give the player a clearly defined way to make progress. You collect resources so that you can make machines that allow you to collect different resources so that you can make new things, usually with an eye towards customization of some kind. The most common example is a cozy life sim where you make increasingly more impressive furniture or can design better and better clothes, all the better to decorate your house with. Thus, "dollhouse."

To be clear, I am not dissing these games at all. They can be very satisfying and meditative, and not every game needs life or death stakes. I do typically find myself getting bored with them rather quickly, however, because I become hyperaware of the gameplay loop and my role in perpetuating it.

Look, I don't mind being a sucker, I just don't like noticing.

Planet Crafter is a slightly different take on a dollhouse game, not least because it's less about making yourself a cozy cottage and more about not dying. The slim shred of story is that you're a convict had their sentence commuted in exchange for your labor terraforming a new planet. The gameplay is tried and true: you gather resources to make stuff that opens the way to better resources and the opportunity to make better stuff.

The key difference of Planet Crafter, though, is that you're not doing any of this for your own enjoyment. It's not about making your house bigger or cuter or a perfect replica of Disney's Haunted Mansion. It's about taking a lifeless rock and making it into something alive.

I had gone off exploring, looking for more raw materials to turn into some tool or other when I realized it was raining. I was walking through puddles. When I reached my base, I saw a few tiny patches of grass just starting to sprout. All the collecting and processing and following of development trees I had done over the past several hours had created a blue sky, and water, and the very beginnings of a green field.

It felt amazing. Like all of the work that I'd done had been for something larger than myself. Last night, I raised the planet's temperature enough to melt the ice caps and create a lake. Soon, I will be able to grow a tree, and then eventually, there will be insects and animals.

Planet Crafter is not the most polished example of this kind of game, but it is the only one that's made me feel insignificant in a such a profound and satisfying way. If you enjoy Subnautica or other games of that nature, I recommend giving Planet Crafter a try.

Oh, and if you got the reference in the subhead for this post, we can be friends.