Factsheet
Developer:
Universal Happymaker
Based in Seattle and Los Angeles
Release date:
August 15th, 2023
Platforms:
Steam, $14.99 USD
Website:
http://www.astronautthebest.com
Description
Astronaut: The Best is an occult management adventure where people aren't just numbers: they're incompetent screwups. Your duty is to turn them into national heroes, or the government will have you killed.
Features
- Train Your Astronauts – Recruit procedurally generated characters, strengthen their abilities, and discover their hidden personality traits. Astronauts could be revealed to be serial killers, part-time pirates, or members of the royal family. Your choices have an impact on each recruit and their likelihood of success.
- Unpredictable Missions – Through a blend of procedural and branching narrative structures, no mission is ever the same. Explore all the possible roguelite results in each replay, filled with character, humor, and twists you’ll never see coming.
- Charm The Nation, or Else – Prepare your astronauts to perform for the nation on sensationalist TV programs and in the tabloids. Succeed in zany trials to win glory, or fail spectacularly and face deadly consequences.
- Spacecraft Meets Witchcraft - The nation’s High Priests demand results, and a well-placed spell can mean all the difference. Perform mystic rituals, use supernatural charms to give your astronauts the upper hand, and discover a metaverse-spanning mystery underneath it all.
- Five missions. Hundreds of decisions. Thousands of recombinant astronauts. Millions of ways to fail spectacularly.
Videos
Release Date Announcement Trailer (7/2023) YouTube
Gameplay Explainer (8/2023) YouTube
Steam Gameplay Footage YouTube
Alpha Release Trailer (7/2021) YouTube
Images
Logo & Icon
Awards & Recognition
- "Official Selection, LudoNarraCon" 4-11 May, 2023
- "Best Simulation Game, DreamHack Anaheim" Anaheim, CA: 21-23 February, 2020
- "Official Selection, Indie MEGABOOTH GDC Showcase" San Francisco, CA: 19 March, 2018
- "Official Selection, PAX Indie MEGABOOTH" Seattle, WA: 2-3 September, 2016
- "The Guardian's Top 10 Games of EGX 2016" Birmingham, England: 22-25 September, 2016
Selected Articles
- "Houston, we have a winner. This game's incredible, and if you like roguelites or management sims, pick it up pronto."
- Malcolm Schmitz, EIP Gaming - "Everything is twisted and bizarre; feelings which completely define the experience in all the best ways possible."
- Mateusz Niewierowski, GameLuster - "If you’re looking for a quirky time management game set in an intriguing—and comical—world, you want to check out Astronaut: The Best."
- Steven Mills, Destructoid - "Easily one of the most unique and fascinating games I played this year, period."
- Suman Biswas, Sportskeeda
Request Press Copy
Please contact us at jules@universalhappymaker.com to recieve a press copy of Astronaut: The Best.
Additional Links
Flaustrian Discord
Become a Flaustrian citizen, participate in discussions and feedback, and bet on morality plays.
Flaustrian National Anthem
Book, Market, Moon, / Mongoose, Sun. / Our country is the chosen one. / Let us defend her, / Never expend her / Bounteous goodwill. / Sun, Market, Book, / Mongoose, Moon. / Let all our voices sing in tune. / Let serpents shred / Beneath the tread / Of bounteous goodwill!
Telephone Tag
The bouncy theme of intrigue and national embarrassment.
About Universal Happymaker
Boilerplate
Universal Happymaker builds games that are moral laboratories. We intend to create a world where everyone enjoys our games WITHOUT EXCEPTION.
More information
More information on Universal Happymaker, our logo & relevant media are available here.
Astronaut: The Best Credits
Mike Sennott and David Mershon
Project Leads, Writing, Design, Programming
Julia Y
Graphic Design, All of the Art
Matt Zapp
Music and Audio
Jules Engel
PR Advisor
Jeffery Wright
Community Manager
Contact
Inquiries
msennott@universalhappymaker.com
presskit() by Rami Ismail (Vlambeer) - also thanks to these fine folks