It has been a while since my last review here, hasn’t it? The summer continues to be too hot for my liking here in the UK, especially with our humidity, tiny homes built to keep heat trapped within, and lack of air conditioning. Usually, the last thing I want to do is play games on the laptop, but instead I flop on the bed like a fish.
We’re officially in the saturation stage of game releases, with August, September, and October absolutely chock full of games, all trying to avoid the upcoming juggernaut of GTA6 that’s launching in November. I can’t see this ending well, as the market is going to be swamped, but there have been some really cool games I’ve picked up lately. Because of the time between reviews, I’ve decided to make today a Double Bill episode covering two games: Solarpunk and Pax Autocratica. The latter is especially interesting, so grab your snacks and drinks, and let’s begin!
Kicking off with Solarpunk, we have a traditional sandbox survival game on our hands, much like many others on the market. The genre still has some creative legs despite this, and while Solarpunk has its flaws, I appreciate the game’s focus on a gentler experience.
Released in June 2026 by Cyberwave, Solarpunk is a cozy survival-crafting game set on a mysterious world of floating islands. Emphasizing building, farming, automation, exploration, and home creation, it offers a gentler experience than typical survival games. It supports solo play or co-op with up to four players, which is nice to see for an Early Access title.
Solarpunk’s biggest strength for me lies in its peaceful atmosphere. Unlike other survival games, it provides a genuinely pleasant experience with no enemies. Resource gathering and settlement construction are relaxing, so you can play at your own pace. While there are hunger mechanics, they aren’t intrusive.
I also really appreciate the building system. Players design and transform their floating island into a personalized home, constructing and decorating buildings, establishing farms, and creating automated production systems that replace themselves over time. Solar, wind, and water power integration aligns with the solarpunk theme too, relying on renewable sources for survival. In a genre which often exploits natural resources in gameplay, I did find this quite refreshing. While I haven’t played any of the co-op as I don’t know anyone on my friends list on Steam with the game, I imagine the slow pace and lack of competitive mechanics make it quite enjoyable.
Solarpunk is a smaller, less ambitious game than you might think; however, its relatively slim scope is worth mentioning. The main progression takes roughly 20 hours, after which it transitions into a sandbox focused on building and decorating. This isn’t a massive game at all, with progression mechanics lacking. It doesn’t take too long to unlock everything, and the lack of biomes also hurts the exploration.
Quite a few survival games lack a story, but they usually make up for it with deep combat systems. While I have found the game relaxing and enjoyable to play, the lack of a true narrative and serious threat does make it feel a little directionless at times. Sometimes it’s nice to play something cosy, but there is work to be done on improving the gameplay loop.
Solarpunk is best thought of as a cozy farming and building game, first and foremost. If you seek a relaxing experience focused on gathering, building, automating, and enhancing your floating island, Solarpunk offers significant appeal. However, if you prefer a deep survival game with dangerous enemies, extensive exploration, and hundreds of hours of structured content, you’ll likely find it underwhelming. Despite this, I can recommend Solarpunk.
The second game is Pax Autocratica, and while I enjoy both games featured today, I am much more excited by this one. This game has had quite the colorful history with plenty of controversies, but the developer team has grown into itself, and the Early Access version is a janky yet brilliant blend of genres that just scratches my urge for a sci-fi space shooter where I can vegetate out to good, fun combat.
It’s best I summarize the history of the game briefly, because it is worth mentioning. Pax Autocratica started life as an MMO on Earth from Another Sun, which went through a ton of issues, including a bizarre attempt at monetisation, including NFTs. Thankfully, the team Multiverse has moved on from that bollocks, and there’s nothing of that in the game. It’s important to bring it up as a piece of history, but I don’t think there’s anything to worry about. Regardless, what matters is Do I recommend this game in Early Access as is?” The answer is yes. While the game is rough around the edges, it has been a while since I’ve played something as weird as this one.
Mount & Blade in space is one way people have described it, but there’s more to the game than that. There is galactic expansion and conquest for a dystopian empire; there are base-building mechanics, squad combat, roguelite elements, and a ton of frantic first-person shooty combat. That is a lot of mechanics to unpack into one game, though there are many solid tutorials to look up if you need a refresher.
The gameplay loop in Pax Autocratica is fairly simple. You develop a base on a home planet with the usual mechanics. You gather resources, assign soldiers to buildings, capture and convert prisoners to the cause, and research new techs to improve your chances in the conquest mode. There’s a bunch of upgrades to unlock, and you must keep your soldiers well fed and motivated for the best performance. Troops will get injured, sick, and will fight with each other, so keeping morale and condition high is important.
Once you are ready for conquest, there’s the roguelite galactic mode. There are three zones to conquer with your growing naval fleet, bringing a host of places and events including Scourgeborn strongholds, places to get resources, shipyards, and places to hire mercenaries. You can return home at any time and keep everything you have picked up during these travels, but dying during combat loses materials. Pax Autocratica has several difficulty modes that you can switch at any time, which is a nice touch.
Combat is fast, frantic, and brutal across procedurally generated battlefields, where you can capture enemy soldiers with NotPokeballs for questioning and ‘recruitment’, and fight boss enemies for extra rewards. The game also has randomized card pickups for a slew of different bonuses, like many roguelikes such as Hades and Slay the Spire.
I have played about 10 hours of the Early Access build so far, and there is a lot to like. While neither the combat, roguelike elements, nor base-building mechanics are particularly well refined, it is how the gameplay loop manifests that is where the magic happens. There’s just something addicting about flying across space, massacring traitors and enemies of the glorious empire, then returning to base and continuing my growing fortress of death.
There’s the usual jank that comes with Early Access, such as occasional bugs cropping up; sometimes the balance can feel off, and your soldiers can age and die too quickly. The dev team has been extremely active so far in patching issues, and we have an age toggle already, which is great to see. I love the overall gameplay loop, but I do feel that being able to return home at no cost and keep everything feels a little too easy. Balancing difficulty is always a challenge, but some events like enemy patrols and pursuing forces might help shake things up.
Regardless, Pax Autocratica is one of the most unique games to launch this year so far, and despite its rough edges, it has been a delight to play. This is certainly a game to keep an eye on.
