On February 15, Heatbox Games will be releasing its first title onto Steam Early Access. Robots in the Wild is a revolutionary survival-puzzle game, combining the simple block-meshing features of Tetris with the complicated resource juggling of Minecraft. Build a fortress of twisting walls and tunnels around your civilization’s and defend yourself against a harsh and unforgiving planet.
The game’s mechanics are easy enough to learn: shuffle through a variety of robot parts and “pipe” blocks to create a barrier between the HEART and the outside world. You’ll need PewPewBots to fire lasers at any invading monsters, LampBots to see through the darkest nights, and DwellingBots to provide power for the entire system. The DwellingBots need a path in order to deliver energy to the other robots, so make sure you’re planning ahead with the “pipe” blocks you set down.
Throughout the game, you’ll encounter conditions that help and hinder your progress. Various planets can cut through your block defenses with environmental disasters like sandstorms, volcanic eruptions, and even meteor showers. Indigenous creatures will chomp away at your fortress if you don’t have enough PewPewBots to fight them off. Of course, the most dangerous beasts prowl the planet at night, so you’ll need plenty of light from LampBots to keep them away. There are plenty of design combinations to create Bots, so play around with it and see what your little buddies can do!
Artistically, Robots in the Wild stands out for its commitment to the creator’s auditory talents: Aaron “Heatbox” Heaton has enough voices to rival Police Academy’s Michael Winslow, since every SFX in the game came from his mouth!
For such a simple foundation, Robots in the Wild offers an impressive variety of gameplay methods. The game has high replay value with all its Boss fights and Bonus Challenge planets, and the ever-shifting environments will easily put your multitasking skills to the test. To celebrate the greenlighting for Steam, Heatbox has even added a Simulator Mode for you to create your own planets!
Starting on its opening day (February 15), Robots in the Wild will be available on Steam Early Access for 20% off its original price. You can grab the game for $7.99 until the sale ends on February 21.