The infinite, formless world that is space makes for fertile ground for some truly innovative and unusual indie games, and the upcoming Cosmochoria, which is due to enter Steam Early Access’s orbit this month, is proving to be a good example.
The premise of Cosmochoria is quite simple. You are a wandering cosmonaut, who developer Nate Schmold repeatedly and vehemently emphasizes is naked, who is tasked with revitalizing a desolate galaxy by planting seeds on every planet he can find. How on earth this gallivanting explorer can float around the unforgiving realm of space without freezing his nether region off is never addressed, but while Cosmochoria may have a simple premise at first, things gradually ramp up and new responsibilities make themselves known as gameplay progresses.
Players are free to travel around the procedurally generated game world, finding various abandoned planets to land and plant seeds on; seeds which eventually grow into large plants that nourish the planet and revitalize it into a modern-day Eden.
As the player’s task gets further underway, however, a malevolent alien race enters the picture, dead set on undoing all the work the player has done so far. These initially come in the form of UFOs and miserable little creatures that players will have no problem dispatching with their laser pistol, but later on, robots, dragons, motherships and more will enter the fray, forcing players to wage a one-man galactic war.
Like many indie games of late, death in Cosmochoria is permanent, but players carry over any upgrades, such as weapon, health and jet pack improvements, as well as crystals, which enemy aliens defecate as they are murdered by the player’s laser blaster. This allows for a great deal of replayability that many games with a hundred times Cosmochoria‘s budget do not, as players can try their luck at spreading their seed across the galaxy once more, but on better terms.
Developed by Nate Schmold, Cosmochoria initially began as a Kickstarter project that saw its funding exceed its $10,000 goal to the tune of $28,696 last April. The game is now ready to move to the next stage of its birth by arriving on Steam Early Access on September 29. Those eager to either aid in its development or live out their naked space wandering fantasies can also pre-order the game and its original soundtrack on the official site.