Factory management sim Star Birds surprised us when it landed on Steam early access late last year. Intrepid explorer Robin Valentine went into Toukana Interactive's latest game expecting a chill, cosy experience similar to Dorfromantik.
But he discovered that its cutesy visuals and gentle onboarding belied a game of serious puzzling depth. "As a puzzle it becomes exponentially tricky. Each asteroid or planet only houses a small number of possible resources, making effective shipping between them vital," he wrote in September last year. "It starts to feel like trying to fit all the components of a circuit board in a functioning layout on the surface of a potato."
Some plants and animals serve other purposes, however. Volt Shrooms, which grow on asteroids, can be used as an alternative power source. Meanwhile, those tentacular creatures I mentioned lurk in asteroid craters, denying you valuable construction space. Fortunately, they can be coaxed back into their holes with a spot of dinner. "Ever fed an alien pizza?" the developers write. "Now's the moment!"
You'll explore all these new mechanics across three additional levels, which Toukana says are "longer and more complex than the intro levels from the earlier star systems." Star Birds now allows players to generate their own levels too, enabling you to play beyond what Toukana has specifically laid out for you.
Toukana is already working on the next update, with an additional level that introduces yet more aliens and mechanics currently being tested in the game's beta branch. If you fancy checking that and the rest of Star Birds out, the game's currently on a 25% discount at $15 (£12.50). The sale ends on February 5.
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