Sol Mates brings its own spacefaring flavor to the Overcooked formula in early access next year

As announced during today's PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted, developer Daruma Games is taking the "cooperative" and chaotic four-player party game format to space with new adventure hijinx in Sol Mates. I use the term "cooperative" here loosely, as any crisis scenario easily becomes spiraling PvP carnage amongst friends.

Sabotage isn't the actual objective in Sol Mates, you're supposed to work together, but I've played enough Overcooked to know that even the best intentions can send a plate of hamburgers careening off a mountainside. The stakes are higher here, as you're tasked with completing odd jobs and safely (debatable) guiding your ship across the cosmos with friends, either local or online. Regardless of location, my friends are all doomed to devolve into chaotic yelling at some point.

Sol Mates - A space party game that looks a lot like Overcooked. Players here are using laser to fight a giant robot enemy — (Image credit: Daruma Games)

While I can't plate a frantic teammate's criminally well-done ribeye, Daruma describes plenty of other scenarios for Sol Mates' team-based mayhem. Some of those extraterrestrial obstacles include spacefaring pirates, poorly tipping robots, and ravenous black holes. There's even the potential for catastrophic decompression events, which, depending on who you ask, may or may not be worse than serving a charred steak.

Mission-based progress comes with plenty of party game staples: There's more characters, cosmetics, and challenges to unlock along the journey. Some of that level-to-level shake-up even includes a few procedurally generated twists, so don't go getting all comfortable about the space crabs after a round or two.

As someone drawn to even the goofiest of character customization menus and collectibles, I'm kind of digging the adorable, blissfully-unaware-thumb look characters have going on here. They're lasering enemies and snuffing out shuttle fires without a single thought behind those eyes, and it's the sort of blank slate ripe for a bit of cheeky dress-up. Give me oversized cowboy hats and bizarre suit patterns to collect all day. Hell, throw Square Enix a few bucks, and maybe someone will let me turn my cute space thumb into 2B.

Sol Mates doesn't have a solid release date yet, but it's headed to Early Access sometime in 2025. Until then, the Steam page is live just in time for The PC Gaming Show: Most Wanted, so you can wishlist it for updates in the new year.

Andrea has been covering games for nearly a decade, picking up bylines at IGN, USA Today, Fanbyte, and Destructoid before joining the PC Gamer team in 2025. She's got a soft spot for older RPGs and is willing to try just about anything with a lovey-dovey "I can fix them" romance element. Her weekly to-do always includes a bit of MMO time, endlessly achievement hunting and raiding in Final Fantasy 14. Outside of those staples, she's often got a few survival-crafting games on rotation and loves a good scare in co-op horror games.