Factsheet
Developer:
Universal Happymaker
Based in Seattle and Los Angeles
Release date:
mid-late 2022
Platforms:
Steam (coming soon)
Discord (PC alpha signups)
Website:
http://www.astronautthebest.com
Description
Astronaut: The Best is an occult management adventure where people aren't just numbers: they're incompetent screwups. Your duty is to turn them into national heroes, or the government will have you killed.
Features
- Navigate procedurally generated episodic storylines.
- Face off against ravenous tabloids and magical upper management.
- Your arsenal includes training, sycophantic groveling, lying, and witchcraft.
- Use them to make history, or end up dead in a ditch.
- Five missions. Hundreds of decisions. Thousands of recombinant astronauts. Millions of ways to fail spectacularly.
Videos
Alpha Release Trailer (7/2021) YouTube
Steam Gameplay Footage YouTube
Images
Logo & Icon
Awards & Recognition
- "Best Simulation Game, DreamHack Anaheim" Anaheim, CA: 21-23 February, 2020
- "Official Selection, Indie MEGABOOTH GDC Showcase" San Francisco, CA: 19 March, 2018
- "Official Selection, PAX Indie MEGABOOTH" Seattle, WA: 2-3 September, 2016
- "The Guardian's Top 10 Games of EGX 2016" Birmingham, England: 22-25 September, 2016
Selected Articles
- "Laugh-out-loud funny and refreshingly whimsical."
- Kat Brewster, The Guardian - "I like this a lot, but now I'm less sure about what's real."
- Alex Beachum, Creative Lead on Outer Wilds - "I have literally never seen anything like this, and I mean that in an agonisingly enthusiastic way."
- Alexis Kennedy, Founder of Failbetter Games and Weather Factor - "I'm absolutely floored and surprised and happy and excited... I'm just so happy that this is a thing that exists."
- Solon, Rainy Day Let's Play
Request Press Copy
Please contact us at msennott@universalhappymaker.com to recieve a press copy of Astronaut: The Best.
Additional Links
Flaustrian Discord
Play the alpha, become a Flaustrian citizen, read AI-generated news, and bet on morality plays.
Flaustrian National Anthem
Book, Market, Moon, / Mongoose, Sun. / Our country is the chosen one. / Let us defend her, / Never expend her / Bounteous goodwill. / Sun, Market, Book, / Mongoose, Moon. / Let all our voices sing in tune. / Let serpents shred / Beneath the tread / Of bounteous goodwill!
Telephone Tag
The bouncy theme of intrigue and national embarrassment.
About Universal Happymaker
Boilerplate
Universal Happymaker builds games that are moral laboratories. We intend to create a world where everyone enjoys our games WITHOUT EXCEPTION.
More information
More information on Universal Happymaker, our logo & relevant media are available here.
Astronaut: The Best Credits
Mike Sennott and David Mershon
Project Leads, Writing, Design, Programming
Julia Y
All of the Art
Matt Zapp
Music and Audio
Contact
Inquiries
msennott@universalhappymaker.com
presskit() by Rami Ismail (Vlambeer) - also thanks to these fine folks