Autonauts is a fantastic little base-builder that gives players the chance to build and program their own robots. As players progress, the hands off approach may not appeal to everyone, but the ability to make your robots as simple or as complex as you want opens up the game for many hours of fun.

While a bit simplistic in some ways, the simplicity of Autonauts lends itself beautifully to engaging gameplay and fun to all who play it.

Once you get going and start experimenting, you'll realise just how astonishingly complex, and wonderfully inventive, Autonauts really is.

While wildly ornate, Autonauts is in equal parts playful, welcoming and charming. It is comparable to the cute farming sim Stardew Valley, yet it is very much its own game. And in the taste it gives you of thinking like a creative coder, it is in its own quiet way empowering and exciting.

A neat automation game that’s well built with plenty of depth to keep you going for quite some time, and this is only “Phase 1”. The programming aspect is similar to that of the Scratch programming language, and can teach basic programming principles with its visual code builder and “follow me” initial recording of the robots.

Autonauts is a perfect game for gamers that want to step into the world of programming with simple mechanics and cute graphics.

Despite its cartoony graphics, this game is a surprisingly solid city builder. There is enough here that fans of the various genres this takes from will find it enjoyable as they craft their ever-growing city and automation empire. Programming the robots is oddly satisfying as is watching them roll around and taking care of the smaller tasks. A couple of small bugs and some pacing issues prevent it from being truly great, but those remotely interested in the genre will definitely have a lot of fun with this one.