Space exploration is one of those things that sparks the imagination of just about everyone. That's why so many games take place in outer space: with so many different possibilities for what could be out there, who wouldn't want to explore it?

Astroneer,a new indie survival game from developer System Era Softworks, seems to take that sentiment to heart. While survival games are seemingly everywhere these days, Astroneer is trying for something other than the Minecraft-esque approach: it's not just about settling down and surviving, it's about changing your planet as you see fit.

It's a strange concept to explain, there's no doubt about that — thankfully, System Era just released a beautiful new Astroneers trailer. It is a bit light on the details, that much is true, but there's no denying just how good it looks:

At its core, Astroneer is about exploring the universe — but this isn't the same as walking across a Minecraft world. Each planet will have its own unique attributes, and players can also transform the terrain to suit their needs. Feel like living in a man-made cave, or building a quarry on some far-off moon? That's exactly what it is promising.

Of course, wandering around a gigantic alien world by ones lonesome could get a bit dull — thankfully, System Era is building cooperative multiplayer into the core of Astroneer. And you won't just be playing with the people on your Friends List, either: System Era hasn't gone into the details just yet, but you can expect to run into a few strangers along the way.

Currently, System Era has yet to reveal a release date for Astroneer, though it did confirm that the game will be exclusive to Steam at launch. Considering how many other survival games use Steam's Early Access program, it shouldn't be all that surprising to see Astroneer pop up there as well.

All in all, Astroneer looks like it could be a great new take on exploration and survival games — let's just hope we get to play it sooner rather than later.

For more on Astroneer and System Era Softworks, check out the game's official website.

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