PAX East 2023: Terraform a Barren World in One Lonely Outpost

There has been no shortage of farming sims over the past several years, but One Lonely Outpost sets itself apart by not only creating a satisfying gameplay loop that'll have you keep coming back for more, but it raises the stakes by having players terraform a barren planet so that they may grow food for a growing colony.

At PAX East 2023, we got our hands on a One Lonely Outpost preview of the latest build to see how this game has been updated from the last preview we did back in 2020. 

Build & Automate Your One Lonely Outpost Farm

The goals of One Lonely Outpost are simple enough to understand: get a farm started so that you can supply food not only for yourself, but for other colonizers hoping to move to the planet. As your terraforming takes shape, more people will arrive and the colony will grow. Despite the sci-fi setting, though, the basics of One Lonely Outpost are simple enough to understand and master: Find tillable soil, plant seeds, make sure they get plenty of water, and harvest the crops once they're done. 

You'll be given a few resources to start out with, but as you explore more of the planet you'll be able to gather additional resources to fabricate. This makes for seemingly endless crafting possibilities as you work to automate and optimize your farm. And once the seeds are planted and your colony is in a good spot, you can explore the planet to discover everything it has to offer. 

During my Only Lonely Outpost preview, I made sure to set out across the planet once I had my initial inventory of seeds sowed into the soil. This led me to nearby caves that were filled with an abundance of resources to mine. I spent an embarrassing amount of time just blasting rocks, picking up debris, refilling my watering can, and seeing where the different branching paths of the caves can take me. 

When comparing this latest build to the one we reviewed three years ago, it's clear to see the progress Freedom Games has been made. The art style feels more realized and better defined, while some of the tools have been updated to more closely resemble what players can expect when the One Lonely Outpost release date arrives. 

One Lonely Outpost could have simply been another iteration on the farm-sim genre, a space already so saturated with popular games that it's hard to make yourself noticed amongst the noise. One Lonely Outpost stands out as a sci-fi addition that'll be available on Steam and Nintendo Switch consoles, giving fans of games like Stardew Valley another way to grow plants, raise livestock, and discover the mysteries that this planet has to offer. 

One Lonely Outpost was previewed on a PC at PAX East 2023.