Junkyard Astronauts

Junkyard Astronauts is a game about building rockets from scrap and trying to reach the Moon. You play as a robot on a night shift in a junkyard, using a build deck and welding arms to assemble whatever you can carry, from rocket motors and thruster bells to leaf blowers, water heaters and fridges used as capsules. The Moon is 384,400 km away.

Build and launch

Weld scrap together, then check the build readout, which grades your rocket’s integrity, thrust and efficiency and gives it a verdict. The physics follows the welds, so a rocket that looks assembled counts as assembled, at least briefly. Every few minutes, a supply crate containing a Rocket Motor descends by parachute, and everyone in the yard can see where it lands.

Lock in a build to move it onto the shared launch pad in the middle of the yard. Press the launch button to trigger a range-clear call heard throughout the yard, then watch the rocket climb. An altitude board tracks its progress from “Above the junk piles” toward the Moon. Rockets may veer, corkscrew, flop or break apart; whatever falls back down becomes salvage in the yard for another attempt.

Multiplayer

Online play supports up to four players, with Mac and PC players sharing a yard. You can play alone, though the game is built for two to four. Players can build their own rockets or join another player as crew and share credit for the result. You can also shoot parts from rivals’ pockets; the parts fall back into the yard as salvage. Text chat and proximity voice chat are available, with a mute option for each player.

At the end of a shift, a board gives out YARD AWARDS, including LAWN DART, SIDEWAYS ENTHUSIAST and YARD SALE. Two world leaderboards track the highest flight and the fastest trip to the Moon, with results displayed on a sign in the yard. The game has 37 Steam achievements.

Sandbox mode

Sandbox mode supports one to four robots and has no clock, guns or winner. Each player has their own rocket, and pressing C beside a crewmate lets you build on that player’s rocket. Reaching the Moon does not end the session. You can end a session from the Esc menu.

Sandbox adds scrap such as lawnmower engines, shop vacs, oil drums, mattresses, bed frames and kettles.

The robots

The four robots share the same movement, jumping and reaching abilities, but have different personalities:

• RIVET: a hero scavenger and four-time employee of the month, as the yard’s sole applicant.
• GANTRY: a crane bot formerly used to lift shipping containers, which does not discuss its past.
• DOZER: a treaded tank that has never reversed and sees no reason to start.
• SPARK: a monowheel with one wheel and no regrets; balance is a lifestyle.

The demo

The demo includes the whole yard, all four robots and online multiplayer. Shifts last 8 to 15 minutes, at the host’s discretion. Players build, launch, crash and rebuild, with the highest flight when the whistle blows taking the win. Reaching space at the Kármán line, 100 km up, is a milestone rather than the end. The demo provides 90 minutes of play; the Moon and the new Sandbox mode are in the full game.

There is also a raccoon that does not help.