Spiritus Astrum

Spiritus Astrum, whose name translates as Spirit of the Stars, is a persistent, open-world roleplaying sandbox developed by a single independent developer. It supports multiplayer and is set in an infinite, procedurally generated universe that players can travel across without restriction. Solar systems, planets and stellar phenomena are built to realistic scales, and players can land on worlds to explore, gather resources, craft and construct using a range of spaceships, ground vehicles and tools. The game is currently in an early beta state, the developer notes that bugs are present, and Steam Deck is not supported at this time. On Steam, the game has passed ten user reviews and currently holds a Mostly Positive rating.

The design centres on emergent gameplay, with randomised NPCs, quests, enemies and resources. Combat is optional, and players can instead pursue diplomacy, trading or stealth. Conflict between players is not permitted; players can cooperate to explore or build together, but cannot fight one another. Character creation includes appearance customisation alongside a choice of traits and backgrounds such as trader, diplomat, explorer or war veteran. A life simulation layer requires characters to eat, drink and sleep, and skills are trained through use. The skill system is dynamic, so raising some skills too far will lower others.

Players can purchase apartments and land, build homes, and acquire ringworlds or whole planets. Time can be spent travelling aboard a ship, living in a populated city, or exploring planets alone or alongside AI or human companions. The world is persistent, and player choices influence how NPCs and factions respond: a good relationship may lead an NPC to join the player’s crew or offer shop discounts, while a poor one may result in the NPC refusing to speak at all. The developer has stated that future updates are planned to let players write and share their own stories and to use in-game tools to create custom enemies, weapons and items.