Open-world survival crafting and base-building games are very popular on Steam, with some of the greats like Satisfactory, Subnautica, and Factorio standing as shining examples of the genre. As the genre has boomed over the years, Steam has seen a massive influx of games that build upon the mechanics established by these highly regarded titles. While some have seen more success than others, it’s usually the games with a unique twist on the core gameplay loop of survival, crafting, and base-building that have stood out the most.
ExoTrain from developer Harpoon Games is an upcoming entry in the genre that aims to join the ranks of these titans with its train-based hook. While it doesn’t have a firm release date yet, the Steam page for ExoTrain lists a Q3 2026 release window, putting its launch somewhere between July 1 and September 30. Unless there is a significant delay, it’s possible ExoTrain could end up as one of the best survival crafting games of 2026 and serve as a real competitor to Subnautica 2.
ExoTrain’s Features at a Glance
- Survival combat against hostile alien wildlife
- Open-world exploration
- Mine resources while defending drills from enemies
- Crafting materials from gathered resources
- Upgrade the train as a home base
- Solo and Co-op play options
New Co-Op Game on Steam is a Blend of Peak, RV There Yet, and Chained Together
A new Steam game combines Peak, RV There Yet, and Chained Together to bring a fun and wildly chaotic co-op experience to gamers.
ExoTrain Lets Players Explore a Ruined Planet By Train
The premise of ExoTrain sees players embark on a journey across a planet in ruins after expecting to arrive there to begin their new job for Exoplanet Industries. Instead of finding the planet inhabited, players discover only ruins overrun with hostile wildlife. They must explore what remains of the colony to extract the necessary resources for survival, starting from essentially nothing and building their way up to survivable habitat similar to a game like Subnautica.
Balance the critic averages
Balance the critic averages
Easy (6)Medium (8)Hard (10)
A major part of ExoTrain‘s identity is the titular train itself, which acts as the player’s home base and serves as their primary method of traversal as they explore the planet. While ExoTrain typically features an isometric gameplay perspective, driving the train to reach new areas of the planet shifts the camera to a top-down view. Players can also switch back to an isometric perspective to move their character around the train while it’s moving, allowing them to access storage and upgrades on the fly.
Upgrading ExoTrain’s Titular Train is the Key to Survival
The train is more than just a method of transportation in ExoTrain, and upgrading its components is key to survival. Players will be able to build different modules for the train that aid in their crafting progression, including a research station, a weapon crafting station, and storage chests. Fans of games like Satisfactory will quickly recognize how important it is to upgrade these features, as they often hold the key to accessing more complex crafting trees that act as progression gates.
Combat is an Important Aspect of ExoTrain’s Gameplay
Alongside exploration and crafting in ExoTrain‘s gameplay loop is combat, and it plays a much larger role than it does in other games of this genre. Combat in ExoTrain plays similar to an APRG like Diablo or Path of Exile, where players take on enemies from an isometric perspective, casting different skills as they fend off foes. ExoTrain also has a solid variety of weapon types for players to choose from, including:
- Battle Axe
- Axe
- Spear
- Sword
- SMG
- Rifle
- Thermal Sniper Rifle
Armor and equipment upgrades are also an important part of gearing up for combat in ExoTrain, and the game includes mechanics that allow players to customize their builds through the Overclocking system. At an Overclocking Station, ExoTrain players can add modules to their gear that offer improved abilities, such as increasing the Critical Hit chance of a Rifle or reducing its heat generation. This system gives ExoTrain an almost RPG-like progression system similar to something like Diablo 4‘s Tempering mechanics, alongside a crafting progression system.
ExoTrain Shares a Lot of Features with Games like Satisfactory and Subnautica
Utilizing trains in a survival crafting game or including some degree of combat is nothing revolutionary for the genre. Satisfactory includes both trains and combat, with the former being used to transport resources around the map and the latter allowing players to collect resources from creatures. Subnautica also features progression locked behind vehicle upgrades, with players needing access to the Cyclops submarine to reach the deepest parts of the ocean. However, ExoTrain takes these features and puts them front and center.
Automation is at the heart of a game like Satisfactory, and ExoTrain features its own combat-laced twist on this system. While extracting resources is an easily automated process in ExoTrain, with players able to build mining drills on ore veins, they won’t be able to completely leave these structures alone to collect resources. With combat being a core part of ExoTrain‘s gameplay loop, players will have to defend mining drills from enemy attacks to ensure they can continue their resource collection undisturbed. However, players will also be able to set up defensive measures, like auto turrets, to keep these creatures at bay, so they won’t necessarily need to actively defend their structures.
Riding the Rails is Nice, But Builing a Permanent Base is Also Fun
ExoTrain‘s titular train doesn’t have to be the player’s only base. The game also allows players to build much more permanent structures as they gain the resources and technology to do so. Similar to Subnautica or Satisfactory, the ability to create large-scale production facilities and outposts throughout the game’s world should help aid ExoTrain players in their quest to restore a ruined colony and scavenge what remains of a planet devoid of human life.
