Sol Mates has booked its departure for 26 January 2027, when Daruma Games’ co-op space adventure launches on PC through Steam. There is already a demo available if you fancy finding out whether your mates can keep a spaceship running without turning every shift into a workplace incident.
The setup puts one to four players aboard a ship working for an interstellar odd jobs agency. Unfortunately, the job description appears to include pirates, black holes and clients whose requests are rather more demanding than popping round to fix a shelf.
Keeping everyone alive means moving between the ship’s different stations rather than simply pointing a gun at whatever looks unfriendly. Somebody needs to steer, somebody needs to load the weapons and someone else will probably discover that the batteries need charging while the floor is on fire. Shields and firefighting are part of the workload too, so choosing a favourite station does not necessarily get you out of the other jobs.
You can play locally, online or with a mixture of both, which gives the game a useful bit of flexibility for assembling a crew. The total player count tops out at four, with the option to tackle the adventure alone if you would rather be personally responsible for every burning corner of the ship.
Between missions, crew votes help determine the story choices and the course of a run. Unlockable ships, weapons, ammunition and spacesuits give the roguelike structure more to work with, while the developer’s Juice difficulty system is there for crews who want nastier hazards and tougher enemies. There are hats as well, because apparently workplace safety can wait until everyone has accessorised.
In its official release-date announcement, Daruma says it has been working on new maps, ship layouts and missions since the demo launched. You can find that demo and wishlist the full game on Steam, ahead of January’s departure.