Autonauts vs Piratebots does an exceptional job of taking the required fun aspects from the original Autonauts title and adds a new twist with scurvy Piratebots to give the game combat.

The biggest departure from the original title is the pressure that you feel to get things automated while facing periodic raids and assault based progression. The normal difficulty setting has an option to enact a truce with the Piratebots to let you refocus on building up your base if you are feeling overwhelmed with the raids. This is a great option for newcomers to the genre so you can get used to the game mechanics. If you are looking for more of a challenge, there are two additional difficulty levels above normal which both remove the truce option :).

Some of the design decisions for this game are very well thought out. In the original Autonauts title, you needed to slowly work your way up a growing triangle of colonist needs and were rewarded with better robot upgrades and new technology as your base got bigger. Autonauts vs Piratebots skips a lot of that content by starting you with worker robot MK3.5 which already has all the upgrades you need to automate for the entire play through. You don't need to wind up these MK3.5 bots (they never run out of power) and the downloading/uploading of your code to a bot database is available immediately versus being unlocked halfway through the original Autonauts.

Those changes make it easier to focus on the new combat mechanics which is what this game is about. Progress through each set of missions of increasing difficulty unlocks new offence and defence research technology to give you the tools to tackle these new challenges. You will need to secure new resources and build your base closer to the front line in order to leverage this new technology. But building closer to the Piratebots will continue to make defending raids a challenge throughout the game.

If you loved the original title then you will want to buy this game. If you are new to the Autonauts series, then the new Autonauts vs Piratebots tutorials will absolutely get you on the path to success. You don't need to play the original title in order to succeed at this one. But if you are curious about the differences, then I would recommend just getting the bundle and trying both for yourself!

I have just under 40 hours played of Autonauts vs Piratebots at the time of writing this review. I have finished runs on normal and hard difficulties and am an Autonauts veteran. I also have thousands of hours of automation experience in Factorio, Satisfactory, and Dyson Sphere Program. I am comfortable putting the Autonauts series along with those titles when I list my favorite automation games and would recommend like minded players to try them all.

Autonauts vs Piratebots does an exceptional job of taking the required fun aspects from the original Autonauts title and adds a new twist with scurvy Piratebots to give the game combat. The biggest departure from the original title is the pressure that you feel to get things automated while facing periodic raids and assault based progression. The normal difficulty setting has an option to enact a truce with the Piratebots to let you refocus on building up your base if you are feeling overwhelmed with the raids. This is a great option for newcomers to the genre so you can get used to the game mechanics. If you are looking for more of a challenge, there are two additional difficulty levels above normal which both remove the truce option :). Some of the design decisions for this game are very well thought out. In the original Autonauts title, you needed to slowly work your way up a growing triangle of colonist needs and were rewarded with better robot upgrades and new technology as your base got bigger. Autonauts vs Piratebots skips a lot of that content by starting you with worker robot MK3.5 which already has all the upgrades you need to automate for the entire play through. You don't need to wind up these MK3.5 bots (they never run out of power) and the downloading/uploading of your code to a bot database is available immediately versus being unlocked halfway through the original Autonauts. Those changes make it easier to focus on the new combat mechanics which is what this game is about. Progress through each set of missions of increasing difficulty unlocks new offence and defence research technology to give you the tools to tackle these new challenges. You will need to secure new resources and build your base closer to the front line in order to leverage this new technology. But building closer to the Piratebots will continue to make defending raids a challenge throughout the game. If you loved the original title then you will want to buy this game. If you are new to the Autonauts series, then the new Autonauts vs Piratebots tutorials will absolutely get you on the path to success. You don't need to play the original title in order to succeed at this one. But if you are curious about the differences, then I would recommend just getting the bundle and trying both for yourself! I have just under 40 hours played of Autonauts vs Piratebots at the time of writing this review. I have finished runs on normal and hard difficulties and am an Autonauts veteran. I also have thousands of hours of automation experience in Factorio, Satisfactory, and Dyson Sphere Program. I am comfortable putting the Autonauts series along with those titles when I list my favorite automation games and would recommend like minded players to try them all.