Hydroneer

Hydroneer is a game developed by Foulball Hangover and published by Foulball Hangover. The game was released this month on XBOX after being available on Steam for some time, where it received a 'very positive' review rating after nearly 20,000 player feedbacks.

This is a mining sandbox game where you dig for gold and other resources to build massive mining machines and an operations base. On your journey through this game, you use primitive tools, hydro-powered machines, and player-built structures to dig and develop your business in this system that demands the most important thing from you, time, and along with that comes a steep learning curve.

Hydroneer is one of those games that initially seems simple but slowly turns into something much deeper and more addictive than expected. At first, it appears to be a basic mining and crafting game where you dig the ground, wash it, sell resources, and upgrade your tools. However, after spending some time within the game, you realize that the real fun comes from building your own systems, automating work, improving your base, and gradually transforming a small mining operation into a huge, machine-driven money-making system.

Hydroneer tests players with its controls. They are somewhat clumsy and will involve lifting and dropping items multiple times before they finally end up in the right place. This is exacerbated by the fact that items do not drop directly where you are looking. The central pointer allows you to lift items, but items are dropped slightly off-center from the middle of the screen. There is a shadow that shows where the item will fall, but depending on the lighting in the game, it can be hard to see, and even using it as a reference is not always perfect. You just have to get used to it. All resources and items can be picked up and dropped, and they interact with the environment.

There is no inventory system in the game. You can hold one item at a time and must drop it before interacting with anything else. To move multiple items at once, items can be placed in buckets, which can then be carried. Alternatively, there are hand carts and even vehicles that can be purchased to facilitate the transport of items. Fortunately, hand carts and some other basic items are available at the start of the game, but initially, it is an incredibly manual process. At the beginning of the game, materials must be collected with a shovel to place dirt into a bucket. You can then lower the bucket into the water to fill it with water before using a brush on the bucket to clean the dirt and reveal all hidden ores. The hand cart was very helpful for us at the very beginning, especially when we needed to buy certain items and then move them to where we were digging. The proximity to the river was also very helpful.

The game has a very satisfying progression system. As mentioned earlier, you start with basic tools and do almost everything manually. You dig the ground yourself, carry buckets, manually wash dirt, and sell small amounts of gold or iron for money. At first, the gathering seems slow, but that is actually part of the charm. Every upgrade feels earned. When you finally buy better equipment, pipes, drills, harvesters, conveyor belts, or vehicles, the game opens up significantly.

Interestingly, there is also a small animation and a gasp if you try to steal some material in the shop, which particularly amused us.

One of the best parts of Hydroneer is automation. Building a system that takes dirt, processes it, filters it, separates resources, and sends everything where it needs to go is extremely satisfying. It almost feels like a mix of mining, construction, and factory games. You constantly think about how to make your setup more efficient. Maybe your pipes are messy, maybe machines keep getting clogged, maybe your resources aren't going where you want them to, or maybe the whole system needs redesigning. Solving these problems is a big part of the fun.

The building system gives you a lot of freedom. You can create simple mining setups or massive industrial systems with pipes, conveyor belts, machines, storage, and workshops. The game doesn't force you to play in one specific way. You can focus on mining, crafting items, farming, fishing, building, or just experiment with unusual machine setups. That freedom makes the game relaxing, but also very interesting if you enjoy planning and improving things.

The physics-based gameplay also gives Hydroneer a unique feel. Items are real objects in the world, not just numbers in an inventory. You physically move tools, resources, buckets, machines, rods, gems, and everything else. This can be a lot of fun as it makes the world more interactive and real. Selling a large pile of gold or carrying materials around feels satisfying because you can actually see everything in front of you.

However, the same physics system can sometimes be frustrating. Items can get stuck, fall into awkward places, or get dirty if you're not careful. As your mining operation grows, managing hundreds of items can sometimes become chaotic. This isn't always bad, as part of that chaos is funny and part of the game's personality, but sometimes it can feel clumsy.

The graphics of Hydroneer are simple. It doesn't strive for ultra-realism, but it has a clean and colorful look that fits the game well. Different plots, tools, machines, vehicles, and resources are easily recognizable, and the world has a pleasant sandbox feel. The visual representation is good enough to make building and exploring enjoyable without distracting from the main gameplay.

The sound is also solid. The sounds of machines working, processing dirt, water flowing through pipes, and resources falling onto conveyor belts help bring your facility to life. It's especially satisfying when you finally get an automated system running and hear everything working together. The game has a calm atmosphere, making it easy to play during long sessions while relaxing.

What we would highlight as a major issue, we think for most players, is definitely the repetitiveness of tasks which can become very tedious over time, not to mention that due to the feeling of repetition and a lot of manual labor, a large number of players may give up right at the beginning while they haven't even finished the tutorial!
A lot of players also criticize the multiplayer aspect of the game. Multiplayer is limited to split-screen only, which disappoints players who want online cooperation.

Hydroneer is a very fun and creative mining sandbox game. It is especially good for people who enjoy automation, building, experimenting, and slowly progressing from basic tools to advanced systems. There are some awkward moments, and the multiplayer features definitely need more refinement. Some bugs and physics issues that cause crashes diminish the enjoyment. The game may seem quite challenging for the average player due to inadequate tutorials, leaving many mechanics unexplained and progression cumbersome.

A copy of the Xbox version for review purposes was provided by the development studio Foulball Hangover