After spending years quietly building up a loyal following on Steam, complete with a mountain of ‘Very Positive’ reviews, Hydroneer has finally made the jump to consoles.
Available now on Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5, Hydroneer brings its oddly relaxing blend of mining, automation, base-building and industrial chaos to a whole new audience.
Developed and published by Foulball Hangover, Hydroneer first launched on Steam back in 2020. Six years later, console players can finally get their hands dirty too.
At A Glance
- Title: Hydroneer
- Publisher: Foulball Hangover
- Developer: Foulball Hangover
- Platforms: Xbox Series X|S, PlayStation 5
- Price: £12.49
- Previously Released On: PC via Steam
- Genre: Mining Sandbox / Tycoon Simulation
From A Shovel And Bucket To Industrial Madness
Hydroneer starts small. Really small. At first, it’s just you, a patch of land, a shovel and a dream of striking it rich. But before long, that tiny mining setup begins evolving into a sprawling network of conveyor belts, hydro-powered machines, automated drills and resource-processing systems.
Freedom is the focus. Players can dig almost anywhere thanks to the game’s voxel-based terrain system, carving out giant quarry pits, underground cave systems or whatever strange mud-filled engineering nightmare they fancy creating.
And while there’s plenty of room for optimisation, the developers have always leaned into keeping things approachable and a bit chaotic too.
As studio head Max Hayon explained: “We wanted a building game that you didn’t have to work at. You could sit down with friends, add to your factory, watch stuff go haywire, and go back to the drawing board. Setbacks should be funny, and progress should feel like victory – not work.”
Build Bigger, Dig Deeper
Beyond mining for gold and resources, there’s plenty going on under the surface.
Players can craft jewellery, forge weapons, grow crops, cook food, build entire industrial compounds and experiment with increasingly complicated hydro-powered systems. There are also vehicles to unlock, multiple land plots to explore and different ways to expand your growing empire.
Console players can also jump into couch co-op, making the inevitable conveyor-belt disasters and machine breakdowns feel even more entertaining with friends involved.
Launching alongside the base game is the Journey to Volcalidus expansion too, introducing frozen terrain, lava-powered machinery, fresh crafting systems and a brand-new region to explore.
Hydroneer is available now on Xbox Series X|S through the Xbox Store, and PlayStation 5.
