Solarpunk Review - A Two-Person Studio's Masterpiece

Solarpunk came out today. I've been playing the demo on and off for a few weeks now, and I've spent the last several hours with the full release. Here is the most important thing I can tell you about it: Cyberwave is a two-person studio based in Germany. Two people. They built this.

That context matters not because it lowers expectations but because it raises them retroactively. When you see the floating island environments, the wind and water energy systems, the cooperative multiplayer framework, and the sheer amount of content available at launch, knowing it came from two developers makes it feel like a different kind of achievement than most games you'll play this year.

What Solarpunk Is

Solarpunk is a survival crafting game set on floating sky islands in a world where civilization has risen out of the ground and built new communities in the atmosphere. You build a base, grow food, craft gadgets, design energy systems powered by sunlight and wind, and explore neighboring islands via airship. Alone or with up to three friends in co-op.

What it isn't is combat-focused. There are no enemies in the traditional sense. Nothing will attack your base. The survival element comes from resource management and the challenge of building systems that sustain themselves rather than from defending against threats. If you load Solarpunk expecting something like Valheim or The Forest, you will be confused and slightly disappointed. If you load it expecting something like Stardew Valley set on a floating island with an engineering component, you will probably not stop playing for several hours.

The Energy System

The most distinctive mechanical element is how renewable energy works. You build solar panels, windmills, and water wheels, and you route that energy through your base to power automated systems - resource gathering, food processing, irrigation, manufacturing. Getting a fully automated loop running that produces what you need without manual intervention is the core loop's deepest satisfaction.

This is more engaging than it sounds. The placement of energy generation infrastructure matters because islands aren't flat, wind direction varies, sunlight angles change. You're solving logistical puzzles with an aesthetic sensibility rather than fighting enemies, and the puzzles are genuinely interesting.

Co-op Without Friction

The multiplayer is thoughtfully designed. Each player has their own inventory and their own airship, which means you can split tasks naturally - one person manages the farm while another explores for new resources, and neither is blocking the other's progress. There's no competition, no PvP option, no way for one player to undermine another's work. It's collaborative in a way that makes it genuinely pleasant rather than just technically possible.

The one significant co-op limitation at launch is no cross-platform play. PC and console players can't join each other's sessions. Cyberwave has two developers and co-op already works within platforms, so this is an understandable constraint - but if you were planning to play with friends on different platforms, that plan currently doesn't work.

Is It Finished?

This is a fair question for any survival crafting game. The answer for Solarpunk at launch is: yes, meaningfully. This isn't an Early Access title calling itself a release. The core loop is functional and engaging, the content is substantial, and the systems are implemented rather than partially sketched. There will presumably be updates and additions - that's the nature of the genre - but what's here at launch is a complete experience rather than a framework waiting for content.

The game crossed 1 million Steam wishlists before release. That's a number most games never reach. It suggests the community found exactly the right audience for what Cyberwave built, and playing it today, I understand why.

Verdict

Solarpunk is a very good game made by people who clearly love what they were building. The renewable energy mechanics are genuinely interesting, the floating island setting gives it a visual identity distinct from every other survival crafting game on the market, and the cooperative mode is one of the friendlier co-op experiences in the genre.

If you want to turn your brain off after work, fly an airship to a new island, and plant some carrots while listening to something in the background - Solarpunk is exactly that. There's a specific kind of player who will log 200 hours in this game. You probably already know if you're that player.

Score: 8/10

Reviewed on PC. Approximately 8 hours with the full release, plus demo time.