Star Ores Inc.

Genre: First-Person Simulation

Players: 1

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Review:

Star Ores Inc, released in 2025 on PC, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch, is a First-Person Simulation-style game where players take the role of an intrepid space miner who has just come into possession of his own asteroid, and now seeks to go about mining and selling its precious minerals, and using the profits to improve his mining capabilities and automation.

This is more or less a busywork simulator, and while it’s very different in terms of premise, theme, and game mechanics, the core gameplay reminded me a lot of PowerWash Simulator. You’re not really under any pressure or time constraints save for customers waiting for you to fill out their orders when you choose to sell, you’re not under threat from any enemies, you’re just given a job and have the freedom to go about that job in whatever way seems best to you.

As you earn money, you’ll gain access to tools that allow you to mine tougher rocks, tools to smelt ores into more valuable ingots, tools to automate some of the process of mining and collecting minerals, and so on. And while the game gives you a series of goals to reach in order to progress, you can always opt to focus on other upgrades if you so choose to do so.

There’s a bit of lore that you gradually uncover as you progress, but mostly you’re just looking at a lot of busywork here, and the classic “number go up” dopamine hit as you increase your funds or gain levels and get access to improved abilities as a result. It’s a well-worn formula, but it’s done well here.

The presentation in Star ores Inc is pretty good. This game uses decent 3D visuals that aren’t going to impress anyone but that work well enough for the game and even make some nice use of environmental lighting in places, and these visuals are joined by a surprisingly good New Age-style soundtrack that gives everything a dreamy vibe that works perfectly for this game’s almost meditative gameplay. For some good examples, check out Star Ores Inc, Maintenance Mode, Echo Chamber Drift, Low Gravity Waltz, and Crystal Vein Reverie.

Star Ores Inc doesn’t do anything that revolutionizes the “busywork simulator”, and in fact it’s limited in some ways – you won’t be actually digging through rock like you do in something like No Man’s Sky but instead destroying basically large boulders or splotches of color-coded muck. Additionally, the environment you’re digging through is pretty limited in size and scope, and doesn’t give you the feeling of exploration through tunneling that you get in a game like No Man’s Sky or Minecraft.

However, while Star Ores Inc is limited in scope and can’t compare to more ambitious games that tackle the same sort of gameplay, it nevertheless still does a fine job with the core gameplay loop of performing a satisfying but repetitive task, seeing your numbers go up, and gradually expanding your abilities. If you enjoy this sort of relaxing gameplay, I think you’ll be satisfied with Star Ores Inc.

tl;dr – Star Ores Inc is a First-Person Simulation game where players mine rocks on a space station in an asteroid. It’s somewhat limited in its scope compared to other “busywork simulators”, but it still does a good job with its core gameplay, giving players a repetitive but relaxing task as they slowly build up their abilities. If that appeals to you, this game is definitely one you’ll want to try.

Grade: B-

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