Fill ‘er up! Servonauts is a delightfully chaotic co-op adventure about running a petrol station in outer space. Created by Brisbane-based developers MAXART, the game tasks a team of up to four players with speedily and efficiently servicing the fuel needs of a variety of interstellar denizens. Players must work together to combine specific fuel types and navigate treacherous galactic hazards in order to keep the galaxy’s engines running – and unlock some cute hats with the cash they earn. Taking its cues from frenzied co-op titles like Overcooked and Moving Out, Servonauts pumps out a puzzle-fuelled experience where you’ll be optimising pipe placement and scurrying about barking orders to your staff… er, your fellow players.
Servonauts starts off with a few simple tutorials that teach you the business of running a starbound servo. You’ll learn where you can place drilling points to extract oil, how to attach fuel pipes to nozzles, and the basics of mixing different fuel types. Each customer will request a different colour combination of fuel, which will need to be concocted via refining bowsers. Mixing is basic but satisfying: pouring standard black petrol through a red bowser and then chaining it through a blue will create purple fuel, and so on. Once you’ve filled up a customer’s tank, they’ll throw some coins behind and fly away, leaving you to run around money-grubbing before your hard-earned pay despawns.
Each level element is bouncy and tactile – you summon items via a quick menu, and they zoom onto the stage with reckless abandon. Fuel hoses bounce around like springs, while heavier tools come in crates which you then place permanently on the stage, requiring you to manage floorspace carefully. Apart from the basics, you can also unlock utility items like a trampoline pad that flings you into the air, or a giant death ray that clears unwanted bowsers away.
Unsurprisingly, Servonauts is best enjoyed with company. My partner and I had a blast dashing around the different levels and working together to mix up fuels. We found ourselves in a real retail worker grindset, weaving intricate knots of fuel pumps across the stages, dashing to pick up haphazardly scattered change, and swearing violently at the impatient customers.
The difficulty ramps up gradually enough when playing in a co-op group, though it can feel a little steeper for the solo gas attendant. Playing alone, you get some assistance from a robotic helper who guzzles up coins dropped by customers, but you’ll need to hot-foot it to run your own fuel lines and service each car all by yourself. Stage hazards can also completely change your approach to each level: you might have to contend with a collapsing floor, a highway through the middle of the stage, or even a giant sweeping laser that instantly obliterates you if you get caught.
Death, thankfully, respawns you nearly instantly, which launches you straight back into the action with only a little time lost. Overall, Servonauts is forgiving in its level of challenge. There’s no punishment for taking your time on a stage, but you’ll earn a higher star rating for speedy and accurate play. The only real penalty is if you manage to put the wrong fuel type into someone’s vehicle – it’ll explode, and your score will take a hit. This is also very funny, however, so it’s hard to resist the urge to blow up all the space cars and just take the L.
A fun physics puzzler solo and a delightful little jaunt with mates, Servonauts is a cute and accessible adventure that’ll feel right at home to anyone who loves a bit of chaos. Fans of all-ages multiplayer romps like Among Us and Overcooked will find plenty to enjoy.
Servonauts is available now on PC and Switch.
About the Author
David McNamara
he/him or they/them
David is a proudly queer performing artist and software developer. He spends most of his downtime with a controller in his hands and a lazy beagle on his lap.
