Sandboxes don’t only have to be places where people get to whale away on each other in the most risk-free way possible. They can also be places of creativity and building. That’s what Main Assembly is all about: building robots either to complete challenges, to mess around with others in multiplayer, or for the simple joy of creation.
Out in early access today, Main Assembly comes from Swedish developer Bad Yolk Games and publisher Team 17 and touts a completely freeform creation engine where players can modify shapes as they want (no voxels here!) and even use a visual programming tool for advanced customization and creation. Robots are affected by things like aerodynamics, momentum, and gravity, so players can make a wide range of things from planes to mechs to trebuchets. Main Assembly also has an advanced destruction engine, where pieces can get dented and affect performance.
The game’s early access build will feature a single-player mode where players can create robots to surmount a variety of challenges and a four-player multiplayer sandbox where anything goes. Early access is planned to run for at least one year and will add features like additional crafting tools and parts, more challenge levels, and new sandbox levels. Just how powerful is Main Assembly’s creation engine? You can get a look at the top 10 community creations in the video below, as well as a talk with the devs about the game in the video below that.
