Introduction: ASTROBOTANICA is a science-driven, open-world survival game that swaps hunting for botany. You play as Xel, a highly educated alien botanist stranded on a prehistoric Earth, searching for rare seeds to save your home planet. Survival here is about cultivating plants and outsmarting wildlife — not killing it.

Playing as Xel

Xel cannot breathe oxygen — the alien botanist needs CO2 to survive. That single fact drives the entire early game: you must constantly produce or carry a CO2 supply while exploring, or risk suffocating away from your base.

Farming & CO2

Farming is your lifeline. Plants you grow emit the CO2 Xel breathes, so a healthy garden is literally a healthy character. The basic loop:

• Prepare soil: mix muck and compost to make beds fertile.
• Plant & water seeds: keep crops hydrated so they mature.
• Defend the crop: protect plants from threats like birds.
• Harvest CO2: mature plants supply the gas Xel depends on.

Studying Plants

Beyond CO2, plants are a research resource. Study them to learn what they can be used for — food sources, ingredients, and the building blocks of your tonics. The more you catalogue, the more recipes and survival options open up.

Brewing Tonics & Potions

Instead of weapons, you craft tonics that buff Xel or pacify predators — sleeping gas, sticky goo, cloaking clouds, and more — letting you outwit wildlife without harming it. Each ailment has a color code, and your tonic's color should match the ailment's color for an effective cure.

Befriending Neanderthals

The Neanderthals seem hostile at first, but they warm up after some interaction. Share the right potions with them and they reward you with special tools and materials you cannot easily get otherwise — making them one of your best mid-game progression routes.

Beginner Tips

• Establish a stable CO2-producing farm before you explore far.
• Keep tonics stocked for both buffs and animal hazards.
• Invest early time in Neanderthal relationships for tool upgrades.
• Catalogue every new plant — research unlocks survival options.