About the Game
About AETHUS
You are Maeve, ex-mining engineer for the Astral Resource Corporation - ARC - a galactic megacorp that profits by draining entire planets of their resources.
As you take on your own mining claim, you'll explore the remnants of a doomed science expedition and the abandoned facilities they've left behind as Maeve strives to build a stable life of her own, outside of ARC’s control.
Armed with nothing but her basic mining equipment, tales from her beloved grandad, and her loyal AI drone companion, can you unravel the mystery of an incredibly powerful new element and uncover the dark secrets that the corpos would rather keep buried?
Key Features
Grow plants, raise fish and prospect for gems in your cozy habitats which you can decorate with almost any item you come across.
Upgrade your suit and mining drone companion to explore deeper and further into the world.
Story is not an afterthought in AETHUS - there's always new narrative to drive you forward.
Looking for a laid-back exploration experience? Maybe a hardcore survival challenge? Want to mix and match?...
Use the available Game Modifiers to set up your perfect game settings, then adjust them at any time while playing.
I am self-published, self-funded, and fully committed to old-fashioned ethical game development.
No use of AI, no early access, no microtransactions or purchaseable cosmetics.
Please wishlist the game if it looks interesting to you - it really helps!
Screenshots
9 images
Version Information
Steam Patch Notes
Official update history
Version 1.036 - 23/06/26 - 16:35 BST
Fixes
- Fixed some comically large drill bits.
- Disabled the ability to queue up Stub Memories to avoid them double playing accidentally.
- Added a fail-safe check for the Reactor Fuel Rod pickup dialogue.
- Increased size of the trigger for the Core Containment scan and disabled the need to be inside a habitat to scan.
Version 1.029 - 08/05/26 - 14:50 BST
New Features
- Added a new 'Resources' Game Modifier to the New Game screen and the Settings menu, which allows for adjusting resource drop rates higher or lower than standard.
Improvements
- Dialogues that trigger when the player returns to the surface now also play if the player has died, to reduce potential confusion or a need to quit to menu and resume game or go underground again to trigger them.
- Improvements to the grammar of the Module Authenticator item flavour text.
Fixes
- Fixed the possibility of the player losing items when using a level transition as they died.
- Fixed placeable items retaining a link to habitats when moved outside of them which could cause issues with habitat deletion and/or containers temporarily keeping a bonus from the storage hab when moved outside.
- Fixed bad collision on the natural rock bridge near Facility Rho which could cause the player to slide off.
- Fixed the formatting of the Passing Out tutorial.
- Fixed NVIDIA Image Scaling not working correctly in the settings menu.
- Fixed the cutaway for the Manufacturing Hab triggering when on the roof.
- Fixed roof glass visuals on Manufacturing Hab.
- Fixed the player potentially being able to die and not get back to Omega.
Version 1.028 - 01/05/26 - 15:00 BST
I had a nasty hardware failure last weekend so a lot of this week was lost to getting that sorted... I think we're all good now, though!
New Features
- Objects in the world that are colliding with what you're constructing in Build Mode will now be highlighted. Structures like Habitats will only be highlighted when constructing other Structures.
- Added the 'Shock Absorbers' Upgrade to the Trade Node which increases the distance you can fall before taking damage by 50%.
Improvements
- Improved the backup save system to not save on the main menu which reduces potential for 'identical' backups.
- Increased maximum backup saves to 12 from 10.
- Updated Bladestone, Vitaglass, Depthane's Heart and Miner's Bane descriptions to reflect their use in lens crafting.
- Updated the Consuming Items tutorial to make it very clear you need to eat the Cactus Fruit to finish the tutorial.
Fixes
- A dialogue that plays after returning with a certain character that provides a new facility type should now play reliably.
- Fixed Ancient Bones not being placeable into the world.
- Fixed the potential for the player to be stuck mesmerized.
- Fixed the player being able to die during mesmerization.
Version 1.027 - 24/04/26 - 15:45 BST
New Features
- Added a new panel to the Settings menu to enable/disable seasonal events and reset their progress. The Spring Event can now be enabled at any time (once the player has progressed sufficiently in the story) and repeated if desired!
Improvements
- Added a photosensitivity warning to the splash screen of the game.
Fixes
- Fixed a rare potential blocker issue with the Epsilon external power breaker button.
- Fixed the 'Drop Items on Death' setting sometimes not correctly applying when starting a new game.
- Fixed a dialogue playing in Epsilon Secure Storage when not appropriate.
- Fixed a Trudy dialogue playing when she had not yet been reintroduced.
- Added extra safeguards to make sure the player isn't teleported to an unreachable point if dead/dying when teleporting or using an elevator, potentially making their dropped items inaccessible.
Version 1.026 - 22/04/26 - 11:55 BST
More building improvements! Storage snapping has been requested for a while, so I'm very pleased to get it to you! Keep the suggestions and feedback coming :)
New Features
- Storage facilities now snap together so you can easily stack and line up your crates and containers!
- The 'Deposit All' button/keybind on a facility UI no longer deposits items that are present in the Hotbar.
- Added a new Lockbox storage option to the Trade Node.
Improvements
- 'Snap boxes' on constructions have been reworked so they should only ever apply to actually valid snaps, so no more placing items hovering in mid-air around habitat doorways, the crater, etc.
- Changed the default keybind for Disable Snapping (Hold) to SHIFT to remove conflict with Rotate Construction.
- Adjusted the Customization Station to RAPP level I from II and from 1250 credits to 1000 to make it accessible a bit earlier.
Fixes
- Fixed dialogues persisting between save game slots.
- Fixed the 'Hide HUD' keybind not being set to (H) by default as intended.
- Fixed the alternate-snap-point variant of the Cargo Habitat not correctly providing the storage bonus to storage facilities.
Version 1.022 - 11/04/26 - 18:00 GMT
I hope you all had a nice Easter break!
Some nice fixes in this one alongside a much-requested new QOL option and a significant balancing-related feature that should help anyone who's feeling a bit 'grindy' in the midgame.
I'll be moving to once-a-week patches now going forward! Still some more QOL stuff to come and then it's onto gamepad support and Deck verification!
New Features
- Added Drone Pods to the outlying Lost World facilities, which can deliver resources directly to a new central resource silo outside Facility Epsilon.
This should alleviate feelings of grindiness in the Lost World by allowing you to collect several 'loads' of resources into one place and quickly transfer them to Epsilon, minimizing running backwards and forwards when farming resources.
- Added new Setting - 'Log File Oxygen Drain' - which controls whether Maeve uses oxygen while viewing log files in the world. Turning this off will make for a more laid back experience when exploring.
Improvements
- Re-encoded the video files in the game so that they work without any issue on Proton by default.
Fixes
- Fixed the Lambda Welfare Hab door potentially being stuck shut.
- Fixed player being able to find the first easter egg before they reach the right point in the story.
- Fixed an edge case where the second easter egg was not obtainable.
- Fixed the completion time being cut off the final credits.
- Fixed Epsilon's east gate opening when a servomotor was installed even if power was not restored.
- Fixed an edge case in Omega where the test chamber door could be stuck shut.
Version 1.021 - 31/03/26 - 15:15 GMT
Final wee set of fixes and improvements before I head off for some downtime!
As mentioned, from tomorrow I'll be travelling to spend some time with family and rest a bit for the first time post-launch - I'll be back to more improvements about halfway through the following week (8th/9th).
Improvements
- Quakemaker-induced earthquakes now happen much more quickly to stop issues where the player leaves the surface before they're triggered and therefore does not get the earthquake effects.
- Changed the Harvest button in the Hydroponics and Aquaculture panels to be 'Harvest All' and harvest all finished slots with one action.
Fixes
- Fixed Omicron level transition causing a keycard failsafe behaviour to trigger incorrectly.
- Fixed emergency floor light placeable becoming a standard floor light if moved.
- Fixed inability to move Data Drives to storage.
Version 1.019 - 24/03/26 - 09:20 GMT
I'm a bit under the weather so I'm pushing the latest bugfixes and will be back to more significant changes tomorrow for later in the week!
Improvements
- Added the ability to move the Cliffside Ramp after placing, in case you misplaced it.
- Added failsafe handling for the drills in CRYSTAL CLEAR.
- Added failsafe handling for losing the Omicron keycard.
Fixes
- Fixed the Auto-Open Crafting Window setting opening the crafting window even if the facility was unpowered.
- Fixed a broken crafting window opening if Auto-Open Crafting Window setting was enabled and player switched from interacting with a crafting facility to a non crafting facility, and changed its power state.
- Fixed the ghost of the Cliffside Ramp being scaled 2x larger than normal.
- Fixed stub memory follow-up dialogues not triggering on replays of stub memories.
- Fixed player being immune to mycelial spores if their antigen buff ran out while within an infected area.
Version 1.018 - 20/03/26 - 16:00 GMT
New Features
- Added a count of how many of an item the player has in storage within their Outpost, in the item's tooltip when hovered.
- Added a new Settings option to auto-open the crafting UI when interacting with a crafting/cooking facility.
- Added a new Settings option to control scaling of the Compass UI element.
Improvements
- Added failsafe handling for item boxes spawned at world origin to be placed at the level spawn point instead.
- Added the ability to transfer zero-weight items to full inventories.
- Restricted the facility inventory UI to a maximum height and added a scroll bar, so that facilities containing many types of items do not span beyond the height of the screen.
Fixes
- Fixed the potential for the crafting window to rarely become stuck on screen.
- Fixed potential for player's item box to spawn at world origin if passing out while 'flying'.
- Fixed the ability to queue up several dialogue replays all at once.
- Fixed the possibility of getting the 'Suffocating' status effect stuck active even when in a safe area.
- Fixed one fire SFX not obeying audio slider settings.
- Fixed a couple of rocks on the surface incorrectly being tagged as destructible.
- Fixed player ability to hardlock themselves by picking up a placeable object while interacting with the editable name.
- Fixed the Herbicide Charge placeable item having the wrong visuals while placing.
- Fixed a softlock issue where player could pass out from Negative Vitality Effects while using the Customization Station or Prospecting Bench.
Version 1.017 - 17/03/26 - 16:45 GMT
Ok, sorry, I lied... Another patch for you. But it has some good stuff! The next one really should be on Thursday or Friday now!
New Features
- Constructions will no longer snap onto others that they are not designed to work with, e.g. Door Seals onto Airlocks, which should improve the clarity of what constructions can be attached to others.
- Improved the visual clarity of what part of constructions will snap to snap points.
I'm keen to hear more feedback on snapping!
Improvements
- The 3D Cursor no longer changes to red when at a distance from the character where things are not interactable, unless specifically hovering an interactable object or a node. This should make the cursor much more readable by keeping it blue most of the time.
- Clarified description of Platform (S) and (L) to make it clearer that they are built on the ground and not attached to habitats.
Balancing
- Adjusted the Matter Folder to be zero weight.
Tasks
- Fixed dialogue triggers relating to EXISTENCE IN FLUX potentially playing before they should.
- Added a failsafe for the Module Decoder upgrade dialogue not triggering when the upgrade is unlocked.
Fixes
- Fixed refining recipes sometimes appearing disabled but still highlighting relevant resources in inventory and allowing use of Deposite Refinables button/keybind.
- Fixed the Micro Connector appearing to be the Small Connector when moved after placement in build mode.
- Fixed airlocks potentially being unremovable due to thinking they're linked to things.
- Fixed the potential for habitat-related constructions to become linked to non-habitat-related constructions.
- Fixed the Tether Gondola ambient SFX not being affected by volume sliders.
Version 1.016 - 16/03/26 - 17:40 GMT
This is the first of the new-cadence patches! Expect the next one on Wednesday, and then probably another on Friday!
New Features
- Added a DX12 launch option to Steam when the game is launched, which should provide much higher framerates and better stability for DX12 capable hardware.
- Added a new Settings option - 'Drop Items on Death' to allow for disabling dropping items on death. Can be set at any point, and is called out specially at game start.
Improvements
- Disabled dropping items on death within Seam X-5 while I investigate issues with finding safe spawn locations for dropped items.
- Added a line to the top of the Settings menu clarifying that most settings are saved per-slot rather than globally.
- Updated Credits visuals/structure.
- Improved the reliability of scanning objectives/tasks.
- Improved the lighting of destructible outcrops, particularly where they meet the terrain.
- The Developer Message will no longer appear again after it's been closed.
Balancing
- Added Camberflex to the Depthane Automated Mining Drill's possible products.
Tasks
- Fixed ROAD TO RICHES using an incorrect upgrade name.
Fixes
- Added a failsafe for players who don't have a required keycard for proceeding through Kryptos.
- Fixed 'Must remove linked items before removing' message when attempting to deconstruct an item or habitat which previously had other constructions placed on top of it then moved.
- Fixed constructions built outside not correctly linking together (e.g. stacked containers).
- Fixed the potential for the Negative Vitality Effects setting option to reset if player had other difficulty modifers set.
- Fixed a rare edge case where the player could lose critical items if using the Unstuck feature while dying or falling out of bounds.
- Fixed a missing fall-death trigger between Rho and Sigma.
Hotfix #15 - 12/03/26 - 17:40 GMT
Bit of a smaller one today, the backup save system rework took a fair time, but you will see a much smaller saves folder going forward so I wanted to prioritise this one!
Improvements
- Reworked backup save system. The ten latest backup saves are now correctly kept, and older backup saves are deleted.
- Adjusted the description of various foods to clarify their meat-containing status.
- All scroll boxes on UIs now correctly consume input at all times.
Balancing
- Reduced cost of Electrostatic Field upgrade from 5000 to 2000.
Tasks
- Increased clarity of GREAT GREEN GLOW in relation to Buildkits.
Fixes
- Character and physics tweaks to attempt to stop Spire Nodes launching the player into outer space.
- Fixed a non-interactable optional log file in Omicron.
- Fixed an area where the player could get stuck in the Outer Caverns.
- Cooked Cactus Fruit dialogue tweaked so that it's not strange if played later into the game.
Current Release
Build 23876433
Uploaded Jul 16, 2026
System Requirements
How to Install
StrikeTheEarth.exe to play
Troubleshooting tips
• Run Redist/_CommonRedist installers if game won't start
• Add folder to Windows Defender exclusions
• Run as administrator
Download
Direct link available
2.2 GB
23876433
You May Also Like
View All
Download AETHUS for PC with a direct link or via torrent. Get the full version of AETHUS for free. AETHUS is a Adventure released by Pawsmonaut Games.