Is approximately up worth it?

Value and price

Approximately Up launches on Aug 6, 2026 at $19.99 from developer and publisher Approximately Games. This is a full release, not an early access project, so the price reflects the finished adventure, simulation, and co-op package rather than a promise of future content.

"Build, crash, rebuild!"

That tagline from the developers sums up what the $19.99 buys: a modular spaceship builder where you mount giant thrusters, annoying cables, and everything in between, then explore new planets in online co-op.

What is included in the base price:

• Single-player and online co-op with no extra multiplayer cost
• 22 Steam achievements covering milestones, exploration, transport missions, and pure challenge goals
• Steam Workshop support for community ships and parts
• Save Anytime,Steam Cloud, and Family Sharing as standard features

The achievement list gives a clear idea of content depth. You have straightforward goals like "First Milestone" and "Tutorial Completed", exploration goals like "One Step Further" and "Edge Of The Known"(finding Tenebra, the farthest known planet), and elaborate cargo missions such as "Wool Age"(transporting a sheep from Earth to the Moon alive) and "Ice Age"(moving a mastodon from the Moon back to Earth alive). That is a lot of variety for the asking price.

Pros

Approximately Up has a strong pitch for fans of physics-driven construction games. The design philosophy is "whatever bolts together long enough to fly," and that approach produces genuinely funny moments, especially with friends.

• Online co-op is the highlight: complete wild missions, face the dangers of space, and argue with your crew. The game is explicitly built around shared chaos, and that is where the value lands hardest.
• Achievement variety: beyond milestones you get memorable objectives like "Houston, We Have A Submarine"(reach 1000m below sea level),"Jurassic Surprise"(encounter a dinosaur), and "Event Horizon"(travel through a Black Hole Tunnel to a new universe).
• Save anywhere, any time: you are never locked into a long session, which suits both co-op pick-up games and solo play.
• Steam Workshop extends longevity: community-built ships and parts give the modular building system a long tail after the main journey ends.
• Accessible input design: the game is flagged as playable without timed input, so reaction speed is not a barrier to the core experience.
• Friendly minimum specs: a 3GHz 4-core CPU, 8 GB RAM, and a GTX 1060 or RX 580 with 6 GB of storage covers most current gaming PCs.

Cons

The purchase decision is not one-sided. Several factors may give you pause before spending the $19.99.

• No demo available: the only practical way to try the game is to buy it and rely on the standard Steam refund window.
• Co-op dependence: the core fantasy is multiplayer. Single-player mode exists, but the design clearly favors sharing the chaos, and solo players will get a thinner experience.
• Recommended specs jump noticeably: for the smoother experience, Approximately Games recommends a 3.5GHz 6-core CPU, 16 GB RAM, and an RTX 3060 or RX 6700. Machines near the minimum will likely need reduced part counts or settings.
• Challenging achievements may frustrate:"No Rewinds!" requires completing an objective without using Time Rewind, and "Golden Thruster" demands completing every objective with no Time Rewind at all. Add "Almost Crispy"(get within 1,000,000 meters of the Sun and survive), and completionists face a real skill wall.
• Trial-and-error building is the core loop. If you do not enjoy watching a ship fall apart mid-flight and starting over, some missions will test your patience.

Verdict

At $19.99, Approximately Up is a fair price for a full co-op building adventure with 22 achievements, Workshop support, and a funny multiplayer loop. Whether it deserves your money comes down to your playstyle and your regular gaming group.

Worth it if:

• You have a co-op crew who will enjoy building terrible ships, crashing them, and arguing over thrusters and cables.
• You like achievement hunting and exploration, including hidden planets, black hole tunnels, depth records, and live-cargo transport missions.
• You want a game you can save anytime and pick up for short sessions without commitment.

Wait if:

• You mostly play solo and prefer story-driven games over physics sandboxes.
• Your PC sits near the minimum requirements and you want smooth performance with complex, part-heavy ship builds.
• You prefer buying on discount; $19.99 is reasonable, but the price will likely drop during future Steam sales.