Astronaut: The Best is a strategy/visual novel hybrid developed by Universal Happymaker and released in 2023 for PC. Players manage a space program staffed by procedurally generated recruits whose hidden traits — ranging from serial killer tendencies to royal bloodlines — are uncovered over the course of five missions. The core loop involves training astronauts, manipulating public perception through tabloids and sensationalist television, and consulting the nation's High Priests to perform mystic rituals that can tip the odds in a recruit's favor. Decision-making draws on tools like groveling, deception, and witchcraft alongside conventional training. A branching roguelite narrative structure ensures missions unfold differently across playthroughs, with hundreds of decision points producing wildly varied outcomes. Failure carries genuine stakes — incompetence or bad luck can result in death for the player's operatives or for the player-character themselves. The tone throughout is darkly comic, blending bureaucratic absurdity with supernatural conspiracy.
