Factorio
Factorio Review
Factorio is widely praised as an incredibly addictive and deeply satisfying factory-building and automation game. Players start small, manually gathering resources, but quickly progress to designing and optimizing complex production lines that grow exponentially. The gameplay challenges players to think ahead, plan meticulously, and continually improve their factories, often leading to hours of engrossing play. The game's depth, customization, and modding community provide near-endless replayability, with many players reporting hundreds or even thousands of hours invested. Developers are commended for their dedication, providing free updates and quality-of-life improvements that enhance the experience.
While the learning curve can be steep, especially for newcomers, the game offers options such as playing without enemies to ease into the mechanics. The immersive gameplay loop, combined with a robust multiplayer mode, keeps players engaged. Factorio is noted not just as a game but as a rewarding engineering puzzle that captivates players for extended periods, sometimes at the expense of real-world time and social life.
Highlights
Players greatly appreciate the game's deep and rewarding automation mechanics, where building and optimizing factories becomes a creative and intellectual challenge. The intuitive interface and extensive customization options allow for tailored gameplay experiences, from beginners to experts. The graphics, while functional and clear, effectively support the gameplay without unnecessary complexity. The storyline is minimal but provides a compelling context of survival and expansion on an alien planet. Community support, modding, and developer commitment with regular updates and expansions further enrich the game, making it a standout in the factory-building genre.
Criticisms
Some players find the initial learning curve daunting and recommend starting without enemies to better understand the mechanics. Others mention that the complexity can sometimes lead to frustration, especially when managing advanced production stages like oil and fuel. The game’s addictive nature is a double-edged sword, with many players warning about losing track of time or neglecting real-world responsibilities. A few users noted interface challenges on certain platforms like the Steam Deck, although this is not a fault of the game itself. Overall, criticisms focus on the steep difficulty ramp and the potential for overwhelming complexity rather than technical issues.
Pros
- • Highly addictive gameplay loop centered on factory building and automation.
- • Deep customization and modding support extend replayability immensely.
- • Clear and functional graphics that support gameplay clarity.
- • Engaging challenge that rewards careful planning and optimization.
- • Robust multiplayer mode enhances cooperative play experiences.
- • Developer commitment with free updates and quality-of-life improvements.
- • Minimal but effective storyline providing context and motivation.
Cons
- • Steep learning curve can intimidate new players initially.
- • Advanced resource management stages may cause player frustration.
- • Highly addictive nature risks excessive time consumption.
- • Interface challenges on platforms like Steam Deck noted by some.
- • Minimal storyline may not satisfy players seeking narrative depth.
Rating Criteria
About This Game
Factorio is a game in which you build and maintain factories. You will be mining resources, researching technologies, building infrastructure, automating production and fighting enemies. In the beginning you will find yourself chopping trees, mining ores and crafting mechanical arms and transport belts by hand, but in short time you can become an industrial powerhouse, with huge solar fields, oil refining and cracking, manufacture and deployment of construction and logistic robots, all for your resource needs. However this heavy exploitation of the planet's resources does not sit nicely with the locals, so you will have to be prepared to defend yourself and your machine empire.
Join forces with other players in cooperative Multiplayer, create huge factories, collaborate and delegate tasks between you and your friends. Add mods to increase your enjoyment, from small tweak and helper mods to complete game overhauls, Factorio's ground-up Modding support has allowed content creators from around the world to design interesting and innovative features. While the core gameplay is in the form of the freeplay scenario, there are a range of interesting challenges in the form of Scenarios. If you don't find any maps or scenarios you enjoy, you can create your own with the in-game Map Editor, place down entities, enemies, and terrain in any way you like, and even add your own custom script to make for interesting gameplay.
Discount Disclaimer: We don't have any plans to take part in a sale or to reduce the price for the foreseeable future.
What people say about Factorio
- No other game in the history of gaming handles the logistics side of management simulator so perfectly. - Reddit
- I see conveyor belts when I close my eyes. I may have been binging Factorio lately. - Notch, Mojang
- Factorio is a super duper awesome game where we use conveyor belts to shoot aliens. - Zisteau, Youtube
Factorio is a game about building and creating automated factories to produce items of increasing complexity, within an infinite 2D world. Use your imagination to design your factory, combine simple elements into ingenious structures, and finally protect it from the creatures who don't really like you.
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