Stormworks: Build and Rescue
" Detailed simulation with extensive vehicle building and physics but steep learning curve and bugs "
Stormworks: Build and Rescue Review
Stormworks: Build and Rescue is a sandbox engineering game centered around creating and piloting vehicles to complete rescue missions. Players praise its deep building mechanics that allow for intricate designs involving physics, automation, and Lua programming. The extensive Steam Workshop content adds immense creative freedom, enabling players to build everything from simple boats to complex multi-vehicle systems. The game's longevity is supported by continuous updates and an active modding community.
However, many users find the game challenging to learn due to a steep learning curve and inadequate tutorial support. Performance and optimization issues, especially in multiplayer, frequently cause lag and glitches, diminishing the experience. Some criticize the developers for focusing on paid DLCs over core gameplay improvements. Despite these flaws, the game remains highly recommended for players who enjoy engineering, creativity, and sandbox exploration, particularly when played solo or with friends.
Highlights
Players highly praise the game's complex and rewarding building mechanics, allowing for realistic physics-based vehicles and creative engineering solutions. The varied vehicle types including boats, planes, and helicopters, combined with the ability to automate functions, create a compelling gameplay loop. The graphics and water physics receive positive remarks for immersion, alongside the rich mission variety and the vibrant Steam Workshop community that offers countless player-made creations.
The game's sandbox freedom and continuous updates keep it fresh and engaging for long play sessions.
Criticisms
Common criticisms focus on the steep learning curve and lack of a comprehensive tutorial, which can frustrate newcomers. Performance issues such as lag, low framerates, and physics glitches especially in multiplayer, are frequently reported. Players also express disappointment with the developers' prioritization of paid DLC over fixing core bugs and improving optimization. Some find the missions repetitive and feel the game lacks a cohesive career mode or engaging story. Additionally, the sound design, particularly engine noises, is noted as detracting from immersion.
Pros
- • Extensive and detailed vehicle building mechanics with realistic physics simulation.
- • Large and active modding community with a vast Steam Workshop content library.
- • Continuous updates adding quality of life improvements and new features.
- • Supports creative freedom to build everything from simple to complex vehicles.
- • Engaging sandbox gameplay with diverse mission types and scenarios.
- • Good graphics and immersive water and weather effects.
- • Multiplayer mode allows cooperative play with friends.
Cons
- • Steep learning curve with insufficient tutorials for new players.
- • Performance issues including lag, low framerates, and physics glitches.
- • Multiplayer is often unstable and suffers from desync and lag.
- • Developers focus more on paid DLC than fixing core bugs and optimization.
- • Repetitive and shallow mission design with lack of engaging story.
- • Sound design is sometimes jarring and immersion-breaking.
- • Some players find the game overwhelming without prior engineering knowledge.
Rating Criteria
About This Game
Stormworks tshirts, hoodies, mugs, and other merchandise is available here. 
Join a world where you design, create and pilot your own air sea rescue service.
Stormworks: Build and Rescue is a rich and dramatic physics playground. Take your custom-designed, block-based and programmable vehicles into fierce oceanic storms. Plan and execute thrilling rescues in a variety of challenging crisis scenarios. Export and share your meticulously designed vehicles and missions with other players via the Steam workshop.
Stormworks: Build and Rescue - create, rescue and release your inner hero!
Custom Creative Mode
Play the game how you want. Custom mode gives dozens of creative tools and options, suited for players who like to let their creativity run free and wild. In this mode, you are not limited by the survival and realism rules allowing you to create large and complex vehicles from the outset. Ideal for players who like to create scale replicas of real-world vehicles or wacky and ambitious creations of their own design.
Career Survival mode
Career mode focuses on progression and an overarching plot of starting your own search and rescue service from humble beginnings and building it up to cover the entire Stormworks world map. You will have to manage your finances, build space, and your own safety as you complete various missions to finance larger, more complex vehicles and new land bases.
Survival difficulty options
Survival difficulty options add an extra level of difficulty to your search and rescue operation with the most in depth and advanced game features including: advanced engine and fuel mechanics, LUA based micro controllers, vehicle damage, spreadable fire, and a variety of player damage types that can result in player deaths including:
- fall / impact damage
- fire damage
- prolonged exposure to the sea resulting in hypothermia
- mechanical damage (rotor blades)
- water pressure damage
- ...and sharks!
Construct vehicles by placing blocks in a rich editing suite, customize them with your own design and program their behaviour using the powerful in-game logic system. Choose from a wide array of components to assemble your own rescue helicopters, boats, submersibles and more…
Take to the sea, land or sky in your newly created vehicle. Navigate through over 15,000 square kilometres of ocean and islands in an amazingly dynamic world. Players will need to ensure that they create the right vehicle for the job as every mission is unique.
Design specific vehicles to respond to challenging missions across open oceans, island facilities, remote rigs and more. Rescue survivors from the water, fight fires, help repair oil rigs, operate nuclear power station machinery and more. Create and share your own missions using the rich missions editor. Unlock new locations and components in career mode or explore your imagination in creative mode.
Join your friends in cooperative multiplayer as you operate multi-crew vehicles, and execute complex missions involving careful planning and coordination.
The day-night cycle and dynamic weather system create diverse environments to put your creations to the test. From calm sunny mornings, to unforgiving stormy nights and even tsunamis - strong winds can turn the ocean from gentle ripples to fierce heaving waves, affecting your vehicles using physics-based hydrodynamics and displacement-buoyancy systems.
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Join a world where you design, create and pilot your own air sea rescue service. Release your inner hero as you battle fierce storms out at sea to rescue those in need.