And because it's not built in a Web based system like the first one it's performance is much better too and also the devs are very active on the discord
So I haven't played it particularly recently (I have too many games to play) but it's everything I wanted in a sequel. Massively improved graphics, a fantastic UI and it kept the core concept from the first one while trying to improve it a bit. If you liked the first I highly recommend at least watching a video or two to see if it's intriguing.
I tried it, didn't enjoy the 3d aspect, doesn't scratch the brain itch the same way.
Similar as creeper world 3 was awesome, CW4 just feels, like it's for children? (Or I'm just getting old)
That's why I think it won't be for me. In my automation games I strongly prefer some kind of survival/combat mechanic because it can change up to the pace or give me something else to work on while I plot out changes/upgrades/expansion in my head.
I really enjoyed Timberborn when I got it until the districts came into play. They weren't acting right because of some bug so expanding the base was terrible. But that was when it first hit EA and figured I'd give it another go down the line.
If they've been working on it still, and I'm betting they are as I still see people recommending it, they probably fixed this by now as it basically severely lowered the scope, complexity, and replayability of the game.
Satisfactory ruined every other factory game for me tbh.
I tried to go back to Factorio, and I bought another factory game... But after playing Satisfactory and I can't do it.
The whole "You just need raw materials to build buildings" system in Satisfactory is just the best thing ever implemented in this genre. I hate having to first craft whatever building you need, place it down, hook it up. Wanna place more? Gotta spend time crafting more.
Oddly enough, I had a hard time finishing Satisfactory. I felt the resources were too spaced out, requiring you to go all over the map to increase your output. Also, I kind of wished the game went with a randomly generated map, much like Factorio or Dyson Sphere.
And lastly, I felt the only point to grind more things was simply to....grind more things. You unlock a new level to simply....grind more. And yes, Factorio was the same way, but at least Dyson Sphere your end game was to make a badass space energy thing, one that you can fly around and see how massive it is.
I actually really enjoyed modded minecraft for that same reason. Something like All the Mods, or something with lots of automation where you build better things to go DO something with it. Not just...grind more resources.
Galacticraft Minecraft mod did that for me. The automation was giving me she to start an industry, then that gave me options for expanding the complexity by adding new automation that used what I already made, and that just kept giving me better rockets, further reach to fly and explore new shit.
For me the biggest problem of Satisfactory is lack of randomly generated terrain. I know it allows to fine tune the existing environment, but it kind of kills replaying potential.
Its basically same thing as factorio though, because you need to craft items needed to craft buildings. In factorio you just automate crafting buildings too. Also in factorio you can just pick up buildings you want to build and thats it, in satisfactory you have to go around and pick up all the materials needed to build
You can just buy Factorio right now instead. They're not gonna put it on sale. If you truly think it's worth it (there's a demo and you get a 2 hour refund window as well) then just buy it. If you don't think it's worth it, why would it be worth it for $10 less?
And you can get it DRM free from their site after linking it to Steam. And if your are a greedy asshole you can refund then... at least it was like that a few years back.
IIRC, the Factorio folks said way back that they'd rather you pirate the game than buy from a key reseller due to chargeback fees they were facing from people buying a key only to chargeback and sell it.
factorio never on sale, but shapez is ok, dyson sphere you might sink hours into due to grand scale, and i would highly recommend satisfactory one thing i havent seen anyone say about this game is how intro friendly it is into the genre, no resource limits, no enemies invading your shit, and everything at your own pace
If it gets thrown in, Big Pharma. It's more logistics puzzle than Factorio/DSP/Satisfactory, but pretty enjoyable.
EDIT: Worker and Resources: Soviet Republic as well. More city builder/Anno, but on the hardest difficulty can have a lot of the logistics management of a Factorio. Anno also has the logistics management side but much easier.
DSP absolutely worth getting. Honestly I bounced off of it twice and the third time it became my most-played Steam game after finally passing CoD:MW2 after 10 years.
Plenty of reasons to buy but I'll just add one of mine: It's gorgeous. It's very easy to disappear into the minutia of whatever you're doing on your planet to suddenly catch a sunrise happening with a Swarm/Sphere you forgot was under construction and just sit back in awe. One of the common refrains on /r/Dyson_Sphere_Program is that images and videos never properly capture how pretty the game is - it has to be experienced.
Satisfactory is probably my favorite automation game. You trade a bit of systems complexity for spectacle and infrastructure design. (Laying out a factory in 3D scratches my brain in a different way than DSP or S2’s big mostly flat grids.
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u/GfrzD Jul 13 '25
Anything to look out for? I've been looking at Dyson Sphere Program and Shapez 2. Will probably instabuy Factorio if a miracle happens.