As a seasoned gamer with a heart for factory-building games, I found myself utterly captivated by Satisfactory, a testament to Coffee Stain Studios’ masterful craftsmanship. This game has been on my radar for years, ever since I fell in love with their Sanctum series.
Inside my mind, a constant rhythm echoes, like swift conveyor belts or industrial machinery at work. It’s the symphony of smelters transforming ore into ingots, hydraulics humming, and fluids flowing smoothly through pipes – ideally, of course. When I embarked on Satisfactory, there was a sense of tranquility at first, but soon enough, the rhythm enveloped me entirely, making it unclear where the factory’s boundaries lie and mine begin.
If I hadn’t played Factorio before, I wouldn’t have grasped it. Essentially, Factorio and Satisfactory are two halves of a whole – opt for one or the other based on your hardware preferences or personal outlook. Immerse yourself in expanding the factory to such an extent that everything else fades into insignificance.
“It may sound like a meaningless grind, but the appeal isn’t mining resources to build stuff, just to build other stuff, until the heat death of the universe. It’s in optimizing the entire process. “
However, it’s more than that. Satisfactory isn’t a mission to build a space rocket to escape from a hostile world. It’s a constantly evolving exercise in problem-solving brought to you by the lovely corporate folks at FICSIT, with a monolithic Space Elevator showcasing the various phases to aspire to, gatekeeping the higher tiers of technology. The local fauna isn’t a fan of you, but they’re not out to actively uproot you. Everything works towards optimized resource gathering, manufacturing, and transporting to The Hub. It’s basic yet brutal. Simple yet instinctive. Ever-consuming yet fulfilling. And it’s beautiful.
In my gaming world, I’m a FICSIT worker, landing on an alien planet to gather its riches for our company’s advantage. My HudOS buddy, ADA – an AI with a witty sense of humor – guides me through the resource-hunting process. She keeps me updated on fresh materials and unlocked tiers, but mostly cracks jokes. Occasionally, she gets corrupted in a mysterious way, hinting at hidden mysteries. Could it be just a glitch?
Although the story isn’t overly obvious, it does contain intriguing elements scattered throughout, such as the condition of Earth. It could very well be that ADA is fabricating these truths to spur you on towards FICSIT’s objectives, whatever they entail. Despite this, nothing detracts from the primary gameplay mechanic.
What’s the process for gathering and processing all these resources? It’s done with machinery, of course! We use drills to extract raw ore, smelters to refine it into ingots, constructors that automate the crafting of those ingots into plates, rods, sheets, wires, etc. Then we refine those items further to create screws, reinforced iron plates, and cables. Finally, we combine different items to make rotors, smart plating, and modular frames, and so on, and so forth.
While it might seem pointless, the charm lies not merely in gathering resources to create various items, but rather in refining and perfecting the entire process itself. Instead of manually crafting materials at your workbench throughout the day, consider finding efficient methods to automate these tasks, allowing you to continue with other activities while still progressing in your project.
On numerous instances, strict organization may not be necessary – what’s essential is being able to construct the subsequent item, regardless of the sequence.
Is the Manufacturer overproducing Screws? A Distributor is needed to send some to another machine for a different project. The demand for Screws seems to outpace the production of Ingots? Two Manufacturers supply into a Merger Conveyor, followed by a Splitter Conveyor with two levels, connected through an Elevator Conveyor. Although the absence of terrain modification could be criticized, it’s integral to the challenge and puzzle-solving aspect.
In the pipe issue we discussed earlier, upon reaching Tier 3 and unlocking the Coal Generator, I mined resources and constructed Water Extractors. By combining these two elements, I generated steam, which in turn supplied additional electricity for my machinery. The predicament lies in transporting both materials. Initially, I collected water from a nearby lake that was plentiful but situated under cliffs. This poses a challenge as the cliffs obstruct easy access.
So, I embarked on a challenging yet enjoyable journey of trial and error, trying to figure out how to route pipes and create pumps to transport water up the steep hillside. Since the water pressure decreases as the pipe length increases, it’s crucial to optimize the system. I was considering adding Fluid Reservoirs along the way, which might help store water more efficiently without causing a drop in flow rate. The uncertainty about whether this would work is what makes it exciting!
There are numerous instances where strict organization takes a backseat – what comes first, second, or third doesn’t really matter as long as you can move on to the next step. Every new level and objective, ranging from improving conveyor speeds and acquiring a chainsaw, all the way up to constructing 50 Smart Plating for the Space Elevator’s initial phase, serves as an incentive to progress even more.
When my factory became an overwhelming mess, I vowed to make changes. The allure of Foundations, with their various types of eco-friendly features, was particularly enticing. Everything would be streamlined (or made more efficient), and I would improve as well. I was drawn toward the next achievement, captivated by the prospect of automating a Tractor.
I found it commendable as well that the factory operation felt authentic and not overly mechanical. Instead of providing fuel for an automated Biomass Burner, there’s even a personal touch with the manual activation of the power switch.
In just about two days, spending a total of 20 hours, it feels like only a tiny piece of what Satisfactory offers has been explored. There’s an expansive exploration element to the game, where you traverse different parts of the planet and encounter hostile creatures or find Power Slugs and new materials. Alien materials can be inserted into the MAM for research, leading to the discovery of additional resources such as Bio-Organic Materials and even new weapons and storage spaces. Building more tools and faster means of transportation makes further exploration easier.
Perhaps, you’ll stumble upon additional ore deposits and contemplate strategies for mining and transporting them to The Hub. This presents a fresh challenge with intriguing solutions that won’t satisfy you until it’s perfectly streamlined. Additionally, the existence of numerous distinct environments, each with its own set of hurdles, enhances the game’s replayability.
It’s quite a task keeping everything organized, what with all the various materials at hand. Coffee Stain Studios excels in simplifying things, whether it’s their user-friendly interface or the Codex which allows quick access to whatever you need. You can quickly select buildings and structures using hotkeys, resource scanning is hassle-free, and the map provides numerous methods for marking important locations and regions.
I found it appealing that the factory operation seemed authentic and hands-on, rather than just inputting fuel into a Biomass Burner. Instead, you manually turn it on with a switch. Achieving milestones involves pressing a large, eye-catching red button for launching into space, followed by an influx of unlocks. The Space Elevator comes alive when completing a phase, and these interactive elements enhance the overall immersion, which is also accentuated by stunning graphics.
As a dedicated enthusiast, I can wholeheartedly affirm that despite the occasional challenges posed by its grandiose scope, “Satisfactory” undeniably warrants – and richly deserves – more than your full attention. In fact, it consistently surpasses expectations.
Daybreak to twilight, from skydomes filled with galaxies and other celestial bodies, not forgetting the lush vegetation or the lifelike water, everything about Satisfactory is visually stunning, even down to the intricate movements of machines. The music complements it beautifully, subtly enhancing the ambiance.
The main issue I’ve encountered is occasional bugs and crashes, but they’re generally not severe. A bug hindered my ability to assign buildings to hotkeys, another caused some unusual water distortion issues, and strangely, I even had a crash when starting the game itself. Despite these hiccups, the game’s overall level of quality given its vastness is quite impressive.
I’ve been keeping an eye on Satisfactory for quite some time now, mainly because I loved Coffee Stain’s Sanctum series. The level of effort and care put into the game is truly impressive. The gameplay mechanism remains captivating and charming, with each new unlock pushing you to refine, update, and expand your factory even more. Despite the occasional hiccups due to its grand scale, Satisfactory manages to command – and deserves every second of – your attention, and then some.
This game was reviewed on PC.
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2024-09-23 21:12