Build. Automate. Optimize
The first hour of my journey in Factorio felt similar to other crafting games I’ve played before. Armed with my trusty pickaxe, I delved into the world, mining for that precious iron and copper ore. However, it wasn’t long before the game’s intuitive and satisfying mechanics started revealing themselves and gameplay evolved into seamless automation. Things just clicked together effortlessly.
What started as a modest setup with few furnaces, soon evolved into something far grander than I could have anticipated.
Worldbuilding (Story and atmosphere)
You play as an unnamed engineer who crashed landed into an alien planet, your objective is simple; launch a rocket (with satellite) into space to win the game. That’s it! Simple. Right? Well, each new technology in Factorio requires research before unlocking its recipe, and while building research labs is easy, running these labs will be the main purpose of your factory.
Research labs require Science Packs to function and do research, these packs are items that can be crafted using different materials. While the initial packs are easy and simple to craft, the later ones will force you to double, triple, 10X your production lines to meet their requirements.
The majority of your factory’s design revolves around the creation of science packs, which in turn power your research labs. Unlocking new technologies introduces fresh recipes, which in return require new production lines to meet the ever-growing demand. Shortage of a single ingredient can bring your research to a standstill, prompting you to troubleshoot and fix the issue (increasing the input of resources, output of items, new assembly lines, new power stations,etc). There is no time limit, no traditional levels or timed events. The world around you, however, will change as you transform the planet into an industrial landscape.
Overall, I give the worldbuilding of Factorio an 18 out of 20
Gameplay
Chances are, you’ve already seen a monstrosity of overlapping conveyor belts, smoke and a massive number of machineries like the spilled guts of some giant robots splattered all over while looking at Factorio. While such complexity may turn off newcomers, the tutorials do a great job at introducing beginners of the genre into the basics of base-building, automation and scaling.
You start off with a limited number of recipes/technologies to craft and unlock more complex ones as you progress throughout the game.
Early Game
Just like Minecraft and Terraria you start Factorio by chopping down trees and mining ores. Drillers will automatically mine ores, while belts will transport them into furnaces. Furnaces can smelt ores into plates and plates are then used by assembly machines to craft all sorts of items. To generate electricity you’ll need a power generator and an electric grid which will power your base.
- “Two assembly machines here for cooper wires, two more for iron gears, two fo…. oh brother that won’t cut it, let’s add some more machines boys, we need those green circuits now”
- “But sir, we’re out of plates!!!”
- “Then Make some More Drillers you dimwit”
- “sir, the power is Off”
- “MAKE MORE OF IT THEN”
- “There are monsters nearby, sir and our pollution levels are attracting them”
- “What happened to the walls?”
- “The monsters ate them my good sir”
- “MAKE WEAPONS THEN”
- “We ran out of bullets sir”
- “THEN MAKE MORE BULLETS”
- “We lack the iron plate my liege”
- ……
- “Sir?”
Please excuse my poor attempt at writing a funny Factorio story but in all seriousness; this is what you’ll be dealing with in your early hours. The question of what to build and what to prioritize. The work is endless, and the factory must grow.
Your small make-shift base will soon grow big enough to put the factories of our world to shame, with endless rows of assembly machines crafting gears and circuits, belts and inserters, oil pipes and chemical plants making batteries, radar units and more. Tens of thousands upon tens of thousands of products manufactured in the masses. The factory must grow, the factory…is ever growing.
There’s a satisfying sense of progression as you make the switch in technologies; red belts replace yellow ones, blue ones replace the red ones, nuclear reactors replace boilers, long-range artilleries and portable lasers replace your tiny pity guns.
Before you know it, your local deposit of resources dries out and you’ll have to venture into the wild to bring more resources home. These instances -while far apart in early stages of the game- can offer a nice change of pace as you’ll have to plan out a series of railways and extend your electric grid further into new regions.
Defending these new outposts is essential, trust me nothing is worse than having a defenseless mining outpost attacked while you’re far away from it.
Mid-game
The gameplay changes dramatically once you’re past early-game and the age of robotic kicks in. Factorio transforms from a base-building game into a city building sim. You’ll be able to copy/cut and paste massive structures, save your designs as blueprints and order your army of robots to clear out an entire forest in seconds as your factory expands in all directions.
Factorio introduces an additional layer of complexity to its already complex gameplay, by making the world react to your pollution. Generate too much pollution, and you’ll attract the attention of the not-so-friendly local inhabitants; the spitters and the biters. These are colossal bug-like aliens that launch waves of attacks on your factory. In early game, your pollution footprint is relatively insignificant, and the small cloud generated doesn’t draw the attention of the biters. However, as your base expands, so does the magnitude of your pollution, leading to waves after waves of biters.
This dynamic introduces compelling “tower defense” moments into the gameplay. With an entire line of military science research that you can develop, there will be no shortage of weapons and ways to defend your factory; automatic turret guns, lasers, flamethrowers, rocket launchers, tanks, long range artillery and more. The looming threat of attacks adds an element of urgency and strategic planning, turning Factorio into a unique blend of resource management and defense strategy game.
Overall, I give the gameplay of Factorio a solid 20 out of 20
Sounds and Music
Factorio features original music composed by a gentleman named Daniel James Taylor. The music of Factorio elevates the sense of isolation, simple notes play with a masterful control of long pauses, ominous music kicks in, then more tones and notes. Yet within such foreboding ambience of both atmosphere and music, strangely, I found a comforting sense of serenity. Nothing else matters, there’s no one here, only me and these machines, the factory must grow. The music floods in and suddenly everything makes sense.
Zooming in the camera amplifies the audio effects of the different machines you’re standing next to, yet another testament of the game’s attention to details, while zooming out allows the music to wash over everything giving an impressive sense of scale. The sound of gun turrets going off, the impact of artillery shells and the hum of different machines are all believable and immersive.
Overall, I give the Sounds and Music of Factorio a 19 out of 20
Visuals and Technical Performance
Wube Software’s decision to bring Factorio to the Nintendo Switch without any compromises, sets a new standard for game ports. The Switch version remains identical to the original PC game, including graphics and UI customization options, with no technical limitations. But how realistic is that and does it run smoothly on the good old Switch?
Factorio on the Switch stands out as one of the most remarkable ports on the console, delivering a smooth 60 FPS experience. While the frame rate may see minor drops in bustling areas, it consistently remains well above 30 FPS. Wube Software has however warned that a save file too big (<100 MB) will not be playable on the Switch and mega bases are too much for the little console. I’m glad to confirm that after 130 hours of gameplay with the same world and launching a couple of rockets, my file is still only 8 MB and I had no technical issue.
Factorio allows cross-play between Switch and PC, this prospect also allows for save files to be transferred between the two. Save files too big for the Switch can be played by PC which also means an upcoming Nintendo console (should it be backward compatible) should be able to play bigger save files. Still as it stands right now Factorio is fully playable and an enjoyable experience on the Switch. Some quality-of-life features are missing(mainly blueprints transfer and mods), although such limits can be rather attributed to Nintendo’s policies.
Overall, I give the technical performance and Visuals of Factorio a solid 20 out of 20
Untitled Critic’s Opinion
I couldn’t help but have a big silly smile on my face when automating my first line of circuits production. It felt like a moment of sheer genius. 130 hours later; my factory is sprawling with activities; hundreds of construction robots paving roads, fortifying and fixing damaged defense lines. Trains transporting crude oil, automated delivery system (courtesy of logistic robots) ensuring a constant supply of bullets and shells. Yet, the joy of watching things seamlessly “click together” hasn’t faded.
Even with many hours behind me and so many new games to play, I’ve been unable to put down Factorio. The game’s complex, well-thought-out mechanics continued to surprise me even when I thought I’d seen it all. Factorio is a game that can be played and enjoyed for hundreds and hundreds of hours providing endless entertainment.
The age-old question of “If you had to choose one game to play for the rest of your life, which game would you pick?” has now been answered for me.
Overall, I give Factorio an untitled critic’s opinion of 20 out of 20
