Satisfactory review

Satisfactory review

As a seasoned gamer with a soft spot for factory-building games, Satisfactory has undeniably left an indelible mark on my gaming journey. With its five-year stint in early access, I can attest to the patience and dedication of Coffee Stain Studios in ensuring newcomers are well-guided even at this stage. The game’s gentle hand-holding approach is a breath of fresh air, making it accessible yet challenging for those diving into their first factory or automation adventure.


One way to rephrase the given text in a natural and easy-to-read manner could be: “I truly admire something about Satisfactory. Even though it’s been in early access for five years, when you launch the 1.0 version, there are still tutorials available to guide you through the initial stages of the game. These tutorials will teach you how to mine ore to start your adventure, and the developers at Coffee Stain Studios ensure that newcomers to factory or automation games won’t feel dumb, overlooked, or puzzled.

But that’s what the leader of the pack does, isn’t it? Where many have come since, and done well, Satisfactory is The One, for me. Now to set my stall out early, I won’t claim to be an all-knowing expert. I won’t even claim I played every update as and when it dropped. I have spent countless hours (I refuse to check) optimising, delivering, playing co-op with my conveyer expert bestie, and have stayed up past bedtime to just push one more objective home. Oh, and I own a Ficsit mug. Perhaps if you’re glued to the reddit, and have played more than me, this review won’t be for you, but I do want to ensure that with the full release, the game gets its due, so here we are.

Satisfactory review

In simpler terms, “Satisfactory may not appeal to everyone.” This game combines aspects like automation, management, and minimal combat, along with an original story in its first version. It’s been significantly transformed, including a move from Unreal Engine 4 to Unreal Engine 5. For newcomers, it offers a well-established, visually appealing world to discover, and the challenges are complex enough to push even powerful PCs to their limits.

Initially, you’ll choose a starting planet among many options for your landing. Swiftly, you’ll destroy your landing vessel to establish a living space. As time passes, you’ll venture out, mining minerals and collecting wildlife, gradually advancing to constructing massive factories. Tasks that may appear challenging at first, like manufacturing screws (imagine the tales we could share), will eventually become automated, leaving behind only the results of your initial efforts as a natural process. The wonder of this journey lies not just in the accomplishments, but in the fact that you learned, grew, and applied those lessons to make it all possible.

The charm of Satisfactory lies in its versatility. With cooperative play, you can part ways with your conveyor belt whiz buddy who’s engrossed in his spreadsheets and calculations, figuring out the ideal figures for maximum factory efficiency. You can then venture off, collecting berries for healing, wielding a sword-like weapon to fend off creepy spider-like monsters, and hunting for power slugs. It might seem surreal, but this is how you collaborate on building the base.

Satisfactory review

Finding power slugs will advance research, but really, anything you choose to do is worthwhile if you consider it so. Discovering caves with resources; testing out new gear; connecting a secondary (or tertiary as things progress) base to the original base: these are all things that matter. Or you can simply create a Futurama-like tube that can fling you into the distance for a laugh. The word sandbox is thrown around at will with games these days, but Satisfactory is a genuine idealistic sandbox: it matters if you think it matters.

This game is incredibly flexible; it allows you to place structures like conveyors anywhere, even if they intersect each other. Unlike some modern games that use a grid-based system, Satisfactory doesn’t penalize this behavior. It will warn you about potential intersections with an orange ghost image, but it won’t prevent you or hinder your progress in any way.

There is an end-game, of course. There’s a space elevator you’ll eventually build that requires enormous amounts of resources to be dumped into it to progress up the tier levels. Tier 9 will give you portals that allow you instantly teleport across the map. All major components have different levels, and a conveyer mark 6 is the fastest way to move items on a belt in the game; and is also new to the 1.0 update. Items like strange alien matter, mercer spheres, and somersloops can now finally have meaning, though I’ll leave you to discover exactly what they do, whether you’re a newcomer or returning fan. New buildings, parts, resources, and a lot more all mean that if you have been playing for five years, you’ve a lot to get going with as well.

Satisfactory review

But the majesty of Satisfactory is that you can do whatever you feel like doing on any given day. While it’ll suck you in and make you forget to get a drink, or miss half a day, your time will always feel well spent. You can go off hunting hostile creatures like hogs and spitters, testing out your new Rebar Gun only to find you just simply prefer slapping things with the Xeno-basher. If you fancy, you can build a train track around the land. Or you could aim to build a truck to just mint around the world in, though remember to make sure you have enough fuel.

One option for rephrasing: Instead of causing a huge blast for fun, you might choose to enhance your power efficiency, or design your factories as aesthetically pleasing masterpieces, similar to Minecraft. If desired, you could even transform the spitters into cats using Arachnophobia mode. Coffee Stain Studios has refined a game that was exceptional a few years ago, continually improving it over time. All features are user-friendly, and the first-person controls offer an enjoyable experience. However, it’s important to note that this game won’t support controllers, as it gradually challenges you to multitask and master the hotbar.

While Satisfactory may not appeal to everyone, its design caters to anyone. It’s a game that combines humor with playfulness, yet also challenges you to solve complex mathematical puzzles as you strive to optimize your factory’s production. The early stages might seem leisurely, but once you dive in, you’ll find yourself captivated time and again. If you’ve been curious about this game for years, now might be the perfect moment to give it a try, though beware – once you start, you might not want to stop because it’s that engaging!

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2024-09-10 18:46