Satisfactory
In Vegas, there are people who remain mired in their own filth, rather than leave a slot machine they’re so sure is going to pay off any minute. I used to mock those people…then I bought Satisfactory and have become one of them. In fairness, Satisfactory actually does pay out, consistently.
I’ve never been so sucked into a game. When I first got it, I played through until just before nuclear tech, then managed to pause for a few weeks until Update 4 came out, then went nuts on it again. I thought it had run its course, and I could reintroduce myself to society…then Update 5 hit the experimental build.
– Real player with 495.8 hrs in game
Read More: Best Automation Open World Games.
I was pretty sure I’d spend 15-20 hours playing it. Which I did, right before update 5. 200+ hours later and I still can’t put it down. Every time I play the game I feel like I pick up a new way to do something and have to build yet another factory to test my theory.
At first I hated the xeno creatures that guard resources and drop pods, but now I actually kind of like that I can choose to go deal with them or not. Chasing down some xenos and hunting for pods or clearing resource nodes is a good break from building on occasion.
– Real player with 258.2 hrs in game
Factorio
The absolute gold standard in factory games, standing out as the exemplar of smooth progression curves, options out the ears, gameplay that keeps the “one more turn” itch going and developers that care far beyond selling copies. To elevator pitch this one, “If you can do it, you can automate it.”
To describe Factorio by only using games that preceded it feels like an exercise in futility. The concept was born from Minecraft mods, but it feels unfair to compare the two or make the Terraria reference (this, but in 2D). So, taken on its own, Factorio is a game where you play an engineer who is trying to escape the situation they are in by building a rocket. But since the refining and assembling of material components for that sort of thing is unfeasible by yourself, you must build a factory to automate the process. Along the way you must research concepts and upgrades for the planet you are on, mine resources and deal with the locals (in the form of giant insects).
– Real player with 3172.1 hrs in game
Read More: Best Automation Open World Games.
I read a comment by a user saying “If you enjoy creating your own problems and solving them this is for you.” and he was bang on the money.
tl;dr
The knock-on effect caused by dependencies across an entire production chain will drive you nuts and it’s this that makes you play and I mean MAKES you play. Sleep is not an option.
Factorio
Engineers rejoice. Learn Technology, Automation and Efficiency in one easy to learn package. No? Seriously. this is a hard game to put down.
– Real player with 1654.2 hrs in game
Mindustry
It is a very challenging hard-fun game yes I do infact think that people with the b i g b r a i n z should play this game
– Real player with 88.8 hrs in game
Read More: Best Automation Tower Defense Games.
It’s really fun. You have to have autism though.
– Real player with 82.4 hrs in game
GLADIABOTS - AI Combat Arena
This is a superb, unique game that deserves to be even more popular than it already is.
The concept of the game is that the player designs their own AI via customizable ‘nodes’ (colour-coded tiles that the player can arrange into a logic tree to determine their robots' behaviour) which then dictate how their team of 4-8 robots (from four different classes) perform in battle against ‘enemy’ AIs.
The logical array which the player creates (featured in several of the screenshots in the store page) can be anywhere from just a handful of tiles at first, to literally hundreds (arranged into named sub-AIs if the player wants) that function like a sort of flow diagram for each robot, governing their priorities and thus responses based on a seemingly endless combination of determining factors e.g. what friendly or enemy bots are doing at that particular moment, how far away they are, or hundreds of other parameters native to the ‘check-box’ like options that allow the player to refine what each tile actually ‘says’.
– Real player with 478.5 hrs in game
In Gladiabots you programm a platoon of robots that will then compete autonomously in a game arena against other platoons. You have to plan and consider carefully when creating your robots' AIs before actually hitting the arena as you can no longer interfere once the match has started: The robots are then on their own, equipped with nothing but your programmed instructions.
There are four different bot classes resembling a rock scissors paper scheme with an added tank and several different game modes (three for online ranked matches vs humans).
– Real player with 364.7 hrs in game
Loopindex
good game, fun boss
– Real player with 41.4 hrs in game
Fun little puzzle game with good music, mechanics and levels
– Real player with 1.7 hrs in game
BzzzController
;]
– Real player with 3.4 hrs in game
Sometimes you have to be creative.
– Real player with 2.2 hrs in game
FortressCraft Evolved!
I play every 4x/base building game that comes out. In almost every game, I find myself wishing that X would be automated in some way. Such as, hiring bots, employees, or machines to do marketing, sales, shipping… whatever the task happens to be in the context of the game, and I’m invariably let down every, single, time. No developer has ever gotten this workflow right. In fact, some even argue that too much automation takes away “work” from the game. I’ve hand delivered X item to X person 100 times now; Why do I have to keep doing this same damn mission over and over Elite Dangerous? I literally can’t hire a space mailman to deliver packages? I gotta do it myself? Jesus.
– Real player with 5700.5 hrs in game
I recieved Fortresscraft Evovled in a Indiegala bundle when it looked to me like a minecraft clone. I didn’t get the bundle for this game, but for another one but I’m glad I did! I didn’t play it until I saw direwolf20 had a let’s play on it, and the name sounded familiar. I’d recommend watching his let’s play or at least part of it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JTQQ6lLtL04&list=PLaiPn4ewcbkH0rlPVUYSR1QmkDe8jFGv8
What the game is
Fortresscraft is
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95% logistics
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4% Tower defence
– Real player with 1024.3 hrs in game
Monster Logic
One of the best programming games I’ve played. Lots of levels and a variety of interesting ways to solve each one.. Competitive leaderboards, the top score in some of these puzzle are already pretty crazy. You are going to have to be super creative in order to match them. There are three categories for the leaderboards and your best score in each category for the puzzle is automatically saved. (Zachtrnoics take note please)
I have played almost every programming game on steam and this is probably my second favorite. With my favorite being EXAPUNKS
– Real player with 86.9 hrs in game
First off, I was a beta tester and received the game for free.
It might be scary for those who are not particularly into programming to look at the store page and see stuff like “Based on esoteric programming languages Befunge and Trefunge”. It could make you think this game is “too niche” and not for you.
Now, I don’t know whether you’ll actually like it or not, but let me tell you this: I had never even heard of Befunge or Trefunge before playing this, and I’m not a programming enthusiast or anything. I just looked at it as a fun puzzle game with cute monsters and animations and tried to solve the levels as best I could using good old logic.
– Real player with 54.5 hrs in game
ElectraPlanet
Description
Electraplanet is a survival/adventure game. Using third-person point of view, you can explore new planets after your’s has been exploited entirely. Fighting and exploring are the main key’s to start your own electricity factory or upgrade your production levels.
Grow
Produce, Protect your electricity and optimize your production, since electricity is the currency. With a exponential progression, the more you produce, the more you are efficient.
Multiplayer Option
An open world where you can create your strategy with your friends by simply starting a game or continuing your older one, and friends can join through Steam. Sharing creations, fight become really interesting with friends!
Factory Defense
Jabo sends an expedition of humanoid robots to a planet identical to Earth for the purpose of taking it over and building a huge industrial factory there. But it’s not all that simple, because not only does Jabo want to take over the planet, the rival company Toady has similar plans. Toady regularly sends assault ships to land their troops to drive their competitors off the planet and destroy their factory. Your task is to protect the factory at all costs and take over the planet!
RESEARCH
Earn experience by killing enemies, Pump up your research tree to get more powerful weapons! Send resources to your company with the railgun to get new mechanisms and buildings! Explore the open world and find various components!
DEFEND
Set up turrets, artillery, air defenses and other defensive structures, devise tactics, team up with your friends, pick up your weapons and destroy the enemy!
BUILD
You’ll have to build various mechanisms to create the items you need to evolve. Over time you will unlock new, more complex structures and items, so you will have to expand your factory and think carefully about its design.