BY AUSTIN MUGGY

An ADHD dream

I recently played a game called “Satisfactory” , an indie game that was released in late 2024. It’s a factory game that took over my life for a month (for better or worse) and it changed my outlook on life. 

Gameplay

9/10

In “Satisfactory” you’re in charge of making your own factory. It achieves this in a very satisfying way, everything just clicks. You can either have a decent factory or you can go in and optimize your machines making your factory so much more efficient. This may seem insignificant, but it affects gameplay on a whole other level. Your brain is now trying to find a way to optimize your factory. There are some downsides to this form of gameplay. Because you’re in charge of your own factory layout you will have to overlap previous paths especially on your first playthrough. This is such a big problem it has its own term “spaghetti”. Almost everyone deals with this at some point because overtime you will have to transport items to places you originally were not planning to. As you become better at the game this problem does fade and it’s only a small issue. 

Story

8/10

While not an integral part of the game there is an underlying story of human expansion and the death of earth. It is only referenced a few times and you don’t have to focus on it to still get the full experience of the game. PersonallyI  love it when games do this because I love a good story but I struggle on remembering all the tiny details of it so I normally struggle when I have to remember details. Though I do wish it went a bit more in detail like including story tablets or optional side content that evolved the story 

Progression

10/10

This game has one of the best progression systems I’ve seen in a game. From the start you’re shown that you can craft your resources and items manually, but 99% of the time it’s more efficient to make a factory, but as more resources are needed your factories will expand all over the world. And as you build you’re not forced to build your factory like everyone else. You can make a long factory, you can make a tall factory, you can even make a ton of small factories. I love the freedom of expression it gives you. 

Art Style

9/10

It has an art style that really leans into both its alien planet vibe but also its factory vibe. The plants and animals are vibrant while your factory can be very dull. This shows the impact of your factory and sets the tone perfectly. “Satisfactory” also has an amazing camera system with multiple filters that can change the look of your game, it has everything from a filter that just changes the colors to a filter that makes your photo look like a blueprint. These features just expand the art style even more. I love to periodically use the camera to get a good shot of my build, and it is so useful to show off my builds to friends 

Overall

9/10

“Satisfactory” is a game that took over my life for a month. With its charming look and expanding possibilities for building I got entranced with the game. It just clicked for me, and I kept working harder and harder to get as much done. I still have yet to complete the game even with 400 hours. But I have enjoyed every part of the game.