Progression feels a bit convoluted at first, but once you understand the importance of iron and exploration, it makes a bit more sense. And the foundations allowing you to opt in or out of more traditional grid-snapping is nice.

Satisfactory makes some very interesting use of perspective, subconsciously asking the player to move between two different modes of seeing the world without needing to literally change player perspective. I think that's very clever, because the top-down view of factory building from high up is both easier and imposes the "I-am-the-Master-Builder" thought process, while the normal on-the-ground perspective doesn't. You get to feel more big and more small.

Still not entirely sure what the whole hypecorpo aesthetic is about. Maybe it's not fleshed out yet? Maybe I haven't gotten far enough along to see it? Idk man fluids scare me.

Edit: Early game logistics are a pain...

The Satisfactory Says: honestly the game could do away with the PvE elements; it's not that it's unnecessary to have PvE in an automation game, Satisfactory just totally whiffed the execution because it didn't really need PvE to begin with. It feels next to pointless and every single mob/mob variant is solely there to give you a bad time. Focusing on the logistics aspects, though, the game is very satisfying. The automation is very fun and mostly makes up for the meaningless hindrances that are hostile mobs.

I enjoyed Factorio but never got deep into it. I figured that these sort of games weren't for me. It turns out that navigating a maze of conveyer belts and machinery in 3D is a fundamentally different and awesome experience.

The last time a game made me feel like this was when Minecraft was in alpha and I spent weeks on end building dungeons and cities. Satisfactory taps into that same freeform creative element. You're working with limited tools and more specific instructions, but how you end up solving the problems will be an expression of your identity. My factories were sprawling, messy, and chaotic, and I loved it.

The multiplayer is its own joy, too. It's so fun to collaborate on big projects for a while, and then you just naturally split apart as you start chasing down little problems and side efforts.

The world is beautiful and exploration is exciting. The systems are easy to learn but deep and complex. The combat is ♥♥♥♥ and the enemies are silly - but for me, this is barely more than a footnote. The end game is incomplete, but it took me 60+ hours to get there.

Drink water and take breaks.

I love this game! I never liked this kind of game before, mainly because it didn't seem like anything more than: build factory on a 2d plane and pray you have good algebra, but satisfactory has proven that there can be more to a factory game. There's exploration, hidden items, enemies, bosses technically. While I do enjoy those I have found that I actually like the building part, it challenges your brain to think about 3d spaces, production values, power, etc. This game has stolen one of my top spots and will stay there as I continue to play this masterpiece(wait its early access? THERE'S MORE COMING?)

Au début, on se bagarre avec des buissons pour que tout fonctionne. Ensuite, on découvre le charbon et la vie prend de nouvelles saveurs. On débloque des véhicules, on part explorer, puis on leurs traces des itinéraires pour qu'ils acheminent automatiquement nos ressources. Pour débloquer des trains, on essaye d'automatiser les cadres modulaires lourds et on se rend compte du casse-tête que ça va être, puis on se dit que ça serait une bonne idée de construire un réseau ferroviaire qui relis les 4 coins du monde. Et tout se complexifie, les quantités augmentent et on a la Satisfaction de voir nos lignes de production tourner à plein régime avec cette courbe de consommation électrique parfaitement stable. Il y a des tapis roulant, ai-je besoin d'un meilleur argument pour vous convaincre ?

Trrrrum
Trrrrum
Trak tiki tak!
MAKİNALAŞMAK İSTİYORUM!
AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAA

Played this a few times online with friends and really liked the vibe. Definitely the closest I've felt to getting really into a tech-tree-climber like this.
I think, realistically, I'd have liked Factorio more because I find the first-person 3D-navigability of the game to be a layer of removal from the actual construction, optimization, engineering thrill of the game. Maybe that friction is pleasurable though, since it makes you engage with the hulking physicality of the engines. That might be something special, or horrifying or sublime about the late-game, but don't see myself personally pushing through long enough to get there.