Open world games have always been a popular choice in the gaming community, sparking countless unique titles throughout the years. Many of them include resource management, base building, and survival, but typically twist those genres to make the experience special. Two of these games are Satisfactory and Factorio, with both being similar yet completely different. Imagine you’ve landed on an unknown world and must mine resources, build machines, explore the environment, fend off monsters, among other activities. That’s right, these games force the player to create a machinery-based empire from the ground up to continue the adventure. Either launch into space with rockets or ship equipment to your parent company, both games are different. However, what exactly makes them different? What about the similarities? Which one is the better choice for you? Don’t worry, we’ll be tackling these questions to help you understand each game. Let’s begin!
What’s Satisfactory?
If you’re wanting an awesomely designed building game with powerful graphics in a 3D world, then Satisfactory is the choice for you. This focuses on creativity and survival, but does come at a cost. It’s currently in Early Access, so expect bugs and glitches to appear as you play. Additionally, it’ll take beefer computers to run the game due to the detailed graphics. Besides these downsides, its user-interface is straightforward with first-person aspects and even provides a wonderful tutorial to get started.
Upon entering a new world, you’ll be met with a fully unexplored exoplanet that can have different biomes. Your first task is to collect iron and create basic machines from blueprints to begin building a base. These goals are provided by your sponsored company, Ficsit, a mysterious corporation that doesn’t have too much background. After some time, you’ll have completely automated machines and vehicles transporting goods. There’ll be lots of power sources nearby, mining equipment, and so much more. Use your creative mind to tackle Satisfactory’s challenges, but be cautious as you explore since there are aliens lurking around.
What About Factorio?
On the other side of the coin, Factorio provides you with a top-down 2D experience with detailed sprite animations. This is a fully finished game with hardly any performance or in-game issues. Due to the graphics, pretty much any computer can run this without problems. It focuses on gameplay and efficiency, with some hostile encounters ever so often. In other words, Factorio has a much simpler design for building complex machines.
Loading up a new world plants on you a mysterious and infinite planet, which overtime will be your playground. Establishing a base is your first priority, so gathering mineral resources is required. Don’t venture off for too long though, as there are terrifying monsters scattered around. At some point, you’ll have a full powerhouse of automatic machinery at your disposal. These are upgradeable and become more complex over time since your end goal is to reach for the heavens. During the long process, remember to always have defensive structures nearby to fend off monsters.
Key Differences
As for the main differences between both games, there are quite a few. Whether it’s the obviously different graphics or gameplay mechanics, it’s pretty clear to see these variations. Instead of boring you with a long paragraph about them, review the chart below to quickly find out key differences.
Satisfactory
Factorio
Highly detailed graphics in a 3D environment
Pixelated 2D graphics in a top-down view
Casual first-person interface with gameplay mechanics
Strategic interface and gameplay features
Unfinished game in Early Access
Fully finished and polished game
No current endgame
There’s an endgame
No current story
Established story arch(s)
Increased server issues from game flaws
Decreased server issues from game’s design
Requires more hardware to play
Most computers can run Factorio
First-person shooter type combat
RTS/Tower defense combat system
Game Similarities
Like most games, there’s bound to be similarities that cross over. These can be fighting creatures, shared subgenres, or really anything else. This applies to both games that we’ve discussed, as there are some features indistinguishable from each other if you disregard the graphical difference.
Satisfactory
Factorio
Building complex machines
Creating complicated machines
Focusing on resource management
Centering on managing resources
Slaying hostile creatures to protect your base
Killing off monsters to defend your property
Fun gameplay loops
Entertaining looped gameplay
Offers the ability to upgrade machines
Provides researchable machines
Overwhelming amount of positive reviews
A significant amount of positive reviews
Large and passionate community
Huge community that’s committed
Conclusion
There you have it! A brief summary of each game with their differences and similarities. It’s your job to decide which one is best suited for your gameplay experience, as they both feel completely unique. Whether you’re wanting to explore alien planets with fantastic graphics or build a machine society in a strategic-like view, both Satisfactory and Factorio offer a wide range of different features. Regardless of which one you choose, start your adventure right with friends or by yourself to build the most complex machines. Have a good one, gamers!
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