Satisfactory

Potential-Monke

Had a look at the upcoming PS5 games before Christmas, and nothing tickled my fancy so I knew I'd have the time to jump back into Satisfactory now that it's on console. I originally played it just before and after the 1.0 release for about 100 hours on pc, but running it on a 3060 pushed it and getting a stable 60fps was just about achievable, with some frequent but ignorable drops. I got to the final tier of unlockables, realised how much work there was still to go, and got distracted. But now I have the foreseeable future to compare it on console.

For anyone that doesn't know, Satisfactory is a first person (now including 3rd person) solo/co-op (online, cross console only) factory building automation game. And in my opinion its brilliant. On PS5 Pro it runs smooth on performance 60fps mode, but also has a quality 30fps and balanced 40fps for those who have 120hz displays. There is some noticeable pop in, but mostly ignorable and doesn't really detract. Looks brilliant, and the lighting is well done, even in performance.

It's an easy game to get in to, with it always putting something achievable and progressive to work towards. What starts as some manual crafting quickly becomes automation heaven (or automation nightmare depending on how you plan), but is very forgiving. Everything can be dismantled for original resources. Nodes don't run out (just have different qualities affecting output). What seems like a small success opens up to bigger challenges to progress to the next tier of unlocks. Each tier adds new products and machines, and can change how you plan going forward, updating previous blueprints or doubling production. It allows you to build massive megafactories, has transport which can be automated, and it will need to be, because the map is massive. Its static, but takes a long time to explore, which becomes a bigger option once automated power is unlocked (ie: coal).

I'm already up to tier 4, but i know it's still very early days. I'm slowly remembering the map, but new players will have lots to explore and discover, new raw resources that lead to massive changes in production targets and processes. You can make it as ordered as you want, or a complete spaghetti mess. I recommend the former! And you may feel your production is slow on certain tiers, but this is deliberate to give you time to explore and get totally distracted, so when you return you have the resources needed to move on.

Also to mention the now standard humorous dead end low effort corporate slave stories that come with a lot of survival/crafting games, it's done quite well here. I get a good chuckle from ADA, your assistant who gives a few lines about products and targets, ever conscious of the greatness that is your corporate overlord. There's also enemies, albeit limited and easily dealt with the further you progress. They don't attack vehicles so you can drive right past/over them.

Overall, if you're looking for a chill factory building game that you can co-op with up to 3 others (all on console, no pc crossplay because mods), and you want to experience forward only time travel, then this is considered one of, if not the best, first person factory automation games out there. Highly recommended. At the time of writing, a week after release, it has 4.93/5 on the PS Store with 1600+ reviews. Dayum.

awec

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058428141/satisfactory

It's a very addictive game. You can easily sink hours and hours.

The first phase of it when you are reliant on biofuel burners for fuel is a bit painful.

Potential-Monke

Yeah, i was aware of that because of my last time with it, so I powered through to coal burners and now I'm kinda taking my time. Just slowly waiting for the phase 2 parts to be ready and travelling around to remind myself of the map. But ive already found somewhere I didn't find on my original playthrough. Fantastic game!

Polar101

I got this as part of a bundle back in the day, but only played for about an hour when v. 1.0 came out, I didn't enjoy the first person mode at all. Might check it out again in case there's a 3rd person mode now.

holly_johnson

I've about 400 hours in Satisfactory, been playing it since pre-release version 4 or 5. I love it. When I reached the end after 1.0 I wanted to start all over again to make it better! Love the ability to import other user designs into the game like pre-built factories, it's great to be able to get ideas for how to build my own (not as good) mega structures.

Haven't gone back to it since my first completion as I just know it will take over my life when I do! Would love to do a multiplayer playthrough, I think that could be great fun.

Potential-Monke

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/123984630#Comment_123984630

Apologies, I did say now 3rd person but I'm wrong. Not sure where I got the idea from, but just checked and no option for it, but does have a FOV slider if it helps any.