- Highly addictive and engaging idle automation gameplay
- Fair and optional monetization model
- Relaxing yet deep time killer experience
- Slow, grind-heavy progression reported by some
- Some players find it confusing and unfinished
- Mobile idle game design influences
Emotions
Players feel satisfied by the core gameplay loop of setting up and optimizing factories, unlocking new content, and experiencing a sense of progression. The game's well-executed design, engaging mechanics, and overall quality contribute to a fulfilling experience, often described as relaxing and mentally stimulating.
Disappointment stems from the game not meeting expectations, particularly regarding automation depth, content volume, and progression. Monetization practices, critical bugs leading to lost progress, and a perceived unfinished state or lack of clear ending also contribute significantly to this emotion.
Frustration is primarily caused by slow progression, monetization schemes, and critical bugs that hinder gameplay or wipe save data. Poor UI design, unclear tutorials, and issues with controls or specific game mechanics also lead to significant player annoyance and an inability to progress.
Players enjoy the game through active engagement in tweaking elements, connecting nodes, and designing efficient circuits. The game's addictive nature, clever combination of genres, and the fun of figuring out optimal solutions contribute to a positive and engaging experience.
Excitement is generated by the game's initial positive impression, its innovative take on automation, and the rewarding gameplay loop of unlocking new content. Players express strong enthusiasm for the game's addictiveness and its ability to fulfill a desire for a specific type of engaging simulation.
Verdict
Mixed
Summary
Positive 67% · Negative 33%. Score: 33 / 100
Positives:
- Players consistently find the game incredibly fun, engaging, and highly addictive, often from the first minutes. The core gameplay loop, sense of progression, and constant unlocks contribute to its mysterious addictiveness and provide hours of entertainment.
- The game is praised for its fair monetization model, offering significant depth and enjoyment even in its free version. Paid DLCs and microtransactions are optional, serving primarily as a way to support the developers rather than being necessary for progression or achievements.
- Players find the game to be a stress-free, relaxing experience, perfect for unwinding or having on a side monitor. It can easily consume an afternoon, offering great entertainment for hours while requiring little attention until later stages.
- The game is easy to learn and start playing, built on basic and intuitive mechanics. However, it offers surprising depth and complexity, requiring players to think and master its systems, providing an 'easy to learn, hard to master' experience.
- The game features excellent graphics, sound quality, and a clean, simple UI. Its minimalistic art style complements the gameplay, providing a clear overview and a visually appealing experience. The interface is well-designed and offers good settings.
Negatives:
- Players report that the game's progression is excessively slow and requires a significant amount of grinding, often feeling like it's designed to push players towards microtransactions. This leads to a lack of satisfying milestones and a dull, unengaging experience.
- The game is perceived as confusing, lacking clear explanations for mechanics and items, and feeling unfinished. Players struggle with understanding core systems and the overall direction, suggesting a need for a better tutorial and clearer design.
- Many players feel the game is an idle game disguised as an automation or factory game, adopting typical mobile game design principles. This includes a heavy reliance on waiting, minimal interaction, and a perceived predatory monetization model, which disappoints players expecting a PC automation experience.
- The user interface is widely criticized for being unintuitive, painful, and buggy. Players also report issues with controls, including difficulty selecting nodes and a lack of essential quality-of-life features.
- The game suffers from various bugs, ranging from minor UI glitches to critical issues that prevent tutorial completion or cause game restarts. Some content is also reported as missing, impacting the overall playability.
Gameplay:
- The game is primarily an idle game focused on building and optimizing automated processes, often compared to 'cookie clicker' or simplified factory builders. It emphasizes resource management and efficiency in a semi-idle context.
- Players find the game easy to start but challenging to master, requiring significant strategic thinking, especially in the late game. It involves optimizing production chains and managing sub-resources effectively.
- The game is frequently compared to titles like Factorio, Satisfactory, and Shapez, but on a smaller, 'blueprint-type' scale. It blends elements of factory building with a computer-like tycoon theme.
- The game can be completed in a relatively short time (10-20 hours of active play) without relying on in-app purchases. However, achieving 100% completion or endless optimization can extend playtime to 20-30 hours.
- The game features multiple in-game currencies, including a flash-shaped currency for hacking upgrades and virtual currency trading. Resource management is crucial, with every upgrade often doubling resources.
Performance:
- Players appreciate that the game is well-optimized and can run smoothly on older or less powerful computers, making it accessible to a wider audience. This indicates good performance on various hardware configurations.
- The game's installation size is considered reasonable by players, which is a positive factor for those with limited storage space or slower internet connections. This contributes to a positive initial experience.
- Some players experienced minor bugs upon initial launch, but these issues were easily resolved with a simple restart. This suggests that while not perfectly smooth, the game is generally stable.
Recommendations:
- The vast majority of players strongly recommend this game, often giving it high ratings and expressing a willingness to support it through DLC purchases. Many believe it offers significant enjoyment and is worth checking out.
- A significant number of players highlight that the game being free is a major factor in their recommendation, encouraging others to try it without financial commitment.
- The game is particularly recommended for fans of 'factory' based games, idle games, AFK games, and those who enjoy problem-solving with a clean UI.
- Players appreciate the developers' work and encourage them to continue their efforts, indicating satisfaction with the overall quality.
- One player indicates a desire for more endgame content, suggesting that future updates in this area could enhance long-term engagement.
Miscellaneous:
- Many players found the game mildly entertaining for a few hours or evenings, indicating a lack of long-term engagement. Some completed all available content but expressed a desire for more, suggesting the current content offering is insufficient for sustained play.
- Players suggested several quality-of-life improvements, including naming nodes, adding wire bending options to tutorials, merging download/upload components, node comments, schematic saving, and automatic processor/internet connections.
- While the game supports Japanese and has accessible English, there's a specific request for Chinese localization. The introduction text being solely in English also highlights potential language barriers for some players.
- The developers are actively applying frequent fixes and updates, which is a positive sign for addressing player feedback and improving the game.
- Players would appreciate better controller support, indicating a potential accessibility or comfort improvement for a segment of the player base.
