I recently spent 36 hours awake a couple weekends ago, playing Factorio. I kept glancing at the clock, and thinking about sleep... but there was just a bit more I could improve in my resource processing. Then one of my queues backed up and started misrouting material. Then I researched some improved belt layouts on the forums. Then I had to go out and clear out a bug infestation that had spawned near my base. Then one of the mining locations had petered out so I had to migrate the miners to a new lode. But before I could do that I had to manufacture ammo for the tank so I could clear out a big nest near the new copper mine. And then...

Well. Let's just say that the game throws a lot of problems at you, and leaves the solution up to you.

Factorio is a game that is deceptively passive. Build a base, mine some materials. No big deal, right? But it throws more and more complex problems at you, at the same time as it provides the tools you need to surmount those difficulties. And while in theory at the end of all this work you have a base that does everything for you, by the time you get close to that goal you realize that there are so many ways you could do it better and you start ripping out what you have built to redo it more efficiently, more compactly... and another 36 hours pass.

In the beginning, you hand mine some coal, iron, and rock. You build a few coal powered tools, and perhaps connect them directly to each other. Soon you may add belts and carry the material where it's needed, like from the coal field to your smelters next to your iron mine.

But the complexity ramps up. Early crafting requires only one or two ingredients, but later items may need four or more. Processing Oil requires pipes... unlike belts, pipes block movement and thus require more forethought in how they are laid out. Advanced items may need both parts and liquids to craft, necessitating more ingenuity in moving resources to where they are needed.

You also get access to fun tools that reduce some of the tedium of moving parts around as you advance through the tech tree. Expensive parts that require you have a comprehensive and efficient setup already to be able to afford to use.

Finally, the last thing I would like to note is that the graphics are only meh. But with an interesting caveat... while the sprites and graphics are dated, they are surprisingly effective at conveying information. Sound is used to great effect, providing subtle cues to how hard your engines are working. Small touches like the speed of bubbles moving in a pipe provide clear and immediate feedback on how your infrastructure is working... it's not just window dressing. And the User interface does a laudable job at conveying all the information you need to make accurate decisions, including very well done historical graphs for crafting and power.

Mod support is also excellent, with an active community of modders and well done steam integration. No, that's not enough superlatives; the game has the best mod support I've ever seen in a game; excellent integration with steam, their own (ad free) web portal for modders that exceeds the quality of sites like CurseForge.com, perfect multiplayer support that auto-installs the necessary mods when you join a server, and more.

The one bad thing though was very bad: multiplayer support. But they fixed it! I can now play with my friends on huge maps with no bugs at all! We've spend hundreds of hours together building huge factories, dividing the work between us.

This is one of my favorite games, of all time. Every single issue I've had with the game over the years has been addressed by the developers. I really wanted good multiplayer support, and they came through for me (after I wrote my initial review).

If solving increasingly complicated logistics issues gets you horny engaged, and you love the idea of a game where optimizing your resource strategy is an involving and enjoyable task, then Factorio is the game for you. It has created its own genre. It's being released this summer, after years of early access, but it's been worth my $20 for years.

Just try to keep your 36 hour marathons confined to your days off.

I recently spent 36 hours awake a couple weekends ago, playing Factorio. I kept glancing at the clock, and thinking about sleep... but there was just a bit more I could improve in my resource processing. Then one of my queues backed up and started misrouting material. Then I researched some improved belt layouts on the forums. Then I had to go out and clear out a bug infestation that had spawned near my base. Then one of the mining locations had petered out so I had to migrate the miners to a new lode. But before I could do that I had to manufacture ammo for the tank so I could clear out a big nest near the new copper mine. And then... Well. Let's just say that the game throws a lot of problems at you, and leaves the solution up to you. Factorio is a game that is deceptively passive. Build a base, mine some materials. No big deal, right? But it throws more and more complex problems at you, at the same time as it provides the tools you need to surmount those difficulties. And while in theory at the end of all this work you have a base that does everything for you, by the time you get close to that goal you realize that there are so many ways you could do it better and you start ripping out what you have built to redo it more efficiently, more compactly... and another 36 hours pass. In the beginning, you hand mine some coal, iron, and rock. You build a few coal powered tools, and perhaps connect them directly to each other. Soon you may add belts and carry the material where it's needed, like from the coal field to your smelters next to your iron mine. But the complexity ramps up. Early crafting requires only one or two ingredients, but later items may need four or more. Processing Oil requires pipes... unlike belts, pipes block movement and thus require more forethought in how they are laid out. Advanced items may need both parts and liquids to craft, necessitating more ingenuity in moving resources to where they are needed. You also get access to fun tools that reduce some of the tedium of moving parts around as you advance through the tech tree. Expensive parts that require you have a comprehensive and efficient setup already to be able to afford to use. Finally, the last thing I would like to note is that the graphics are only meh. But with an interesting caveat... while the sprites and graphics are dated, they are surprisingly effective at conveying information. Sound is used to great effect, providing subtle cues to how hard your engines are working. Small touches like the speed of bubbles moving in a pipe provide clear and immediate feedback on how your infrastructure is working... it's not just window dressing. And the User interface does a laudable job at conveying all the information you need to make accurate decisions, including very well done historical graphs for crafting and power. Mod support is also excellent, with an active community of modders and well done steam integration. No, that's not enough superlatives; the game has the [b]best mod support I've ever seen[/b] in a game; excellent integration with steam, their own (ad free) web portal for modders that exceeds the quality of sites like CurseForge.com, perfect multiplayer support that auto-installs the necessary mods when you join a server, and more. The one bad thing though [b]was[/b] very bad: multiplayer support. [b]But they fixed it![/b] I can now play with my friends on huge maps with no bugs at all! We've spend hundreds of hours together building huge factories, dividing the work between us. This is one of my favorite games, of all time. Every single issue I've had with the game over the years has been addressed by the developers. I [b]really wanted[/b] good multiplayer support, and they came through for me (after I wrote my initial review). If solving increasingly complicated logistics issues gets you [strike]horny[/strike] engaged, and you love the idea of a game where optimizing your resource strategy is an involving and enjoyable task, then Factorio is the game for you. It has created its own genre. It's being released this summer, after years of early access, but it's been worth my $20 for years. Just try to keep your 36 hour marathons confined to your days off.