Let’s dive into a mini-review of Coffee Stain Studios’ Satisfactory now that its v1.0 version is now live. The full version of the game was released after five years in early access and finally made it to version 1.0 on September 10th, 2024. With players getting used to the new 1.0 features, we felt it was a great time to take a look and offer our thoughts. This is our Satisfactory v1.0 PC review.
Satisfactory is a factory-building simulator – you must explore the planet and sometimes fight battles. You can do it both alone and in the company of friends.
The whole point of this game is automation, and trust me – it’s all about it.
Satisfactory is a first-person, open-world factory-building simulation game that combines exploration, resource management, and technology automation. The game is set on a distant alien planet with a variety of biomes and environments. Players assume the role of a FICSIT employee tasked with building production lines to gather rare resources, create items, and develop technological capabilities. Along the way, players will encounter unique wildlife, uncover hidden secrets, overcome environmental hazards, and maintain their factories to meet their goals and company objectives.
Investing in an early-access game doesn’t always pay off. When you buy a game in its early stages, there’s often not much to do, and there’s no guarantee that the game will ever take on a form that even remotely resembles what the developers promised.
I’ve been burned more times than I can count by early access games that ended up in development hell or were abandoned shortly after early access began. Developers say they’re actually discouraged from continuing to work on games after the initial interest dies down, which may be why studios like Palworld’s Pocketpair have several early access games “in development,” but only the newest one seems to get much attention.
Always more fun with friends
But for every ten early access stories, there’s one success that justifies the whole journey. Being there from the beginning and watching a game evolve with each update until it finally reaches version 1.0 is incredibly satisfying, and I’ve been lucky enough to be on the ground floor of some of Steam’s biggest Early Access hits. Subnautica, Slay the Spire, The Forest, and Raft spent years in Early Access, giving me plenty of opportunities to check in on their progress as they slowly evolved into phenomenal games.
Of all the games I’ve followed in Early Access, Satisfactory is the one I’ve spent the most time with and waited the longest to reach the finish line. With the 1.0 release on the horizon later this year, it’s bittersweet to realize that the journey is coming to an end.
There are four different biomes to start with
I started playing Satisfactory back in 2019 when it first came out in Early Access, and I was immediately hooked. The first-person 3D version of Factorio might not seem all that appealing on paper, but the process of mining, building, and automating in a vast alien world is an experience unlike any other. A progression that starts with hand-drilling raw iron and ends with planning a network of trains and drones to transport materials back and forth to factories scattered across the planet.
Is this the smell of progress?
The game causes the same itch after shutting down that survival games do, but it also tickles the part of my brain that loves RPGs and making numbers grow. More than once, I’ve fallen asleep after shutting down, thinking about what I should do and how I should do it, doing the math, planning how best to make the plant, and loving this game for that.
It’s hard to explain what was so appealing about managing power grids and routing conveyor belts for optimal performance. I craved efficiency, and I love collaborating with friends and using our different strengths to accomplish small tasks and big milestones.
Our personal assistant will not let us get bored alone, and the initial base will need to be rebuilt more than once.
Satisfactory has changed a lot over the past six years, and I’ve loved coming back to the game with each major update to see all the new equipment and improvements.
The most recent update at the end of last year brought the entire game into Unreal 5 – a massive undertaking for Coffee Stain Studios – and introduced some incredibly useful tools like the Power Tower for long-range power grids and priority power switches to ensure that parts of your grid stay up when the system is overloaded. They don’t change the game as much as some of the additions made in past updates – like zip lines, weapons, and massive redesigns of every biome on the map – but they are a signal that development is starting to wind down. We may be coming to the end of big, exciting new features in Satisfactory, and while I’m happy to see the game finally out, I’m also sad that the journey may be almost over.
A little stock for initial construction
In Satisfactory, you, the player, are tasked with maintaining a factory you have built from scratch that processes resources, creates unique products, and runs on complex interconnected systems. The game takes place on an alien planet. The game invites you to explore the lush environment, gather resources, and expand your industrial empire. As you progress through the game, the player will discover new technologies, face environmental hazards, and work on your production lines to maximize profits and efficiency and satisfy your thirst for industrial giants.
Each level unlocks new improvements, and trust me, you’re going to need them.
The game world is an open sandbox. In first-person mode, the player can explore the harsh landscapes of an alien planet, dense jungles and towering mountains inhabited by various species of animals. Coffee Stain Studios is constantly updating and maintaining the game, adding new features and improving the gameplay to keep the experience fresh and engaging.
Variation and improvement are definitely here.
Satisfactory v1.0 Features
This year’s Satisfactory v1.0 update will finally bring a full story campaign to the game, which will be interesting for those who have been playing the game for years with no motivation other than “endlessly increasing production” – not that that’s a bad motivation. It’s worked pretty well for me all these years, and even if the updates slow down or stop, I don’t see myself leaving Satisfactory anytime soon.
As you can see, we’re not the first.
Open World Exploration: Players can explore a vast open world filled with a variety of wildlife and different types of landscapes. Satisfactory’s open world is teeming with different types of animals and inhabited by beautiful and dangerous flora.
In version Satisfactory v1.0, many new features and improvements have been added to the game. Players can now enjoy new technologies and items that expand the factory’s capabilities and improvements. New resources and minerals have been introduced, as well as new species of fauna that are both threats and resources to be mined. The game’s updated world includes new biomes and unique landscapes, giving players additional opportunities to explore and build.
The gameplay has also been enhanced with an improved building interface, new decorations, and modules for custom factory design. The game has been tweaked and balanced to improve performance and provide a smoother gameplay experience. Enemy AI has become smarter and more aggressive, adding an element of strategy and increasing the difficulty of the game.
The multiplayer mode has been enhanced with an improved synchronization system and new ways for players to interact. Bugs and errors have also been fixed, the stability of the game has been improved, and the balance of various aspects has been revised for a more enjoyable gameplay experience.
The game’s graphics have been updated with improved textures and visual effects, and new graphical options have been added to customize the image quality. The audio has been updated with new sound effects and music tracks to enhance the immersive atmosphere of the game. In addition, community support has been enhanced with new features for interacting with the game community and improved support for custom modifications.
Version 1.0 of Satisfactory is a significant upgrade from Early Access, with many new features and improvements that make the game deeper and more engaging. Build and Automate Factories: Design, build, and automate complex production lines to harvest resources and create intricate items through clever crafting and ingenuity. Use conveyors, pipelines, and machines to streamline and automate processes similar to those found in modern factories.
The long-awaited train and our friend “Bob,” who will sometimes get in your way.
Resource Management: Gather and manage a variety of resources, including ore, biomass, and liquids, to keep your factory running smoothly and efficiently. Balance energy consumption, logistics, and production output.
Technological advancements and improvements: Unlock new technologies, equipment, and building capabilities as you progress through the technology tree: upgrade tools, vehicles, and factory components to increase efficiency.
One of the factories that took me about 200 hours to complete
Gradually, the zone of your activity expands in depth and breadth: the need makes you look for necessary resources farther and farther from home, and there roam various animals of the planet, not very satisfied with unexpected guests, and you have to solve not only the problem of logistics – how to deliver the necessary components from point A to point B, to conduct electricity there but also how to secure your life, what to arm yourself with, how not to fall from a high mountain, entering the frenzy of exploratory tourism, where to build “bridges,” and so on and so forth.
When everything on the top level is kind of pretty
So it’s going to be chaos on the bottom.
Visually, Satisfactory v1.0 impresses with its detailed environments and stunning visuals. The alien planet literally feels alive when you interact with it or just walk around it, with a vibrant landscape full of a cosmic color palette. The level of detail extends to your factories, with machines that move realistically and give a sense of weight, purpose, and operation. The game’s sound design is also impressive. Ambient sounds create a sense of realism as you play, from the background noise of machines to the screams of alien fauna. The soundtrack is very subtle and understated at times, with gentle rhythmic interludes.
Satisfactory v1.0 delivers a rich and engaging experience that will appeal to players who enjoy games with problem-solving elements and creative freedom. From tweaking complex production lines to exploring a vast alien landscape full of hidden secrets, the game keeps you guessing at every turn. The combination of exploration and limitless factory design options ensures that every playthrough feels fresh and unique. This makes Satisfactory an essential game for fans of the simulation and building genres, offering countless hours of immersive and strategic gameplay. Now, fully released from Early Access.
And as the saying goes, don’t be afraid to strive for perfection, it’s unattainable anyway – and so it is here: first you build as you get. Then, by accomplishing key tasks, you can do what you were doing before but a little better. And when a critical mass of improvements accumulates, the architecture is torn down to zero, and you redo everything, and then again and again. In programming, this is called refactoring, and many things from the experience of creating projects, large and small, as well as principles and concepts, begin to be put into practice.
In general, it is a great game, combining both project activity and research, a wonderful visual-laconic futurism of artificial buildings, and a wide variety of flora and fauna, not so much, but do not need these things to bite and spit. So, if you have any factoids, I highly recommend Satisfactory as well.
