Estimated Reading Time: 5 minutes
Gameplay
Final Factory plays a bit differently from other games in its genre. You begin with a fairly simple tutorial where the game walks you through building various structures, research technology, and the basics of combat. As per normal, the tutorial of the game has its good and bad points. Of the good points, the tutorial is fairly simple and quick to get through. Another good point about the introduction are the handy little videos that show what you are supposed to do. This is especially handy when following the directions but you missed something small that doesn't complete it.
The tutorial of Final Factory has some minor issues. For one thing, I felt like it could stand to be a little bit longer to get players accustomed to the modular nature of gameplay. Another aspect that frustrated me about the tutorial is that the text is a bit small. In fact, the tutorial is not the only place where the small text was aggravating, the build menu suffers from the same issue. Building components were frustrating to do because there was very little indication to which machine made which parts. These issues don't take away from the game, but they slowed progress for a time.
Now, to be frank, playing Final Factory took some getting used to for a multitude of reasons. The first of those reasons being my inability to mass expand. I generally build small production chains that make the parts I need. When getting into higher tech, I run into the challenge of expanding my production which equally kills any clean looking builds. While that isn't necessarily a bad thing, and the constraints of making a good looking building is not required in Final Factory, my need to explore the universe took precedence. Let me just say, without getting a decent production line going, the alien entities will kill you repeatedly...
Once I made it over the hump of introductory gameplay, Final Factory became a fun title to play. I enjoyed figuring out what buildings connected to others. Equally I enjoyed exploring the vast universe to take out alien creatures. Upon venturing out into the universe, I discovered some fun structures that would prompt a bit of story. It is at that point where I really started to get involved in the game. Well, that and the need to recover my body (which doesn't despawn even after dying a few more times before getting to it.)
Research and Tech Tree
Like other factory games, there is a tech tree which gives you additional structures and defenses for your base. There is information on the right hand side of the window which shows what the requirements are. In order to advance in the tech tree, you need to gain research points which can be earned through two different methods. The first way to acquire research is to kill some aliens that periodically drop some. However, the more efficient way to gain research points is to build research stations which will give you a passive amount while you are working on your base or exploring the universe. Of course, to keep the research points flowing, you need to produce drones that will gather it for you! You will gain access to all kinds of interesting buildings. But be warned, there are some buildings that don't connect to certain others nicely!
Combat
The combat is one of the most notable features in Final Factory. It is quite different from others in this genre because most factory builders aren't reliant on creatures to research items in the tech tree. I mentioned earlier that you can earn research points by killing aliens, but they drop a fraction of a point every so often. It's not the most efficient way to gain research points, but it is a way you can get enough to get your started.
Some of the things I noticed about the combat was that it was incredibly basic. There are upgrades for more health, extra damage, but the best way to go explore the universe is to automate building combat ships that will take the hits for you. Your small ship can only do so much on its own, which is something you learn early on when taking on some of the beefier alien units. Venturing out on your own without combat drones will spell disaster. Trust me.
When travelling with combat drones, you will have access to a couple extra abilities that will help to destroy the alien ships that guard the artifacts. I find that combat is more interesting because the game encourages you to use drones that you make. It's a unique feature that I enjoy about Final Factory.
Graphics and UI
I adore the arcade feeling to the graphics style in Final Factory. As its combat is inspired by space invaders from days of old, the graphics provide an obvious nod to the games that came before it. The top down view helps perpetuate that tip of the hat, too.
I mentioned before that the text in the tutorial was too small, but there is an option to increase it. What is strange about the graphics is that they are set to 0.9 to start! I'm not entirely certain what went into the decision to reduce the text size, but I found the size to be too small. I know I'm not alone on that either.
While the tutorial isn't the most problematic, it is a noticeable irritant. The small text size was more bothersome when building an assembly line. Any basic part or ship that you are looking to make has requirements. These requirements are displayed as small graphics with small text to indicate the building that is used to make the item. What's perhaps worse is the lack of information about what items are used to make the one thing you're trying to make, unless you're looking at the final product.
Overall, the graphics and UI are quite good but could use a bit of polish. Players may struggle with some of the small text and images that would help to make for a good gameplay experience.
Final Thoughts
I enjoy Final Factory. It's a fun and addictive game once you get past some of the small gripes. And while I find that the developers did something different with how the combat is done, it still feels a bit simplistic - which is not necessarily a bad thing. Perhaps I expected a bit more from it.
Final Factory is a different take on the factory building genre and I'm definitely here for it. There is a bit of story that is told, a bunch of mystery, and an awesome graphics style to keep players engaged. If you enjoy factory building games, give this one a shot and see what it has to offer!
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