What is Factorio?
Factorio is a 2D game where you have to build an automated factory in order to survive and thrive on an alien planet. You start with nothing and slowly advance to create a fully-automated, highly efficient factory. You build and rebuild until your factory reaches peak efficiency and you will be able to defend against alien attacks easily.
Read the Full Review on Factorio.
Games Similar To Factorio
Quite a few building games have something in common with Factorio because at the end of the day it is simply a sandbox building game.
The list below features games that have at least one major element that is also featured prominently in the Factorio game.
1. Prison Architect
Prison Architect is a truly brilliant game that was inspired by early Bullfrog games such as Theme Hospital. You build a prison and then take in prisoners in order to make a profit. Upgrade and alter your prison to suit the type of criminal you take in, and change the way you operate depending upon… Read Full Review.
2. Planet Base
Planet Base places you on an alien planet where you have create a livable space. The graphics on Planet Base are very well rendered without being over the top, and there are plenty of … Read Full Review.
3. RimWorld
RimWorld is very similar to Banished and strikingly similar to Prison Architect. RimWorld was inspired by Dwarf Fortress and Firefly. It allows you to play and generate your own stories through the simulation of psychology, gun play, ecology, melee combat, biomes, climate, diplomacy, interpersonal relationships, medicine, art, trade, and things of that nature.
The game is strikingly similar in style and game play to Prison Architect, but the developers claim it happened by sheer accident and that they didn’t share tools with Introversion Software studios. In March 2013, the game was originally called Starship Architect, but was later changed to RimWorld…suspicious maybe? In conclusion, RimWorld is like Prison Architect, and Prison Architect is like Factorio.
4. Dwarf Fortress
Most people have played Dwarf Fortress before playing Factorio, but if you have played Factorio first, then you are going to get a very strong feeling of déjà vu when you play Dwarf Fortress. The resource mining and crafting mechanics are similar to Factorio, but Dwarf Fortress doesn’t have the automation that Factorio has. The graphics are also so basic with Dwarf Fortress, and the game is so complicated, that some people simply cannot stomach it. Some Factorio fans will never learn to love Dwarf Fortress.
Dwarf Fortress is ultra user-unfriendly. In fact, it is highly recommended that you download mods or utility packs to make the game more user friendly. There are starter packs that make the game easier to boot up and easier to play. It is highly recommended that you watch a few good YouTube tutorials on Dwarf Fortress before you play.
5. Rust
With Factorio, you have your stubby legged little protagonist who runs around with his gun and occasionally digs for rocks. He isn’t the most sophisticated chap in the world, but he does a Henry Ford and turns his sweat into success.
With Rust, you get to run around with a gun in a 3D world and build stuff in a wasteland. The running around with a gun and building stuff is the biggest similarity it has to Factorio.
Rust is first person and it has an element of MMO that Factorio does not. In Rust you can raid other people’s bases, have yours raided. You don’t even have to build a base if you don’t want, you could just run around cause mayhem. There is a lot of freedom here to do whatever you want in the game.
6. Factory Engineer
Factory Engineer has many similar game mechanics to Factorio because you are actually asked to build a factory (shocking I know…considering the name). The newer and more polished version of Factory Engineer is worth playing, but you should probably play this game before moving on to Factorio. If you play it the other way around, you may feel like you have lost more than you have gained.
Other Games Like Factorio
Thea: The Awakening – It bears a passing similarity to Factorio because you are in a strange land with a single base and you have to run out and collect resources on help you craft new items whilst also being beset by monsters.
Starbound – You are in a procedurally generated universe where you explore and collect new weapons and armor from the strange planets you visit.
Don’t Starve – You are placed in a strange land where you have to collect resources while being chased by monsters.
Terraria – It is a 2D action-adventure sandbox game that bears a passing resemblance to Factorio, but it is more of an RPG and will not quench your manufacturing thirst.
If we missed a game like Factorio leave us a comment and let us know!
