Factorio is one of the most popular construction and management simulation video games ever released.
This was not an easy feat to accomplish, considering the game came out in 2020. The game started to receive acclaim while it was still in early access. Both critics and players regard it as a manufacturing masterpiece.
With both a single player and a multiplayer mode, Factorio is also one of the most versatile manufacturing games. If you’re a fan of games like Factorio, chances are you like games that combine RTS and survival elements with a good story and aesthetic.
If you’re looking for more titles similar to Factorio, we’ve got you covered. Here are 7 games like Factorio, including some from different subgenres and styles.
Satisfactory
Satisfactory is a first-person open-world factory building game that also includes some combat and exploration elements.
At the time of writing, this game has been in development since 2016 and is on the Epic Games Store and Steam, too. The full version of this game is being highly anticipated by fans, and it’s easy to see why. It’s a game with wonderful visuals, mechanics, and music, too.
Satisfactory is often described as a 3D and first-person version of Factorio. Nevertheless, it does offer some exciting features that are not in Factorio. The story follows an engineer who is sent on a mission to colonize an alien planet called Massage-2(A-B)b.
When you start playing, you have the option to choose one of four starting locations. These locations include the Dune Desert, Grasslands, Northern Forest, and Rocky Desert. The resources you’ll have at your disposal will vary depending on the location you choose.
You start your journey on this alien planet by first learning how to mine and process copper and iron. You eventually process materials you can use to build a simple factory. Your ultimate goal in the game is to create a fully automated factory that you can use to manufacture and deliver any item to the Space Elevator.
Satisfactory features some exploration elements and contains a limited number of vehicles you can use to faster discover the area around you. There are also a few weapons you’ll have to use to fight hostile aliens. While single-player gameplay is exceptional, the co-op mode takes the fun of building to a whole new level.
There are plenty of customization options in Satisfactory. There are almost no limits to how you’ll customize your factory other than your imagination, and it’s perfect for fans of games like Factorio who want to try a game with a unique perspective.
Rise of Industry
Rise of Industry is a fun single-player business tycoon game from Dapper Penguin Studios. The world in the game is set in the 1930s and features two modes, a sandbox mode and a career mode too.
If you choose the career mode, you will have to pick one of four specialisms when you start the game. You can pick gathering, logistics, industry, or farming. Players also start with a small amount of money and an area that contains several villages and towns controlled by AI. Your mission is to supply these villages with the products they need.
Players need to have a strategic approach to build a successful empire. You will need to construct factories, manufacture goods, move raw materials, and arrange trades. Your rivals won’t allow you to progress without putting various obstacles in front of you. If you’re not careful, they might even attempt a hostile takeover.
The sandbox mode offers a different experience as you won’t have any financial limitations and you’ll be able to build with adequate research.
The game allows you to choose what type of business tycoon you’ll be. Will you focus on the environmental impact of your manufacturing activities? As you expand your empire, this is one of the things you’ll have to think about. Players will also need to have an adequate approach for making the best deals with different town personalities.
Players can produce more than 150 individual products, and you’ll need to be hands on with every step of the process, from gathering raw materials to manufacturing the end product.
As you build your skills as an entrepreneur, you’ll be able to complete even the most complex production chains and deliver products no one else can.
When you’re not thinking about building factories or transporting goods, you’ll need to pay attention to the changing business climate. If you don’t, random events and contracts will put a dent in your expansion plans. If you enjoy the strategic element of games like Factorio, this is one of the best games for you to pick up today.
Cities: Skylines
Cities: Skylines is one of the most popular city-building games in the world. The game has sold more than twelve million copies to date. It is available for Windows, Xbox One, Stadia, PlayStation 4, macOS, Linux, and Nintendo Switch.
There is only a single-player mode in Cities: Skylines.
You begin with a small plot of land, a small amount of money, and an exit from a highway. You then need to start adding residential, commercial, and industrial zones, as well as roads. You’ll need to get residents to move into your area after securing basic services like water and power. Once people start moving in, you need to supply them with jobs.
There are many activities you’ll need to take part in while playing Cities: Skylines. Some of these activities include controlling taxation, public transportation, and zoning. Players have to do all of this while also managing the city’s pollution levels, budget, healthcare, and employment.
In case you want more freedom to build, there’s an excellent sandbox mode available.
There are multiple DLC expansion packs available for Cities: Skylines. For instance, the After Dark pack puts a focus on leisure and tourism and includes new buildings like luxury hotels and casinos. The Pearls From the East pack brings new buildings inspired by Chinese architecture. Meanwhile, the Parklife pack is all about zoos, national parks, and gardens.
Cities: Skylines is the best-selling game ever published by Paradox Interactive. Apart from the commercial success, the game received almost perfect scores from several reputable publications.
RimWorld
RimWorld is a construction and management simulation game from Ludeon Studios. You can play RimWorld on Windows, Linux, Xbox One, macOS, and PlayStation 4.
The story of RimWorld takes place in the distant future. Humans have established colonies on countless planets across the universe but they still aren’t able to travel faster than the speed of light. Your main objective in the game is to ensure the survival of a colony of people on one of these planets.
The most exciting feature of RimWorld is its AI Storyteller. The events that take place in the game are random. Depending on your progress in the game, the AI storyteller will throw random events at you that will create the most interesting narrative.
You start your story in RimWorld with three survivors of a shipwreck on a distant planet. You will need to manage the needs, wounds, and even addictions of colonists. Players also have to build in various environments, such as jungles, deserts, and tundras. You’ll need to fight pirates and giant insects while manufacturing weapons and building structures.
RimWorld has so many different elements to its gameplay that it’s hard to list them all. You’ll just have to experience the game to witness the magic. It’s one of the best building games on Steam with survival and management elements, and it’s ideal to check out if you want to find games similar to Factorio.
Oxygen Not Included
Oxygen Not Included is a space colony simulation game from Canadian indie game studio Klei Entertainment. The game has only a single-player mode and is available for Windows, macOS, and Linux.
In the game, you start with three colonists who are on an asteroid and have no recollection of how they appeared there. There are only isolated pockets of breathable atmosphere on the asteroid, hence the name of the game. You will need to make sure the colonists survive and create a space colony.
To create your colony, you will need to assign characters specific tasks while monitoring their hunger and oxygen levels. The tasks you give the colonists include finding and mining resources, researching and developing new technologies, as well as growing food.
What’s interesting about Oxygen Not Included is that you don’t directly control the colonists. Instead, you give instructions and they follow them. They choose the tasks each of them will do based on their skills. The skills improve as they successfully complete tasks.
Oxygen Not Included received widespread acclaim for its gameplay, story, and charming design. The design was inspired by games like Prison Architect, The Sims, and Dwarf Fortress.
Captain of Industry
Are you looking for a new and exciting release in the colony and factory simulation game genre? Captain of Industry is a video game that, at the time of writing, has been in development for years and is out in an early access format on Steam. It’s from the team at MaFi games, and there’s a lot of hype surrounding it.
In Captain of Industry, your story begins on an abandoned island where a small crew of people has to find ways to survive. You are tasked with creating a self-sufficient colony. This will involve gathering resources, growing food, building factories, researching new technologies, and much more.
Players start with simple objectives like smelting iron and mixing concrete but can eventually move toward more complex goals like building data centers and rockets.
Captain of Industry is still in the early access phase, yet players are already happy with this version of the game. It’ll be exciting to see where it goes next, and fans who enjoy games like Factorio are going to fall in love with it.
Dyson Sphere Program
Dyson Sphere Program is yet another game currently in early access at the time of writing. It is a factory simulation video game from Youthcat Studio, set in a futuristic world in which society exists in virtual reality for the most part.
This virtual reality takes up a lot of computational power. That’s why the character you’re controlling is sent on a very important task. You must venture into the real universe and build a Dyson sphere. This megastructure encompasses a star to capture most of its solar power output. To build a Dyson sphere, you will need to gather resources in a nearby star cluster.
Dyson Sphere Program features graphics so beautiful that it’s hard to think of another factory simulation game that can match them. It’s one of the most beautiful Space games on Steam, and it’s worth picking up a copy for the aesthetic alone.
You’ll start with a small workshop and end with a galactic industrial empire as you progress in the game. Players can explore the vastness of the universe and gather resources from various planets in Dyson Sphere Program.
