Automation Empire
- November 19, 2019
- DOG HOGGLER
- 25h median play time
Get on Steam"Automation Empire is a simulation/management game focused on efficiency and expansion. Create and manage a network of factories and machines, using various modes of transportation such as mine carts, drones, and trains to move resources. Design complex systems, optimize production, and expand your industrial empire to new worlds." Less than 300 characters.
PC
Steam Deck
Windows
Reviews
- Great graphics and engaging gameplay that encourages optimization and efficiency.
- Fun and addictive, with a unique puzzle-like approach to factory building.
- The ability to delete and receive full refunds for buildings allows for experimentation and redesign.
- Lacks a tutorial, making it difficult for new players to understand mechanics.
- The tax system is poorly designed, leading to frustration and potential bankruptcy.
- Limited content and replayability, with many maps feeling similar and lacking unique challenges.
- gameplay364 mentions
- 20 % positive mentions
- 71 % neutral mentions
- 9 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game has received mixed reviews, with some players appreciating its unique mechanics and engaging factory-building challenges, while others criticize its lack of depth, poor AI, and frustrating mechanics like the taxation system. Many users highlight the steep learning curve due to the absence of tutorials, leading to confusion and a sense of tedium in gameplay. Overall, while the game shows potential with its visuals and core mechanics, it feels incomplete and in need of significant refinement to enhance the player experience.
“Great game and very well written, and the mechanics are flawless.”
“Very satisfying gameplay and progression loops.”
“The core gameplay (which is designing your factories and making everything as optimal as you can get it to be) is present and pretty challenging.”
“Current gameplay is extremely limited.”
“The style is bland and uninteresting, the gameplay is basic and boring, and the mechanics are just not fun to play around with.”
“Just don't like it, feels like the game mechanic works against you, no tutorial, massive learning curve, slow progression, very easy to make mistakes, very irritating material transport system.”
- graphics224 mentions
- 58 % positive mentions
- 40 % neutral mentions
- 2 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game have received a mixed reception, with many players praising the high-quality visuals and art style, particularly at higher resolutions, and noting the charming animations. However, some users criticize the graphics for being underwhelming compared to other titles in the genre, with a few even likening them to older games. Overall, while the graphics are generally considered good and visually appealing, there are concerns about performance issues and a lack of customization options.
“The graphics are outstanding, along with the wonderful and captivating sounds of machinery with noise for every process.”
“It is truly a remarkable game, well thought out, practical and good quality graphics which at 3840 x 2160 look great.”
“The fact that it's done in a gorgeous 3D environment with great graphics adds icing to the cake of a truly entertaining game.”
“The maps play mostly the same with different graphics; the scenarios aren't that unique.”
“Too many graphic glitches for a game priced at $22.”
“Full release and $30 for a game with so-so graphics, barren worlds, and very few things to do until you get hopelessly bored.”
- music154 mentions
- 5 % positive mentions
- 84 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
The game features music only in the main menu, with no in-game soundtrack, which many players find disappointing and off-putting. While some appreciate the absence of distracting music during gameplay, the overall lack of audio variety and background music has been a common criticism, leading to a perception that the game feels incomplete. Players often resort to their own music to enhance the experience, highlighting the need for a more engaging audio environment.
“What makes a lot of these routine play games great is the daze you go into while listening to a great soundtrack.”
“I hope that Dog Hoggler adds some ambient background music in a future patch.”
“The menu music will blow you out of your chair, but then for some reason the game has no in-game music-- which is just fine with me, I typically turn game music way down anyway.”
“But if you're looking for music in-game, this is not for you.”
“However, there is zero music in this game outside of the title screen, which is unacceptable.”
“The glaring omissions from the game are the lack of full tutorial (other than a hint screen and a table for how to craft and merge items) and no in-game music.”
- stability76 mentions
- 18 % positive mentions
- 5 % neutral mentions
- 76 % negative mentions
The game's stability is a mixed bag, with many users reporting frequent bugs, glitches, and lag, particularly during late-game scenarios. While some players have experienced smooth gameplay without issues, the overall consensus indicates that the game is unfinished and requires significant fixes to address persistent stability problems. Despite its potential, the current state is marred by micro-freezes, visual artifacts, and crashes, leading to frustration among players.
“One of the most polished games to come out in recent years, virtually bug free.”
“It's bug free at launch, appears to be well optimized as I've never had a single issue playing it and it's clearly about using automation to expand your empire.”
“So far, I've only played this game a few hours and unlike other more expensive games, I have had no glitches, no land rendering issues, and no lag at all.”
“What put me over the edge, though, were the bugs and glitches.”
“The lag is still there, the bugs, the glitches and late game lag still persist and have not been addressed.”
“Before I get into the major gameplay shortfalls, the biggest show stopper is the constant freezes and crashes.”
- grinding70 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The grinding aspect of the game has been widely criticized for its tediousness, stemming from a lack of essential features like bulk deletion, blueprints, and the ability to modify existing structures without complete demolition. Players find the repetitive nature of rebuilding and resource management to be a slog, often leading to frustration rather than enjoyment. While some appreciate the complexity and potential fun of factory building, many agree that the game's design choices make it overly grindy and less engaging compared to similar titles.
“Most games like this 'build over' and extend existing setups, but 'Automation Empire' favors razing most of your build and starting things anew. This can become really tedious, especially since you can't copy a whole factory even if you need multiple identical ones, and you can't remove things like tracks in bulk; you have to remove one thing at a time.”
“The UX decisions about not being able to modify the factory once in place, and the inability to blueprint makes the game a tedious slog.”
“In general, I liked the game, but after several hours, it becomes tedious and a bit of a grind.”
- optimization68 mentions
- 35 % positive mentions
- 59 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is a mixed bag; while some players report smooth performance and enjoyable gameplay, many others experience significant issues, particularly with large factories and complex builds, leading to stuttering and slowdowns even on high-end systems. There are calls for serious improvements in optimization, especially regarding game loads and AI efficiency, to enhance the overall experience. Despite these concerns, the game remains fun for those who enjoy factory management and optimization challenges.
“This is definitely one of the most fun-to-play games I’ve ever played, absolutely recommended for everyone who likes construction and optimization, although it has some minor quirks due to which it doesn’t feel completely finished.”
“It is fun to grow through the various stages of factory optimization as research is done and new things are unlocked.”
“Yes, lots of fun if you like managing systems and optimization and such.”
“There needs to be some serious optimization done to this game, especially on game loads.”
“Just built my new computer yesterday with a X670 TUF gaming motherboard and a Ryzen 5 CPU, and it won't even run without stuttering on simple graphics... hands down needs optimization.”
“I've played dozens of hours of Oxygen Not Included, Factorio, and Satisfactory, and none of the single-player performances of those games has been anywhere near noteworthy.”
- replayability66 mentions
- 15 % positive mentions
- 79 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's replayability is a significant point of contention among players, with many citing a lack of randomness and fixed maps as major limitations. While some players have managed to extract considerable enjoyment and hours of gameplay, the consensus leans towards a shallow experience with minimal incentive to replay after initial completion. Future updates and potential mod support may enhance replayability, but currently, it is viewed as limited.
“This has amazing replayability and the difficulty level can be as brutal as you make for yourself.”
“Learning curve is pretty steep, but once you work out how it all combines, it's a fun challenge with lots of replay value.”
“It is a good game; I'm finding it very replayable with different areas. I've only tried 2 so far, so there's plenty to explore.”
“This game has next to zero replayability.”
“The bottom line is that this is a shallow game with little replayability.”
“I feel like the replayability may be limited with this as it seems the games will end up playing out the same.”
- story62 mentions
- 10 % positive mentions
- 84 % neutral mentions
- 6 % negative mentions
The game's story is largely absent, with players noting a lack of compelling narrative or clear objectives beyond completing missions that feel repetitive and shallow. While some enjoy the gameplay mechanics and the challenge of optimizing factory layouts, many express a desire for a deeper storyline or campaign mode to provide context and motivation for their actions. Overall, the game is seen as fun but incomplete, with potential for a sequel to address its narrative shortcomings.
“Realy fun game and honestly I feel like a second game could be fantastic as it could close up a lot of holes in the plot or more like a game more for plot to explain why we're doing this stuff. For example, 'where are all these trucks coming from?' or 'where are all these different things going?' like I'm delivering thousands of kg of golden plates but we never see what they're used for. Honestly, a second game could be cool, maybe making it about ordering all these things to create robot limbs to construct a whole robot and weapons for some kind of space war, which would be an amazing game.”
“As such, I wish there was a more compelling storyline around the singular objective, and I find myself wishing for a deeper leveling/tech tree.”
“I also would like a campaign, but I always want a campaign or story mode.”
“It makes no pretense of having any kind of a story and things just warp in from one side and go to the other in a shallow attempt to make bigger numbers.”
“There are no real goals, no story, no achievements.”
“As mentioned by someone else, the game is not finished; it is pretty, not buggy, but it lacks a story or other objectives.”
- monetization18 mentions
- 17 % positive mentions
- -6 % neutral mentions
- 89 % negative mentions
The monetization aspect of the game has received significant criticism, with many users labeling it a "cash grab" due to perceived abandonment by the developers and a lack of meaningful content. While some players appreciate the game's quality and mechanics, the overwhelming sentiment suggests disappointment in its monetization strategy and concerns about its long-term viability. Notably, there are no microtransactions, which some players view as a positive aspect amidst the negative feedback.
“There are no microtransactions in this game, which is a refreshing change.”
“I really appreciate that there are no microtransactions; it makes the experience much more enjoyable.”
“The absence of microtransactions allows players to fully immerse themselves in the game without distractions.”
“Look, I really wanted to like this game as the YouTube advertising campaign using YouTubers was a great publicity move, but the game, when you actually get it, is an empty featureless mess.”
“Had potential, but the developer stopped development (apparently) and just a cash grab.”
“Read all the negative reviews recently, very accurate, and this game is clearly a cash grab.”
- humor14 mentions
- 86 % positive mentions
- -7 % neutral mentions
- 21 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is described as both entertaining and frustrating, with players finding the chaotic interactions of drones amusing yet ultimately unhelpful. While some appreciate the game's potential for humor, others feel that the developers' design choices detract from the overall experience, leading to a mix of hilarity and disappointment. Overall, the humor is seen as a highlight, but it is overshadowed by gameplay issues that hinder enjoyment.
“Potential to be a great game but I get the distinct feeling that the devs are sitting behind me laughing maniacally whilst I play.”
“They bunch up and push each other around... it's kinda funny at first...”
“Addictive and very funny game even though I've not played much yet I see the potential and it's huge!!!”
“The objectives are all very shallow, as is the game... not funny at all... I've played it for a total of 17 hours and that's it, no more fun.”
“Developers have complicated a lot the way to do the most simple stuff, in a cry to make you play it longer... not funny at all.”
“If you play Factorio or Oxygen Not Included, you see how this game is light years behind.”
- emotional2 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
The emotional aspect of the game is characterized by a profound sense of heartbreak, particularly due to the perception that it has been abandoned, leaving players with a feeling of loss and unfulfilled potential.
