Desynced (PC) - Steam - GLOBAL
- August 15, 2023
- Stage Games Inc.
- 65h median play time
Get on Steam"Desynced" is a PC game on Steam that puts you in charge of repairing your damaged spaceship by building facilities on an unknown planet. As the onboard AI, ELAINE, guides you, you'll manage resource management, production chains, and automation while expanding your logistics network. Customize facility behavior and scripting for more complex solutions. The game features intricate resource management and emphasizes automation and survival.
Reviews
- Innovative gameplay that combines factory building with RTS elements, allowing for modular units and customizable behaviors.
- The programming aspect is engaging and offers a unique challenge, making it enjoyable for players who like automation and logic.
- The game runs smoothly and is visually appealing, with a solid foundation for an early access title.
- The tutorial is lacking in depth, making it difficult for new players to understand the complex systems and programming mechanics.
- Bots can behave erratically, leading to inefficiencies in resource management and logistics, which can be frustrating.
- The game can feel slow-paced, especially in the early stages, as players wait for resources to accumulate and production to ramp up.
- gameplay99 mentions
- 25 % positive mentions
- 72 % neutral mentions
- 3 % negative mentions
The gameplay of the game is a mixed bag, with many players appreciating its innovative mechanics and potential for deep automation, akin to titles like Factorio and Dyson Sphere Program. However, the lack of intuitive user interface, insufficient tutorials, and overly complex mechanics lead to frustration, particularly for new players. While the core gameplay is engaging and offers unique features like visual programming for unit behaviors, it requires significant refinement to enhance the overall user experience and accessibility.
“The gameplay itself is really fun to me.”
“A great game of automation and construction of bases mixing RTS mechanics and exploration. Although it is still in development, it is a very good game where if you have basic programming knowledge you can do a lot.”
“Desynced is an odd mix between RTS and factory games where your primary goal is to automate things and tech up, but you also have a control scheme and gameplay elements that are more like an RTS.”
“Lack of standard RTS grouping mechanics leads to frustrating exploration and task designation.”
“Game lacks a useful tutorial, has no basic AI for resource collection, and adds puzzles that subtract from and interrupt gameplay.”
“I've never played a game where you have to read and re-read the tutorial just to understand the most basic gameplay mechanics, and even after the tutorial, I still feel lost.”
- graphics44 mentions
- 41 % positive mentions
- 52 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game receive mixed feedback, with many praising the detailed visuals, polished aesthetics, and smooth performance on high settings. However, some users report technical issues, such as high GPU usage and crashes, indicating that while the graphics are visually appealing, they may not be optimized for all systems. Overall, the game features attractive graphics reminiscent of popular titles, but it may require a powerful graphics card to run smoothly.
“Very nice setup, eye-candy graphics and so far quite balanced game flow.”
“Graphics is quite advanced, made in 3D with a fixed isometric projection, beautifully made, along with nice effects.”
“As a big fan of automation/factory games, I can say that Desynced is a refreshing take on the genre with really beautiful visuals and potential for hours of playtime!”
“It runs poorly for a game that is not exactly pushing the envelope in graphics.”
“Graphics and stuff are still a bit .. 'concept'.”
“My 3080 shouldn't be melting on a game with these kinds of graphics (not even running ultra and I have frames capped).”
- story43 mentions
- 23 % positive mentions
- 70 % neutral mentions
- 7 % negative mentions
The story in "Desynced" is described as engaging and well-thought-out, with a developing sci-fi plot that promises meaningful quests and a rich lore, although it is still in early access and not fully fleshed out. Players appreciate the integration of missions that guide progression and unlock items, but some express a desire for improvements in storytelling elements and visuals. Overall, there is optimism for future updates to enhance the narrative experience, with many looking forward to the completion of the story and additional content.
“Awesome game, can't wait for the story to continue.”
“The story has a good premise, I can't wait to see what the game brings as it evolves!”
“It's very engrossing and the story is actually well thought out too.”
“I'm personally looking forward to some of the story jank being fixed, as right now it's a mess.”
“The story is not complete.”
“Their main focus seems to be on story/puzzle elements which takes you out of the automation.”
- optimization30 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 63 % neutral mentions
- 10 % negative mentions
Overall, the game's optimization is a mixed bag; while it performs well on high-end systems and offers impressive modding capabilities, players report significant slowdowns in late-game scenarios with numerous bots and production buildings. Many users note that while the game is playable and stable for an early access title, there are still areas needing improvement, particularly in AI behaviors and resource management, which can lead to performance issues. Despite these concerns, the game is praised for its potential and engaging optimization mechanics, with players eager for future updates to enhance performance.
“There's very few bugs, no crashes to desktop, very good performance, great modding capabilities, the ability to load mods on the fly (the only thing you need to do is subscribe, save, and load to apply new mods, no need to restart), incredibly fast saving and loading time (for a procedurally generated game that's a major feat), replay feature that will not falter if you mod your game in the middle of gameplay, and stores tens of hours of gameplay data in under a megabyte (along with the current state), which is next to impossible from my knowledge.”
“Curious approach to base building/resource management game, allowing you to go into very low level and complex optimizations, while not 'forcing' you to do that.”
“I find myself in an optimization spiral where I keep fine-tuning behavior programs.”
“As with early access games, the game does get slow and needs more optimization in the late game where you have hundreds of bots and production buildings.”
“Any optimization you can achieve with it doesn't seem to be worth the large amount of time needed to decipher the strange system.”
“When the bots decide to deliver stuff, they do it in a wildly unoptimized fashion.”
- stability15 mentions
- 7 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 93 % negative mentions
The game's stability is a mixed bag, with many users reporting significant bugs and glitches, particularly in programmed behaviors and workflows, which can disrupt gameplay. While some players have experienced no major issues and appreciate the game's potential, the consensus is that it remains in an early access state, requiring further development and refinement to address its current instability. Overall, players should be prepared for a buggy experience, but many are optimistic about future improvements.
“Runs great on Proton Experimental.”
“But for now it has too many bugs, glitches, looks really unfinished.”
“But - it is early access (writing this 3 months after release), meaning buggy and incomplete, which can unexpectedly ruin your plans when things don't work the way you'd expect.”
“I feel it's still a bit buggy and this aspect of the game to be the least reliable and needs the most work.”
- grinding11 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
Overall, players find the grinding aspect of the game to be tedious and boring, with many expressing frustration over the slow pace and repetitive management tasks. While the game introduces interesting concepts in automation and building, the execution often feels laborious, particularly in the early stages and with programming elements. Many reviewers feel that the grind detracts from the overall enjoyment and potential of the game.
“This is a small scale, slow speed game, with tedious management of runner bots rather than full automation.”
“It all feels very tedious and I am constantly facepalming.”
“I've played for about 5 hours and it's very grindy in the beginning.”
- music7 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The music in the game receives mixed reviews; some players find it repetitive and lacking in variety, while others appreciate its relaxing vibe and quality, noting that it enhances the overall experience. Sound design is generally criticized for being minimal, with some users opting to disable the music altogether. Overall, the soundtrack is described as enjoyable by some, but not universally praised.
“The soundtrack is so good, I tend to turn music off on games, but not this one.”
“Nice vibe, music is great; automations take some time to learn, but it's fun and powerful.”
“Simply kind of unique, with light relaxing music; I simply enjoy.”
“Also yet another factory game with a poor sound design. The music is low-key bad and not nearly long enough (you'll hear the same song like 2-3 times in 10 minutes), and none of the robots or buildings even make sounds; it's just lifeless.”
“You know lo-fi songs are compared to other songs; this game is like that, a lo-fi game.”
“There is music I've long disabled, and decent sound effects.”
- emotional3 mentions
- 100 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 0 % negative mentions
Players express a mix of frustration and appreciation regarding the emotional aspect of the game. While some feel let down by the inadequate tutorial that hinders their connection to the game, others commend the developers for allowing players to engage with the game in a personalized manner, enhancing their emotional experience.
“The developers have done an amazing job of letting the player play their way and not strictly to the game's way.”
- replayability3 mentions
- 67 % positive mentions
- -67 % neutral mentions
- 100 % negative mentions
The game offers excellent replayability due to its diverse research tree, engaging story, and extensive content, allowing players to invest 40-80 hours to complete early access milestones, with the potential for hundreds of additional hours through continuous building and exploration.
“It has so much depth and replayability, and is very likely to become one of my 1000+ hour games.”
“It has great replayability, a research tree with some different branches, a somewhat interesting story, and lots of drones.”
“There is easily 40-80 hours of content to 'finish' the final milestone of early access, but as with any factory game, building bigger and better is always an option for hundreds of hours of replayability.”
“The game lacks significant changes in gameplay mechanics, making it feel repetitive after a few playthroughs.”
“Once you've experienced the main storyline, there's little incentive to replay, as the side quests don't offer much variety.”
- monetization1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Many users express skepticism about the monetization practices in early access games, often viewing them as potential cash grabs that lack substantial content or effort.
“I was rather hesitant to buy, since a lot of early access games are just lazy cash grabs these days.”
“The monetization model feels exploitative, making it hard to enjoy the game without spending extra money.”
“It's frustrating that essential features are locked behind paywalls, which ruins the overall experience.”
