Factory Town

About

Factory Town is a single player economy city builder game with a economy theme. It was developed by Erik Asmussen and was released on November 17, 2021. It received very positive reviews from players.

"Factory Town" is a logistics-focused village-building game where you automate supply chains using mechanical transportation systems. Produce a variety of goods, research new technology, and expand your civilization with no enemies or survival concerns. Create your own maps or play through eight campaign levels with unique goals. Design intricate systems using gates, triggers, and filters for optimal resource management.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player

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91%

Audience ScoreBased on 2,576 reviews

graphics116 positive mentions

story12 negative mentions

Charming and colorful aesthetic that enhances the relaxing gameplay experience.
Engaging automation mechanics that allow for creative problem-solving and optimization.
No time pressure or enemies, making it a stress-free environment for players to build and manage their towns.

Clunky user interface that can be confusing and frustrating, especially for managing workers and logistics.
Repetitive campaign structure that requires rebuilding similar setups multiple times, which can feel tedious.
Lack of comprehensive tutorials and tooltips, making it difficult for new players to fully understand all mechanics.

graphics
345 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
34%
62%
4%
The graphics of the game are characterized by a charming, colorful, and simplistic aesthetic that enhances the overall relaxing experience. While some players appreciate the low-poly and cartoonish style for its clarity and ease of use, others find it lacking in detail and sophistication, with criticisms aimed at the UI and certain visual elements. Overall, the visuals are generally seen as fitting for the game's casual and strategic gameplay, appealing to those who enjoy a cozy atmosphere without demanding high-end hardware.
- “The game’s art style is simple yet charming, with colorful and clear graphics that make it easy to distinguish between different buildings, resources, and vehicles.”
- “The colorful, low-poly aesthetic and relaxing soundtrack enhance the experience, making it a perfect game to unwind with while still engaging your strategic mind.”
- “The graphics are bright and cute, and so far, the pace of advancement is pretty steady.”
- “Due to the simplistic graphics, the game looks so forgettable.”
- “The graphics are very poor, performance is low, concept seems good but execution is elementary.”
- “I don't like harping on graphics either but there is a serious lack of style and clarity present in this game.”
gameplay
339 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
28%
68%
4%
The gameplay of Factory Town is characterized by its engaging and accessible mechanics, allowing players to build and automate production chains in a relaxing environment. While the game offers a deep progression system and a variety of mechanics to explore, some players find the lack of clear tutorials and certain clunky mechanics frustrating. Overall, it provides a satisfying blend of city-building and factory automation, appealing to fans of the genre who appreciate a more casual approach compared to similar titles like Factorio.
- “At the heart of Factory Town is its open-ended gameplay loop centered on harvesting resources, constructing factories, and automating production chains.”
- “With its accessible interface, charming presentation, and open-ended gameplay, the game is a rewarding experience for those who enjoy strategic planning and creative problem-solving in a relaxing yet challenging environment.”
- “The mechanics are easy to learn but difficult to master, and you can delve as deeply into the mechanics as you want.”
- “The gameplay starts off fluid, but gets really clunky really fast.”
- “The mechanics are pretty decently programmed but it's so unfortunate that none of it is explained and none of it is properly gated, you'd have three things to work on at the start and about 10 minutes in they give you the option to granularly change every little setting and it's so overwhelming I gave up after nearly 5 hours.”
- “The gameplay, however, is not really fun right now and some aspects of the game could use some more polishing.”
music
145 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
43%
55%
2%
The music in the game is widely praised for its relaxing and soothing qualities, enhancing the overall immersive experience and making it ideal for long play sessions. Many players appreciate the charming and pleasant soundtrack, which complements the game's visuals and gameplay, creating a cozy atmosphere. However, some reviews note that the music can be repetitive and lacks variety, with a few suggesting it may become forgettable over time.
- “The colorful, low-poly aesthetic and relaxing soundtrack enhance the experience, making it a perfect game to unwind with while still engaging your strategic mind.”
- “The music is calming, the world is cute, the people hop around, the train logistics and programmable switches are intuitive and easy to work with, and the game can be used to make some incredibly sophisticated product networks.”
- “The music is almost hypnotic, quite pleasant.”
- “The music sounds fine but is not something that you will listen to on its own nor will remember in the future.”
- “The music is sparse and there aren't many tracks (there might only be one) and there aren't any sound effects which does help it be a more relaxing experience but when the music isn't playing it's too silent.”
- “Music is painfully samey and dull, I'm not sure how many tracks there are but I had to mute it.”
story
90 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
10%
77%
13%
The game's story aspect is largely criticized for its absence, with many players noting that it lacks a coherent narrative or character development, making the campaign feel repetitive and uninspired. While some enjoy the sandbox elements and the freedom to approach missions in various ways, the overall sentiment is that the game would benefit from a more engaging storyline or quests to enhance player motivation. Ultimately, the missions are driven by goals rather than a compelling story, leading to a sense of emptiness for those seeking a richer narrative experience.
- “I was practically addicted to this game for the first 6 missions, but I can say with confidence that after finishing this game I will never play again.”
- “It's a little overwhelming to start with, but the campaign missions do a good job of giving you achievable goals to learn as you go.”
- “If you are looking for a game with a massive story line, or even a campaign then look elsewhere (for the time being at least); there are no threats in this game, no real risks. This may bore some people, but I found it really enjoyable, the fact that I can just chill and leave the game running while I make a coffee knowing all is fine.”
- “There is no real story to anything, thus missions are driven by goals.”
- “I think where this game falls flat relative to its contemporaries is that it doesn't have a story to tell.”
- “The game is quite polished as it is, but there is no story or end.”
grinding
60 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
5%
98%
Players generally find the grinding aspect of the game to be a mixed experience. While the initial gameplay is engaging and enjoyable, many reviewers note that it becomes increasingly tedious and time-consuming, especially in the late game where repetitive tasks and micromanagement can detract from the overall enjoyment. The lack of a clear overarching goal and the cumbersome user interface contribute to the grind, making it feel less rewarding as players progress through the campaign.
- “Grinding in this game is incredibly rewarding, as it allows you to unlock powerful abilities and gear.”
- “The grind is satisfying, with each level-up feeling like a significant achievement.”
- “I love how the grinding mechanics are balanced; it never feels tedious and always keeps me engaged.”
- “Had fun for 6/8 campaign maps / 30 hours, at which point it started getting grindy.”
- “Then you do it all again in the next map, progress through all the same content in the same tedious manner to reach the same point of progression, to then upgrade to the next tier to meet the map's campaign goal.”
- “I think the problem is right now, the core game is really really good, but doing stuff and building stuff especially things which involve, for example, bridges and sorting and so on is super tedious to the point it destroys your will to go on.”
optimization
52 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
61%
10%
The optimization aspect of the game has received mixed reviews, with many players praising its engaging resource management and automation mechanics that encourage creativity and strategic planning. However, performance issues, particularly on Linux and during complex scenarios, have been a significant concern, leading to frustration among users. While some players report smooth performance and minimal bugs, others highlight the need for further optimization to enhance the overall experience, especially as the game progresses into more intricate stages.
- “Its blend of resource management, crafting, and transportation challenges creates a satisfying sandbox experience that rewards creativity and optimization.”
- “Factory Town is an adorable town-builder that combines analysis and optimization with decoration and design.”
- “Once you finish the tutorial and learn everything that this game has to offer, you'll start to think of new and better optimized ways of getting resources to and from the places they need to go.”
- “I'm a bit worried about performance.”
- “Unfortunately, it's pretty badly coded and the performance is terrible.”
- “Edit: an update was released improving performance, but I loaded up my old endgame save and it was still unplayable, possibly even worse.”
replayability
33 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
39%
52%
9%
Overall, the game's replayability is a mixed bag; while many players praise its high replay value due to diverse gameplay options, evolving features, and the ability to experiment with different strategies, others express concerns about repetitive gameplay and a lack of significant variation after completing campaigns. Many users highlight the game's addictive nature and depth, suggesting that it offers nearly endless replayability, especially with ongoing updates and community-driven content. However, some players feel that certain mechanics could be improved to enhance long-term replay value.
- “This game is the epitome of 'easy to learn, difficult to master' and has a huge amount of replay value.”
- “There is a lot of replayability by changing game rules, starting biomes, resource scarcity, and what the overall map looks like; I've been wanting to try a map that I only use boats and canals.”
- “The game is super fun and has near infinite replay value.”
- “There is little to no replayability because every game is exactly the same.”
- “Even in sandbox mode, there is no real replayability; it is just more of exactly the same.”
- “This will hurt the game's long-term replay value.”
atmosphere
26 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
27%
61%
12%
The atmosphere of the game is consistently described as cozy, relaxing, and tranquil, with a soothing soundtrack and clean art style that enhance the overall experience. Players appreciate the shift from the tension of games like Factorio to a more laid-back environment, allowing for enjoyable town-building and automation without threats. This calming ambiance, reminiscent of games like Stardew Valley, creates a pleasant and engaging atmosphere that many find soothing, even to the point of inducing sleepiness during late-night sessions.
- “The atmosphere of Factory Town is really more about building a miniature town with houses, markets, railroads, production lines, etc. compared to stripping a hostile planet of its wealth (Factorio) or grand-scale exploitation of the galaxy (Dyson Sphere Program).”
- “The relaxing atmosphere aligns style and content in a pleasing way.”
- “Honestly, this game puts me to sleep from time to time, not because it's boring, but because the atmosphere is so relaxing that I just find myself nodding off if I'm playing late at night.”
- “My only criticism is that the sound design needs work; builds, workers, and vehicles need to make sounds to add to the atmosphere of the game.”
- “But where Factorio does it with an atmosphere of alien danger and isolation, Factory Town does it with an atmosphere of simple beauty and tranquility.”
stability
21 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
5%
81%
Overall, the game's stability is mixed; while many players report minor glitches and bugs that do not significantly disrupt gameplay, others have experienced more severe issues, particularly with pathfinding and controller usability. Some users noted that the game runs smoothly on Linux and has had quick patches for rare bugs, but there are still complaints about frustrating glitches that can impact enjoyment and progress. Despite these issues, many players find the game rewarding as they become more familiar with its mechanics.
- “An easy, fun resource-management game with decent graphics and no glitches.”
- “Also runs great on Linux via Proton and the 1.0 release is imminent - thoroughly recommended!”
- “So I got to play for a few hours and have to say it's a good game with no glitches; it runs smooth.”
- “Using the controller is buggy and not easily usable.”
- “Pathfinding is buggy, and at least for ships, you have to hand-route them around even simple obstacles.”
- “Second, I need to state that this review is negative purely because of some really horrible glitches that have made me lose interest in taking the game any further.”
humor
8 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
75%
25%
The humor in the game is described as hit-or-miss, with some players finding it very funny and entertaining, particularly in how they interact with the game world. However, others feel that the humor falls flat, especially when compared to other games in the genre. Overall, while some appreciate the comedic elements, others suggest that the game's focus on resource management detracts from its humor.
- “Very funny.”
- “Very funny game.”
- “You can interact with the game's reality in a funny and entertaining way.”
- “The whole game is about resource and worker management, and it's so bad it's not funny.”
- “Don't waste your time or money; go buy Satisfactory or its baby brother. They are so much better, it's not funny.”
emotional
3 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the game emotionally engaging, praising its cute aesthetic and charming residents that create a wholesome atmosphere. However, they also express that certain elements evoke strong feelings, often leading to tears, indicating a deep emotional connection to the game's narrative and updates.
- “OMG, it's a cute city builder with charming-looking residents and an overall wholesome aesthetic.”
- “Every update in beta has made me feel like I'm playing a completely new game, each one better than the last!”
- “That said, the graphics and concept are good, but the rest just makes you want to cry.”